I've been extensively reading the reviews of both the Fujifilm F31fd and Canon SD700 IS. Given that both cameras take excellent pictures overall, here are the chief considerations in my decision making:

Fujifilm F31fd
Pros

Excellent night shots... comparatively low noise at high ISO settings
Excellent auto white balance, both indoors and outdoors


Cons

No continuous optical image stabilization
Limited color tone manipulation
Uses xD cards
A bit bulky


Canon SD700 IS
Pros

Optical image stabilization
Excellent color tone manipulation capabilities
Compact size


Cons

Noisy images at high ISO
Poor AWB indoors
Susceptible to the Canon E18 error due to lens retraction (?)
LCD more prone to cracking than most


Here's the admittedly loaded question I'm trying to answer: how worried should I be about the E18 error/LCD cracking issues with the Canon? The camera I purchase would accompany me everywhere... parties, hikes, road trips, air shows, cruises, family gatherings, sporting events... reliability is crucial. I've come across no such recurring issues regarding Fujifilm's cameras.

OTOH, I really like that the Canon has OIS and a slew of color tone manipulation settings. But then again, the Fujifilm has great high-ISO-low-noise and AWB performance. Choices, choices.

I'd appreciate anyone's input... especially from those who own either model.

Thank you!

To me, the choice would come down to Good High ISO vs. Image Stabalization. Good high ISO performance is more versatile than Image Stabalization, because it helps with hand shake and with subject motion. IS only helps with hand shake. If your subjects are mostly still, like landscapes or posed portraits, Canon will do just fine, maybe better, but if you like to shoot candid pictures of people and you want to make prints bigger than 4x6, I think Fuji is the way to go. Which is better for you really depends on what kind of shooting you do the most of. Me personally, I'd get the Fuji.

Paul

First the disclaimer- I just wrote photographyreview pro review of the FUJI F31fd,

Now, I've used a lot of Canon P/S cameras as well and still found the FUJI a real winner. From the review you may note I hauled it around to a lot of different locales and it performed under an amazing array of conditions. It made good prints without doing anything to them. I mean really good printed photos up to and including some 8x10's (see notes in review and sample images) without any of my normal tweaking to get them 'better'.

Personally, I don't find the tone manipulation capability that necessary in this category of camera. I want something I can whip out and grab a photo with easily.

Image Stabilization is a great addition. But I wouldn't discount what the FUJI does with it shake reduction via increased shutter speeds. Because it has such usable high ISO, this feature works quite well and results in similar lessening of inadvertent camera movements.

The Face Detection may be a deciding factor as Fuji's works as well as any I've seen demonstrated, and it can be a saver when people are in the scene.

If you haven't read the professional review here at PR of the Fuji FinePix F31fd, here is the link:

http://www.photographyreview.com/sf-1/pid-37724187/productproreviewcrx.aspx (http://www.photographyreview.com/sf-1/pid-37724187/productproreviewcrx.aspx)


Best luck in deciding on your new camera and let us know what you decide and be sure to post photos and your review of the camera!

And welcome to PR!

Thank you both for your input. I do like to take both candid as well as portrait photos... it seems that the F31fd is quite capable of taking both. I'm amazed at the quality of Fuji's low-light photos, though I think Canon's daylight photos are both sharper and more vivid. I'll make my decision, I think, based on which quality is more important to me.