Canon PowerShot A550

• Average user rating: 3.5 stars out of 22 reviews
• My rating: 0 stars

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• 8 stars

  HUGE amount of bang for your buck.

  by starkruzr on February 10, 2007

  Pros: 4x optical zoom, manual features galore, tiny

  Cons: Flash could be stronger

  Summary: I don't think Will Greenwald paid much attention when he was reviewing this camera. It is CHOCK FULL of manual features including manual focus, manual shutter speed and aperture, ...

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  Summary: I don't think Will Greenwald paid much attention when he was reviewing this camera. It is CHOCK FULL of manual features including manual focus, manual shutter speed and aperture, and white balance setting. This is a GREAT small camera that functions great either as a small point-and-shoot or a manual shooter which lets you explore different composition options. The body is solid and feels well put-together. I can't recommend this camera enough.

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  8 out of 8 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 8 stars

  An excellent upgrade from older PowerShot Cameras

  by Suescheff on February 21, 2007

  Pros: Easy to use, Lots of settings

  Cons: Print Quality, Small LCD

  Summary: I previously used a Canon PowerShot A520, 5 MP. I was happy with it until it decided to take a leap from the table and break. I love the PowerShot'...

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  Summary: I previously used a Canon PowerShot A520, 5 MP. I was happy with it until it decided to take a leap from the table and break. I love the PowerShot's feel and look, so I was lucky to find a newer upgrade to the line.
  
  Everything about the camera is pretty much the same as the A520, but the resolution on printed pictures is better and I find the shutter time to be better. These cameras have a solid result every time. Great zoom. The extra 2 MP gives you a little push into great. I would recommend the Canon line, especially this A550 over any other brand in this price range. What a deal!

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  5 out of 5 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 4 stars

  Less Creative Controls

  by Alphavision on April 14, 2007

  Pros: higher pixel rate, SD card, less power requirements

  Cons: very little manual control, poor performance in low light

  Summary: I got this camera as a replacement (with some extra cost, obviously!) to my old PowerShot A70 which had a CCD problem. I compare the performance to A70 with A550 ...

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  Summary: I got this camera as a replacement (with some extra cost, obviously!) to my old PowerShot A70 which had a CCD problem. I compare the performance to A70 with A550 and see that A70 was far better in many ways (only exception is the 7.1 pixel rate compare to 3.2 of A70). This camera is OK for day light outdoor shots. Performance in low light / night is poor compared to some of the other models in the same range. Though there is a manual mode, the camera allows you to control very little manually. I do not see any advantage in this camera other than the higher pixel rate and pixel rate along cannot do any magic.

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  4 out of 5 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 8 stars

  Easy to Use, Great Pictures

  by keltnera on March 7, 2007

  Pros: Price, Picture Quality, Great Video, Lots of Features

  Cons: Some strange lines from indoor lighting, none other than that

  Summary: My Sony DSC-P92 finally gave out after 6 years of punishment. While the Sony was built well, many drops and much picture taking by my 4 and 6-year-old, I was ...

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  Summary: My Sony DSC-P92 finally gave out after 6 years of punishment. While the Sony was built well, many drops and much picture taking by my 4 and 6-year-old, I was never quite satisfied with the picture quality so I decided to try another brand. While I photograph constantly, I'm very much a novice. I just want to be able to point and click and not mess with any manual controls. However, the A550 has many more features than my old P92. So far, the Canon A550 has not disappointed. Right out of the box and taking a few snaps without reading any directions, the picture quality is much, much better than my old Sony P92. The build feels to be of similar quality, heavy and solid feeling. It fits in the hand well. While the LCD is a little smaller than other models at 2.0", it is very clear. I almost didn't buy it because I wanted a bigger LCD screen. The video is outstanding with no effort on my part and battery life is great (2 AA batteries). I am very happy with my purchase.

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  3 out of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 9 stars

  Price vs. Performance Leader

  by P_Iturralde on May 5, 2007

  Pros: Sharp 7.1 MP 4x Optics, Manual Options, Size & 9pt Focusing

  Cons: No image stablizer, but for the price, that's OK.

  Summary: I agree w/starkruzr review, to access the Manual Mode, just rotate the Top Dial counter-clockwise from AUTO to "M". You can change: 1) Exposure +/- 2 (F-Stops); 2) White ...

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  Summary: I agree w/starkruzr review, to access the Manual Mode, just rotate the Top Dial counter-clockwise from AUTO to "M". You can change: 1) Exposure +/- 2 (F-Stops); 2) White Balance (Auto, Day light, Cloudy, Tungston, etc.); 3) Colors (Off, Vivid, Neutral ... Custom); and Focusing Mode (Evaluative (9pt), Center weighted, Spot). With these options, you have more options then just the factory AUTO mode. Another improvement is the Digital Zoom circuitry, where for example, taking pictures above the 4x Optical Zoom is still clear and not pixelated even up to the 16x Zoom Max. option. FYI: My old & larger Olympus C-4000 3x Digital Zoom was mostly fuzzy & pixelated rendering it completely useless. So, Canon has done a great job combining both Optics & Digital Zoom features together to give the consumer real usable relatively clear picture Zoom options. Of course 16x Optical is the better route, but for the price, Canon's relatively clear up to 16x Digital Zoom allows you to get up-close & personal to your object or distant subject, should you choose to do so. All photo's can be previewed on the bright 2" LCD screen, just zoom-in to check the sharpness of your shots. For those that need more Flash support, you can use the Canon High-Power Flash HF-DC1 - PowerShot Flash Accessory (Maximum distance 23 ft./7m at ISO 100, f/2.8).

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  2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 7 stars

  great value for money

  by lskong on March 20, 2007

  Pros: lot of controls

  Cons: no underwater casing? c'mon!

  Summary: should be a good piece of equipment for those wanting to start learning more about photography. it offers many controls that point & shoot digicams at this price don't ...

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  Summary: should be a good piece of equipment for those wanting to start learning more about photography. it offers many controls that point & shoot digicams at this price don't usually allow.
  would have made an ideal underwater camera for amateur divers but canon doesn't sell an underwater casing for it! i don't understanding marketing....

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  2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 4 stars

  Terrible with flash and motion

  by PsyKat on August 11, 2008

  Pros: Fine LCD display, somewhat compact, does video, easy pull-trigger zooming

  Cons: Incapable of taking shots of anything even slightly moving, occasional slow loading times when using flash, harsh flash lighting- makes it too obvious it was being used

  Summary: Given the amount of money it costs, I would suggest looking for something a bit better than this. You can set the ISO speed and hold the camera as still ...

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  Summary: Given the amount of money it costs, I would suggest looking for something a bit better than this. You can set the ISO speed and hold the camera as still as you want, but taking pictures of moving things simply will not turn out. The flash is also ridiculously obtrusive. You're much better off even shining a flashlight at your subject than using this.

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  1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 6 stars

  Good Pix, but you can't tell from the blurry LCD

  by straussaz on June 14, 2007

  Pros: Good features, Optical viewfinder, Good battery life

  Cons: Very long shutter lag, poor LCD resolution

  Summary: I purchased the A550 primarily for its compact size and optical viewfinder. I do lots of hiking and backpacking and any LCD washes out in the outdoors. The camera takes ...

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  Summary: I purchased the A550 primarily for its compact size and optical viewfinder. I do lots of hiking and backpacking and any LCD washes out in the outdoors. The camera takes very good pictures of stationary scenes, but any movement in moderate light tends to blur. Shutter lag is extremely slow. Frame a slow-walking horse's head, press the shutter and you get a picture of the horse's tail.
  
  The A550 was to replace a Nikon Coolpix3200 which has a smaller, but higher-resolution, LCD. The bigger A550 LCD has such poor resolution I can't tell if I should keep the picture or take another. I'm sticking with the Coolpix and have taken the A550 back to the dealer.

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  1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 7 stars

  Easy to learn to use

  by topsss on April 28, 2007

  Pros: Good clear pictures, fast cycling, easy to hold

  Cons: Might as well not have a LCD outside, doesn't work

  Summary: I would have thought Canon would put a much better LCD on this camera. All of their test should have showed them the LCD on this camera didn't work ...

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  Summary: I would have thought Canon would put a much better LCD on this camera. All of their test should have showed them the LCD on this camera didn't work in daylight. The camera is priced right and does a lot of things.

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  1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 6 stars

  Value for the price, but rockbottom flash pictures.

  by Joeb912 on December 14, 2008

  Pros: A decent amount of presets, many programmable features and settings.

  Cons: The flash washes out pictures, colors are unnatural, objects too bright.

  Summary: Overexposed flash may just be a quality of point and shoot cameras (film and digital). I may chalk this up as the tradeoff to not carrying an SLR with a ...

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  Summary: Overexposed flash may just be a quality of point and shoot cameras (film and digital). I may chalk this up as the tradeoff to not carrying an SLR with a mounted flash. In the meantime I'd like to find a camera with better balanced flash.

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