I've broken the screen on this camera twice and I'm not going to bother to fix it again. When it's working it's fantastic for a point-and-shoot, just make sure you encase this in steel if you decide to buy it.

Camera died all by itself. E18 error(well known canon problem) and lens will not work. Do not buy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We still have this camera in our family and it was an excellent buy, as all of our Canon cameras have been. Love the small Digital Elph format, which makes it easy to carry in my pocket or wife's purse. Picture quality is excellent and has great battery life.

I bought the SD550 before my trip to Paris in 2006 and was most pleased with its lightness, ease of use and excellent photo quality! Early on I dropped it onto a concrete sidewalk whilst I was strolling along, but it only received scratches and worked fine thereafter (however, I learned it is best to use the wrist strap to prevent "droppage". Whew.) I have now owned it two years and just lately have more difficulty with fuzzy photos and notice it is not as great in lesser lighting situations. I do agree this camera does not work well for taking distance photos that require light (such a school concert), but over all I have enjoyed it. Next time I would look for one with image stabilizer.

I bought this camera before my senior year of college and have loved it ever since. The color and clarity of the photos are phenomenal. I especially love the ability to single-out certain colors so the whole photo is B&W except for things that are green (for example). I had an issue with it within the first year where it wouldn't focus. I think there was sand in it somewhere. Canon took the camera back (it was still under warranty) and fixed it free of charge. I took the camera with me to Southeast Asia for 6 months and thought it was a great size and very durable. Ideally, I would have liked to have brought my digital SLR with me, but given the circumstances, this worked just great.

I recommend sticking to the Canon brand battery, by the way. I bought a no-name-brand battery to supplement the Canon battery (just in case) and the knock-off couldn't hold a charge after two months of use. I absolutely love this camera.