Everyone knows, that technology shrinks everything, and digital camera technology is no exception. The small, the better . . . right? Wrong! Smaller is not necessarily better, it's just smaller. Consumers have a preoccupation with small though. Ever since Captain Kirk said "beam me up Scott" and Dick Tracey started sporting his little video phone wrist watch, people have been fascinated with technology gone small. Digital photography continues to follow the trend, and I can't help but tag along.
We're going to say away from the whole ultra tiny "James Bond" type spy camera stuff for now, so you'll have to read elsewhere if you want to keep tabs on that wandering spouse of yours. I digress. Let's concentrate on the ultra compact / pocket sized / sub compact digital cameras with nice big LCD screens that take really nice images.
There are quite a few to choose from in this category, as all the big manufacturers like to play in this retail sandbox. Canon, Sony, Nikon, Pentax, Olympus and Kodak all have some nice models here. One of the most popular, has to be the Canon SD1000 Digital Elph Camera. It's been the number one ultra compact with many of the online retailers for some time now. The Olympus Stylus 790SW brings an interesting twist to this niche with a freeze proof, water proof, and shock proof camera. As if that wasn't enough, it's also available in black, lime, blue, orange, and boring old silver. Its not only tough but fun too.
