I have a point and shoot Canon sd600 and when I use the viewfinder to compose my pictures, they differ from the end result I see on the lcd screen of the camera when reviewing. Is the viewfinder inaccurate or is it just me?
I am guessing these are fairly close-up images; is that correct?
One of the shortcomings with point-and-shoot camera viewfinders is you are looking through a separate window at the subject - so there is a bit of parallax there. For something far away (say a tree, or a mountain) that difference of viewpoint is negligible; what you see in the viewfinder is pretty much what you get through the lens. But for something close to the camera, the angle through the viewfinder window is quite a bit different than the angle through the lens; so the viewfinder is not helpful in framing.
What you see on your LCD screen is through the lens, so the framing will be correct; but of course the resolution isn't that good, plus in bright sunlight the LCD image may not stand out sufficiently.