I am very happy with my canon 350D.  This Digital SLR gives me the control I want, and the lenses to buy (when I can afford them) however, recently I was asked by a friend to review a camera the, Canon PowerShot SD750 / IXUS 75 Digital Camera.  He is not after a DSLR as he wants something that he can keep in his uniform pocket when traveling but wants something that he will be able to take photos he can be proud of.

This is an “ultra portable” camera that does not weigh much and most of it’s size is taken up with its 3in screen.  The cheapest price I can find for it in Australia is $305 AUD and in the USA it is $231 USD.  As you can see from the above photo it is 7.1 MP and contains an inbuilt flash.

PROS

• It seems to have enough Mega Pixels to Keep you Happy
• Its telephoto capabilities are
• It is light weight
• It is designed to be portable
• It has a large screen
• It has plenty of accessories, including a waterproof case.
• It has a fast start up time - meaning you do not waste much of your battery life
• It uses SD cards, which are easy to buy and getting very cheap.
• It is relatively inexpensive compared with its competitors
• It allows for continuous shooting.
• It is a canon which is good as I have never had reliability or production quality problems with a canon.

CONS

• It does not have a viewfinder, limiting your photos to “arms length”
• It does not have the ability to manually focus, change exposure or utilize creative settings I enjoy on my DSLR.
• It has digital zoom (Why use it when you can always Photoshop)
• It uses SD cards, which are easy to buy and getting very cheap but may not be the best in breed
• It has no Image Stabilization.

Conclusion

The reviews continually say that it has a nice finish, has been well built and is intuitive to use.  The photos may be noisy on the different ISO settings, however on the whole, the professionals I read like it.

Although it looks great, many features are exactly what you want in a small digital camera - the lack of a viewfinder and the lack of image stabilization would result in it really frustrating me when I want to get the shot absolutely right, or if it is something that you need to take and capture the first time (without the chance of a second shot).

I think that this is a good camera but for an extra 25% or $398 AUD I would by the Canon IXY 900IS / IXUS 850 Digital Camera or similar - pictured and reviewed below:

http://reviews.cnet.com/digital-cameras/canon-powershot-sd800-is/4505-6501_7-32069607.html?tag=txt

The Digital IXUS 800 IS or IXUS 850 are part of a new class of IXUS as it has all of the advantages listed above, and has image sterilization (meaning that you get less blurred shots) and you can view through the viewfinder; meaning the camera does not have to be a arms length.

I would still say - buy a DSLR if you can but if not the IXUS 75 would be good and the Canon IXY 900IS / IXUS 850 Digital Camera would be a great choice if you are looking for something to keep in your pocket or handbag and produce photos you can be proud of.