I bought someone the Canon S3 IS for xmas. I have a friend with a Canon A series camera. I own a Sony T33 (It's not reviewed on dpreview.com, but you can find it at epinions.com). None of these cameras have RAW mode, so the pictures are not the excellent quality of SLR cameras, such as the Canon Rebel.
Canon S3 IS
Pros:
1) Good pictures
2) Excellent zoom
3) Best movie mode for any digital camera I have seen (There is no movie mode with SLR cameras). Shooting a movie is done with the press of a single button, and you can use the zoom and shoot pictures while shooting a movie. The image stabilization is useful for movies.
4) Flash pops up away from camera, so there is less red eye
5) Lots of features
6) Uses regular batteries
7) Good deals to be had because the model has been around or a while now
Cons:
1) No RAW mode
2) Big camera
3) The digital screen is very difficult to see in daylight. Even the eyepiece viewfinder is difficult to see. You will, at best, be able to frame the shot in daylight and rely on autofocus (which is okay because the autofocus works well). Still, one of the advantages of digital cameras is the ability to check the picture on the digital screen after shooting to make sure nobody blinked etc. This advantage is hampered by the poor quality screen of the Canon S3 IS.
4) No external flash shoe
5) Although the camera can be used easily for point-and-shoot, there is a learning curve to use all of the features
Canon A640
The A640 is almost as good as the Canon S3 IS, but is smaller. The A640's digital screen is better than the Canon S3 IS screen. The A640 does not have a pop up flash, so there is more red eye. I would consider the A640 camera for my next portable camera.
Sony T33
Pros:
1) Very small even when in a camera case. I put it in my tool case while mountain biking. I'm not sure I would try this with the Canon S3 IS.
2) Fair pictures. It has a Carl Zeiss lens, but the pictures are not as good as with the Canon cameras above.
3) Fair movies.
4) Less features than the Canons above, but easier to learn to use.
5) Much better digital screen than the Canon S3 IS.
Cons:
1) Sony is expensive.
2) You are forced to buy Sony memory cards and batteries, which are also expensive.
3) Red eye when using flash (even in red eye reduction mode). I use a mini tripod and long exposures, so that I do not need to use the flash. Unfortunately you have to pack the camera base as well as the tripod because the tripod mount is on the base. Still, I am able to fit all of this stuff in my coat pockets.
