Canon PowerShot A550 7.1MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Zoom

I needed a new camera to replace my very old digital camera, so I ordered this one and could not be happier with it.It has all kinds of features, including some manual control options like white balance, etc. for those people who like to mess with that stuff (I'm more of an Auto person, myself). I used it on vacation last month and was pleasantly surprised at the quality of pictures, after taking only a few test shots to get familiar with the camera. The camera is very easy to use and gives you a basic user manual to get you started, and also a detailed manual to help you find out how everything works on the camera. The movie mode works good, too. The colors come out bright and vivid. The lag time between pictures is minimal, which is one of the main things I hated about my old 1.3mp Panasonic Palmcam, and the 7.1mp makes for some excellent detail in your pictures. The only bad thing about the camera, in my opinion, is that it doesn't have a movement stabilizer (or whatever it is called), so it can be prone to shaking, especially when you zoom using the digital zoom. I like that the camera is small and lightweight, but it is not one of those super thin ones that you feel like you could break in half.Overall, I think this is a GREAT camera, and I don't think you can find a better camera for the price.

We ordered this camera for our daughter. We have never had any issues with having things arrive from Amazon sellers but this camera came to us in a flat rate envelope wrapped in bubble wrap. Nothing else. No original box either, nothing except the SD card that still had someone else's personal pictures on it. The box was pretty much flattened in the mailing process and the cameras' internal lens was totally crushed. When we contacted the seller we were told that's how he always mails things and never had any issues in the past. He even neglected to respond when we asked for at least a credit for another camera. I understand that things get lost/damaged in the mail but to send a camera through the mail without much more than one sheet of bubble wrap and the mailing envelope is ridiculous! Save yourself the frustration, time and money - buy elsewhere.

I purchased this camera to have a Point and Shoot available when the occasion doesn't call for a full blown 9-10 megapixel DSLR-type like my Fuji S9000. Fujifilm Finepix S9000 9MP Digital Camera with 10.7x Wide Optical Zoom The Canon shoots amazingly fast and produces a large format photo right out of the box. I like the Canon menu tree - it's easy to know where you're going for settings. The LCD is bright and crystal clear. The Canon DIGIC II electronics are worth Googleing and reading about.The selling point that persuaded me to buy the A550 7.1MP is the TTL Optical (Through The Lense) vuefinder. Most other PnS cameras leave you with only a LCD screen to vue through...I find them awkward and not true when composing a shot.SD media is the most inexpensive and available on the market. The A550 can use SD, SDHC and MMC. A couple 1Gig pieces should serve you well, the faster writing the better - DON'T SKIMP HERE. A slow writing media card will bother you eventually.Arm yourself with 3 or 4 changes of rechargeable batteries and go shoot the world, or at least try. Read your Manual - download one from the Canon site to browse while on the computer. You'll find this camera is about as versatile as they come.

Takes excellent pictures and is easy to use. Only downside is that red-eye reduction feature is not very effective. The use of a red-eye lamp seems less effective than the strobe type flashing that my previous Canon (SD110) used for red-eye reduction. Easy to fix in iPhoto though, so no biggie. Oddly, Canon has the image quality preset to fine, rather than superfine, which makes for smaller image file sizes but doesn't use the full capability of the sensor. I didn't discover that until I'd used it for a day. It's an easy setting to change and you never have to worry about it again. The viewfinder is very bright and sharp indoors, less so outdoors in bright sunlight.

I originally had a different version of this Canon camera with only 6mp and my darling daughter accidentally threw it away! By the time I realized it, it was already at the dump and had been rained on for days. Sigh. I loved that camera. I looked for the exact one on Amazon, but couldn't find it. I found this camera and it was HALF THE PRICE of my first one and had more megapixels - looks almost exactly the same. The first one I bought at Best Buy for $300! Sheesh! OK, so I ordered this one and got it within just a few days. It takes GREAT pictures and is as easy to use as my old one. I am a teacher, and I use it a lot. A teacher friend of mine saw how great and clear the pics are and bought one, too! You won't be sorry if you buy this one.