Digital Home Thoughts: PowerShot SD970 IS, HD Video Now Added to Mix

"Cool curves, powerful features and a fun new way to operate the camera mark Canon's PowerShot SD970 IS Digital ELPH. Amazing resolution and expanded editing options are yours with 12.1 megapixels, and you can even create HD movies. Shooting is fun and easy with Smart AUTO that makes all your shots better effortlessly, and there's a new user-friendly interface. And see how much fun it is to browse through your photos and even speed up image advance with a shake or tilt of the camera!"

Similar to my earier post I'm thrilled to see that Canon has finally added 720p video capture, and they've done it across multiple models. I've always found Canon's point and shoot product line up baffling, and they continue to confuse everyone by releasing the SD970 IS, a camera that has 5x optical zoom, a 12.1 megapixel image sensor, a three-inch display, 720p video capture, and a MSRP price of $379.99 USD. Then there's the slightly older SD990 IS, which is $20 more expensive, and boasts 14.7 megapixels, but only VGA video. So, the more expensive model with the higher model doesn't have everything the less expensive, cheaper model has. Well, at least Canon is consistent in making things confusing.

The PowerShot SD970 IS is expected to be available in April of 2009, at which point I'll try to pick one up immediately. I guess that shows how I really feel about my Panasonic DMC-TZ5 - it's just a bit too big, and the photo quality isn't that great. The 720p video and 10x optical zoom rock though, which is why I've tended to carry it. I'm willing to lose 5x on the optical zoom if it means better photos - which I presume the Canon will deliver.