I'm also a Canon fan. I'm on my third one now. The first two are still fine and working perfect. One of them, an 870IS survived a dunking in a creek two years ago while dragging a buck out of the bottom of a ravine and never missed a beat. The cell phone and cigar in the other pocket didn't fare as well and were chicken chow mein!
My current Canon P&S is the G12. I just got it a month or so ago and am still learning what it can do. So far, the results have been terrific. I was concerned that it might be to big for my uses but no, its just fine. Yes, it is bigger than my 870IS but not too big to fit in a coat or vest pocket. In the summer, I can always grab the smaller one if I need to.
The 870IS is a tough little camera and, seeing how robust the G12 is I don't think you could hurt that one either.
I have about 4500 clicks on the 870IS in about 3 years and already have about 1100 on the G12!! Only wish the thing came with a paper manual.
