FWIW, I've had great luck with those little Canons. I have an SD400, also bought for a couple hundred bucks, and have nearly beat it to death the last couple years, but it keeps on ticking.

The image quality is surprisingly good for the price of the camera and the battery lasts for literally weeks with average use. I'd highly recommend them. I also have an underwater case for mine, good to ten feet of depth or so, and it's been a fun little beach and snorkel camera.