Canon PowerShot SD960 IS

Experts say the Canon PowerShot SD960 IS offers exactly what many budget-conscious buyers want in a camera: It's inexpensive, small, simple to use, shoots 720p HD video (with an HDMI-out port for easy viewing on your TV) and turns out decent photos, although testers do notice some blurring at the outer edges of the frame. It comes with a 12.1-megapixel CCD sensor and 4x optical zoom lens (28 mm to 112 mm). Unlike many others, it uses a 16:9 widescreen LCD display; this makes the camera shorter than usual (2.1 inches by 3.9 inches by 0.9 inches). Some testers like the 2.8-inch widescreen, while others say it's odd when you're not taking wide-angle shots.

Reliable reviewers also can't agree on the SD960 IS's photo and video quality (some find it surprisingly good, others mediocre) or battery life (PCMag.com's tester gets a week of heavy use out of one charge, while other experts and users say the battery life is nothing special). Overall, experts say the pricier Canon PowerShot S95 (*Est. $330) is a much better camera, with impressive photo and video quality and robust manual controls in a package that's nearly as small as the diminutive SD960. But if you're looking for something simpler and less expensive, users -- and some top experts -- say the Canon PowerShot SD960 IS is a fine choice.

We found lengthy expert reviews of the Canon PowerShot SD960 IS at Imaging-Resource.com and DigitalCameraReview.com, both illustrated with plenty of photos of the camera and by the camera. CNET and PCMag.com both include short video reviews. This camera gets plenty of owner feedback at Amazon.com.