Hey guys I'm buying one of these for my first ever digital cameravery soon, but I'm struck between which one to get. Whats the main differences between these two, they seem very similar... Any difference in pic quality? The only difference I know of is the 3' lcd on the 870 vs 2.5' lcd on the 850 and the optical viewfinder on the 850. I need help making that final decision, thx.

-alex

swimm3r137 wrote: I have both . Your right about the lcd and the optical viewfinder on the 850 , I prefer the 850 for having that peephole in sunny weather its hard to see eithers lcd screen also its build is slightly better than the 870 imo the battery cover for example is twice as strong the one on the 870 is toy town thin plastic,:?

we bought the 870 for the wider 28mm lens but its a lot shorter on the long end and it will be personal choice which sort of camera you preferI found I do not miss the wider 28mm on the 870 ,but do miss the longer lens on the 850 , The screen on the 870 is a little bigger but the controls are morecramped and plastic material the slider on the top of the 870 is cheap lookingplastic and not up to elf/ixus camera standard imo ,New ones are getting worse built imo like the A series too much plastic, Photo output very good though in both cameras, I returned a G9 because no better photos really ,Itsjust that the 850 seems more Rolls Royce the 870 just about Bmw quality, Get the 850 is my advice . See "Ken rockwells" take on the 850 and other canons( google search "ken rockwell ") very good opinions and funny:lol:on lots of cameras,Rodo !

just my opinion bad grammer sorry.