Canon A720IS or Ixus 950IS?

both are good
it all depends on what size you want

All of the major brands are good. Choose a brand that appeals to you. Then you have to think about getting a spare battery, what size memory card, if you want an extended warranty, how much you can afford, what size zoom, if you want manual controls, the size of the camera, finding a reliable place to purchase it, and the list goes on and on and on.......

The first thing to realize is that almost any digital camera will take good pictures. If more people would read the manual more than once, they would be able to take better pictures. Usually, the person assumes it is the camera when it could be them not knowing exactly what to do. Just give yourself more photographic knowledge by doing more reading on the internet.

I really believe buying a camera is an individual choice.
The person needs to read alot of reviews on cameras so they can decide on the features that they really want and need.
Go to the store and hold them so you can see if they feel comfortable in your hands. If possible, take some pictures in the store to check the quality of the pictures.
I can only give a suggestion of what to look for in a new digital camera.
Good Luck

my suggestion
go to yahoo shopping
digital cameras
digital camera GUIDE
be sure to check titles on the left side
the guide should answer your questions

i would go for A720is because it's got bigger zoom and cheaper. lithium ion battery of the ixus is not cheap, you have to at least get one more

they're both superb gadgets. For me- the purely question is not any matter if i wanted to pay $one hundred fifty more desirable for the IS and somewhat more desirable zoom variety. The 950 is extremely expensive for a compact digital camera. yet- like you stated, you want a Canon... so, you pay somewhat more desirable for the call.

Without ANY doubt, the IXUS 950IS is the better camera. Whether or not you can justify the price difference is up to you. When I was ready for a "pocket camera" to supplement my SLR's, I chose the IXUS 900Ti, which is the precursor to the 950IS. I WISH it has "IS," but I am still quite thrilled with the camera. The greatest difference - besides the coolness vs. dorkiness factor - is the sensor size. The 950IS sensor is about twice as big as the one in the A720IS. See this screen and read my commentary:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfeinstein/944309888/in/set-72157601339945649/

Here you go. This comparison might be helpful to you, although the only shortcoming of the IXUS 900 is the lack of "IS" and the 950IS has it, so it would fare even better.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfeinstein/485855174/

The 950IS's would be better, I assume, but here are a bunch of 950 images taken by a "regular guy" - me. You could do the same. They show a range of images as you specified - outdoor, indoor, and close-up suitable for eBay.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfeinstein/tags/sd900/

Personally, I would buy the 950IS. If one camera was $200 and the other was $400, it would be a huge difference. One being nearly $300 and one being nearly $400 is not so great a difference when you get down to it, is it? You WANT the 950IS, don't you? (haha) You didn't really need me to tell you that it's the better camera.