SD800IS vs SD870IS

[lexstar]

Hi all,

looking for a compact camera for my mum, and ive come to these 2 so far,

I know one is the predecessor for the other, but im wondering how much better/worse is the 870 over the 800?

would it be worth the extra $40-$50 in price?

Thoughts appreciated,

thanks

[David Metsky]

The main difference between the two cameras is the SD870 has a 3" LCD vs the 2.5" LCD on the SD800. But the SD870 doesn't have an optical view finder (there's no room) while the SD800 does. To me, that was the important difference and I bought the SD800 since I only shoot through the view finder.

Beyond that there's little difference. You have to decide if the optical view finder is something that you find important or if you prefer the larger LCD.

[lexstar]

ah alrite, so looks like screen size and optical viewfinder are the only main differences.

Do both have the same megapixels?

also picture quality comparable?

[David Metsky]

The SD800 is 7.2 MP, the SD870 is 8 MP, which means you won't be able to tell any difference in image quality. The other features added to the 870 are in camera red eye removal and enhanced face detection. This is all covered in the review of the SD870 - http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/canon/powershot_sd870-review/