Christmas Countdown Day 6 Ultracompact Digital Camera

You can not go wrong giving or receiving a camera on Christmas Day and with such a wide range of options in size and resolution of digital cameras today; here are a couple of options in the ultracompact category.

Ultacompact digital cameras are those that are small enough to fit into shirt pockets but do not skimp on options or photo quality

The Canon PowerShot SD800 IS is one of several ultracompacts from Canon. It is stylish, slim and offers a wide-angle lens with 7.1 megapixels, that according to CNET produces ‘very good photos with a snappy performance’. CNET rate this camera as 7.8 out of 10.
Features of the PowerShot SD800 IS:
Weight 5.3 oz
Measures 3.5 in x 1 in x 2.3 in
Resolution 7.1 megapixels
Light Sensitivity ISO 80, ISO 100, ISO 200, ISO 400, ISO 800, ISO 1600, ISO auto Digital Zoom 4 x
Frame movie mode
Shooting Programs: Snow, Beach, Indoor, Foliage, Aquarium, Fireworks, Underwater, Kids & pets, Digital macro, Portrait mode, Stitch assist, Night snapshot
Shutter Speed 1/1600 sec Min Shutter Speed 15 sec X-sync Speed 1/500 sec
Exposure Metering Spot, Evaluative, Center-weighted Exposure Modes Manual, Program, Automatic Exposure Compensation ±2 EV range, in 1/3 EV steps White Balance Custom, Presets, Automatic White Balance Presets Cloudy, Daylight, Fluorescent, Tungsten light, Fluorescent light (daylight)
Flash Memory 16 MB Flash - SD Memory Card Floppy Drive None Image Storage Type Zoom lens - 4.6 mm - 17.3 mm - F/2.8-5.8 Focal Length 4.6 mm - 17.3 mm Lens

The Canon PowerShot SD800 IS retails for around $240


The Cyber-shot DSC-T20 from Sony is another good option. Again it has a slim sleek design that offers face detection; optional HD output and fast performance. This 8.1 megapixel camera gets 7.4 out of 10 from CNET.
Features of the Cyber-shot DSC-T20:
Weight 4.5 oz
Measures 3.5 in x 0.9 in x 2.2 in
Resolution 8.1 megapixels
Light Sensitivity ISO 80, ISO 100, ISO 200, ISO 400, ISO 800, ISO 1600, ISO 3200 Digital Zoom 2 x
Frame movie mode
Shooting Programs: Snow, Soft, Beach, Fireworks, Landscape, Snap shot, Twilight mode, Hi-speed shutter, High sensitivity, Magnifying glass, Twilight portrait Special effects Sepia, Vivid, Neutral, Black & White
Max Shutter Speed 1/1000 sec Min Shutter Speed 1 sec
Exposure Metering Spot, Multi-segment, Center-weighted Exposure Modes Program, Automatic Exposure Compensation ±2 EV range, in 1/3 EV steps White Balance Presets, Automatic White Balance Presets Flash, Cloudy, Daylight, Incandescent, Fluorescent light (daylight), Fluorescent light (cool white), Fluorescent light (warm white)
Digital video format MPEG VX Still Image Format JPEG
Integrated Memory 31 MB
Flash Memory Memory Stick Duo, Memory Stick PRO Duo

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T20 retails for around $260


Holiday Gift rating: 4 Stars