dpreview.com (best digital camera review site on the web) has just posted their comprehensive premium compact camera test. No surprise that the Canon SD880 IS is a favorite. I have owned a number of Canon point-and-shoot (p&s) cameras over the years- including the predecessor to the 880- and they have all performed at a very high level in all areas. Anytime someone asks for a recommendation for a digital p&s for a non-enthusiast I always point them towards the Canons. (BTW, I usually point enthusiasts toward Panasonic’s Lumix line of pocket cameras.)
The surprise here is that the Fuji FinePix F100fd ended up the Editors’ choice. It seems that Fuji has come a lot closer than the Big Brands to solving the high ISO noise problems typically associated with digital p&s cameras’ tiny sensors. I have zero experience with Fuji cameras but at under $300 on Amazon I might have to give it a shot as well as revising my recommendations. Chime in the comments if you have any experience with the Fuji p&s cameras (or any other favorites).
UPDATE: Check out Stephen Woolverton’s Flickr set of high ISO shots from the F100fd he ran out and bought immediately after reading this blog post ;-) Absolutely amazing stuff. ISO 12,800 looks like my Pentax K10D DSLR @ 800. Maybe I should consider trading down…
