I have had a few Canon S series P&S cameras and they seem to hugely exceed other similarly priced P&S cameras. I started off about 4 years ago with their lowest model the S100. It was great, but it was stolen. I now have a Canon IXY DIGITAL 55, which is the Japanese version of the S400. I bought it used off a Japanese guy for $200.
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/CanonSD400/
All the photos that you ever see me post are taken with this camera.