Great camera; but LCD is mediocre.

This is my second digicam. First was a basic 1.2 mp cheapie that was not much more than a drugstore disposeable.

I'm not a photo nut; just wanted something better. This S500 was available for far less than street price; so I bought it.

Overall excellent in my opinion; but I'm not experienced with digicams. I love the size and picture quality. The movie mode is something I never thought would be used but I now shoot about 30% movies. I'm not terribly enthused about the proprietary battery; but that one does seem to run forever. I agree with other reviewers; a better battery level indicator (or audible warning) would help. My only BIG grouch is the small display and its poor image quality when looking at it straight-on. When tilted, it is great. That could be a defect and why I got it cheap. I'll live with it. That's why I went with 'Good'.

Now that I've been around other cameras, I'd probably buy something different if I had to pay $300 or more. I can live with a somewhat larger body to get a larger and better display.

As this camera is now getting close to "production end" (I've had mine 8 months); there will probably be some killer deals coming. I'd recommend this camera if you could get it for less than $200.