Much better than I ever expected

Maybe this review isn't fair, since I've had it for such a short time. But from the time I picked up this gem, I was amazed. The form-factor was smaller than I expected, even after using it at the stores.

I read every possible bit of information on this camera online, including dpreview.com, amazon.com, cnet.com, etc. Every customer review, as well.

Most of the customers were dead-on in proclaiming this camera as best-in-class. I'm not too concerned of others who gave this camera such a low rating, because they either had a defective camera or don't know what they're talking about.

I would say that www.dpreview.com has the best review possible based on my experience with this camera as well, and all the pictures at www.amazon.com are testament to that.

Please read that review. Don't be too intimidated by all the "tech-speak" with ISO's, apertures, shutter speeds and white balances, etc. Also don't worry yourself over the supposed distortion created at the wide-angle of the lens. If there is any, it's unperceptible in normal prints. Maybe if you zoom and crop the edges you'd see some minor distortion, but it's certainly nothing to worry about.

Try to avoid anothing higher than ISO400, and only ISO800 in emergencies. Rely instead on using the flash if you're taking shots of moving subjects in low-light, or a lower ISO for stationary targets. The image stabilization on this is so well-done, you probably won't need a tripod for most of your shots.

I can't legitimately encourage a potential SD800IS buyer from buying this camera other than saying I have spent the last year intensively studying cameras and I don't think I could've gotten a better camera for the size, price and capabilities this camera has.