Canon is not a fan of surprises, prefers incremental upgrades

Seems like if Canon has anything crazy up their sleeves, they’re saving it for NAB. Their releases for PMA are pretty tame, but as usual you can trust Canon for image quality and construction quality. Take a look at their line of point-and-shoots after the jump.

First up you’ve got your PowerShot A590IS and A580

A590IS:$180 A580:$150
The main difference between these two is the Optical Image Stabilization system in the blacker, more expensive one. The Optical vs Electronic debate will rage forever, I’m sure, but in a point and shoot either is welcome. Otherwise their specs are as follows:
8 megapixels, 4x optical zoom (35-140mm equivalent), 2.5″ LCD, face recognition, other features are lost in the PR babble.

Then, the A470:

$130, 7.1 megapixels, 3.4x optical zoom (38-132mm equivalent, slower lens), the rest is the same as above.
A cool thing about these Powershots is you can get a teleconverter, a wide-angle converter, or a macro converter that fits over the fixed lens. It’s a good idea for serious shooters who have to have one of these around for going out to parties but don’t want to lose that “I have a lens for that” feeling.

Powershot SD1100

$250, 8 megapixels, 3x optical zoom (38-114mm equivalent), 2.5″ LCD screen, Optical Image Stabilization
This svelter, thinner little thing sports OIS in a smaller package, but loses a bit of zoom. It’s got more or less the same feature set as the others above when it comes to face recognition and so on, so you’re paying for portability.

Sounds like the A590IS is the best deal here, but if you need something a little thinner you’ve got no choice but to go with the SD110 because the A470 looks chubby, kind of like your mom.