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The Canon SD990 IS is the only pocket camera with an optical viewfinder and manual shooting control worth buying. Or, really, available at all.

(Credit: Canon)

Read through the user reviews of point-and-shoot cameras on CNET and you'll come across a common question: where's the optical viewfinder? The answer is there aren't any. Well, almost any. Canon is basically the lone major manufacturer of compact cameras with optical viewfinders. And even its numbers are dwindling.

In Canon's current lineup of PowerShot Digital Elph and A-series models, there are just five models featuring the company's real image optical zoom viewfinder. If you want manual control over shutter speed and aperture, the only option is the 14.7-megapixel SD990 IS (and it's nearing the end of its life). (On the upside the SD990 can now be found for more than $100 less than its original $399.99 price, making it a much better purchase than when I originally reviewed it.)

Below is a listing of the five models that are still readily available at retail with links to their reviews. Generally, they're all very good cameras and at current prices I wouldn't hesitate to recommend any of them if you must have a viewfinder. If you want it to be powered by AA-size batteries, too, you're limited to the A-series models. Also, if you don't mind a larger, more advanced camera, Canon's PowerShot G11 and Nikon's Coolpix P6000 models both feature optical viewfinders.

Does the body color of a camera say anything about how it performs?

(Credit: Pentax)

On September 16, Pentax launched the K-x, an entry-level-ish digital SLR that it's offering in navy, red, white, and black versions. While different body colors are not unusual for point-and-shoot digital cameras, offering more than a black dSLR is still rare. (In fact, just Pentax and Sony offer color options, currently.)

Unfortunately, after testing many snapshot cameras available in a single color as well as those offered in several colors, I've developed a working theory that the more colors a camera comes in, the more likely there's something wrong with the model.

It's not the case with all cameras, but more often than not that's how things shake out. It's especially true if its available in more than four options and if the company has gone with two-word color names like flaming red or warm silver.

Want examples? Check out the Nikon Coolpix S220, the Canon PowerShot SD1200 IS, and the Casio Exilim EX-S5. The Nikon and Canon come in six different colors, the Casio in five. And all three of them have issues with performance, photo quality, or both. (Though, if forced to go with one, the SD1200 has the fewest issues.)

All of these are lower-end models, too, which brings me to my next point: expensive point-and-shoot cameras come in three colors or fewer, and usually only in one: black. Serious photographers only buy black cameras, right?

Which brings me back to the Pentax K-x. The camera colors are definitely refreshing and will likely get people questioning you on the street. They also make the K-x more approachable for those switching from a pocket camera, which fits its entry-level status. But would you take someone seriously if they were shooting with a bright red digital SLR? I'm leaning toward "no." Much like laptops, colorful cameras are great until you want to be taken seriously.

The Canon PowerShot S90 is the little camera made for pros

(Credit: Joshua Goldman/CNET)

Yes, there was great disappointment that no new digital SLRs were announced by Canon on Wednesday--only PowerShots. However, I was not one of the disappointed as I love point-and-shoot cameras of all shapes, sizes, and capabilities. And Canon delivered exactly that.

Though the SX20 IS and SX120 IS are only minor upgrades to their predecessors, the G11, SD980 IS, and SD940 IS all have major tweaks separating them from their previous iterations.

What was probably supposed to be the big "oh wow" camera, however, was the reintroduction of the PowerShot S series in the form of the S90. Based off of the high-end functionality of the PowerShot G-series cameras, it has several cool features including a 28mm-equivalent wide-angle f/2.0 lens with a 3.8x optical zoom, a customizable control ring around the lens for easy access and operation of manual or other shooting settings, and RAW+JPEG capture--all in a body that can fit right in your pocket.

Read more about the cameras and check out some hands-on photos in the slide shows below.

Lastly, in case you're more into camcorders than cameras, Canon announced one new HD model, the HF S11.

Canon PowerShot G11 photos

Canon PowerShot S90--photos

The funny thing about the Canon PowerShot A2100 IS is that I like it more than its barely different predecessor, the A2000 IS for basically one reason: it's black instead of a boring two-tone gray.

The size and shape are the same. They both run on AA batteries. They both have bright 3-inch LCDs on back and a 6x zoom lens on front with optical image stabilization. Yet, the change from gray to black makes the camera look like it performs better. (Sadly, they both have fairly mixed performance.)

So if you don't care about the body color, why go with the A2100 for $50 more? Well it has Canon's Digic 4 processor for better face detection among other things, a 12-megapixel resolution compared to the A2000's 10 megapixels, and the A2100 has Canon's Smart Auto scene recognition.

However, both cameras take excellent photos regardless. (At least below ISO 200, that is.) It's just that you can do a little more cropping with the extra resolution on the A2100.

And it is black.

Canon PowerShot A2100 IS photos and review

Readily available for less than $170 is the Canon PowerShot A2000 IS. Released late in 2008, it's a 10-megapixel camera with a 6x optical zoom and a 3-inch LCD (sorry, no viewfinder).

It's small enough to fit in a jacket pocket or small bag, but because it runs on two AA batteries, it's a little on the heavy side. The A2000 is also not all that exciting to look at or loaded with features.

It's a basic point-and-shoot, so if you're looking to set shutter speed and aperture, you'll need a different camera. The closest it comes is a Program mode giving you control over ISO, white balance, exposure compensation, and color. But if you just want to take a good picture without worrying about settings, that's what the A2000 IS does best.

Read the full review of the Canon PowerShot A2000 IS or check out reviews of other pocketable megazoom cameras.

Canon PowerShot A2000 IS photos

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

Canon released a service note detailing a notable but infrequently and randomly occurring artifact in photos shot with certain PowerShot G10s: lines. If you've seen these and wondered at them, wonder no more, and contact Canon for your free repair. It turns out our evaluation unit fell into the relevant serial number range, but none of my test photos displayed this problem. Whew.

(Credit: Canon USA)

I'm surprised it didn't happen sooner, but Canon has finally decided to enter the market for rugged point-and-shoot cameras. It's kind of odd looking--I think it looks like a submarine--but according to the company the PowerShot D10 is freezeproof down to down to 14 degrees, shockproof up to a 4-foot drop and submersible up to 33 feet. Canon will offer interchangeable face plates and other accessories to match the camera to your adventure outfit du jour.

On a more prosaic note, the D10 has a 12-megapixel CCD, 3X zoom lens and all the automation features bestowed by the company's Digic 4 processor. Though it's one of the few PowerShots that doesn't bear "IS" in the name, it nevertheless has optical image stabilization. It will cost a competitive $329.99 when it ships in early May, too late for me to subject it to a NYC winter. I guess I'll just have to take a beach vacation to test it.

Canon PowerShot SD960 and SD970 IS photos

Some years it seems like Canon makes no real changes to its designs. Then there's 2009. Almost every camera the company has announced thus far looks significantly different from its predecessors as well as completely unlike its linemates. Unsurprisingly, this is most evident in the new PowerShot ultracompacts.

At the top of the pack is the SD970 IS, which replaces the SD890 IS. While many of the SD models retain their optical viewfinders, the SD970 forgoes one in favor of a larger LCD, 3 inches up from 2.5. Since I complained about the small LCD in my review of the SD890--in fact, I disliked a lot about that camera--it'll be interesting to see if this radical reconception fares any better. This model uses the same lens, but bumps up from 10 megapixels to 12 and adds 720p movie capture. And we can probably blame the iPhone and its ilk for Canon's new Active Display...umm..feature, which allows you to scroll photos during playback by shaking the camera. Is it just me, or will that get old really fast?

In a confusing nomenclature decision, Canon is replacing the SD880 IS, its wide angle ultracompact, with the SD960 IS. The SD960 has the same 4X wide angle zoom lens (28-112mm equivalent) but increases resolution from 10 megapixels to 12 megapixels, adds 720p movie capture and exchanges a 3-inch standard-aspect LCD for a 2.8-inch wide-aspect one.

Canon PowerShot SD780 IS photos

The SD780 IS replaces the SD770 IS with a thinner and much more striking design--normally I love red cameras but the SD780's relentless lipstick red with pink typography just scares me--but modestly updated specs of 12 megapixels and 720p movie capture.

Canon Powershot SD1200 photos

Finally, the SD1100 IS gets an uplift to the SD1200 IS, with a 10-megapixel sensor, a jump from 8. It has a somewhat boxier new design, and hot colors like orange and green take the place of last year's earth tones.

All of the cameras incorporate Canon's Digic 4 processor, and take advantage of the improved automation for features like automatic scene detection and face-detection-related tasks.

The $379.99 SD970 IS will ship in April. The $329.99 SD960 IS, $279.99 SD780 IS and the $229 SD1200 IS should appear in March. Though none of the cameras scream "this is going to be hot!" at me right now, I am looking forward to seeing which of the new designs succeed and which ones look better than they work.

(Credit: Canon USA)

Though it's long been a player in the megazoom market, Canon has tended to lag behind in lens lengths. With the replacement to the PowerShot S5 IS, it looks like that, as well as the model naming, is about to change. The PowerShot SX10 IS jumps to 20x zoom from the S5's 12x and takes the market lead in zoom reach.

Here's how it stacks up to the competition:

(Credit: Canon USA)

With the new lens, sensor, and body redesign, it's very much a new camera. I'm glad to see that Canon opted to keep the flip-and-twist LCD. The move to a Digic 4 image processor theoretically improves Face Detection, and adds Servo AF, Face Detection Self-Timer, and Intelligent Contrast Correction. The switch to a new lens makes this model an unknown with respect to photo quality, but otherwise it looks promising and quite competitive. It's slated to ship in October.