Compare and rate Canon SD900, SD800IS and Canon SD850IS

Question from Aninda: Please compare and rate Canon SD900, SD800IS and Canon SD850IS. Which one would be the best buy option ?

Answer from Matt:
I think I say this every time, but it depends on what you're looking for. Between the SD900 and SD850IS, get the SD850IS, no questions. Between the SD800IS and SD850IS, there are a few key differences, and I've noted them in a different question thread. In conclusion, there are two key differences you need to decide on before choosing:

The SD800IS has a wide-angle (28mm) lens, allowing you to fit more into your picture at the same distance. This, IMHO, is much more valuable than getting a few mm zoom at the far end, since you can always crop your pictures after they're on your computer. If you don't care about this wide-angle (I suggest trying the two models out in the store to see if it makes a difference to you), then stop reading this and go get the SD850IS :)

The SD850IS has 8MP over the SD800IS's 7.1MP. Now, although this isn't a big difference, it will let you crop a little more in post-processing, and a sharp image will be sharper if you process pictures at the 16"x24" size. If you just plan on 4"x6" pictures, you won't see any difference at all. Again, you may want to opt for the SD800IS at that point, too.

Both cameras have the updated DIGIC processor, allowing for faster picture taking and start-up speeds, longer battery life (not that significant, but longer nonetheless), and better continuous shooting speeds (1.7fps for the SD800IS and 1.3fps for the SD850IS). Both cameras have great video capability, 640x480 at 30fps, using about 1.7MB/sec at this high quality. The image stabilization really helps the movie quality, as it's not bouncing all over the place with hand movements.

I can't pick between these two. In my opinion, the wide-angle offers so much more versatility that I chose the SD800IS. That's not to say it's the better camera, it just happened to suit me better. Like I said earlier, if you don't care about the wide-angle, go for the SD850IS, it's an amazing camera.

If you want to read general specs, check out this site:
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Canon/canon_sd850is.asp

I'm not a fan of the SD900 for one big reason: You're paying for a basic camera that crammed 10MP into its 1/2.5" CCD. Although you can get some stunning pictures in good lighting, shoving those extra MP into the same CCD causes a lot of problems in lower light. There needs to be an advance in CCD technology (ie, fit a bigger one in the same size ultracompact frame). Don't be sold on megapixels - once you pass about 6MP, all the pictures start looking the same for all intents and purposes.