Hi all.

Couldn't find anything here on the Canon Powershot S500 Elph. I'm just wanting a compact yet powerful digicam. Does this one fit the bill? For web and computer purposes?

Thanks,

Shawn

Powerful.... how do you define that in a digicam?

I love my S100 Elph, I use my buddies S400 from time to time (he's got the underwater case), and I plan on getting an SD300 next. The Elph series rules. I know a lot more guys on here have them too. I'd happily buy another over and over again.

The S500 is a fine little digicam. Nothing wrong with it at all.

However, I would suggest the SD300 over the S500. Now the SD300 is four megapixels as opposed to five megapixels on the S500, however you really can't see the difference between four and five megapixels in an 8x10 print. Plus, the SD300 is thinner and lighter than the S500, and has a larger LCD display than the S500. Also, the SD300's processor is newer and therefore superior to the S500 and it also has a better movie mode... VGA size with no time limit compared to QVGA up to three minutes on the S500.

If you already have Compact Flash cards, then you might want to consider the S500. If you already have Secure Digital cards or have not yet invested in any flash media yet, then go for the SD300. Hope this helps,

Thanks for your input! Will definitely look into the SD300. I guess my mentioning that it would be used for web and computer purposes was definition enough for "powerful", but maybe not. Maybe it would be helpful to know that I'm also wanting to mix stills from a digicam with some of my video, to be seen on average sized tv.s. That may be why I'm tempted to stay with the higher pixel count. Not sure.

Shawn

I wasn't sure if you mean resolution-powerful, versus function and control type powerful.

A higher pixel count will not help you with web or video applications. In a digicam, resolution (megapixel rating) governs print size. On the web you'll be downsizing the image anyway, and standard-def video is only a tad larger than VGA. All PowerShot camers include a VGA setting, for 3x5 prints, and even the most basic two-megapixel camera is perfectly adequate for web and video applications (although you can't even buy a 2mp camera anymore -- the starting point is 3mp these days). There is a less expensive PowerShot SD200 which is a three-megapixel camera, and if you're not printing any larger than 8x10, and if you're using the images for web and video apps, that might be a less expensive way to go. But the SD300 looks cooler, though.

Looking cool counts too! Thanks! $400 is not a problem for this purchase, so I'll keep with whatever's best at that price point. Still photography is next on my horizon, but I'm considering the field in terms of a couple different cameras: a fully manual SLR by which I can learn, and a breast pocketable, yet SHARP and with the very basic manual controls, digicam. So, tv size does NOT at all correspond to print size (20"= N" x N" ...)?

Shawn