Point, Shoot, Review

So I'm in the market for a new point-and-shoot camera.  Something to carry around when I don't want to schlep a bag full of camera gear (surprisingly often).  While I was in Oregon a couple of weeks ago, I went on a hike with my dad and my brother.  The location, for those who need to know such things, was the Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge.  Now isn't that a mouthful?  While on the hike, I hijacked my dad's  Canon Powershot SD 950 IS.  The IS stands for image stabilization.  Seriously, they can put that in a little point and shoot camera for a few hundred bucks?  Wow. 

Since I'm contemplating purchasing one of these titanium encased babies, I decided to poke around the settings and see what all I could make it do with depth of field, macro, color settings, etc.  Overall, I like this version of the Powershot (Canon makes a bevy of different models), but found the dial on the back took a little while to get use too.  Image quality seems good, and I like the various preset color settings.  Most of the time, when using one of these kinds of cameras, I shoot on auto anyway, but I like having the various features available.  My favorite acronym for these cameras is PHD for Push Here Dummy.  I always love it when someone hands me a small camera and then proceeds to tell me how to take the photo.  "Oh, you mean I push this big button?"  But I digress.  I've stuck some of my favorite photos from the hike below.  Let me know what you think.  No, no, be honest.  Really, I can take the criticism. I can.  Who told you I can't? I could explain why it is the Baskett Slough NWR, but I'd rather not. Spring is taking its sweet time this year There's a woodpecker up there somewhere The intrepid hikers Dad checking out some geese in the distance My elder brother.  Well, the eldest of the two. Couple of horses.  They had riders, but I neglected to photograph them. This is probably my favorite of the bunch