The Canon Powershot SD700 IS almost turns in an excellent performance for an ultra-compact cameras. It does produce well-focused images with accurate exposure, low image noise and good color but its ultra-compact lens lets it down with the usual corner-softness, barrel distortion and inexcusable vignetting. Less important weaknesses, include a weak flash and poor battery life.

Compared to the excellent SD550, the SD700 not only trades one megapixel of resolution of a slightly greater zoom but looses flash power and optical quality. However, it does gain stabilization which counterbalances the weaker flash, but does nothing for the vignetting. As such the SD550 is still generally a better choose.

Several ultra-compact cameras do much better than this digital camera, most notably the recently-reviewed Fuji Finepix F30 which produces sharper images without vignetting and with much less image noise. The F30 also sports ISO sensitivities up to 3200, a battery life of 580 shots-per-charge and semiautomatic exposure modes. Another superior and cheaper alternative to the Canon Powershot SD700 IS is the excellent Fuji Finepx F10 which produces images of outstanding quality for an ultra-compact.