Choosing the right Canon IXUS shooter

The good: Great image quality; minimal shutter lag; speedy performance; optical image stabilization; face detection; optical viewfinder

The bad: No manual exposure controls; slow flash recycle time

The bottom line: Canon's IXUS 80 IS adds optical image stabilization to last year's hit IXUS 70, while delivering just as impressive image quality.

The good: Optical image stabilization; optical viewfinder; decent photos.

The bad: Poor shot-to-shot performance; small LCD; awkward design; no optical zoom in movie capture.

The bottom line: A solid compact snapshooter, the Canon IXUS 970 IS nevertheless disappoints when compared with its predecessors and line mates.

The good: Impressive performance and image quality; optical image stabilization; face detection.

The bad: No manual exposure controls; no optical viewfinder.

The bottom line: While the Canon Digital IXUS 860 IS doesn't have an optical viewfinder or manual exposure controls, it captures beautiful images with its wide, 3.8x optical zoom lens and ranks among the top compact cameras we've seen.

The good: Stylish retro design; optical image stabilizer; fast auto focus

The bad: Scroll wheel not intuitive; high noise level above ISO 800

The bottom line: Despite a paucity of features, the IXUS 90 feels substantial, thanks to its sturdy build, quirky controls, large screen and respectable picture quality.