Overall, it's been a decent camera, but we found that the camera distorted the color purple and showed it as blue. Even sending the camera in for repair didn't fix it...

Have been very happy with camera for 1.5 years. Have taken it on some very extreme outings. Have not had any real problems with it - besides locking up once or twice (just turned camera off & on and fixed the problem). However, was just on vacation in Florida and the zoom quit. I have been told will be $100 to $125 to fix. Considering buying new camera but will probably just upgrade to the Canon SD990.

I have also noticed that red eye is common indoors and that indoor photos are not as good as hoped. Yet, very happy with camera for the price.

I bought this camera 2 years ago, not doing any research on it, just bought it on a whim. It has taken excellent quality photos and gone everywhere with me. The only issue I have with the LCD screen was that it seemed to become scratched or "smudged" easily, but no cracked screen. I am forced to buy a new camera now due to my flash smoking when it goes off, otherwise I would probably use my camera another couple years.

I owned this camera about a year now... the camera is good... the pictures are great but the red eye reduction doesnt seems to work very well.. also the camera is too fragile... good chances of getting E18 error quite soon.

this camera is in great operating conditions, while the LCD isn't cracked. it cracks VERY easily. If you have a canon for more than a year, it'll happen. I hear it's fixable though, but just not worth the money.

This product has excellent battery, sharp image.
However, it has terrible design problem: It is extremely easy to break its big LCD. And once it is broken, the camery becomes almost a trash for you! I broke it within one moth of my purchase and at that time, I am back in China and cann't return it! Now, I have terrible experience about cannon. I hope they can recall this product and do free replancement!!!!

-It is very user friendly
-There is practically no delay in view pictures you take with this camera
-it has many features...but not too many that you do not use
-it can have dpi/quality pics for up to 16" size posters
-it may not be the ultra slim camera like fuji finepix10...but it is a lot better than it. my sister has the fuji Finepix.
-the color of pics you take is very accurate
-there are settings for taking pictures in various lightings
-IT has this great 12x zoom feature and is very crisp
-it takes great close up pictures too ***crisp and high quality
-it offers so many sizes and levels of qualities for pictures you take holding from 30-200+ pictures on 32mb sandisk card
-it has a postcard size option too

we really enjoyed this camera, my grown son has somehow snatched it since the birth of his son this september now he brings it over and it wont turn on at all, ive tried recharging the batteries and now ive ordered a new battery they tell me at the stores that they are discontinued (batteries) so i went on line but im not sure thats what is wrong with it , my next step is a camera shop............so for 300$ and only a year not great.........

You can take so nice pictures with this camera, but the LCD is really awful. After just one month I noticed the LCD to have some problems! something like some bubbles of air inside the screen which really made my upset! I took the camera to one of canon services in my own country to be repaired because I had a warranty on this camera, but they didn't accept that!
Does anyone know what I shall do?
P.S: the biggest problem I have is that I am in Iran, and warranty services are terrible here! almost no one answers you!

Very good camera, very good image quality -> relatively big sensor 1/1.8

I don't know what the other owners are complaining about. TAKE CARE of your digital camera. It is not a toy, buy a leather case. I have owned 2 other Canon camera's in my past. All stood the test of time, meaning my first camera was bought in 1998. I was always able to resell. This camera is the envy of my family! I recommend it for quality, cost and durability.

I have had an amazing time with this camera for the last 6 months, except for the screen being cracked in 4 different places (in which I did not cause, it is simply too sensitive)...but that asside...my camera fell off the table last week and now the lenses will not go back in. The lady at the camera store said it will cost $150 to fix, she then followed-up with the comment "Yeah, you might at well just buy a new one." what?! I mean, does that make sense anyone, was that nut-job right??

I've owned Powershots since the line started and the first ones were beasts: nothing could break them. The current SD550 is much more tender. It takes great pix and hooks up smoothly with my Powerbook plus comes with great software. Just be mighty careful of the screen. Also, the focusing mechanism went out of whack on mine —- I could have smacked the machine but who knows? That said, Canon service is great.

This camera takes great pics and works well, however,I have only had this SD800 for one week and I noticed that the LCD screen is slightly pushed in at one side & loose (not broken). I have been looking at reviews for other canon SD series cameras (ex. SD500 and SD550)and noticed that there are MANY customer complaints about the cheap LCD screen (it seems to break very easily) DOES ANYONE KNOW IF CANON IS STILL USING THIS SAME LCD SCREEN FOR THE SD800 ? Or has that problem been corrected? Also I have been hearing about the camera stops working and an error code E18 being displayed on these cameras???

I took this camera for the weekend of my brother's wedding and pulled the camera out going to the church to find a crack in the lcd display. I'm very disappointed because I've gently used this camera for the past 5 months and know that nothing was done to cause this crack. Now I'm facing repair costs because I don't have any special warranty on this camera.

Had this camera for a little less than 3 months. Bought it from Costco. The camera fell from a chair onto a carpeted floor and the LCD screen crack. Luckily Costco has a very good return policy and took it back, but if we used Canon's warrenty or had bought it from a different store we'd have to pay for a replacement. Treat the camera like your mothers most valuable china, or you'll have a broken LCD too!

I really like this camera It has great features and easy to use...

After a few months the shutter button fell off for no particular reason.

Now the lens is stuck halfway out, I'll have to send it in again for a long repair (probably expensive, too).

I'm debating not fixing it and getting something else. The quality of this thing is obviously poor, and frankly my cheap Olympus took much nicer looking pictures.

For those of you who did not get warranty service for "cracked" LCD I suggest you make a copy of this listing (showing that it is a common problem with this camera) and write to the Attorney General's Office in the State that Cannon is headquartered. (Any Cannon dealer can tell you where their US home office is located). Ask the Attorney General's Office to help you get a refund for your repair costs. I've done this for other things and often get results in my favor. As far as the camera, agree with red eye but I've eliminated asking folks to look slightly to side of camera (so flash isn't directly in eyes)...seems to help. Bought to get better enlargements and bigger screen. No problems with screen but I can promise I won't take NO for an answer after reading this site.

Spontaneous crack, similar to others descriptions. It is WEIRD that this happens. Didn't do anything to provoke the crack. I took it out of its case to use it for the second time, in my home, and turned the power on and there it was.

Don't buy this camera. I had a similar Nikon for 3 years, treated it rough and wore it out, but never had the LCD crack.

I had this camera in a padded section of my purse during a one-hour flight from Athens to Santorini. When I landed and took the camera out the screen was shattered inside. I was told the warranty I purchased would not cover it because it must have been dropped. I'm glad to see from the other reviews that I'm not going crazy. Since the camera was repaired ($200) the pictures don't seem sharp. Red eye has always been a problem.

Pictures always come out too dark or too light. Horrible red eye! Sad thing is I bought this camera to capture my newborns first moments.

The screen of the camers has been broken even it was in its leather case. Officers of the Canon agent in my country informed that the warranty will not cover such thing as it appeared for them that the camera has been fallen from me. PLEASE DON'T buy this camera

Positives: Viewfinder-most ultra compacts don't have one. Great image quality, nice prints. Fast performance most of the time. Small and well built. Strong brand name. good pricing.

Negatives: Battery life could be better. red eye which is to be expected from small cameras though. Scratches easily. Have heard horror stories about LCD errors and cracking. Flash shots a bit long.

I purchased this camera 40 days ago, It was kept in a padded bag and used 6 times. Upon turning the camera on the lens stuck in the extended position, the camera beeped and spit an error code then shut down. Circuit city refused to assist with this problem stating that since I did not purchase the extended care plan I was at the MERCY of Cannon's warrenty plan. This plan asks that the camera is mailed to a service center and a 7-10 day repair time is needed.
I have owned a Sony camera for 5 years and have
never had a problem with it. Circuit City suggested the Cannon camera over the Sony and I bought it.

If anyone is to buy a Cannon, and my suggestion is to buy a Sony or other MFG. If you take your chances with Cannon get the service plan or this will happen and you will be left with a camera of poor quality and questionable
dependability.

the canon sd 550 is an excellent camera for me , it has a 7.1 megapixel and 3x optical , 4x digital zoom so it makes perfect for my needs

Having started with a Canon 330 many years ago, I find the Canon SD550 a "familiar" friend. Well designed, easy to use, excellent optics and compact size make this sleek model a winner for anyone seeking a digital camera that they can slip into a shirt pocket or small purse for great photos and "movie clips." With memory prices getting lower every week, the user can easily set the camera for the best quality photos.

No physical damage to account for the problem. I also had a lot of red eye. I am a big Canon fan - I recommended about $3 million in copier purchases for work. I can't say I would recommend the cameras.

Broken LCD within 3 weeks of purchase. Paid BestBuy $200 to replace the LCD. ( because they refused to honor their extended warranty)Bought hard case for the camera and six months later the LCD is broken again!

Threw total investment of $900 in trash!
No more Best Buy or Canon products for me.

Although the picture quality is incredible and the optical zoom is great, I had my camera for less than 2 months and the LCD screen cracked. I did nothing to cause the crack but canon made me pay for a new screen. Sure enough, 3 months later, the screen cracked AGAIN!! Now I am ordering my own screen online and installing it myself. The second time it cracked it was in a case in my coat pocket. It is way too sensitive!!!

I have owned the SD500 (basically identical to the 550 except for the lcd screen) and after over 7000 pictures, I'd still buy this camera again. For an easy-to-use, point-and-shoot camera, I feel there is nothing lacking here. I can't say enough about it, it's captured massive amounts of crystal clear, bright photos of countless events, parties, occasions, even just tinkering will still life's. It has also relegated my handheld DVR to collecting dust, since this takes passable video as well.

The only thing that I could ever bring up that I'd want—(and again, this is a point-and-shoot so this feature isn't expected) would be a zoom in the 10x range or so, but still, with 7.1 Mp. resolution you can get similar resuts to 10x zoom cameras that have only 5mp resolution. I have cropped and blown up to 8x10 size vivid crisp shots of indy cars that fill the frame, taken from row DD (about 30 rows up) where you can clearly read the name on the helmet—they look as if I was standing trackside, like something out of Sports Illustrated.
—Jim

The flash is impossible to use with indoor pictures because of red eye, the worst I've ever seen. The camera froze up with lens deployed and could not be repaired and there was no trauma at all. I have now been without for 5 weeks and this am Best Buy said that it had to be replaced.

I have read complaints about the SD series LCD screens and also inquiries about if the SD550's improved screen is better. As far as I'm concerned my cheap little Nikon had a much tougher screen. Mine cracked while in it's case while being carried around my waist with absolutely nothing bumping it that I was aware of. Needless to say, I'm very disappointed in it's durability. I have notified Canon of the problem and they say send it in, my expense, and they'll decide if they want to warrant it or not. Great company standing behind this 7 week old camera. As far as the rest of the camera, it is great! Love the movie feature as they are great quality. Takes great pictures. Great size.

I've owned the camera for over 4 months and it's been fantastic for me. Compact enough for the pocket, quick action from off to snap, large lcd, great zoom. Battery life is good for minimum of 150 shots with flash. I recommend 1gb instead of 512 to fit in the occasional video. Occasional red-eye from indoor shots but nothing that cant be edited. manual mode is great and macro for the close ups is amazing.

After once owning my own photo business where I lugged two big film cameras through weddings, newspaper assignments, sports events and various other photographic efforts it is a blessed relief to carry around a competent camera in my pocket. I have a full set of Canon digital professional equipment and under certain conditions this little camera produces 13x19 enlargements printed on my Canon 9100 printer that are comparable to images produced by my "L" lenses. This is due, I believe to the 7.1 processor but also due to what I think is an exceptional small camera lens. I have never used all the features my my SLRs and I won't on this camera. I use those features that give me good pictures. That is still what photography, to me,is all about. I used to use fully manual Bronicas to do formal wedding pictures. Believe me I think automation is great and I don't miss lost shots while fumbling with the camera only to set the wrong F-Stop. However, there are so many features and menus on this camera that it's operation gets confusing except in auto mode. I miss aperture and shutter speed although it shows shutter speeds under 1/60th. The flash is anemic and I don't like on camera flash at all on any camera. I just purchased a Canon HF-DC1 small off camera strobe activated flash that is compatible with ELPH cameras. I am still experimenting with it but my flash pictures are turning out better. Canon claims that it balances with the output of the on camera flash. If that is so maybe I can place it where it takes most of the load and get away from some the burned out look of direct flash. As it attaches at the tripod mount I wish they made a miniature stroboframe upon which to mount it but it's better to use it away from the camera or hold it and bounce it. I believe, if there were to be decent light, I could probably shoot an acceptable wedding with this camera if I re-touched the red eye. Remember it's not the equipment, it's the photographer that makes the picture. Things I like: big Screen, flush lens when the camera is off, neat combined battery and SD Disk compartment, the camera is relatively fast to focus and process, it's small size, relatively high resolution images, the accessory off camera flash and I like Canon products. Things I don't like: no control over aperture and shutter speed(only indirect through ISO)and, digital zoom noisy, and, as I am sometimes hard on equipment, I have to be careful with it as it is pretty fragile (it, however, less than a quarter the price of my last digital SLR. I am having more fun with this little thing than I have had in years as photography had become hard work before I closed the business. My advice is to find a couple of shooting modes and become good at them and shoot away. There is no film to waste. What counts is that I am getting very good results from this very moderately priced SD550.

It takes great pictures;however, the red eye is a problem. Make sure you set the camera on the correct settings for red-eye and also manual. Learning how to use the features will solve most of the problems mentioned in the many reviews by people. You also have to be very careful with the display. I dropped mine and had bought it from Best Buy. I did not have their plan so had to send it off for repair. When it came back the controls would not work, so it was sent back again. Best Buy stood behind the second repair and I only had to pay for the first repair. So Be CARE with the camera. Make sure to buy a good padded case to carry it in. And make sure you buy a SD card that has a lot of G's And so far the cards are just fine. I give this camera high marks.

There is considerable red eye with this camera. Be aware of that problem before spending the money on this camera. I've owned a few Powershots: S200, S230, S400, S500 & now this one (SD 550). I like the compact flash card cameras better. The SD cards feel flimsy & crappy. The screen is awesome. Have not experienced any problems with it like the other reviewers on this site. I recommend the S80 camera over this one. I got the S80 for my dad's birthday. It rocks compared to the SD 550. I carry three (3) batteries in the camera pouch. A battery will last me awhile on high resolution, monitor 'ON', & 2 gig SD card.
I wish I bought the S80 first.

This camera is built nice and seems to shoot fast but if you use a flash a lot this camera is not for you!!! My girl friend and sister both have this camera as well, and we all agree the red eye on this model is one of the worst we have seen. I wish i never sold my Sony

Bought a total of three of them for the family. Take a lot of indoor pictures and the redeye is horrorable. The pictures look like something out of a horror movie even with redeye reduction. Called Cannon and no help. Would never buy another Cannon. Should have kept the sony's. Much better picture quality

Great screen, battery life, picture quality etc...i've owned a few Canon SD's and wish i waited a month since the new SD700's out but still LOVE my SD550. great zoom, size and structure leaner than my old SD100, and better than the SD400 (though mostly aesthetic/structural, not to mention pixel size etc). overall solid purchase but perks aren't TOO extensive

My first digital camera - I've been scanning 35 mm slides and negatives for years at ~ 8 megapixels.
Positives: Convenient, works well in low light situations, high quality images, ease of use. Never going back to film.
Negatives: LCD screen spontaneously cracked; repaired under warranty (2 weeks). Terrible red-eye. Not a replacement for an LSR.

After only owning this camera for two months the LCD screen stopped working. Returned as instructed to have repaired as still under warranty. They sent me a bill for a $134.74 saying the warranty doesn't cover impact/pressure damage. There was no impact damage, I was taking a picture when it stopped working.Never again will I buy a Canon product.

After only two months of owning the SD550, it ceased working. Following instructions in the warranty, I sent it to Canon. It had a one year warranty. The sent mr a bill for over $100 to repair the problem. The canera had no damage and was never dropped. I took two pictures and the LCD viewer went blank. Following the Canon instructions I sent it insured back to them. I was shocked to receive a large repair bill to fix a problem covered by their warranty. I have contacted them to complain and plan to contact the Federal Trade Commission and the Florida State Attorney General. It's plain fraud on their part!

I have owned 7 or 8 of the latest Canon cameras both film and digital. I got rid of a S500 because of poor quality and bought a SD550 thinking it would be better. WRONG!!! This camera takes blurry photos and the flash broke almost immediately. Sent back for repair. Was told 10 working days and is now over 30 days and still no camera—my last Canon thank you very much.

I thought I had bought a top-high-end digital
camera when I selected the SD550. I take a lot of flash pictures and soon found FAR too much red eye and using the flash as I do, too little battery life. I also felt I wanted a "wider" wide angle lens.
So I returned the SD550 and for $68.00 more bought the Canon PowerShot S80. No red eye problem, large battery, 28mm wide angle lens, same take anywhere size and 2-1/2" LCD.
The problems I had with the SD550 are inherent in
it's design and will plague you for the life of the camera so buy a camera that does not have these annoying problems. I feel the S80 is a
SUPERIOR CAMERA.

I believe that you can have a really nice camera and take mediocre photos or have a really mediocre camera and take breathtaking photos. It's all up to the individual behind the lens. Ive had a 5mp camera for years and learned all the ins-n-outs of digital photography. Now that I'm older and wiser and a more informed consumer, I knew that my Sony cybershot wasn't going to cut it anymore. So when I went to upgrade I enlisted a friend (Professional Photographer) and he told me to go with either Canon or Nikon. After looking at the options and showing him my choices for a good P&S camera he told me this one was the best buy for my money and for my photos... and I couldn't be happier. For people who say that it takes terrible indoor photos, I suggest "Manual Mode" rather that auto. Any camera on auto won't take as nice of a photo than you could. This is a great buy and you won't be sorry. P.S. The macro option is excellent in my opinion.

Like most overpriced digital cameras, this one does a prety good job for what it is, even the macro mode took some very good shots, and movie mode is no slacker.
But in the long run, theres' nothing like a DSLR for those great moments in life, the ones infrequent, that give you those one of a kind exceptional photos' that last a lifetime.

This thing is OK when its Bright and Sunny Out but when Im inside, it is slower than slow, and most of my inside pics are blurry, I have sent it back once and was told nothing was wrong with it, other than a smudge on the view finder ? what ever that means, not the lens, the View Finder (thats what they said) And Im tired of always having to keep my charger with me, VERY POOR BATTERY LIFE. Next Camera will be a Sony.

This thing is OK when its Bright and Sunny Out but when Im inside, it is slower than slow, and most of my inside pics are blurry, I have sent it back once and was told nothing was wrong with it, other than a smudge on the view finder ? what ever that means, not the lens, the View Finder (thats what they said) And Im tired of always having to keep my charger with me, VERY POOR BATTERY LIFE. Next Camera will be a Sony.

Spent money on a cruise to 9 countries and thought when purchasing this camera that it would meet all of my needs. This was a bad buy with many disappointing pictures. Optical zoom very week, picture quality poor for this many mexapixels, lacks important features and it handles like a cheap toy. The old saying "You get what you pay for" does not apply here. This camera should be price about $120 for the quality in what you get!

Excellent pictures, enought manual control to keep me happy, 7 meg resolution is great for my canon I9900 for 13x19 prints. Simply georgeous pics with very good natural color saturation and detail.

buy it because its very very good excelant image quality battry life big screen

I give this camera very high marks ... the picture quality for such a small camera is just incredible. I have used much larger, more expensive cameras that can't come close to what this little guy can do ! It has so many cool features ... I come across a new one daily. Anyway, very happy here in San Diego !!!
PS.. I also had an older version of this camera .. a 3.2 MP that I beat to peices and it kept going and going. Canon has been good to me ~

This camera, is a joy to work with, considering that I am a professional photographer. I would definitely recommend it to everyone else. But it may not suit everybody needs.

I get no sound on playback. None at all. Mute is off...volume is set to max. Nothing.

My advice is to buy this in a store and check the sound works first.

This is an AWESOME camara. My advice: BUY IT. I bought about a month ago and it has been the best deal ever. It has a sleek look , very compact, can carry easily in you pocket so you don't have to carry it around in annoying bag, and best of all... the quality of the pictures are excellent. And the 2.5" LCD screen just adds points to it. It has some pretty cool features that allow you to create and add some very nice effects and tricks to the photos.

Very good pictures - 5 stars
Small and Strong
Good Flash
Zoom Adjuster is not that comfortable

buy it, buy it, buy it.

Just got this camera because I needed more than the 3 megapixels my of old Fuji, plus I needed quick, accurate white balance for shots of fine art paintings. The camera has these, and a very good menu system, big lcd viewer for size of camera. Overall, a good camera - but a couple of annoyances: 1 - LIon battery does not charge IN the camera, you have to take it out and place it in a charger cradle, 2 - included power supply does not operate camera, you have to buy a separate power supply kit which includes a dummy battery. You replace the battery wth this dummy battery, which then connects to the power supply thru a little hole in the battery access door. Weird set-up, methinks. Great small camera otherwise, lots of resolution in a small package, understandable menus, fairly reasonable price. 3 x optical zoom is just typical in class. This is strictly a pocket camera, but offers high res, acceptable optics, some advanced features.