Hmmm? Is it slow as a slow thing to AF and take a picture? Thats a big minus on the older models.

Well nearly amazon.com has it at $386.38. Would the UK consumers in the room please bend over.

The ixus series has, at least since the 6MPix the problem that the sharpness limitation does not come from the lack of pixels, but from the small optics.

I have a 6MPix model, and even in the best shooting conditions the sharpes edges have at least 3-4 pixels width.

There's no point buying 8MPix if you finally get more pixels but not more information...

'This simple feature can make such a difference if you're remotely serious about photography. If the sun's high and bright in the sky or simply reflecting off snow-covered slopes, the ability to actually see the LCD monitor can be critical in framing a shot.'

Now maybe you understand why an optical viewfinder is so important ! I rarely rely on the lcd monitor to frame the shot, I regard it as something that is useful to review the pic and only use it for framing when the viewfinder is impractical.