Best Pocket Digital Camera

Imaging Resource Picks section. They're well known for their exhaustive testing of digital cameras. They investigate various aspects of each digital camera to help you pick the best one for your needs. But they know that sometimes you just want someone with experience to tell you which digital camera to buy. To serve that need, they've revamped their Picks to get straight to the point, listing your top digital camera choices by category.


Best Pocket Digital Camera

Canon PowerShot SD950 IS Digital ELPH
12.1 megapixels, 3.70x zoom
$366.56



A versatile take-anywhere camera with excellent print quality Canon's PowerShot SD950 IS is blessed with image stabilization, a longer zoom lens, and a stunning 12.1-megapixel sensor. We're not usually impressed with increased pixel counts, but Canon tweaked both optical and image quality to handle the higher resolution and output impressive 16x20-inch images from the Canon SD950 IS that frankly blew us away. A new 3.7x lens graces the Canon SD950 IS, offering just a little extra reach; the bright 2.5-inch color LCD monitor is excellent for framing and reviewing shots; and the overall design and layout of the Canon SD950 is user-friendly and hassle-free. If you're looking for a good, take-anywhere camera with great versatility, good color and tonality, and striking printed output, the Canon SD950 IS deserves a very close look.


Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W200
12.0 megapixels, 3.00x zoom
$284.51




A capable digital camera that's also small and pocket-friendly Sony's Cyber-shot W200 is among the few 12-megapixel pocket digital cameras on the market, and is of surprisingly good quality, consistent with the W-series. Though not as slim as the T-series, the Sony W200 is still quite small and pocket-friendly. The Sony W200's 2.5-inch LCD, 3x zoom, and lithium-ion battery are standard fare, but its Super SteadyShot optical image stabilization and face detection make it a good contender in the digital camera market regardless of size. Image quality was good, though the highest ISO of 3,200 was really not that usable except as a small Web image. Noise suppression prevents the Sony W200's ISO 100 output from achieving 13x19-inch prints, but 11x14's are good. For the size, the Sony W200 turns in a good performance.

Canon PowerShot SD1000 Digital ELPH
7.1 megapixels, 3.00x zoom
$177.25



The SD1000 is wonderfully simple, gorgeous to behold, and produces great images Canon's new PowerShot SD1000 Digital ELPH has a futuristic, yet retro look that is almost identical to the original, film-based ELPH, introduced back in May 1996. In addition to its compact size and eye-catching design, the 7-megapixel SD1000 has a standard 3x optical zoom with a 35mm equivalent focal range of 35-105mm, a 2.5-inch LCD, and an optical viewfinder. Exposure is automatic, and a new on-demand Auto ISO Shift feature bumps the light sensitivity up to a maximum of 800 with the push of a button. White balance options include auto, several presets, and custom (manual). The SD1000 utilizes Canon's DIGIC III processor and offers new face detection technology and in-camera red-eye correction. The Canon PowerShot SD1000 will instantly be usable for anyone already familiar with Canon compacts, and will only take a few minutes for everyone else to become quite comfortable.