The Canon SD850 IS is a compact but very capable point-and-shoot camera. It has several excellent features that not only complement its small size, but also make it ideal for toting around to capture images of your family wherever you are.

The Canon Digic III image processor that this camera uses is the very latest availible - it allows the camera to take picture after picture without slowing down. This feature also gives the camera face recognition, making sure that you focus on what is important the first time. These two together are a powerful pair for a camera designed to be ready to capture that moment instantly.

The SD850 IS has a 4x optical zoom, allowing you to get closer than most cameras in this category, and of course has the well-regarded Canon lens. To go along with this zoom, which in a small camera can cause blurring problems due to hands shaking, there is optical image stabilization. This allows the lens to correct for hand motion without using digital trickery that can affect image quality.

This excellent camera is a great all-around choice, and has features that complement any situation. The excellent Canon interface really makes a difference in the camera’s usability, and it has various modes to adapt to situations without losing sight of its point-and-shoot simplicity.