This camera's great. We were in the market for an ultracompact camera with awesome picture quality -- this is certainly top of the line at a reasonable price!

Even though it's 7 megapixels I have no complaints about speed whatsoever. It powers up and takes picture at a pretty good speed. I like taking pictures on the absolute highest quality setting... we also purchased a large memory card (1GB) which holds about 331 pictures on the highest possible setting. Beautiful.

I haven't messed with any of the manual functions yet. For me, this camera is perfectly advanced to be the ultimate point-and-shoot camera. Yet a glance at the features reveals a lot of very impressive available control. This camera is as simple as you want it to be (if you're looking for a point-and-shoot), or as complicated as you want it to be (if you like manual controls).

As far as size goes, it's very good. I've had it in the pocket of my cargo shorts several times during outdoor functions. It did seem heavy when we took it out of the box, it's so small it weighs more than it looks.

It also feels great to be an "early adopter" of such a fine product.

I picked up this 7MP digital Elph to replace my Powershot S50. This camera is truly pocket sized and can easily fit into my front or back pockets whether I'm wearing Jeans or Khakis, which was the main feature I was looking for. I have a complete SLR rig now, so I wanted a camera like this to carry everywhere when that thing is too big to lug around.

The SD500 is faster than my powershot by quite a bit. I use a Sandisk Ultra II 1GB memory card with it, and the shot to shot time is less than 5 seconds to aim, focus, shoot and review each image. You can shoot faster if you want, or shoot continuous images, but the basic speed is more than enough for me. Power on is also almost instantaneous.

Image quality is very nice, but because the flash is so close to the lens, you'll find anyone you photograph who has light eyes may end up with redeye, more so even than other cameras
I've used.

Battery life is excellent (I'm getting over 100 shots right now, but this camera is only a few weeks old so I'm sure that will deteriorate).

You can take movies on this camera, but I found that I had a hard time loading movies over 3 minutes long with the standard Windows "Scanner and Camera Wizard". Luckily The Canon included software picks them right up.

The plastic door covering the USB port is a little awkward; I would have liked this to have been made of something similar to the rubber used on the earlier powershot series cameras.

Overall Pros:
Good images
Very fast
Very small
Easy to use
Economical for a 7MP camera
Longer movie modes than earlier cams

Overall Cons:
Lots of red eye in photos
No easy to find flash button (it's accessed through a menu on the back of the camera).
Most shooting modes are accessed by a menu instead of a dial.

Recommendation: I love it and the pros far outweigh my nitpicky cons. Buy it as your point and shooter.

I had a Canon S400 for a couple of years and loved it. But then I saw this. I liked the redesigned style, the enhanced video, and the high MPs.

So, I bought it, and took it to Paris.

I love this camera. The video is amazing for it's size. And the navigation is very good. I saw a big improvement in things that used to bother me with the S400, like red eye.

My favorite feature allows you to take pictures with black and white and pick one color, like blue, or red, or whatever. This made for some great artistic shots in France.

Thank you Canon! This camera is my new best pal.

I own a 20D which I absolutely love and was looking for a good digital point and shoot to replace my current S400. My two major candidates were the SD500 and the S70.

If you follow the photography boards at all you realize that this is a fairly common dilemma - the SD500 vs the S70. The S70 offers excellent manual controls while the SD500 is significantly smaller with very limited manual controls other than exposure compensation.

I just LOVE the look and feel of the SD500 though if anything it could be argued that it is TOO small. If you feel it is and you are looking for a carry everywhere camera it is well worth the effort to get used to the small size because the camera takes wonderful pictures.

The SD500 is simply beautiful. I didn't think I'd like the "curve" from the pictures, but it does not detract, and in fact actually contributes to the elegance of this form factor. I can live without all the manual controls since I own the 20D and since this camera is primarily for my wife and for me when I don't want to lug the SLR around.

The sensor size of the SD500 is the same as that of the S70 (in fact it is the same Sony 7.1 MP sensor) - 1/1.8". This is an ideal size for a point and shoot IMO. The 1/2.5" sensor used in the smaller Canon series cameras represents a poor image quality trade off. Stick with the larger sensor which give less noise, chromatic aberration, and better image quality.

I purchased the leather Elph case which protects the camera well and only adds insubstantially to the bulk. Some have complained that prior iterations of this camera scratch easily. I've owned them and found that if you keep the camera in a case and exercise modest caution that the camera will remain pristine.

Several have pointed out that since this camera is so small it will always be with you whereas the S70 would be less likely to be carried along because of its increased size. I couldn't agree more! The camera is SUBSTANTIALLY smaller than its bigger brother the S70 and in fact is discernibly smaller than my previous S400 which I gave to my daughter. The form and size factors are what finally won me over.

The additional 3 MP over my previous S400 was an additional factor in deciding to switch. That extra 3MP gives me plenty of extra MPs for cropping with impunity. This camera is a significant improvement over the previous S400 in image quality, resolution, mega pixels, color rendition, color saturation, and purple fringing.

The good news about the extra 3MPs is that they are added WITHOUT adding extra noise. I don't know exactly how Canon accomplished this but this is somewhat akin to getting something for nothing! No significant trade-off was involved. The DIGIC II processor is fantastic in producing great photographs.

One criticism of the camera. Low light focusing is less than ideal. You need to work with the camera to understand its limitations indoors.

I am a huge fan of the Canon cameras and I would advise anyone looking for a camera, whether a point and shoot or a DSLR to carefully consider the Canon line since, in my opinion, Canon currently represents the state of the art.

i don't want to give this camera a bad review. it has many many great features. but i mainly need a camera for low-light situations where a flash cannot be used. this is not it.

where there's good light or you can use a flash, this camera is fine. and it is so tiny! it's very portable. and it's fast. the lag time is hardly noticeable compared to older digital cameras. the video feature is awesome.

i would recommend this camera if you're looking for a point & shoot with lots of automated features. i picked this camera because of it's high resolution and tiny size. but unfortunately i need it to have a few more manual options than this model offers (particularly shutter speed & aperature). so i'm trading it in for the much bulkier G6. hopefully that will do the trick!

you want video? buy a video camera, moron. go to "search" and type "video camera" they have excellent audio; ..and yes, you can get more than 30-seconds videos.

To Amazon: there should be an minimum IQ requirement to post reviews ihere.

I am/was a huge fan of the Canon powershot cameras, I started out with the 2 megapixel S110 then upgraded to a Canon S230.

1. First, the SD500 takes great photographs, that is not my complaint.

2. I purchased this camera for its video capabilities because it can record 30 frame per second video at 640x480 resolution (regular television standard).

I had fell in love with the S110 and S230 despite the limited amount of time you could do 640x480 clips for the amount of time supported by the card you are using until it fills up versus only 30 seconds with the S230.

The audio recording quality of the S230 is actually pretty good, in fact good enough that I was able to use the camera to record concerts (mainly organ/classical music concerts for friends who were playing etc, which is really neat from such a small camera.

>>>>
However the audio recording quality of the SD500 is nothing like the S230, in fact it sounds like someone took the camera and threw it in a well somewhere near what you are trying to record. It is muddy and just nothing in comparison to the S230.

That is my 2 cents.

Otherwise it is a great camera, but if you are doing it for audio recording I'd recommend finding another camera, I have went back to using my S230 even though it only records 30 seconds at a time, and is only 3 megapixels.

Think twice before buying the Canon SD 500 camera. The LCD displays are large but extremely fragile. Mine was cracked on the second day. It was NOT dropped or abused.

I also have a Canon S110 and have taken just over 5,000 photos with it since Christmas 2001 without any problems. Apparently, in an attempt to make the new models light and the displays large, Canon sacrificed durability.

In some cases Canon will "waive" the LCD repair cost. In others they demand $165 for the repair.

Let me begin by saying that Canon makes exceptional digital cameras; the best in the market right now. This is because they have always used high quality components since they began manufacturing digital cameras. This one is no exception.

Now that I've sold you on a Canon, which one should you choose?

First off, let's see if you really need an SDxxx camera, or would be better suited with a cheaper non ultraportable camera.

The SDxxx Series offers several key advantages over less portable models:
-Beautiful, sleek design and metallic body will wow anyone who sees it.
-Gorgeous 2 inch LCD screens
-The excellent Dig!c 2 processor (other Canons only have dig!c 1)
-Much better movie mode than previous Canons
-Small light, easy pocketability

On the other hand, there are some significant drawbacks due to the components Canon had to use to get the camera so small:
-Few manual controls.
-Pictures are not as sharp as those of similar non ultraportable cameras.
-The flash is very close to the lens (lots of redeye problems)
-More purple fringing issues than other Canons
-Proprietary batteries that are expensive to replace
-The LCD is very fragile. Read the SD200 and SD300 reviews to see lots of unhappy people whose LCDs broke. Canon's warranty does NOT cover this either. My suggestion? Buy using a credit card that offers a warranty in addition to the manufacturer's. If your lcd breaks, many CC companies will replace the camera no questions asked!

If you don't need the ultra portability and flashy looks of the SD cameras, a slightly larger camera with more features might be right for you. I would highly suggest Canon's A510 or A520 if you don't need an SD model.

If you still want an SD model, which one should you choose? The SD200 with 3.2mp, the SD300 with 4mp, the SD400 with 5mp, or the SD500 at a whopping 7.1mp?

Your first instinct may be that more megapixels is better. Today, however megapixel ratings are similar to Ghz ratings in the computer world: They used to mean a lot, but they don't mean as much anymore. More megapixels do NOT mean a better image. They mean a larger printable image. Unless you have to have huge prints, you simply do not more megapixels. In fact, the 3.2mp of the SD200 is enough for anyone who doesn't plan on printing pictures larger than a standard 8.5x11 sheet of paper.

That having been said, there are some differences between each SDxxx model. In order to get the larger 7.1mp sensor in the SD500, Canon had to make the camera larger. Thus, it is around a quarter inch thicker and 30% heavier than the other 3 models. The larger size did enable Canon to pack more features into it, however:

Features unique to the SD500:
-1/4 inch thicker
-30% heavier
-50% longer flash range
-14% more battery life

The SD400 and SD500 also share these benefits over the SD200/SD300:
-New "Night Display" feature which brightens the LCD in low light
-My Colors feature lets you highlight or swap colors right on the camera
-USB 2.0 High Speed support

The following are shared by all the SDxxx Cameras:

Pros:
-Beautiful, eye catching design
-Great image quality, though not as good as non ultraportable models
-New Dig!c 2 image processor
-Excellent Movie Mode
-3x optical zoom is adequate for most people
-Excellent, intuitive manual controls
-Huge 2.0 inch lcd that looks great under various lighting conditions
-Uses widely available and cheap SD cards

Cons (most of these are minor quirks):
-Some purple fringing problems
-Proprietary batteries are expensive to replace and inconvenient at times
-Lots of issues with fragile LCDs
-No RAW support
-Few manual controls

If you do choose this product, the first thing you should buy is a larger SD memory card. The camera comes with a 16mb card (32 in the SD500), which is pretty much useless.

You should also immediately purchase a case and some screen protectors to protect the LCD.

Pros:
-7.1 megapixels
-3x zoom
-fast
-good flash
-small and compact
-long battery life
-sleek design
-easy to use
-easy mount
-great manual features

Cons:
-red eye could be better
-all metal cameras tend to get scratched easy


If you thinking about buying the Powershot SD500. Do it! Do it! is all I have to say. You will be pleased you did and so will others when every picture you take with the SD500 is a masterpiece. DO IT!

Before I took the family on a Disney Cruise to the Carribean, I shopped for a digital camera. I spent many nights reading reviews from various sites, compared prices vs features, size, megapix, accessory cost, memory card price,etc. I narrowed it down to a Sony Cybershot vs the Canon. I can say that I am not a pro photographer in any sense, but I enjoy snapping "tourist" photos and ones of the family so one day when I am senile I will remember. THIS CAMERA TOOK FANTASTIC PHOTOS, FOOEY ON THE NAYSAYERS. The only reason their pictures turned out blurry is because they cant hold their hands still!

WHY I'M GLAD I DIDNT BUY THE SONY:
Sony memory cards are a rip off (try pricing their high-speed ones versus regular SD high speed), their spare batts are a cha-ching, and their fragile LCD's are complained about a lot. Even though the Canon camera itself costs more than the Sony camera did, the Sony accessories would have cost me more than a fully loaded Canon w/ accessories! I'm sure the photos would have been nice also, but the features on the Canon are better and I have a higher megapizel camera for an overall cheaper cost of ownership.

CANON'S COOL FEATURES!
1. Besides taking gorgeous, rich, color photos, I spent a few minutes reading the manual. If you set it to SCN scene mode, there are a ton of pre-programmed modes that compensate for every setting, beach, night, indoor, close-up plants, and even fireworks. I played with the various modes and I easily figured out which was best for the picture about to take. The Disney cruise ship did fireworks from it and the pix are awesome. Cant wait until the 4th of July!
2. Super fast 1 second, ready to shoot time from the pocket. Didnt miss a single action moment!
3. Photostich- allows you to take panaramic photos left, right, up and down, then the included software automatically pastes the pictures together! It rocks!
4. Battery life was fantastic. I wasted my money on the spare battery (which was a generic Digipower from Best Buy and it died after 20 shots!) I used the camera all day, took photos and motion video and used up the 1gb storage space and the battery never died that day.
5. I bought a 1GB high-speed SD card for it from Fry's and I took motion videos with this camera! They play back in Windows media player and I emailed those out; people thought it was from a camcorder! I owned a Panasonic D-Snap and promptly sold it after my trip to Australia last fall. Wish I took the Canon there instead! Make sure you buy the high speed SD cards not a super Sunday sale cheap 512 card for $59! A 1gb high speed is about $80-$100. Also, dont forget to do a low level format 1st!
6. Their included software is a little cumbersome to learn, but it works well once figured out. Just wish it had more editing features in it instead of having to use an external software for advanced editing.
7. LCD can be seen at 50% level even in full sunlight & zoom was decent for a compact dig cam.

CONS (IF ANY)
I dont really have any true complaints, but to be fair here are some. Why pack a 32mb SD card? That's worthless, it holds like 7 pictures, Canon ditch it and lower the price instead! Dont like the flappy door thing covering the USB jack, seems cheesy. Camera can get slippery, use the hand strap at all times, thats cheap insurance!

Hope this review helps, I know I appreciate the other reviews people posted here, it helped me make the right decision for an investment that costs over $700 with all the accessories.

I read reviews before buying this camera. The reviews really helped my decision on the purchase. So, I guess I appreciate my reads by contributing my part.

My take on this small beauty:

Good:
* great resolution
* great colors
* really like the my color and color swaps capabilities
* small & sleek design (It fits in my tiny purse with the camera bag)
* video with zooming function
* decent battery life (get a generic brand that gives 20% more)
* underwater photography capability WITH its underwater housing case (sold separately). This is great for trips to the beach, snorkeling, and (not so deep water)diving.

Bad:
* Because it is so small and heavy with its metallic body, it's easy to drop and have bad impact on the camera body. I dropped mine to the ceramic tile floor. The point of impact was the corner of the battery compartment. I force-open the battery cover (kissed my warranty good bye) with a thin piece of metal because I didn't want to send it to the service center - I was afraid to lose my pictures in the card!
* Camera shake due to its small body. Canon should have done better to fix this.
* Pricey
* SD card comes with the camera is TOO low on capacity
* No direct in camera link to power chord. You need to buy separate AC adaptor kit which costs you some bucks.
* whining sound on video playback


Every camera has its pros and cons. SD500 is worth the money for me.

I've been a user of a Canon G3 for 3 years now, but I wanted a high quality/ very compact point and shoot camera for travel. The key here was buying something I or my wife could put into a pocket to carry and not have the quality of the results suffer due to size.

Being a reseach psycho before buying anything, I narrowed the field down to 3: Sony DCXT7, Casio Exilim z750, and the Canon SD500. Then I went to the store to try them out (I can not stress this enough...it is worth the trip to a store to play with these), and the number of cameras being considered went to two. The Sony, the sexiest camera of the group, was so thin it was nearly impossible for me to get a firm hold on (camera shake and red eye are the main problems with small cameras, all three of which have these issues to an extent, but Sony's camera was overly hard to hold, making it by far the worst for camera shake ), so I removed it from consideration...really too compact...plus it was 5 mp vs. 7 on the other two...for the same price. That left the Exilim and Canon.

One note on megapixels...more is better if you like to digitally play with photos on photoshop elements or another program (crop pieces out, etc) or want a 13 X 19 blow up ability should you capture the perfect picture. If neither apply's to you, the SD400 (same feature set, lens, processor) or another 5 mp would work just as well for less money...and give you the highest quality results needed up to 8X10 and a little bigger. Me, I like to play with photos after the shoot, which is why I wanted the extra resolution.

Just picking up and shooting with the SD500 produced great results (easy and mindless), and it was small, but not too small, to work with. My wife does not care about F stops or shutter priority (which it does not have). She wants to pick a subject, snap, and have amazing, mindless 7 mp results that rival the leading current prosumer G6 from Canon. I suspect that a large number of people buying digital camreas want the same thing.

If this is what you want, along with a great movie mode, useful scene modes, longer flash range than any camera this size, and a few fun fuctions (though you can do it on Photoshop, I enjoy the "color swap" (easily swap colors in a picture), & "color accent" (neat with B&W photo, think "Sin City" for a camera)) this is the camera you want. Mindless, stunning, professional results. You really can't go wrong picking this camera.

If you want or need full manual controls on a camrea this size, check out the Casio Exilim Z750, which came in a close second.

And speaking of manual, thank you Canon, for including a compact printed manual for the SD500. I've become tired of having to print manuals out on my computer for many new products.

The color reproduction, clarity, ease of use, portability are excellent. I'm 100% satisfied; strongly endorse this camera.

I give this camera 1 star in honor of how many weeks it worked before it needed expensive repair. It took great photos but after one week of light use the LCD screen failed. I returned it to Canon and they charged me $155 for "pressure damage" not covered by warranty. The camera was never dropped and the most extreme condition it was exposed to was being placed in my shirt pocket. I have since read of numerous other reports of LCD problems on this camera from other users. This is my third Canon camera and until this experience I had been impressed with their cameras. If considering the purchase of the SD500, I would caution buyer beware.

This camera was fantasic for the first 3 weeks of use until I pull it out of the case, turn it on and see a white screen with a big purple blob in the middle. Yes, the LCD is cracked. You may have seen the earlier reviews of thias model and for the SD200, which suffered the same problem. My suggestion for those of you looking at the Canon range of cameras just type "Canon cracked LCD" into google! Canon state it is the result of an impact/pressure damage so it's not under covered by the warranty.

The camera is great but the LCD screen cracked within 3 weeks. I didn't drop it either. The camera was in my hip carry case and must have had a tad bit too much pressure on the LCD when I sat in a chair. I can't believe it would crack that easy. Canon's warranty does not cover this as well as most extended warranty plans you can buy.

Oh ya, when it cracks....the LCD does not work at all. The camera still takes nice pictures but you can't see what you just took, can't see the battery meter, can't line up panoramic shots, don't know how much memory card is left, can't change any of the internal settings and you must use the viewfinder to take all pictures.

I was very, very happy about the camera's quality until it cracked. It's still a good camera but take extra special care of it. You might want to get a proctective shield for the LCD (for this or any other camera that has a big LCD).

I'm off to call Canon and demand they fix it for free....if not, I'm never buying Canon again.

I have had the SD500 for less than one week. After reading reviews of LCD problems, cracked, black blobs etc, I figured that it was probably a very limited problem. Wrong, except that my problems are different. Camera has been treated with kid gloves since day one. Stored in a padded case. Never abused. After 57 pictures total the LCD went black except for the icons showing the settings. LCD works fine for reviewing images already on the card so it still works, however the camera will not allow new pictures to be taken. Tried multiple cards both fast and slow speeds and different batteries. All had the same results. Camera is a paper weight. Canon is fixing / replacing but 2 to 3 weeks turn around. Expected better from a $500 unit.

The camera takes exceptional pictures but the LCD is very fragile. I is not safe to put in your pocket especially if you anything else in the pocket or you bump anything. The screen is very sensitive to pressure and will crack or get a purple blob and stop working. Mine went on the 10 day I actually used it.

I purchased a Canon SD500 after reading other reviews on the 'net. I can only say that of all the cameras I have ever purchased, this one is the best! The color is incredible and you can even take action shots with it. Canon has hit the nail on the head. I owned a Canon S50 before and the SD500 blows it away. I will own this camera until it will no longer works. I love my Elf!

The SD500 and the other SD cameras are a new generation of cameras that Canon has introduced in the last 12 months. The SD500 has had some great reviews including PC Magazine. The imaging sensor is the same that is used in the high end S70 camera, but put into the much smaller SD500 package.

The SD series as well as the T series by Sony, and other new cameras have put in larger LCD panels. The larger the LCD, the more prone to damage by impact. This is true of all of the new thinner cameras.

Because of the thin size of the new cameras, users are doing things with them they never did with previous generations, because they were too thick. Putting these cameras into jeans pants pockets. I believe that putting these new cameras in a pants pocket is not advisable, as you can easily bump them into a sharp corner of furniture and other hard objects.

Here are some suggestions that I believe will help to prevent damage to ANY digital camera that is small and has a large LCD:

[1] Do not place camera in with sharp objects like keys, lipstick holders, or any metal objects. I would suggest this even if you have the camera in a thin case, as the thin case is still no protection from sharp objects that can exert a lot of pinpoint pressure.

[2] If you carry it in your pocket, you should not do it in tight pants, and do not sit on the camera! I recommend not carrying it in your pants pocket (too easy to bump into hard objects). I never have and never had a problem. If you feel the need to carry it in your pants, carry it so the LCD is NOT on the outside and vulnerable. The older models were too thick to fit in your pocket. I think you are seeing a lot more people improperly carry this camera because of its thin size.

[3] The best bet would be a well padded case (not a thin one).
Padding is the key here. Pamper your new camera.

[4] Do not drop camera. Always put the strap around your arm when taking your camera out of the case. That way you never will drop it. Any digital camera will have a high probability of damage if you drop it. These are delicate electronic devices and need to be treated as such.

[5] Do not leave your camera in your car. Extreme heat or extreme cold is very bad for any electronic device with an LCD screen. The SD500 is no exception.

Respect the camera for what it is, a delicate piece of electronics and you should have a wonderful and long life from it.

I would love to hear from the silent majority of SD500 users who
love their camera, and would like to share their experiences. I hope these tips will be helpful not only to users of Canon Cameras but those of Sony, Casio, etc., all of which have tiny cameras with large LCD screens.

This camera is great! Fits in your pocket, fast start, easy zoom, great pictures. Flash, as previously reviewed, could be better - but for the size... Only thng I wish is theat there was a quality sleave for the camera with a little outside pocket for the spare battery. Very happy...

This camera is so beautifully made that they should sell them in jewelry stores. The SD500 7MP is a superbly engineered camera with wonderful ergonomics. It takes excellent pictures that are startlingly good taking into account the size of the instrument. Pictures taken without flash are generally very well exposed, requiring no touch-ups in photoshop. The built-in flash is OK; in some light you may get a bluish tint, which can be adjusted either by fiddling with the various exposure settings on the camera, or by post-processing in a program like photoshop.

Some reviewers have commented that the back LCD is delicate. I'll take their word for it: most users will want the Canon leather case which offers some protection. My favored configuration is the SD500, the Canon leather case, and the long Canon metal strap, allowing the user to have the camera around one's neck in casual settings. For more formal occasions i.e. dinner parties, etc. the SD500 slips nicely into a suit pocket.

This camera is a joy to use. The menus are very intuitive. I had them nailed after about 20 minutes, without any reference to the manual. Most of that time was figuring out one simple thing: that on auto setting most settings choices (flash settings, for example) are not available, whereas on "manual" (which is really semi-auto) these settings are available. Most users will likely want to shoot using "manual."

With a camera this size, red-eye is an issue. The red-eye flash setting works, with the usual drawback of shutter lag. I try not to use it and post-process the red-eye instead.

Overall, this one is a home-run. Users who don't need a camera quite this small may want to consider the Canon S50-60 series. For those who truly want a camera small enough to tuck into a small pocket, or otherwise value the small size, this SD500 Digital Elph is hard to beat, and impossible not to like.

I struggled back and forth between buying this camera and the Casio Exilim EX-Z750, and though the Casio has more manual features, has a slightly bigger LCD screen, is a bit smaller and a bit lighter, I chose the SD500. What a great camera this has turned out to be. It takes beautiful pictures, the flash distance is strong, which is good, but it does also result in more redeye than cameras with weaker flashes (no way of getting around this), so I also do some post-camera adjusting on my computer occasionally to remove the red-eye.

My Canon starts up quickly, has very little lag in between pictures, and is a gem all the way around. The one feature I am more impressed with than I thought I would be is the video clips. These clips aren't just little, junky clips that you can only email around, I have used the camera in lieu of a camcorder several times when taking pictures of my 5 month old, and it is great. Much easier than downloading the video from the camcorder, editing it, turning it into an mpeg, etc. Now, clearly it won't substitute for a camcorder all the time, since you can fit nearly as much on a 512MB SD card (I bought a 512MB and would recommend this size to others, and if you plan to do video and/or use the high-speed camera mode, you should buy the faster speed cards....e.g. Sandisk Ultra II, or ATP Hi-Speed 60x, it reads and writes from and to the card very quickly, important when doing video as well as taking pictures quickly and downloading them to your PC).

I chose a Canon due to partially to the stylish look of it, but really most of the reason was due to recent experiences my wife and her in-laws have had with other Canon models. They have been using Canon cameras over the past couple of years, 1 was the S400 and one was an SLR-type 7MP camera, and they really take beautiful pictures, seem to focus really well on the subject, and the resolution just seems to be superior. I had a Sony 3MP before, and my wife was given a Canon S400 3MP, and the Canon kicked the crap out of my Sony. In the end, you will pay a bit more for the Canon but if you have the means, I highly recommend it. If not, the Casio seemed like a terrific camera also (a friend of mine bought the 5MP version), and you probably wouldn't go wrong w/ that one either.

It takes superb photos and the movies are great.

I took a movie of fireworks over the weekend and was astonished at the quality.

The photos are great; fine color rendition and excellent size.

You will not be disappointed.

First off, my qualifications. I am not a photography professional, however I am a software engineer in the digital media field, an amateur photographer and... well a gadget freak. I have owned a digital camera since they first came out. Everything from a 1 megapixel plain-vanilla to a DSLR. I still have my "prosumer" Fuji, which is not a full blown professional SLR but it has a lot of manual features and costs something that would let you sleep at night. With the demise of film, taking hundreds of photos a day is no longer an unlikely event even for those who don't get paid by the hour to do so. My normal camera is just too big to haul around so I've been trying out everything under the sun to get THE best compact camera that I could always have with me, that would satisfy my gadget desire, work FAST, and never make me look at the resulting photos and say "I wish I had my DSLR for that shot...". I thought it was an unrealistic task but I was wrong. Before this cam, I tried many cams and one notable example is the Sony T7. It is the epitome of form over function. It's the size of a few credit cards stacked and it is about as useful. I won't go into too much detail other than mention one funny fact, that 60% of your photos will have your left middle finger in the top left corner due to the location of the lens (and the natural way any human being would hold a camera). So enter the SD500. You can't take a blurry photo with this camera... you just can't. A Ferrari was flying up to me on the highway this morning, I whipped out the camera, it sprung to life in under a second, I snapped the photo with the car flying past and my car moving around on the bumps, and the picture is clear as day. I have N E V E R had a camera that could do this. It doesn't make me miss the manual features of the SLR or even my "pro-sumer", the automatic systems are so intelligent and fast that it just doesn't leave you wanting. Oh and it's a 7.1 mpx, so zoom in optically, then crop it later in Photoshop, and you can have a clear 4x6 of an ant's bum if you want... So yeah I like it. :) One pet peeve though... WHY DO THEY INCLUDE A 32 MEG CARD WITH A CAMERA THAT TAKES 3.6 MB IMAGES??? Why not just include NOTHING and reduce the sticker price. A 1 gig card for this cam is a minimum. The 2 gig is perfect. Also, the battery is great, lasts much longer than all the compacts out there except Casio (those cams btw, I also tried, but they are basically a poor execution of a great idea [the idea that Canon has executed perfectly here]... wonderful on paper, but gimpy in reality) but get a backup cause digi cam batteries die when you need them most and you can't stop at a 7/11 to get some alkalines that will work, there's an Energizer that'll fit. Anyway, now go 'n' git it! If you regret it you can blame it on me.

I'm going to state it right away, I am a die-hard Canon fan. I have Canon digital and film slr's, flashes, lenses, bags, the whole deal. But, I'm not so blinded by camera love that I can't spot crap when I see it. I have owned three different Canon compact digital cameras, and this is heads above all, the best of them!

I started out with the S400, a camera I had for two years and LOVED. Took about 9000+ images on it. It started to act funny, and I knew it was time for an upgrade so I got the Canon Powershot A95. I never really took to the camera, it was slowwwww to focus, and even though it was step up in megapixel power, the grain was HORRIBLE. The S400 outperformed it in image quality. I especially didn't like the A95 after I took it on a trip with me to Vegas, so two months later I sold it.

I saw the SD500 at a store and on a whim, (since it looked so similar to my dear beloved S400) picked it up to play with it. I accidently had grabbed the shutter when I went to pick it up and BOOM, in the span of a millisecond, it had focused and fired off a shot. Right there, I knew I had my new camera.

Starting off, the camera is a thing of beauty for the eyes. Smaller in length then my 20GB iPod, (slightly thicker), the camera is a breeze to carry with you at all times. THAT BEING SAID, I've read what other reviewers have written about the camera's durability and rated it badly because the lcd cracked. Just because the camera is 'pocket sized', doesn't mean in any way that you should stick it in your pants pocket. And then sit down with it in there, no less. Anything is bound to break if you do that! Get a sturdy case. It needs to be protected.

The camera is so much wuicker to focus then the previous powershot elph models. That strange, slow clicking sound is gone, it focuses in under half a second and fires. The flash recycle time is much quicker as well. No morewaiting (provided you have a properly charged battery in the camera)

Regarding battery life, it's pretty average for a rechargeable lithium battery. Alot of people do not like propriety batteries, I don't mind them, I have three for the camera in case I'm on a long trip. There's no reason not to have an extra, you don't want to be caught in the perfect moment to capture a photo and realize you have a dead battery with no alternative.

This camera does not have full manual controls, like the A95 does. You cannot adjust the aperture or the shutter speed. This doesn't bother me, as I own a digital slr with full manual controls, but if you do not own an slr and are looking for a compact with manual contorls, this would NOT be the camera for you. Check out the Canon Powertshot A series.

The image viewfinder is large enough, at 2 inches. I find myself sometimes getting finger prints on it easily when I go tograb the camera, but those are easily removed. The brightness of the lcd is also user adjustable, which is something you take for granted. I was going crazy when I had the A95 because I couldn't make the screen darker. It was so bright, everything looked blown out and the images looked COMPLETELY different exposure wise once you got them on the computer.

This powershot elph camera introduces a few new features that are incredibly neat and worth mentioning.

My colors has several user editable functions, like color swap, (two colors that you define that can be exchanged to make a really cool effect) and one of my personal favorites, color accent which lets you define one color, say, a pink shirt a friend is wearing (you point the camera and the color and hit the arrow button and it copies the color data) and it turns everything else in the picture black and white except for that one color so that it stands out. You can acheive this effect in photoshop, but being able to do it this easily in a camer is VERY cool.

I also like the option of shooting with positive film color effects. Blues are bluer, greens are greens, and reds are, well, you get the idea. It's different from the vivid mode because it just doesn't blast everything out, it makes the colors pop, but keeps them rich and true looking at the same time. The only gripe I have with this and the color accent features is that you cannot change the iso setting when you are in this mode, which to me, is a gross oversight. These functions are only accessible in the manual section of the camera, you should be able to change the ISO! I mean, you can change the white balance, why not let us be able to change the iso?! The camera would be perfect if you were able to do that...

Digital Macro is another really cool feature. You can take macros photos, but much further. It utilizes the digital, not optical zoom on the camera to bring the object closer while still keeping it clear. It works amazingly well, but at 4x, grain starts to become very apparent.

The stitch assist (panoramic) mode is still here, but this time you have to click through the menu to find it instead of having it readily avialible on the selection knob. I noticed that you cannot shoot a panoramic sequence in macro mode, which dissapointed me bcause I wanted to try some flower panos. Again, this is an oversight that really would've made the camera sing even more had it been included.

The movie mode! Oh my gosh, the movie mode. Best move mode on a canon compact, I believe. Double the FPS. The little movies look great. And unlink the A95, which would cut out after 30 seconds no matter how much room you had on your card, this'll let you keep going.

All in all, this is the best compact digital I've owned so far. I didn't think I'd ever be able to find a compact that I've loved like my S400, but I have. And it's better.

To sum it up:

Pros:
Near instant start-up (under .5 seconds)
lightning fast focus
lightning fast flash
Improved color modes
Amazing macro funtion
sleek design
image quality A-MAZING!
lcd screen brightness user adjustible
best movie mode on a compact!

Cons:
No iso control in my colors mode
no macro in pano mode

In the end, buy a sturdy case, and for goodness sake, have some sense and don't stick it in your pocket and sit on it! You will be happy with this camera if you can follow those rules. If you want a high qaulity compact digital camera with limited manual controls, this is it for you!

Love this camera to death! It's is functional and stylish. Quality is superb!!

This item is a favorite for fraudulent sellers, so watch out for deals that look too good to be true. If the seller has a random email from a free service and a small feedback number be careful. Several people have (including me) have already fallen for scams on this camera. Amazon doesn't seem to be able to screen them out.

We recently purchased (in July '05)the Canon SD500 and we can't say enough good things about it. You are getting so much for the price. We felt like the camera was reasonably priced for so many features! We are so pleased. We did purchase an extra battery and that was a very wise move if you are going on vacation. We took so many pic's and kept reviewing them as well. My sister and brother-in-law purchased the very same camera and absolutely love it! We printed off over 200 pictures and they look like they are from a professional! Crystal clear photos. Everything has been just super!!!

Based on the reviews on Amazon.com, I purchased the SD500 and have taken about 3,000 shots with it. Its been fantastic in all modes and we have gotten great digital pictures with it. I read worries here about the weakness of the LCD and one reviewer advised getting a clear cover by "'da protector." Very good advise. Its available for $8.00 on Amazon.com.

Also, I purchased 2x of the the 1 gigabyte Smartcards from Sansdisk here. We got about 1,500 photos in medium mode on one disk.

Also, since the Canon replacement battery is rather expensive, we opted for a backup battery made by the Everready (sp?) battery company which works just as well.

The camera is great as it will slip into your pocket (seems safe with the sturdy LCD cover purchased separately). So you can take it anywhere such as a special dinner where you normally wouldn't want to lug around a SLR.

If you want to see the quality of pictures in medium mode, I've uploaded a bunch to the photo section. Note that those photos have even been scaled back to 1/2 their pixels with Adobe Elements. But still, they look great on a 17" computer monitor.

I would most definitely buy the camera again. Love it!

The SD500 is a wonderful little camera that fits easily in my shirt or pants pocket (don't put in rear pocket). It's metal except for the LCD and battery compartment.

I spent weeks researching a small form factor camera that would supplement an SLR. I ended up narrowing the pack to the SD500, Sony P200 and Casio Exlim 750 (the Pentax Optio S60 was not out at the time of purchase). Casio 750 is nice and small, fits in an Altiod tin, but it fails to deliver the color quality and consistency of the other two models. The Sony P200 had great features for the price, but would benefit from image stability to reduce image blur from hand held operation. I tested these at the local store after extensive online reviews.

I finally settled on the Canon after taking just a few images. It was clear that both flash and non flash images acurateley captured the perceived subject's colors. I have had this camera for 3 weeks now and have taken about 150 pictures and a couple of videos at 640 x 480 at 30fps. You will want to purchase a few high speed 2GB SD card if you plan to do this often! Canon doesn't tell you that videos can only be captured up to 1GB at a time so get a Camcorder of you really want to capture continuous video.

The most important feature of any camera to me is the color fidelity. I've found that I rarely, if ever need to edit images that come from the SD500 in Photoshop. I was in Walmart the other day and passed by their Photo center. I noticed that they had kiosk set up to take in images from digital cameras so I pulled out the little camera and took out the SD card, inserted it into the kiosk and loaded and selected a bunch of pictures for printing. Within an hour the 4x6 prints were ready. All I can say is "Wow"! The images were sharp, clear color was as expected/desired. My family was surprised to see the photographs we had just taken a couple of hours earlier.

So far I've tried a few of the other features including color swap, continuous image capture, scene selection among others. The scene selection is adequate though adding more manual controls would make this camera a definite 5 STAR.

Bottomline, the beauty of the SD500 is that images will be captured as perceived and can be sent directly for printing without any user color editing required.

A Word on Megapixels:

7MP is desirable if you need to create prints up to 8 x 10 at 300 dpi (dots per inch) which is typical of most laser and digital photo finishing printer. Don't be fooled by industry propaganda into thinking that a 3MP or even a 5MP is adequate for an 8 X 10 print. They are not! They can print those size images but the quality will suffer versus a 7MP camera. The photofinishing printers will have to generate pixels (interpolation) to print on an 8x10 sheet of paper. [For the techie: an 8x10 is equivalent to 2400 x 3000 pixel image so your camera must be capable of producing this to prevent interpolation which causes loss in sharpness.]

You cant imagine a better camera... it is to easy to use..., you can take photos and pictures every were, even in the absolute darkness. it has a very very powerfull flash, I LOVE IT... evey time a take a new photo Its a new great expetience... you can control every thing, tha light..., the colors..., the special scene.

BUY IT... IT IS THE BEST!!!

i spent about two months off and on doing research for THE best digitial camera since it was my first. price wasn't a factor but now i see its 100 dollars off because i think there's a SD550 now. i wanted something somewhat small (this camera exceeded that) and very good. anyway i first thought i wanted more optical zoom but after going on my trip for two weeks i see why 90% of manufacturers default to the 3x optical. its plenty especially if you are not a pro like me and just do shots of friends, family, scenary. if you're a stalker you'll need more. i never got frustrated about the optical during my two week trip. plus this camera is TINY. you cannot go wrong. i made this purchase expecting not to buy a camera for at least 10 years.

I have had this camera for 4 months now and I have had no problems with it. It has been an excelent camera.

This camera, while a pretty good quality camera in general, does have a few minor annoyances that were fixed in the SD550 model.

The first is movie mode. The SD500 adds an annoying hissing/whining sound to the movies. This is fixed in the SD550. Also the LCD screen on the SD550 is much larger and really a lot better. Finally, the firmware on the SD550 is better designed in that it includes the text as well as the symbols whereas the SD500 only shows symbols and you have to memorize that the flower means macro the mountains mean inifinity focus, etc.

That said, the SD500 is still a good camera so if you don't want to spend the extra money for the newer SD550 model, I'm certain you will be happy with the SD500. But if the price difference is not too much, you might want to consider the SD550 instead.

I take this camera everywhere I travel. I do very extensive traveling and this camera is perfect. It packs a lot of functions is such a small lil camera. I love it to death and don't leave home without it.

The bad reviews that I have read with RED EYE are not even that noticable in any of my night photos. I really think it is a lil blown out of proportion.

I print almost all my good photos on my color printer. I have a 4 mb kodak ls443 which takes awesome shots but the printing most of the time lost the clarity. On this camera every pic comes out unreal, even with crappy paper. The detail and clarity are great, i know there is a large difference due to the mg pixel but still it is a world apart.

I have to say the only one really bad thing about this camera is NO BATTERY METER. This is common with these elph's which i have read. Although I can get an entire 4 day weekend with 450+ pictures without even getting to a battery warning. So the battery does last a very long time w/o a charge. In the end it would be a great function to have on the camera. I hope we can get a firmware update with this added. It would really be the only flaw.

I totally recommend this camera, it is great and compact... PS Get a case the view finder will almost def. get scratched without one... Jim

My screen cracked too.
I had it in my poket.
My older Elph was way better.

It's one of those things...you never think it's going to happen to you until it does. For the price of this camera, it should break after using it for 3 weeks. It was fine one minute and then the next it wasn't. Quite shocking. I don't care how convenient the size...dealing with Canon to get it fixed has been a nightmare.

I am a very picky person and I have researched for all the 7+ mega pixiel cameras and finally decided on SD500. I found this camera can perform beyond my need. It has so many functions that I doubt I will use them all. But ONE thing I love the most is the "Photo-Stitch" option that allow you to take a panormaic scene. When I loaded the series of pics on my computer, the software easily (and within a nano second) stitch up the pictures into one perfect, flawless panoramic scene. It will be good for travel and special event.
A few complaints I have are: it is complicated to get to certain functin because Auto-mode allow you to do certain thing while manual and scenic mode allow you to do abit more. It is difficult to remember all that while you need to shoot in a hurry. Also, in the video-mode, there is some hiss-noise which quite bothering.

Other than that, I give a 4 stars rating for this little devil!

I like to print out photos enlarging portions and this enables me to get clear detailed prints up to 8x10

Rave Reviews
I bought this camera after reading rave reviews about photo quality, ergonomic size and the like.

Loved It
The camera is pretty stylish, feels very very good to hold, solid body,clear LCD screen. The software supplied is great, transferring pics to PC is just a breeze.


Dismal Realization
I went out for a photo shoot for two subsequent weekends, taking the little cute camera in my pocket. Out of 50-60 pics I took, around 30-40% pics came out blurred to some extent, little or large. I realized that pics taken inside the room, pics taken outside in the evenings and pics taken with zoom and pics of moving objects came out to be blurred to some extent.



Wise Again
The entire blurry thing got me suspicious and I just did search in google for 'sd400 blurry', 'sd500 blurry', 'sony dscp200 blurry' and I could read several posts where people found pics to be blurry with all the compact sized cameras. Some of the reviews did point out image stabilization is not so profoundly present in smaller cameras because of component sizes.


After some deliberation I just decided to do away with 'compact camera thing', after all why spend $400 to have a camera that may produce good results. I simply exchanged my SD500 with Cannon S2 IS and I feel relieved to get crisp, beautiful pictures.

I was excited to buy but right after i ordered the camera the order was cancelled by the seller, and my money was refunded. Don't bother e-mailing, they will not respond, nor will you hear anything about the sale of the item again. Horrible.

I bought my SD500 about a month ago and then I used it to take several shots at different times and locations, morning, afternoon and evening, indoor, outdoor, cloudy day, sunny day, close shot, landscape shot, by using the preset scenary modes... My overall impression is that picture quality is quite good at representing color and details. Up to now, the only minor shortcoming is that the default setting of exposure makes all pictures taken look darker than reality. The exposure setting of +2/3 ~ +1 can compensate the brightness.

digital camera canon power shot SD500 7 mp

This camera was rated the best in the "sub compact" digital camera categtory out of 20 or so other cameras. I must say from personal experience this camera is impressive. Only buy it though if you take enough pictures to justify spending $450. I should have bought a cheaper one. It takes the highest quality pictures I've ever seen, comes with very good software, is LOADED with features some of which a lot of people will never use. It has red eye reduction that works very well most of the time and then the software can remove any risidual. It has a flash & red eye feature at the same time if you need indoors, self timer set by default to 10 seconds but can be set to any inverval you like. It also has 4 different size pics to chose from and 4 resolutions. The higher the resolution and the larger the pic the more space it takes up on the memory card. This is no big deal if you buy a large card; they're inexpensive. Like I've said, it's a great camera but make sure you use it enough to justify spending $450 on it.

I purchased this camera in May and have used it non stop in europe and here at home. I have taken thousands of photos with it and it rarely disappoints me. More features than the average person will use on a regular basis but they are all worth having. I have processed several enlargements and everyone of them is spectacular in detail and color. Night shots come out quite good and going into "macro" mode I can take super sharp shots of precision equipment for documentation purposes. It goes everywhere I do and I take lots more pictures than ever simply because it is so handy!
I thnk this little monster really deserves six stars! Very highly recommended!!

This camera replaced my S110 and S500 which were both very durable cameras. The first night I took this one out, it came home with 2 dents -- and I had it in a protective case and it was never dropped! Other than that, the picture quality is great (which you should expect from a 7MP camera). Definitely spring for a larger memory card -- I bought a 1GB card to replace the tiny 32MB that came with it.

I'm very pleased with my camera. Very easy to use an very compact

My SD500 took great pictures until the LCD cracked. It was in my hand taking great pictures at one moment, and then suddenly the display was gone! It wasn't dropped, mishandled, or abused in any way. Funny thing about the Canon warranty - it states that damage to the LCD is "assumed" to be through misuse. I'm getting the runaround trying to get it fixed - maybe they'll fix it, maybe not.

It seems I'm not alone. A Google search shows cracked LCDs on the SD500 are a very, very common problem. I'd say save your money and don't by a Canon.

This camera is fantastic, the image quality is quite spectacular. The 7 megapixels create crystal clear image even in an 8x10. The camera has a few neat features like the "my colors" mode where you can use the color swap feature to change the color of an object, or color accent to change all colors to B&W except for one designated color! I have read reviews about fragile LCDs so i have handled it with much care and it has been fine so far. I would deffinately recomend this camera or if you care about the larger LCD, go for the SD550.

I bought the Canon SD500 earlier this year. Brought it with me to 2 long distance trips. The pictures and video clips came out with great quality. The physical outward appearances look very impressive, with metal outer body to protect its internal parts. It looks tough enough to last for at least 3 years. One would ask me why I only give a rating of 2.

Earlier this month, my camera started to have the "E18" error. After searching the Internet on this issue, the conclusion is that Canon point and shot cameras with retractable lens would most likely experience this problem. There are significant numbers of unhappy users.

E18 error is a result of battery problem or camera lens unable to retract, thus rendering the camera unable to function in any shooting mode.

There's a class action law suit against Canon on E18 error filed by a CA law firm. Too bad that I cannot post its link here. If you are interest, feel free to do some search on the internet.

I have been very disappointed that using my brand new SD500 for less than 6 months, it's basically dead now. I have yet to find out if Canon will fix it for me under warranty (some users stated that Canon won't fix it under warranty).

Good Camera but the LCD is very fragile. Mine cracked for no apparent reason. Canon will not cover in warranty. Fixed by Canon for $156.

I have had three different Canon Elph digital cameras and I loved them all. Until this one...

I bought it one month ago as an upgrade to my existing one and within 1 week the LCD was broken. I put the camera in my pocket with my phone and when I took it out, the screen was broken. I had my other Elph camera for three years and never even thought about the LCD screen.

Canon does not cover it under warranty so I am out a lot of money by having to pay them to fix it.

I would not recommend this camera until the make the LCD screen as resilient as their other older models.

If your LCD cracks, I would try very hard to get canon to replace for free. They know this is a problem but will not recall them. I was advised when buying a camera yesterday to stay away from the SD series for awhile. I would talk to whoever I had to to get it replaced for free. Good luck.

I bought the first SD500 4 month ago, and had it for 8 days, when the LCD cracked for no apparent reason, unfortunately I bought the diving case also, so after reading Canon didn't cover the LCD on warranty, I bought another one, but since then it's come out the LCD are very fragile, so that might have been a big mistake.

The Canon SD500 and Canon SD550 are both very capable digital cameras. While they are similar in many respects, the list price is not one. With the SD500's list price at $499.99 and the SD550's at $549.99, you might wonder what you are getting on the SD550 for that extra fifty dollars. Hopefully this comparison will help you find out.
The Similarities begin with the image processor. Both cameras utilize the DIGIC II image processor. According to the manufacturer this allows for "superb image quality through improved colour gradation and white balance accuracy". Since both cameras have this processor it affords an advantage to neither when deciding which camera to buy.
The similarities continue with the amount of mega pixels. The SD500 and SD550 each have 7.1 mega pixels. This means that pictures taken with these cameras will still be detailed when enlarged.
There are only really two differences between the SD500 and the SD550. The first difference is the size of the LCD screen. The SD500 has a two inch display. It may not be the biggest on the market, but it works well. On the other hand the SD550 has a two and a half inch display. The extra half inch on the SD550 does make it a little easier to make out details than on the SD500.
The second difference is the number of shooting modes. The SD500 has 13 shooting modes, which in my opinion is more than enough if someone was just looking to buy a camera to take on vacations or to family outings. The SD550 on the other hand has 16 shooting modes. Those extra shooting modes may come in handy for the more serious photographer.
I think it is safe to say that both the SD500 and the SD550 are good cameras. If you have the extra fifty dollars to spend I would suggest the SD550 with its half inch more screen and 3 extra shooting modes.

I may try selling mine ASAP as long as it is still worth anything. I had it now for a few months and should have followed my first instinct when I took it out of the box. It is too small and quite uncomfortable since there is no real grip. The picture quality is pretty good as long as you are not using the flash or the macro feature. The LCD is already scratched though I am anal with my equipment (I still have and love my 1980s A series camera which still looks almost new though it has been around the world with me a few times).
By looking at the prices now, I am disappointed that I did not go with the G6 or one of the Olympus SLR style cameras but fell for the "portability/cuteness" factor: size DOES matter. So, if you are into photography, buy a bigger and better camera. If you need a point and shoot, buy a cheap Olympus.

This is a very nice camera but it has one fatal flaw that made me return it. Videos have a buzz/hiss in their sound. This seems to vary from one shot to the next and maybe from one camera to the next, but even at its best, it's pretty bad. I ended up buying an SD550 instead (no buzz in the audio) and I'm very happy I did.

The 550 is a great little camera -- small, quick, convenient, easy to control. I didn't think the big screen would be as important as it is, but we like it a lot better than the smaller screen on the 500.

There's a lot to recommend about both cameras. They're very easy to use in the manual mode. You can leave a group of settings programmed into 'manual' and then turn the knob and go to full auto, and then go back to the same group of settings for manual.

One problem is that you never see a display of shutter speed and aperture. That's just silly. Another is that you can only see a histogram in playback.

Both cameras are fast. I've used the 550 much more and can say that for the first time with a digital camera I feel that I'm not missing shots because the camera isn't ready.

The metal surface of these cameras are slick and sophisticated. But, unfortunately, also very slippery, and combined with the shape of the camera, makes you always afraid you might drop it.