While I love taking photos with my Nikon D50, its size makes it impractical to carry it around with me when going out with friends. I always like having a small point & shoot with me to capture photos of my outings or little things I chance upon.

One of the questions people ask me all the time is what digital camera they should get. Since new models come out all the time, it usually takes some time to research the best cameras at any point in time. So I decided to put together a list of the best and most popular digital cameras (point & shoot) for the second half of 2007 by comparing available information and data from Amazon, Flickr, eBay, Circuit City, dpreview, CNet, and more:

Canon Powershot SD850 IS Digital Camera

Price: $356.48 (Click to check current price)

This camera is a new model from the popular Canon Powershot / Digital Elph line. It’s an Amazon Bestseller (4.5/5 star rating), is one of the highest rated point-and-shoot cameras on Zdnet, dpreview, and Cnet. I’ve loved the Elph series since a friend of mine bought one in 2002 - the picture quality has always been really superior.

• 8 Megapixels
• Image stabilization
• 4x Optical Zoom
• Face detection & red eye correction
• High quality lens & 2.5″ LCD screen
• More features and reviews

See sample pictures taken with the Canon Powershot SD850 IS.

Black Sony Cybershot DSC-T100 Digital Camera

Price: $353.88 (Click to check current price)

A few years ago I bought the Sony Cybershot DSC-T1, an older model of this camera, after spending days researching the best options. It was my favorite camera for a very long time. The Cybershot T100 is the new model of the same line but is much improved. It’s slim and compact - perfect for your pocket (without making a buldge). It comes in silver, black, and red (the black version is very sleek and sexy). It’s one of the highest rated cameras at Circuit City, ZDnet, Cnet, and a bestseller on Amazon.

• 8 Megapixel
• Carl Zeiss (quality) lens with 5x Optical zoom
• Image stabilization
• 3″ LCD screen
• Quality MPG Video mode with in-movie zoom
• More features and reviews

See sample pictures taken with the Sony Cybershot DSC-T100.

So there you have it. My picks for the best two point and shoot cameras in the market today - just because I know they’re both very well rated, I’ve had personal experience with each line, and have seen the quality of the pictures taken with them. If anyone asks me what camera to get, I’ll just point them to this page (for the next few months at least). Oh, and if either of these are out of your price range and you don’t need it to be very compact or full-featured, you might want to check out the Canon Powershot A550, which is a good value at $128.94.

See the entire Amazon bestseller list.