Destined to be a big hit is the new Canon PowerShot SD1100 IS. Style with substance is the name of the game with this alluring Digital Elph.

Let’s start with the style. There are five lively colors for the rounded aluminum body—Swing Silver, Pink Melody, Golden Tone, Bohemian Brown, and Rhythm & Blue. Fun, huh?

Now, the substance. The digital ELPH boasts an 8.0-megapixel sensor, a 3x optical zoom lens, and an Optical Image Stabilizer to minimize blur as the subject moves, but enhanced Canon Face Detection technology is what really makes it special. The DIGIC III image processor (borrowed from more high-end Canon cameras) facilitates Face Detection WB, which means that the Elph concentrates upon faces, not backgrounds. Press the shutter button halfway down and the faces in the scene are tracked, so your daughter’s face looks real, not the elephants on her blanket. Highlight one face among several in a scene, and the camera follows that person as she moves around.

The enhanced 2.5-inch LCD screen is easy to see even if viewed from an angle. Anti-reflective coating cuts down on glare and Night Display enhances viewing in low light.

So, if you’re looking for sharp images and quick action in an ultracompact, stylish package, the SD1100 is recommended. Available in early March.

Canon is showing the new EOS Rebel XSi at the current PMA 08 trade show and they should be proud. The 12.2-megapixel CMOS sensor reportedly captures images with amazing sensitivity, and the 14-bit A/D conversion offers smooth tones and gradations. When low light, high-ISO situations call for additional noise reduction, the XSi offers an optional extra level.

The roomy 3-inch LCD monitor on the XSi can be enhanced with Live View, which works in two auto-focus modes: Quick mode, which uses the camera’s 9-point AF system, and Live mode, which senses image contrast.

Two new optional functions are Highlight Tone Priority, which allows the more discerning camera bugs among us to increase the level of detail in bright areas without affecting exposure in the whole frame, and Auto Optimization, which lightens dark areas while making sure bright areas maintain clarity.

Your hyperactive toddler can be captured with 3.5 fps continuous shooting of up to 53 high-res JPEGs or 6 RAW images at a time. Other new features include spot metering, external flash settings on the camera menu, new higher-magnification viewfinder, higher capacity battery, and the use of SD and SDHD cards.

The Rebel XSi will be available in April. Choose body or kit. The kit consists of the XSi body and new EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS lens with Optical Image Stabilizer. Each is available in black or silver finish.

There are people who see digital photography as a mere hobby, something to do to pass the time, a way to capture memories of baby’s first step and that night out in the Lower East Side. . Then there are people who see digital photography as a passion, as a way of life. People who feel driven to capture beautiful images of the world around them. For those people, they need a bit more than your standard point and shoot.

What they need is a camera built with them in mind, a camera like the Nikon D300 SLR 12.3 Megapixel Digital Camera. It’s not dainty, by any stretch, but this thing is bulky for a reason: it’s filled to the gills with features. It comes with one lens, but you can buy more if you want to get more zoom power out of the camera. It has a super-high density 3-inch screen on the back for checking out your pictures, and its burst mode can take up to 8 frames per second, allowing you to pick out exactly which moment you want to keep captured. And those are just the tip of the iceberg, but if you’re a passionate photographer, you already know you want this.

PMA is an annual trade show for the photo-imaging industry. What it means for you, however, is NEW CAMERAS! This year’s unofficial theme is “more features for less money”. PMA 08 starts on January 31, but new cameras are already being announced. Here are a few of the choicer models, with features that caught our attention:

Nikon Coolpix S520 — has Food Mode for close-ups of your favorite culinary creation without using flash.

Nikon Coolpix D60 — boasts split-second shutter response and the ability to take up to 3 pictures per second for as many as 100 consecutive JPEG images. Also includes active dust reduction, which consists of four frequencies which vibrate the image sensor’s low-pass filter, dislodging dust particles.

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