Customer Reviews

Canon Powershot SD550 7.1MP Digital Elph Camera with 3x Optical Zoom (Beige)

5 star:		(95)
4 star:		(28)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

I like this little digital camera. It does everything a point and shoot digital camera should do and more. For me, a point and shoot camera should be small and light so that it can conveniently go with me everywhere. That's the power of any point and shoot camera actually. It goes with you in your daily life and subsequently you get shots that you could not get with other larger cameras either because it would be too conspicous, or too inconvenient to carry with you. This is the snapshot ethic. I'm a professional photographer and I carry this little pocket camera with me everywhere because I can't carry my pro SLR with me all the time and not have it feel like a burden on my shoulder.

You might be tempted to instead buy the cheaper and slightly older Canon SD500 since it has the same megapixel rating and looks very similar. There are however some pretty good improvements in the SD550:

-a larger LCD screen (very nice)
-better movie mode (SD500 put an annoying hissing/whining sound into the movie)
-better battery lid latch design
-better internal software (the display actually displays words and symbols such as "continuous mode" "single shot" "Macro" and not just the symbols alone.

A NOTE ABOUT CASE COLOR:
The SD550 comes in both Silver (called Grey on the box) or Champagne Gold. You will need to inquire with the vendor what color they stock or if you have a choice. Some of the vendors may be a bit useless in this respect so watch out-you may end up receiving a case color that you did not want. In my opinion, the Champagne Gold color is very ugly. Silver is much more attractive, even if you have to go to a local store to buy it.

This camera is easy and fun to use and I can even shoot a long movie (up to 20 something minutes at the lower resolution with a 1GB card). Some cameras (Casio) only let you shoot a short 8 second movie. The movie mode is quite usable with quality video and audio.

Another cool feature is that the automatic orientation sensor works when you are reviewing images. Try reviewing images and rotating the camera around-the image will always stay right side up on the LCD screen!

To conclude, I am happy with this camera because it does everything a small point and shoot digital camera should do, yet it is quite small, light, feels sturdy (metal case) and has very pleasant ergonomics both with regard to the layout of the controls as well as to the on screen menu functions. Color, sharpness and resolution are all impressive for a camera this size.

I have owned several digital cameras over the past 3 years. Canon is a brand that never disappoints. This camera is no exception. I have a Canon 20D digital SLR I use with an external flash. I use it almost everyday. Stunning quality, but those of you who have kids know that this is a quite a monster to carry around on a day-to-day basis.

I needed something that I could pop into a bag and go without feeling like I was sacrificing quallity. The SD550 is the solution.

The Digic II processor enables fast focusing and thereby reduces "shutter lag." Fewer lost moments.

Easy menu/function navagation.

The flash is amazingly adequate despite it's smallish appearance. Adequate illumination up to 15'.

Great in-cam screen. Largest in its class (2.5").

Many custom settings for the novice to the the pro.

Movie mode is awesome for a camera of this size.

Cons are:

You will need to spend an additional 60-90 bucks to get a practical memory card. They supply a 32MB card that is good for about a dozen hi-res pics (or fewer).

Still no case included. Coach makes a nice one for about 30 bucks.

Conclusion:
I know I am an early adopter but I am sure this camera will be a best seller. I hope your results are comparable.

Update: I'm not as hot about the durability of this product. Canon service has been nice enough to fix this every time I send it in, but it's been to the shop THREE times during its one year warranty, and has stopped working again. I might have been unfortunate enough to get something with an irreparable defect. I like it WHEN it works, but otherwise I am now a bit afraid to go for these. The S400 I had before this was way more reliable than this frequent flyer to the service center. I'd shoot out a couple of stars if I could, but I can't when updating a review.

I love the results that a digital SLR produces, especially in low light. Make no mistake, a digital SLR is way better at 400 ASA than any of these point-and-shoots.
BUT how often do you see a photo opportunity, and have your digital SLR ready to capture it? By the time you pull that one out of the carry case, this camera is done with the shot, the moment has passed, the SLR is only now ready, and victory belongs to the one who actually got to take a picture.
Points to note:
- Size. This fits into my front left pocket with my wallet. I can draw the camera and shoot within seconds at any time. And it's solidly built, even the screen remains clear and scratch free. I wouldn't stick it with coins and keys though.
- Fast power up. This camera is ready by the time I'm pointing. I used to hit the power button on my S400 as it came out of my pocket, but this one powers up almost instantaneously so you need no such tricks.
- USB 2.0 - with a 2GB card that I don't like to erase often, this is very important.
- Gravity-flip. If you have a portrait shot to view, rotate the camera 90 degrees and the picture uses the full screen. To get the right side up, the older generation of cameras would play back portraits in a wide screen, wasting a lot of screen space.
- Perfectly placed controls. Don't be fooled by touch-screen controls like the Sony 3" screen camera has. Sony designs its product controls like people have nothing better to look at than the camera itself. Canon allows you to feel what you need when taking the shot and places nice solid buttons in the right places. Even for my huge clumsy fingers.
- I like the 2.5" screen for playing back photos, particularly for older people who otherwise would need reading glasses. I also use the camera as a digital photo wallet, 2GB SD card gives you plenty of room.
- 640x480 video capture is nice. Again, you may not have a camcorder ready in your pocket but this camera will fit nicely. Not for production movies, but hey when you want to capture a spontaneous moment...
- Fast ASA switching in Manual mode. I can live with some noise at 400 ASA when the moment is important. I usually like 200 ASA indoors, the quality is reasonable. Sometimes I want to use the 50 ASA high-quality capture, and I don't have to dig deep into the menus to set this. It's one-touch
- I hate using the flash, so for me it's important to see the right details (shutter speed, ASA, flash status) Canon has the display planned very intuitively.
- I used to be a Nikon fan until the digital elphs came along. Canon has winners here, and I like the SD 550 best of all.
- Convenient battery size and life - about a day's worth of good usage, or days of casual usage. I got the Lenmar equivalent as a spare battery, and I'm never out of power. The charger is very quick and I usually have a fully charged battery at all times, often a charged spare as well. Note that Canon increased its battery capacity because the Lenmar offered more mAh when the S400 was in fashion. Battery beats having to deal with AA or AAA cells.
- Compatibility. This works perfectly with iPhoto, and I like that. I have never used their built-in software.

Do make sure you get the biggest SD capacity you can afford. Trust me.

I bought one of these for my girlfriend. It is her first digital camera, our second. I have a Nikon Coolpix 5000. I've been taking pictures for 30 years.

The 550 is a great little camera, as long as you're willing to trade size and speed and convenience for some important information that any professional photographer would find essential.

Impressions:

Fun to use, easy to control, very quick. Mostly reasonable exposure accuracy. Decent flash performance. Lots of redeye (so far we've been successful fixing redeye in iPhoto).

I didn't think the big screen would be as important as it is, but I found photography with it to be very 'immediate' -- you feel more wired in.

We've made some videos. They look great and sound decent. (The SD500 has a problem with buzzing and hissing in sound. I know because I intially bought the 500 and returned it for the 550).

The camera is 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 again. We found the menu system to be quicker and a bit more intuitive than the menu system on the Nikon Coolpix 7900, which we also looked at. (Other advantages for the Canon -- USB 2, bigger screen. But I have two friends have the 7900 and it seems to render color very artfully. Hard to describe but easy to see.)

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.

The camera is super-fast. In all three major ways: to turn on, to focus and to store an image. For the first time with a digital camera, I feel that I'm not missing shots because the camera isn't ready. Combined with the big screen and the small size, this creates a 'come play with me' quality that is really appealing.

The metal surface of the camera is very slick and feels sophisticated, like a piece of jewelry. Maybe for that reason is seems feminine to us. Unfortunately the sexy surface is very slippery, and combined with the shape of the camera, it makes you always worry that you might drop it.

Bottom Line -- terrific camera that you can throw in a coat pocket. Just don't drop it. Guys might also want to consider the Nikon Coolpix 7900.

After having owned five Nikon Coolpix cameras in a row (the latest being the Coolpix 7900), I got tired of the Nikon's inability to shoot in low-light conditions, and their incredible lag times in autofocusing and start-up. So I did my research and found very favorable reviews for the Canon SD series, especially in low-light situations. I have two infant daughters, and I've lost many a good photo to blur from poor autofocus with the Nikons. Not any more! The SD550 is an incredible camera. The pictures are razor sharp, the camera is extremely ergonomic, battery life appears impressive, uses industry standard SD memory, and comes with a compact battery charger (not the silly bricks like the Nikon Coolpix chargers). Most of all, it will almost always find focus very quickly in situations that choke the Coolpix. I did a side by side comparison in two situations: a kitchen with 320 watts of light bulbs on, and a living room with a single 60 watt bulb. The Coolpix could NOT find focus in either situation, no matter what I did. It's AF assist light is just too tepid. The SD550, however, locked focus instantly. It also has a very generous LCD size that puts other compacts to shame. My wife also has a Coolpix which she was using for supplemental photography at events, but it really sucked -- almost all her shots were blurry due to poor focus. I am getting rid of her Coolpix and getting her one of these! One last thing: the SD550 has some good scene modes, including one called Pets & Kids. With little ones running around, it's a great preset mode with instant focus and exposure lock, so you don't miss those moments. I only wish I had invested in Canon years ago.

Update: I ditched my wife's Coolpix and got her the SD550. Now we own two of them. How's that for a recommendation!

There are so many digital camera models out there. And just about all of them these days are loaded with features and take excellent pictures. So why this one when it costs 400 buckaroos when a 200 dollar one will take equally good pictures? Take the following into consideration:

[1] For small point and shoot digital cameras, your best bet is with the Canon, especially the SD series for its compactness. Canon digital cameras have excellent ergonomics, meaning all the controls are where they should be, which makes them very easy to learn. They have excellent optics that produce beautiful pictures. With the DIGIC II processor, they are very fast and responsive. And Canon supplies you with an external battery charger (TWO BIG THUMGS UP!) enabling you to charge one battery while you are using one battery, so you'll never be without power. The camera comes with only one battery, so you should buy an extra battery (you don't need a Canon brand battery; third-party batteries are just as good). You should also buy extra memory (at least a 512MB SD card, preferably a 1GB SD card).

[2] 7.1 megapixels. 97% of you will never need/use it all, but it's nice to have JUST IN CASE. There might be that one time when you may want to make a 15"x20" print, or you just might want to blow up a small section of a picture and still see a lot of detail. For a frame of refrence, most 17"-19" computer monitors run 1024x768 or 1280x1024, which is roughly ONE megapixel for the full screen. For printing, a 3 megapixel picture will produce perfect prints at least up to 5"x7".

[3] 2.5" LCD screen. So much nicer to have this over the 2" screen. You can see much more detail. Can half inch make that big a difference? Area-wise, the 2.5" screen is over 50% larger than the 2" screen. Think 50" TV versus a 40" TV (same ratio as 2.5" to 2"). HUGE difference.

[4] Not only is the SD550 extremely functional, it is also very hot looking (it's got the sexy curve to boot). I prefer the silver one, but the champagne one's hot too.

[5] Since I mentioned HOT ... Maria Sharapova says you should get one. "Make every shot a PowerShot!"

One drawback is the bulk. While the SD550 is still a small camera, it a bit larger than the other SD series cameras and even slightly bigger than the SD500. For example, comparing it to the SD200 which is 30% smaller and 30% lighter, the SD550 feels huge (and costs more than twice as much). But that's the price you pay for the extra megapixels, the extra huge screen, and updated controls.

I ordered the Canon SD550 right before my vacation and I am sooo happy with my purchase! It is my first digital camera, and although I am your avg point and shoot tourist, I wanted the option of being able to take nice pics using special features.

At first I tried looking for a silver-colored camera, which you can get on other sites, but learned that these cameras are manufactured overseas and are intended for international sale only. Therefore, the silver ones are not covered under the Canon USA warranty. So I ordered mine from Amazon and yes, its Champagne color, but its nicer than I expected. In fact, you probably won't even notice the color after you realize what a great camera it is so who cares.

The 2.5 LCD screen is great! My friend has the SD100, and the LCD looks puny by comparison. Plus the SD100 and SD550 are practically the same size. I love the fact that the LCD is huge. Definitely get an LCD protector, you can order one for $8 (incl. S/H) from Da Protector website. With the protector, I am not worried at all about damage to the LCD screen. Its pretty solid and scratch-resistant (however, not dust-resistant, so when you're putting the protector on, try to do so in a relatively dust-free environment, otherwise there will be some dust in btwn the protector and the screen).

I also ordered the Accessory 2 Kit package from Amazon, which comes with a case and an extra battery (good price, b/c the price of just an extra battery alone is the same, so you might as well go for the case too). You will probably need the extra battery if you are going overseas and don't have an adapter. The battery that the camera comes with is said to last over 100 pics at high resolution. While on vacation (for a week), I charged the battery only once (just in case, but it never reached low), and I probably didn't need to at all. My friend's SD100 battery had to be recharged daily. I was able to take about 160 pics on 1GB memory card (mostly all on the highest resolution, however, probably could've taken more if I didn't take some video clips--about 5). The video feature is great. Not sure how long you can record but one of my clips was over 2 minutes and replaying them on the LCD screen was almost like having a mini TV with me. The sound quality is decent too, but its really a digital camera, not a video camera, so don't expect much.

I love the features, it took me about a day to get used to them though. The My Colors features allows you to emphasize certain colors, which I liked, especially for scenic pics. The Macro features lets you take great pictures of anything close up. The Night Feature helpd a lot for sunrises and sunsets. The Stitch Feature (for panaromic use) is kinda difficult to use, you will have to match your pics up on the software and I am lazy and didn't use it. There are a ton of other features, but as long as you play around with it a bit, you'll figure it out.

The flap for the USB connector seems kinda weak, I was afraid it would break, but perhaps it was designed this way to appear flimsy but its not? You also need to take out the battery to charge, but honestly, its not really a big deal.

So, was my money worth spent? I believe so, considering I am hoping this camera will last me the next 5 years.

I know people like lists so here's mine:

PROS:
-Large LCD screen. Once you see it, you can't get anything less.
-Easy to use features (after you get used to it)
-Can take over 300 pics on 1GB at highest resolution with NO VIDEO CLIPS. I think when I first set my camera up with nothing taken yet, it was at 323 available pics. So just think how many pics you can take at just medium quality, which is just as good!
-If you take a picture of something on portrait view (as opposed to the usual landscape view), it will rotate itself to also show portrait view on the camera.
-Battery is strong. Its been 4 days since I charged my camera and still haven't seen low battery message yet. And I've used it to take pics, and to view playbacks many, many times.
-Takes gorgeous pics! Everyone said I didn't need anything over 5 pix but I love how sharp my pics came out.
-Camera starts up very quickly
-You can take continuous pics by setting it to this mode and just keeping your finger on the button (maybe a half sec delay in btwn shots?)
-Although it was hard for me to switch from a regular camera to digital, I am soooo happy i did because I can preview the pics and delete the ones that I don't really like, rather than waste a lot of film.

CONS:
-Definitely need to buy LCD protector and a larger memory card
-Battery needs to be taken out to charge, but I don't really find it a problem, some others may
-The case does scratch easily, although most of the time I had it in the case, there are a few faint marks on the front
-USB cover seems weak, but haven't had any problems so far
-When you zoom in on video, it looks grainy. I think it may be because the pixels on the LCD are not enough? I think the SD550 and SD500 have the same amount of pixels, but the SD 550 just has a bigger size screen.
-For some reason, I was unable to transfer 1 video clip to my computer. I am not sure why. this is the one that was over 2 minutes.

The camera is great! It's a pleasure to use because of its high-tech features.

Let's start out with the positives. The screen is amazing, it is huge! The quality on the pictures is amazing. It has a nice dark metal color and after you take a picture and go back to it, the picture rotates to the side that you're looking at it from. It is the coolest feature! The icon of the setting that you switch to pops up big quickly, and right away becomes small and moves away to the left of the screen so it's not in the way of your view when you're taking a picture. The shutter speed is extremely fast and so is the camera.
Another great thing about this camera is that you can zoom in while recording in a video mode, just as you would do with an actual video camera. Also, when you're zooming in all the way, beyond it's capability, the picture still comes out crystal clear. The 7.4 gross-pixels really help out in this case.

THE NEGATIVES

Since the screen is huge, your fingers tend to be on the screen from time to time. The camera is slippery, it is easy to drop. It doesn't have a date imprint option and the slot for the USB cable is very fragile.

Hope this was useful, this camera is worth buying. I suggest you purchase it with a 1GB memory card.

I purchased the SD200 for my father almost a year ago and wanted to upgrade him for his birthday 2 weeks ago. So that is where my comparison is coming from.

Mediahound below me really nailed it on the head the SD550 really is a great little camera, but one small thing I think is VERY VERY important to add is that not only is the LCD screen bigger its TOUGHER. The number 1 complaint about the SD200 SD300 SD400 and SD500 were the breaking screens.

I have 4 friends who own the SD line and 1 of them has cracked the LCD and numerous people on dpreview and other forums have as well. That has actually been the number one complaint I have seen is folks are scared to buy it because it is so fragile.

I stumbled on this upgrade when I was using the viewfinder and my rather large nose pushed against the LCD and from the corner of my eye I noticed the colors didnt change and no dimpling. Then further I used my thumb and applied similiar pressure to both and the SD550 was rock solid unlike the sd200 which showed massive dimpling and lcd reaction.

Cheers and enjoy folks!

I'm an advanced hobbist and my main camera is the Digital Rebel XT. While the Rebel produces excellent images, it's big, bulky, heavy and not always easy to take with you.

I wanted something that would fit in my pocket and that I could
also take running and hiking. I wanted the camera to be high quality, because that's what I'm used to with the Rebel XT.
I decided on the 550 for two reasons. 7+MP and the 2.5" LCD screen.

The camera arrived yesterday. In the evening I immediately plugged in the battery and set off for a run. Got some nice sunset pictures, which I usually never get while running, because my Rebel XT is too heavy to carry.

For a point and shoot camera, the SD550 is great. It's small enough to fit in your pocket, yet produces high quality images.
I honestly cannot tell the difference between the images off the SD550 and the Rebel XT.

To be fair, you do lose some ability to compose the picture. There is no manual focus, exposure setting is out of your control(at least I think). But if you are looking for a small high quality camera, that's easy to use, this is a good one.

I don't know how easily the LCD scratches, but I immediately put a protective cover on it.

I doubt you'll be disappointed with this camera. I saved $50 off the Best Buy price, by ordering off of Amazon.