Used Canon ELPH SD1100 IS Digital Point & Shoot Camera

As a travel writer I spend a lot of time at Walt Disney World, and Canon PowerShot Digital Elphs are the most common cameras I see. Families seem to love them, because they're so easy to carry and operate. About the size of a deck of playing cards, each of these "pocket cameras" really do slip right into a pants pocket, and their rectangular designs make them easy to grip. Best of all, they all take good photos. (How do I know? Because I've actually gotten to use every one of these models. Nearly every day guests ask me to take photos of them with their own cameras, which most often are Canon PowerShot Digital Elphs.)Here's my breakdown of the ten bestselling Digital Elph models. Any of the first six are superb choices:1ST PLACE: SD1100 IS (The camera on this page)An update to the SD1000 (see below), this 2008 8MP beauty adds image stabilization, a slightly longer zoom (38-114 mm), another MP of photo size and a small indent on the right side for a better grip. Plus it comes in colors! My daughter has a blue one and uses it every single day. During school days the image stabilization made a real difference in her on-the-bus shots. With that heavy of use hers has gotten scratched up a bit, but the marks are small and hardly noticeable.2ND PLACE: SD870 ISThe ELPH to buy if you want a wide-angle lens. Slightly thicker than the SD1100 IS, this 8MP model doesn't have an optical viewfinder which makes it tough to use in bright sunlight, otherwise there's little not to love. My husband uses one as a comp camera, to compose shots for the travel guide "The Complete Guide to Walt Disney World."3RD PLACE: SD770 ISJust released in May, this 10 MP model is, in a way, an update of the SD1100 IS (see above). I rate it lower because it has a plastic body and doesn't come in colors. On the other hand, it has a longer battery life than the 1100 and features an improved LCD screen that is very easy to view. As for photo quality, I can't tell the difference.4TH PLACE: SD950 ISThere's a lot to like in this 12.1 MP camera. First off, it's gorgeous. The body, though a little thick, is titanium. An upgrade to the SD850 IS (see below), it has a 3.7x zoom lens and adds manual controls as well as the ability to stitch together panoramic images. The only reason I don't rate it higher is the price.5TH PLACE: SD890 ISWant a long zoom lens? Here's your baby, a 10 MP model with a 5x zoom. Also has the new bright LCD screen and all the other 2008 Canon goodies. The most expensive Canon PowerShot ELPH.6TH PLACE: SD790 ISWith the same 10 MP image sensor and 3x zoom lens as the SD770 IS, this new model stands out only for its larger 3-inch LCD display and, as a result, lack of optical viewfinder. The rear controls are different, too, with a flatter design that uses fewer buttons.7TH PLACE: SD1000In my opinion there's no reason to buy this 7.1 MP model. Released in 2007, it's been replaced by the SD1100 IS (see above). The SD1000 is a fine camera but it doesn't have image stabilization, a key feature of the 2008 lineup.8TH PLACE: SD850 ISThe ancestor to the SD890 IS, this 8 MP Elph combines a 4x zoom and 8 MP photo size with an image stabilizer. Every button, dial and switch has a quality feel. Slighter larger than the other models here, it is a little tougher to pop in and out of your pocket, but if you have larger hands it may be just what you are looking for.9TH PLACE: SD800 ISThis 7.1 MP predecessor to the 870 doesn't focus well at its edges when set at its widest angle. Still, it's good training for someone who wants to compose like a pro.10TH PLACE: SD750The 2007 PowerShot flagship offers a light meter that adjusts for facial brightness, 17 shooting modes, some first-rate movie features and red-eye correction -- features that were innovative a year ago but are common in Canon's 2008 models. No image stabilization; no optical viewfinder.

The very camera + 8gb sdhc card + spare lenmar battery that I had ordered 9 days prior, and USPS, as always, drops it off on my front door step, on a busy street, for the entire world to see.Imagine this... It's 4:08pm, I'm in my hotel room 40 miles away from home relaxing. My girlfriend is a bridesmaid doing her thing with the bride. I just finished kicking off my shoes, putting things away in the room, and wolfing down a huge chicken sandwich. The wedding is scheduled for 6pm and will be taking place on a yacht in Newport Beach, CA. As in a boat that will be floating away from the dock at 6pm sharp. Meaning you had better be on time for this one!!Well imagine my disgust, when I decided to hop on mobile web 2.0, and login to my amazon account to check shipping status. USPS tracking sucks by the way, and best as I could tell, it would be here on Monday, not today (Saturday). NOPE! The magic words appeared right there on my cell phones tiny 3x2 inch screen..... DELIVERED. YAAAAAOOOUUCCCHHH!Boats departing in 1hr 52 minutes, I'm 40 miles away from home. What would you do? You guessed it, turbo mode ENABLED. I was dressed and on the road in less than 2 minutes! Needless to say I made excellent time, while simultaneously obeying all traffic laws.When I finally arrived at home, I was ecstatic to see the package sitting on my doorstep! It probably didn't sit too long, but believe me when I say this, in my neighborhood it would not have lasted long, certainly not overnight till the next afternoon!Well, NO TIME to familiarize, aka play with toy. I tore open the amazon package with the force and gusto of 100 rats. Strait to the charger & battery, I know what needs to be done. The charger & battery are on the wall, and I'm changing into my suit which I brought with me from the hotel. Sweat beads were building, and before long I had a full on sweat-a-thon on my hands. Unbelievable!A 15 minute charge is all I was able to muster. It was time to leave now, or I'd be left standing at the dock! I Grabbed the camera (8gb card inside) and the charger + battery pack off the wall. No time to be neat, all this stuff goes in my pockets, LETS GO ALREADY!!! Luckily I was able to plug the address into my nav phone, which was a total life saver on this day. However, I was 30 minutes away from the boat and not in a good position to make it on time. At this point I was really starting to worry.5:58pm and I'm stuck in horrifying traffic on Pacific Coast Hwy, just having got off the freeway, I was less than a quarter of a mile away!! It was at this point that I began to pray, you know the one. The "Dear Lord I'll do anything if...." prayer. Yeah that one. Well the Lord answered my prayer on this day. Even though I pulled into the wrong driveway. The driveway I was supposed to turn into was the previous one!!! I pulled into parking, and was VERY surprised to see my girlfriend pulling in right behind me! HUH! I beat YOU! WOW. So I helped her bring on board some parting gifts, and even though I was one of the last ones there, I was one of the first on the boat. Made it, unreal!There's still another dilemma here however, and this is I'm stuck with a camera I don't know anything about! Oh well, AUTO mode, and pray that "Point and Shoot" MEANS Point and Shoot! Luckily the layout of the camera is very user friendly, and it only took a few seconds to realize the basic functions of the camera. I also decided not to turn on the camera until it was time to shoot, because of the short charge time. One thing that did kinda irk me was the fact that red eye reduction is not set by default factory settings. So The night ended up with quite a few red eyed pics. The red eye could easily be removed in photoshop CS3 though.After going through the images the next day, I was extremely happy with the quality of the images. I left the camera in full auto mode that night, and will let the pictures speak for themselves. I was also very suprised that I took nearly 150 pictures on such a short 15-minute charge.I hope you enjoyed reading about my little dramatic experience, and hope you enjoy the pictures produced by this wonderful LITTLE camera.[...]The free print offer from shutterfly should come in handy!