For some time now I've been looking for the best small digital camera. I wanted a point and shoot, to carry around when I don't have the Nikon D80 with me. I wanted something small, with image stabilization, optical zoom, plus very good shutter speed.

In the end, after all the research I've done I decided to go either with the Canon SD 870, 850 IS or the G9. They all take very good photos, crispy and light, with a good IS. You can even zoom in and the images will still be sharp. If you take those photos at ISO 400, they will end up with less noise or the same noise as a D80.

The cameras I just mentioned are small and quite good. The Canon 870IS is a small camera, which can fit easily in the pocket. The 850 was a present I made to some relatives of mine during the holidays and they are extremely satisfied with the photos it takes. As for G9, it's a camera that can shoot videos as well, and it's one of my favorites so far.

The prices of the cameras I mentioned so far:

Canon Powershot G9: $500, with an optical zoom of 6x and 12.1 megapixels

Canon Powershot SD870IS, that has 8 megapixels, a 3.8x optical zoom, at a price of $624

Canon Powershot SD950IS, priced at $400, with a 12.1 megapixel resolution and 3.7 optical zoom

Canon Powershot SD 850 IS, at $300, with 4x zoom and 8 megapixels

Another digital camera that was suggested to me was the Olympus SP-570UZ. After looking around for a bit, I think it's a camera that can be carried easily when you want to take a photo without carrying a DSLR with you. The camera has a good sensor, very good zoom, image stabilization and a large aperture. The price is also OK, at a price around $400 - 500. This version is the third that was launched in this series.

The storage of the Olympus SP-570UZ can be done on xD cards, which you need to buy separately. The camera also ships with editing software, which is called Olympus Master 2. I especially like the 20x optical dual image zoom. The 10 megapixel resolution makes sure that you can print photos at a 18 x 24 inch size.

Some of the technologies that come with the camera are dual image stabilization, face detection, perfect shot preview and shadow adjustment technology.

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