About a month ago I purchased the Canon PowerShot SD870 IS digital camera after reading favorable reviews at many different sites. I bought it just in time to take it on a 2 and a half week vacation in Eastern Europe. I was sick of my faulty old camera (the Olympus Stylus 710, which I’ll review in another entry).

I am amazed with my new camera. I have to admit that I had a bias against Canon (and towards Olympus) for many years, but my last Olympus camera was really disappointing. The SD870 IS has a beautiful screen that is clearly visible even under bright sunlight. In fact, the screen is so amazing that pictures actually look better on it then some older computer screens. Most importantly, the pictures it takes are simply stunning. Out of the 400 pictures I took, very few were overexposed (the camera seems to be able to overcome most of the bad effects of direct sunlight) and not a single one came out blurry. My dad had a 5 year old camera that he has been very satisfied, but as soon as I showed him some of my pictures he immediately decided to get a new one himself.

The camera turns on fast enough to snap spur of the moment shots, and the interface is extremely easy to use. One feature I love is that the camera can take pictures where everything is in black and white except for a color that you’ve selected, which creates very artistic looking pictures. -I’m sure you’ve seen other Canon owners do this.

My favorite feature of the camera is it’s wide-angle lens. I’ve been wanting this sort of thing in a camera for as long as I can remember because I like taking expansive shots of plazas or buildings. I figured I would have to get a massive 35mm camera, and I never expected this out of a pocket-sized digital camera. You will be amazed at how close you can stand next to a building and still fit the whole thing in one frame.

After heavily using my camera for about three weeks (50+ pictures/ day), I have no complaints and only praise for it. I’m not sure how long the battery life is, but I went days without charging it and never saw the battery icon drain. At only 300 dollars (less on Amazon), I would recommend this camera to everyone.