I'm thinking about replacing my Canon A95 with a new smaller pocket size camera. I've seen a few reports saying Sony actually had better ultra slim cameras than Canon or Nikon.

I've seen some PowerShot SD models that I thought were really nice but haven't seen any Sonys or Nikons yet. Looking to spend around $300.

Any suggestions?
TIA

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JoeM

I'm still a fan of my Casio Exilim EX-S600. It's pretty darn thin. About the size of my wallet. [www.amazon.com]
It's a few years old now so there is probably something thinner, but I would look into Casio at least.

That segment is so flooded with cameras that I can't tell where to begin.
Walked into a camera store and there are a ton of small PandS.
What I want is near instant on-to-photo speed. And durability next. Ruggedness.

I wouldn't consider the Canon SD models "ultra slim", but they are my favorite small pocket size cameras especially the SD880.

We've owned two Casio Exilim models which were very slim. The first one (EX-Z750) gave us great photos but crapped out with a lens error shortly after 1 year. The second one (EX-S60 I believe) for my daughter gives us ok quality photos, but has pretty poor battery life.

I'd consider the current Sony T series. I like the non-protruding lens aspect and the very slim size. But all things considered, the picture quality won't match the Canon SD series.

Love my canon SD 800IS. Tough, small and takes great photos.

Make sure you get the IS version whatever you do. It is worth the extra dough.

I've been looking into them for about 2 years now but my old (fat) camera won't break yet! In any case, the more expensive Sony ultraslim cameras have been leading the pack for image quality for a while now (approaching and surpassing many regular P&S cams for IQ).

The middle and lower end Sonys are not quite as good and give the same IQ as most of the other brands. I like Canon cameras for the most part but their ultra slims don't compete as well. I also don't like the Sony-only memory sticks but getting a 4GB one is no longer the expense it once was...

I just bought my wife a Nikon 630S P&S. It is 12MP with 7x optical zoom. She's only had a couple of days to play with it, but she seems to like it. It has lots of options and seems to power up quickly. It replaced a 5MP Kodak. It retails for $279, was on sale for $250 (typical price) and ended up costing about $220 after using a Staples coupon.

Certainly don't know that this is best, but the video quality for the small size isn't too shabby - [www.cabel.name]

Can we get over the 'oh no it's got xd/ms/sd/cf' card complaints? They're all the same price, and that price is pretty darn cheap compared to what it used to be, and shouldn't really be a deciding factor. [ / rant ]

Thanks all, I've read that the Sonys are producing the best images of these type but noticed that the Nikons have 7x optical zoom as opposed to a typical 3 or 4 for the Canons.

I've noticed higher ISOs on them but are any of these better at dim lit/ night photos? That is one area that my Canon A95 is pretty poor at, even with a tripod.

Also, would like some video (doesn't have to be great). I saw a Canon(SD780?) that had 720HD video.

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JoeM

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Certainly don't know that this is best, but the video quality for the small size isn't too shabby - [www.cabel.name]

Can we get over the 'oh no it's got xd/ms/sd/cf' card complaints? They're all the same price, and that price is pretty darn cheap compared to what it used to be, and shouldn't really be a deciding factor. [ / rant ]

Just saw your link, thanks! That is pretty decent video!

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JoeM

After reading a ton of reviews, I decided on the Canon SD880 IS.

After a rash of lens errors and broken retractable lenses (mostly damaged in pocketbooks, not pockets) I've purchased or helped purchase a few Olympus 1030sw for neices and 1 for my mom.
I don't own one, but no one has brought me any camera problems for a long time.

A little heavy in a shirt pocket, but does anyone really do that for any length of time ?
XD cards (hey, they're not always easy to find)