Of course, the biggest benefit of the SD800 is the 28mm/35mm equivalent wide angle lens. The wide angle is especially useful to those who photograph mountains and other wide vista scenes, for photographing exterior and interior real estate and for taking group photos.

Some claim image quality and color is slightly better than the SD700. I’ve studied images from both cameras and think those folks need to get a life!

CONS

SD800 corner softness

Early images take with the SD800 appear to have a lof of corner softness when shooting at the wideset angle. Some potential buyers have stated that the softness if so unacceptable that they will not buy the camera. In reality, if you don’t make huge prints, it should not be a concern to most.

Slow flash recycle time

Here’s what I do to improve the flash recycle time:

• set my flash to force flash, not auto flash.
• use fully charged batteries for the best flash performance.
• do a couple of low level formats each month to keep my SD cards in top shape.
• If need be, I up the ISO to 400 and/or use Fine instead of SuperFine for compression at full resolution.
• use a high speed memory card.
  

PROS

Face Recognition

Many have given high marks to the Face Recognition, that finds faces in a scene and adjusts focus and exposure accordingly. The technology is especially useful for those who want to use the camera as a true point and shoot. Works best in bright light; not at all if people are looking away from the camera.

Safety Zoom

The SD800 has a “Safety Zoom” - when using the digital zoom you’re given a warning if you zoom beyond the point where image quality will be degraded. If you lessen image resolution, the more you can use the digital zoom without degradation (to a point).