It's amazing just how fast digital camera technology moves along.

A little over a year ago I reported on this little wonder from Canon which combined the best aspects of a digital camera and digital camcorder into a compact package.

At the time I said that I wanted one, but it was a bit pricey for my limited discretionary income, and it went the way of most of my pipe dreams.

Now 15 months later we have cameras such as the new Canon Digital IXUS 85 IS ringing in with a 10 megapixel sensor and other advanced features, in a package that is amazingly small.

Now, it isn't as versatile as the aforementioned Canon, but then it comes in at about a third the price and has all the features a serious amateur on a budget could want.

The Canon IXUS 85 IS also has a movie mode that yields respectable results for a device designed primarily as a digital camera, and don't forget that it is 10MP, whereas the Canon of 15 months ago was only a bit over 5MP.

OK, the other Canon took HD video on mini DVDs, but hey, it couldn't be tucked into a shirt pocket, and with the money left over one can now buy a dedicated HD camcorder that records to flash memory and have the best of both worlds.

Source:www.canon.com