We told you what the goal was here: find a good enough point and shoot camera, to carry in a suit jacket.
So bulky, or sticky-outy (technical term meaning “protruding from the main camera body” ) lenses need not apply.
Whether you are out with your buddies, or at an more elegant affair. Or maybe just a cool party.
The desire came out of need as it was time to upgrade anyway.

Not going high end like a Canon G10 or a Nikon P6000 (video here). Both great cameras, but bigger than we needed.
So we went with 2 on this journey:
Canon SD780is and the Nikon S620.
Each one had its pluses and minuses.
Canon: small and sleek, 12.1 megapixels, 5 scene choices, face self timer (timer only shoots pic when it recognizes another face-yours- added to the scene) 33-100 mm lens, 3x optical zoom, HD movie. ISO to 3200
Nikon: pocketsize, 12.2 megapixels, 18 scene choices including voice memo, smile and blink detector, tracking focus for moving subjects, 28-112mm lens, 4x optical zoom, SD movie, ISO to 6400.
OK, those are the main stats.
But we wanted to take it to real world situations that you may have.
So the cameras were set on Auto exposure, Auto White Balance, Auto ISO. Total simple, PHD camera. Push here dummy, which is the main way you’ll be shooting these when you whip it out to get that shot.

Our friends were ready. the cameras were held side by side and the shutters tripped as simultaneously as possible.

Here is what we got:


Canon on the left, Nikon on the right

Nikon on the left, Canon on the right slight flash fill (auto)

Nikon , then Canon

detail of previous shot Nikon then Canon

Nikon

Canon

Of course we wanted to see how they operated in the full up daylight:

Canon, then Nikon

detail of above

Conclusions:

The Canon had the better video and the design was a conversation starter. The still images were comparable for sure, and the lack of additional scene choices was not a concern. We did miss the wider angle lens, though since most of the time you are trying to get everyone into the shot, while in a smaller space. It does seem to perform better with stills, indoors.

The Nikon, has a preferred lens range, and the did a great job outdoors. It’s AWB, seemed to want to go warmer than we wanted, but an easy adjustment. In the close-up arena you can see that , even though we had to blow-up the Nikon more to be equal size, it was crisper. And the Vibration Reduction was a total plus when capturing shots without a flash. The higher ISO capability still was noisy above 800, but I’d rather get a noisy shot than none at all. It was a bit bulkier than the Canon.

Battery life was surprisingly good with both. Never had to recharge ever for all of the tests.
You may say that comparing one camera with HD video and another With SD videois not a fair comparison, but with a similar price point, we felt it was .

The reality is you are dealing with small cameras with limited size sensors, so adjust your expectations.
For the general user you will be happy with the results of either, truly.

Street price on theCanon PowerShot SD780IS12.1 MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.5-inch LCD (Black)
is about $250 USD and the Nikon Coolpix S620 12.2MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Vibration Reduction (VR) Zoom and 2.7 inch LCD (Jet Black)
is about $230 USD.

but with a slimmer profile, and HD movie, the camera that will be in my suit jacket pocket is…….

The Canon SD780is! in Black.

Of course the Nikon D700 will be on my shoulder the rest of the time. Fairplay and total transparency here.

If you would like to get original files of the photos, please let me know. Or just the original comparison shots in a larger format. Happy to send. Contact through the comments section below will work.