Canon SD450 vs. Panasonic FX9 vs. Casio EX-S500 for family photos

[jpronan]

Hello,
I have been looking for an ultra-compact camera for family photos - a lot of indoor photography. Photo quality is somewhat important, but since I will rarely be making prints any larger then 5x7 I'm not sure how much I should worry about noise and sharpness.

Also, I am really interested in getting a 1gb memory card and using the movie mode, since I rarely remember to bring my camcorder with me.


Canon SD450 - Has a strong flash for indoor photography, but I have read quite a few people complaining about "dark corners" in their photos with this camera. Also, the lack of image stabilization may make the movie function less useable.

Panasonic FX9 (or FX8) - Has optical image stabilization, but everyone complains of the noise in the photos. I read one person who said "this is not a good low light camera." Will the noise be a factor when printing in the 4x6 or 5x7 format? Also, the Panasonic records movies in MOV format instead of AVI. How much of a down side is that?

Casio S500 - Is the smallest of the lot, and has a really interesting movie mode that allows you to records the previous 5 seconds (almost like TIVO for real life). The photo quality is apparently not as good as the Canon and probably not as good as the Panasonic, but will I notice when I am only printing family photos?


Any input is greatly appreciated...

[coldrain]

The FX8 is to prefer over the FX9 because its sensor is a lot less noisy. It has 5mp compared to the FX9's 6mp, not a big difference and gives better results.