Canon PowerShot SD870 IS Digital Elph Compact Digital Camera

Wide is the operative word for the $350 Canon PowerShot SD870 IS Digital Elph--not for the camera's overall size, but for its alluringly large 3-inch LCD and for its wide-angle zoom, which starts at 28mm (35mm equivalent), a focal length to warm the heart of any ardent landscape photographer.

A sibling to two other Digital Elph models we reviewed--thePowerShot SD950 ISand thePowerShot SD850 IS--the SD870 shares many of this trio's fine features, including a nicely organized exposure system that groups key controls into one simple-to-use, easy-to-read screen.

All three digital cameras also share a new four-way thumb button that when touched, displays an animated replica for the button on the LCD screen. Though it's handy when you are trying to select settings in a dark room, it can also be annoying--when holding the camera, your thumb naturally wants to rest on the four-way button. The virtual button keeps popping up on the LCD when you don't want it to. Fortunately, you can turn this feature off in the setup menus.

With a shell made of both metal and plastic, and with its plastic buttons, the SD870 IS does not look quite as rugged as its two siblings. And some parts are not as robust: The battery door hinge, for example, is plastic and looks a bit frail, and instead of the typical metallic mode dial, it has a simple plastic sliding switch for Movie, Scene, and standard still shots. Nevertheless, it feels sturdy enough to survive most camera operators' punishment.

Given the similarity of this trio, it's no surprise that the SD870 IS produces photos on par with the SD950 IS and the SD850 IS. Our lab-based test shots were a bit underexposed, but sharp and nicely colored. Flash shots of our test model had a slightly grayish skin tone, but some of that may be due to being underexposed. Outdoor scenic shots were impressive--generally good exposure accuracy, no oversaturated colors, and sharp details. The huge LCD can be somewhat dim in bright light, but turning the LCD brightness all the way up helps.

Other high points for this camera (and the other two Digital Elph models reviewed) are superior documentation and an easy-to-use photo management application (in both Mac and Windows versions) that lets you organize, edit, and back up your photos. If you like to tweak the colors in your shots, the SD870 IS offers a near excess of options, including Vivid, Neutral, Sepia, Black and White, Positive Film, Lighter Skin Tone, Darker Skin Tone, Vivid Blue, Vivid Green, and Vivid Red--plus novel Color Accent and Color Swap features that let you highlight a particular color. You could, for example, retain the color in a yellow ball, and turn the rest of the photo into black and white. All of this seems a bit high-end for a camera that feels more like a snapshot model.

It's pricey, but the extra-wide-angle lens, the big LCD, and the well-thought-out exposure control system make this an attractive compact camera.

For other, similar digital camera models, see our chart ofTop 10 Compact Cameras.

--Tracey Capen

Olympus Stylus 820

This camera is only water-resistant, unlike Olympus's dunkable Stylus SW models, and its buttons emphasize style over function.

The compact Olympus Stylus 820 (about $250, list) seems like an odd duck in Olympus's digital camera lineup--and a duck out of water. It's water-resistant, meaning that it'll survive raindrops and occasional splashes, but if you accidentally drop this point-and-shoot in a birdbath, you may be shopping for a new camera for your ornithological outings.

If you're really worried about your camera surviving the elements, you should probably be looking at Olympus's Stylus 770 SW and Stylus 790 SW, both of which are waterproof to a depth of 10 feet; they're also shockproof from a height of 5 feet. Or, if you're looking to save money, you could consider Olympus's FE series, including the FE-280 we reviewed at the same time; it costs about $50 less.

The Stylus 820 does have a 5X zoom lens, which is 2X longer than those on the other Olympus models (and most other compact cameras). But it has the same in-camera Help Guides as on the FE-280, which present descriptions of photographic tasks; when you pick one, the camera adjusts settings appropriately. Like the FE-280 and the Stylus SW series, you can get the Stylus 820 in a few different colors; the 820 comes in bright red, baby blue, black, and silver.

The control buttons on the back of the camera are very slippery; compared to the 15 other cameras we tested in the same group, I found the 820's buttons the most difficult to press. In addition, the buttons are really shiny, and as a result, I found the text on them hard to read. The zoom button is a thin rocker switch about the width of a piece of linguine; the camera's mode dial sits just below the telephoto end of the switch, and the ridges around the edge of the mode dial makes pressing the zoom uncomfortable.

The Stylus 820 takes a pretty good picture, though. In its test group of 16 compact cameras, it earned the highest scores for color accuracy and exposure quality. On the other hand, its marks in distortion and sharpness tests, despite its 8-megapixel sensor, were below average. Judges overlooked those problems and gave it the highest score for overall quality in that test group (the image quality score in our test reporttakes all the scores into account, not just the single overall quality score). The camera lasted for 221 shots in our battery life scores, or about 70 shots below the average for our test group.

The Stylus 820 is flashy, but if you're going to pay for its weatherproof features, you might as well opt for one of the Stylus SW models and get true protection from the elements.
For an overview of similar cameras, see our chart of Top 10 Compact Cameras.

--Alan Stafford