Canon SD550 - The new and improved SD500!
Pros:
Small, video at 640x480 30/FPS, 7.1 megapixels, 2.5" screen
Cons:
Price, some may find the camera too small.
The Bottom Line:
This is a solid little compact camera. It takes great pictures, and good video. If you're looking for something small that does it all, look at the SD500.
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Overall Rating:
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Author's Review
Features & Specs
7.1 megapixels
Sensor size 1/1.8 in
Light sensitivity ISO 50, ISO 100, ISO 200, ISO 400, ISO auto
Digital Zoom 4 x
Shooting Modes: Snow, Beach, Indoor, Foliage, Fireworks, Underwater, Kids & Pets, Digital macro, Portrait mode, Stitch assist, Night snapshot
Special Effects: Sepia, Vivid, Neutral, Black & White, Low Sharpening
Max shutter speed 1/2000 sec
Min shutter speed 15 sec
Exposure metering Spot, Evaluative, Center-weighted
Exposure modes Manual, Program, Automatic
Exposure compensation ±2 EV range, in 1/3 EV steps
White balance Custom, Presets, Automatic
White balance presets Cloudy, Daylight, Fluorescent, Tungsten light, Fluorescent light (daylight)
Digital video format AVI, 640 x 480 30/FPS
Still image format JPEG
SD500 vs. SD550
The SD550 is the new and slightly improved version of the SD500. Released just six months after the SD500, the SD550 features a larger 2.5" screen (vs. 2" on SD500), a new battery compartment latch (stays closed better), an incredibly fast burst mode with flash (roughly one shot a second), and an LCD brightness boost for outdoor use. For me, the single biggest reason to upgrade from the SD500 to the SD550 is that they fixed problems plaguing the movie mode audio. If you listen to movies recorded on the SD500, you will hear a buzzing/hissing noise. I tried roughly a dozen cameras that had this problem. Even Canon's tech support acknowledged it. The SD550 has none of this. Audio sounds great. I've also heard that the SD400/500 LCD was not protected enough, resulting in cracked LCDs that could add up to $165 in repair charges. Even though the SD550 has a larger screen, word is that it's re-enforced.
Conclusion
The SD550 is a great little camera. It takes great pictures, and it takes good movies. I've owned big fancy cameras and camcorders, and I never took them with me. I simply wanted a small "pocket size" device that could do pics & movies, and this fits my needs. If you plan on using this for movies, at it's highest setting, a 1GB SD Card will hold only 8 1/2 minutes.
