Rated 
Canon SD870IS is a revelation in its class!
Huge beautiful 3" LCD, nonreflective screen, image stabilization, wide angle , SDHC AND MMC-HC compatibility, ultra fast startup/stop/shot transition times, intuitive controls, 1-handed operation
No optical viewfinder, paltry optical zoom, night capture noisy at ISO > 400, no dedicated aperture/shutter priority modes,
Posted Jan 10, 2008 - This camera is by far the best sub-$300 compact point shooter in its class bar none. From the large 3" LCD screen with great resolution to transflective screen to intuitive, user-friendly controls, to the classy and lightweight aluminum bezel and nice strong flash, this camera is suitable for use indoors or outdoors for a wide variety of purposes. I use it at parties and a recent outdoor graduation of my brother. My 65-year-old non-techie mom picked up this camera and within 15 minutes had figured out how to use the time-delay, turn off flash, turn on date-stamp, and change SD cards. That's saying a lot about how inherently intuitive this camera's control is. It's responsive to the light touch at the control wheel, but not overly so. Compared to the Sony cameras that use the touch-screen controls, this unit is more forgiving if the finger brushes against the wheel by accident. The viewfinder screen automatically rotates when transitioning from landscape to portrait modes. There is no optical viewfinder, but in a camera of this small size (fits my shirt pocket with ease) that has to be sacrificed for the big LCD screen. There is also no A/S priority modes, but IMHO Canon wisely left these manual modes out to appeal to this camera's intended customer.However, please note that while image stabilization works well with lower ISO settings (100-200), beyond 400 you will start noticing more blurring. This is more evident under low light, where all cameras of this class suffer. Compared to my older SD750 and the Sony Cybershot DSC-W200, the SD870IS's low light performance exceeds my expectation and produces decent shots at ISO 800 in a typical halogen-lighted dining room or fluorescent-lighted kitchen. Do not attempt to use this camera in a bedroom though, you will be disappointed. Compared to its all silver brethren, this black version offers only one important difference: it is compatible with both SDHC and MMC-HC cards. while the silver can only handle SD cards. This effectively allows me to use higher capacity 4gb and 8gb cards. I have tried to use this camera's movie mode and was surprised at its smooth framerate and VGA-quality picture. It will allow for continuous shots for those inclined to shoot fast action, even though the SD870IS is generally not intended for that purpose. For those who enjoy larger poster size prints, get the SD950IS. It has a smaller LCD screen (2.5") but is 12-megapixel compared to this camera's 8.0.
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Blurry pictures without flash, color is off, neat close-up pics, face detection not great...
