Canon PowerShot SD780 IS (Digital IXUS 100 IS)

Opinion: I've used this camera for over 2-years and like it for its portability. This thing is really small and easy to use.

The image quality is good, but not great. Movie mode is good for shooting 720p HD movies which is what I use this for a lot of time. It's very convenient to shoot video of kids at home.

Doesn't have a lot of zoom, but is adequate for indoor pictures. One downside is the optical zoom does not work when shooting video.

Opinion: -Great photos
-great videos 720p

Opinion: This camera is nothing but awesome. It's truly the camera you want to take with you each and each time, since it is so small, credit card size. It's nicely rounded and buttons and lens well protected if not in use. Used together with CHDK RAW this camera to me is as good as the G9 I had, but sold because of it's size and Weight. The 780IS RAW files don't need any sharpening and are pretty clean and crisp. Using iso 200 as standard iso. Shows some noise then, but beautiful noise. The only drawback I could think off: it's too small, but once you get used to it, it grows on you.

Opinion: This replaced a Casio Z750. Very happy with the image quality, small size, decent HD video, and optical viewfinder. Much better indoors with flash that the Panasonic TZ7 I tried

Opinion: After a year, this is still the best of the pocket cameras.
Elegant black metal case, solid build quality. Plenty of
image size to work with, excellent image quality for the
pixel density. 720p HD video a big plus. And can't praise
Canon enough for keeping a pocket model with an optical
viewfinder. Quality for the price is so good that I bought
second as a gift.

Opinion: I use this camera almost exclusively underwater with the WP-DC31 housing, the exposure control and color representation are excellent. The 20mm macro combined with the HD video allows me to capture stunning footage of creatures in places I could not get into with a full size vieo camera.
Overall this camera is excellent for macro work as is, but because of the longish 35mm equivalent lens you will need an ikelite housing with a screw on wide angle lens and a strobe for wide angle photography.
Topside, its performance is ok, it takes excellent on camera black & white but color may need noise reduction in adobe lightroom if you use it in anything dimmer than a cloudy day.

Opinion: Outdoor photographers be warned! This camera may not perform at all in cooler temperatures. After being delighted with the quality of photographs on my SD450 for so many years, I thought it was time for an update, and selected the SD780 as its successor. Took it hiking in Arizona in December, where temperatures never dropped below freezing and condensation was not an issue, and within 30 minutes the camera lost the ability to focus. Landscape shots were completely blurred in both high and low light.

Thinking it was just a defective camera, I exchanged it for another one of the same model, and was once again disappointed. Returned from a ski trip in the mountains (again, temperatures around +3 degrees Celsius) with only 3 clear photos. I was so disappointed.

Living in a place where temperatures are near or below zero for 8 months of the year makes the SD780 essentially useless.

Opinion: Bought it primarily as a pocket HD video device.
Video quality is better than the pocket camcorders (Kodak Zi8, Flip Mino HD, Sony Bloggie PM5), plus you get real optical image stabilization and 3X optical zoom.

Image quality is not great, but maybe slightly better than what you get from other brands of the same size (except maybe Fuji Super CCD cameras which are better in my opinion). But for serious photography I would use my Canon DSLR or Sigma DP1 anyway.

It's surprisingly small in your hands, possibly thinnest AND smallest camera with an optical zoom.

I bought it 1 year after its introduction for a very low price, so I'm really satisfied with it.

Opinion: I wanted a small, but high quality camera with good video capabilities that would fit in my pocket without being annoying. I found this Canon SD780 at a Sears store for $199.00. At first, it was hard to get used to the controls and the photos were terrible, but after a week or so of using it, I have learned its quirks and now it is my favorite camera. The shutter response is very slow, but if you are not in a hurry to get the shot, then it will take an excellent photo. There are plenty of nice features on it. I will buy an extra battery for it in the near future. This is a fine camera and I highly recommend it.