I recently borrowed my mothers new 4.0 megapixel camera to use, and while its nice, I am just as happy with this camera! Unless you are using the camera to make extremely large prints, you really dont need anything more than what the Elph provides.

Perhaps my only couple of "cons" regarding this product are: 1) the size, its rather large for an Elph, but even that is a minor flaw, because it is still relatively small, & 2) is that the memory card only allows a few pictures at high resolution, you will definitely want to buy a memory card with more megabytes, but that is simple to do, and you can find one that is inexpensive.

All of my pictures have come out with vibrant color, I have even shot some 30 second "movies" that came out great as well.

The software is very easy to install, and I think that most users will find it as simple to use as home versions of PhotoShop.

Overall, a great buy at a great price with very few drawbacks.

Photos taken at its highest resolution (1600 x 1200) and lowest compression rate can easily be blown up to 8"x10" in size, certainly adequate for the average photo enthusiast. Automatic and manual controls allow for photography in most lighting situations. The camera even can record short digital videos including sound, and the cameras user interface is customizable with new sound "themes" and a start-up image.

Highly recommended accessories include a larger compact flash memory card or two; the 8-mb card included simply doesnt cut it unless you want to only take low-res pictures. Buy a 128-MB card and store over 120 images at the highest resolution; theyre cheap these days. Secondly, youll want a second or even third battery, as though the camera does include its own rechargeable pack, it will only last for 100 shots or so, and you wont want to waste time recharging when youre on the go.

If you want a camera you can carry in your pocket that will give you instant results without having to send off film to the lab for development, youll want this camera. The ELPH is one of the best out there!

I make a photo journal after each trip. Since I really dont need to make large prints, the resolution is more than enough. In fact, I know of at least four other people who have purchased this camera after seeing my prints.

Ive found only two real shortcomings of the camera:
1) Autofocus is slow to react in low-light (e.g. indoors).
2) 2 megapixels is a little low if you want to heavily crop your images later. You may want to consider the S230, which has a 2x optical zoom, but with 3 megapixels.

Bottom line: The S330 is a very good camera for the price.

Then I lost it.

To replace it, I didnt want to buy the s200 again because of a couple things:

- zoom was not enough. (digital zoom ....)
- Size-wise it was too small. I couldnt take pictures with one hand and holding it with both hands was kind of awkward.

So I settled for the s330 instead because it had both features that I thought the s200 lacked: more zoom and a little bigger.

i really dont see the need for the voice memo and speaker but I paid the extra money anyway.

Both cameras are worth the money.

Pro
1. 3X optical zoom. DONT purchase a camera with an optical zoom less than 3X, its useless. This is one of the camera with the highest optical zoom availble. Not even the new ELPH 230 have this capability.
2. Very bright LCD and long battery life. I have tried at least 10 different digital cameras and this LCD is one of the brightest. Easily seem even under sunlight. And I can fill up my 128MB card withought recharging with normal LCD usage.
3. All metal!
4. Great manual functions for a small camera. I can easily take night and indoor pictures by increasing the exposure time.

Con
1. the macro mode is limited compare to other camera in the same price range. You cannot to close to the object.
2. comes with 8MB card!! Can you believe that?!
3. only 2MP. It is plenty for my need but 3MP seems to become the main stream these days.

All in all, I have taking a few hundred pictures with my S330 and the quality is excellent. Definately worth the money.

On the plus size, the camera is very compact (easily fits into a pocket), easy to use, and takes good quality pictures. It also has a very wide range of manual adjustments to increase the flexibility of your picture-taking, and the controls are very well thought out. The LCD display is very high quality, bright and sharp. I carry it with me everywhere, and wind up taking many pictures I would have missed with a larger camera.

There are some quirks and weaknesses I do need to point out for this camera. Color reproduction is uneven, depending on the quality of the light and weather, and on the color and type of subject. Many of my outdoor photos, particularly those taken on overcast or cloudy days, have a noticeable "cast" to them ... bluish or greenish. This is despite fiddling with the manual settings for "overcast." The camera loves red (you should see my pictures of the barns of coastal Maine) but hates green. I have never been able to take a picture of a lawn or tree that is anything near true to life, again despite attempts to adjust the manual settings. On bright days, again despite working with the manual settings, highlights are inevitably blown out (although I hear this is a problem with most digital camera). In addition, the flash is no more than could be expected from a compact camera. Flash pictures always look ... well ... flashy!

When taking digital photographs, youll tend to take many more pictures than you would with a film camera, and erase the ones you dont like in the camera. So Id recommend at least one additional battery (I have two) and 256 MB memory card if youre going to be doing travel photography without access to a computer to download the photos as you go. (I get about 360 pictures at highest resolution from a 256 MB card,) More tips: digital photography is MUCH easier if you have a Mac (it really is as easy as they claim in their ads to download and edit pictures); Adobes Photoshop Elements 2.0 is incredible (and an incredible bargain), and Shutterfly.com is a great site for ordering prints.

Ive got my eye on a 5 Megapixel 8x zoom for early next year, but Ill keep my S330 for its compact size and ease of use.

Basic Features
The camera is capable of 2.0-mega pixel resolutions and it has a 3x optical zoom lens and 2.5 digital zoom. The camera is small, I would say a little bigger then a cigarette box and fits in your hands or pickets easily. Both the front and the back of the camera are finished in metal so it weights a little more then other cameras but not to the point where it is heavy to carry. The S330 also comes with a very bright 2.5" LCD screen in the back. Even in direct sunlight you should still have no problem seeing the screen. With the LCD screen on all the time, I estimate that you should be able to get about 100 to 150 pictures depending how much flash you use. The S330 doesnt come with an AC adapter kit so when you need to recharge, you have to take out the battery and put it in the special battery charger that plugs directly to the wall jack. I thought this was kind of awkward but has since gotten use to it.

Advance Features
The PowerShot S330 is very easy to use as a point-and-shoot camera but it also has a number of advance features like shutter speed and ISO settings if you need it. It also has a number of white balance controls which helps compensate the different lighting conditions such as fluorescent, cloudy and etc. Ive tried to use this features a couple of times but havent quite master it. I would imagine that most people would never need this feature but if you are a tweaker, there should be enough options in this camera to keep you satisfied.

Besides the regular camera like features, it also has a movie mode and stitch assist mode that are interesting. The stitch assist mode is for panoramic shots and its best to do this with a tripod so at the points where the pictures are stitched together, the object wouldnt look warped. The camera does not stitch the pictures, that process is done separately when you connect the camera to the computer. The stitched pictures will have a stitch line linking them together indicating that these pictures were shot in stitch mode. Clicking on the stitch line would launch the software program to for the panoramic picture. And you can stitch as many pictures together as you want.

The movie mode is something Ive only used a couple of time. The camera stores short film clips and it limits how long you can shoot depending on the resolution of the film. The clips are limited from 10 to 30 seconds and in 640x480 resolution (which is the largest), it would only record for 10 seconds and not 30.

Pictures
In terms of the quality of the picture, I am pretty satisfied with it. Sometimes the picture is a little soft around the edges or kind of fuzzy but thats not every single time. The color of the photo is decent but IMHO, not 100% true to life. There are quit a few pictures Ive taken the found it to be too red or yellow. But most outdoor shots in daylight that looks just wonderful. The flashlight packs a big punch for something so small. Anything within 8 feet is no problem at all in dark situations. The focus light has a slightly shorter effective distance so sometimes the camera cant focus so when you push the shutter and nothing happens. This is kind of frustrating but just try to take a few steps closer to your subject and it should be fine.

Just about every picture I take with this camera, I take it in 1600x1400 resolution and in fine mode. This way, any pictures that I like I can have it developed and look just like it was taken from a conventional camera. In this largest format, the photo is about 1MB each. So with a 128MB compact flash card, you can still store plenty of pictures. Unfortunately, Canon only provides a 8MB CF card with the camera so make sure you buy a CF card if you dont already have it. Also, because of S330s small size, it is only capable of accepting Type I CF cards and not Type II. So like IBMs 1 GB MicroDrive is not compatible with this camera.

Issues
Maybe Ive missed this in the users manual but I have yet to find a battery meter that shows me how much juice is left in the battery. When the power is running low, the camera would just shut down with very little warning. I guess Canon just didnt think this is a critical issue since the pictures are all already saved in the memory so advance warnings on the battery running low is pretty useless. But just be prepared and the best solution is to have a second battery so you can just switch it when one runs out.

For such a well build camera its very disappointing to see the cheesy flap it uses to cover the USB and video ports on the side of the camera. Not a major issue though.

Canon did not include any bag or pouch for the storage of this camera. Even though the camera is small enough to fit just about anywhere, the metal finishing is brushed and can be easily scratched. A soft pouch would be perfect to protect the surface but not included so protect your investment and get one on your own.

I am not going to complain about the 2-mega-pixel limit because its more then enough for an average user. A well taken 2-mega-pix pictures developed on 4x6 film would look no different than if its taken on a 35mm camera. So dont buy more then you need because the higher the resolution, the more memory it needs and more time it takes to save a picture. So take a closer look at the Canon PowerShot S330 because it might be just what youre looking for....

If you have a small child, this is the camera for you, it is easy to operate with one hand so that you have one hand free and the pics are wonderful and will keep the grandparents happy.

I have not used it, but another plus is that if you buy certain canon printers, you can direct print.

If you are in the market for a great camera, go with this one, it is by far the best in its class!

It does has some issue with low-light conditions, however. My dad has an Olympus digital camera which does a much better job in low light. Probably because it has much bigger lense (bigger lense = more light gets to the CCD).

But theres no way I can take a bulky camera like that Olympus around like the S330. So, a little give and take. Over all, Im very satisfied with it. Just have to know its limitation and how to work with it to get great pictures in any situation.

As many people complain, the 8MB flash card is tiny, but it makes sense to me. The 8MB is just big enough to get you set up before you buy the bigger memory. Sure, 8MB does nobody any good, but whos to say that the buyer will want a 128, 256, or a 512MB card? Lets say a 128MB card is standard. If I wanted a 512MB card, I would feel stupid paying extra for a card I wouldnt use.

BUT, it has a few too many bells and whistles for me right now that I never use. Couldnt find some of my needed features, however, in the lesser models so I guess I can live with these unused luxuries and maybe learn them too...

I do find it a bit slow on getting ready to take a flash picture in the dark as it has to adjust, in an almost "automatic" way that you wish you could more readily override, thus making your subjects wait a bit longer than theyd expect. (Hold that smile, everyone!) You have to almost hold down--as if to force--the button in order to finally get it to take a shot. I have had to re-press the button at times, and could miss action that a simpler point-and-shoot digital might have gotten. I have often decided to turn on the camera, instantly click certain settings to turn off the flash, and snap pictures without. I can often adjust them using Photoshop on my home system.

In skiing, I like to try to get friends doing jumps or other active shots, and so since this is mostly in the daytime, you dont need a flash and the cam does not start up forcing you to use it. In order to now get those "perfectly timed" shots, you can, with the S330, teach yourself to carefully "half-press" and the camera is now, in contrast to the above, sooo itchin to take an instant shot that any jiggle at all could do just that, so be ready! (the little lights will flash as you stand alert...) Now when you finish pushing down the button , it snaps on command which is awesome because you can say, "I got you jumping in mid-air!"

Bought online a second battery (definitely recommended) but it was made by Optex (NOT recommended) because it empties in no time! I will buy another Canon --only.

To save power, I also often instantly turn off the display (although you get a more centered shot when using it to frame subject) which comes on as the default (I like cameras that it does not come on as the default).

seems as though the cumbersome software CD does not work with windows 2000ME, but maybe I should try reinstall a 4th time...or go with USB cards and reader. (that would give me more ease in travel)

In the end, it is the compact size, pic quality and style of this cam I like best. I can live with having to work around the other things and so it is great, but not as easy as say, an Olympus, to hand to someone else and say, "Can you just take a picture of me?" I guess I gotta do a lot of stuff at home with Photoshop to many of my pictures later.

good: movie mode is just perfect for creating 30 second 320 x 240 clips ready to upload on the internet. unlike camcorder, you dont have to go through the hassle of capturing and convert to internet friendly file. software comes with the camera transfers everything in CF card to harddisk automatically and you could upload files straight to geocities for your friends to view them across the country.(BTW: 3.5MB file per every 30 second clips it creates. its 30 seconds at max PER SHOOTING regardless of CF size. you can have many 30 seconds clips stored in your card but you cant shoot 40 seconds straight because after every 30 seconds, there is 3 second delay while writing information to CF card. dont get confused you could start up a internet broadcast with this camera like 30 minute show.)

Manual option is really fun to work with and it creates professional looking photos. (take a picture in really dark room, perhaps with single candle light, set long shutter at 15 seconds exposure. you will get amazing soft looking photo).

bad: in movie mode, light exposure is fixed to the point when it starts capturing. in other word, if the light condition changes darker or brighter in the middle of shooting, you will only be left with audio and white or black screen. (it does not adapt to new surrounding while shooting)

ugly:what am I suppose to do with 8MB flash card now?!?!?!

psc-300 bag is perfect fit for this camera. I really had heck of time getting hold of it. I finally order it from gateway accessories online after driving around all over the town. It really shouldve come with the camera in sake of protecting LCD.

dont forget to get an extra battery. have fun.

I use the camera to take pictures of things I build, modifications to my computer, and stuff like that most of the time. It gives me very nice, very sharp pictures that look great.
I also take some picture of my 6 and 12 year old cousins when I visit my grandparents. The small videos you can take arent amazing, but they do let me remember some nice things.
My cousins loved to let me take short videos of them. The built in speaker on this model is great for replaying the video when you are out somewhere.

One thing that this camera has the the lower PowerShots dont have, is a 10x zoom on camera after you take pictures. On the little LCD screen I can zoom in very close to make sure I got exact details focused and everything. This works wonderfully. I used my dads old S100 and it doesnt do this, and it was annoying to use after I used this camera.

The size and feel of the camera is great. This was one of my major reasons for buying it, after its wonderful image quality and options. The one problem I had was finding a good case for it that was very small and light, and didnt stock me from taking it out quickly. Any cases I found to buy for it were to large.

I have had no problems with the software or anything. The battery life is also great. I thought it wouldnt be to wonderful, but I have never ran out of batteries at a critical time. Although I do wish the camera could warn you when you are about to loose battery power much eariler. If you act quickly you might be able to upload the pics to your computer, but not normally. A battery meter would help a lot..
I do suggest getting a second battery if you plan to use it for long periods of time.

This camera may not be the best for everyone, but for someone who needs nice quality pictures (but not the best), in a nice looking, easily caried form, this works great.
I have never seen another camera that looks and feels so nice. Its just gives it that high tech feel that impresses everyone when they see it.

A few items of note to guide the (first-time) shopper based on 2 months of use:

1. BATTERY. Battery life is very good. I also bought a generic NB-1LH as a back up from SterlingTek; it is purportedly 800mAH, versus the Canon brand 840mAH and previous Canon NB-1L (680mAH)that first came with the s330.

2. MEDIA. Bought a 256MB TypeI CF card, and can now get ~256 photos at the highest resolution (vs. the 8MB that comes with the camera). I rarely take that many pictures at a time before a download, so there is also much room for video clips. Being the TypeA that I am, I also bought an extra 128MB at a good price that may come in handy when traveling for tourist-type photos.

3. MOVIES. The movie clip quality is as others have remarked, only satisfactory even at the highest resolution setting. (I almost do not notice a difference between settings). However, the clips do include SOUND and provide a TON of ENTERTAINMENT! The files are already at about 3MB size. It would be difficult to share larger files. (For better quality, one should consider a video camera.) The clips are best viewed at about the size of the 1.5" LCD screen. *DO* remember to record in landscape format (!) as you cannot rotate the clip for viewing.

4. DOWNLOADING. The software and USB cable method appear to work well. Although downloading directly from the camera will consume batter power, I dont feel compelled to by a CF reader or an AC adapter since I have the extra battery. Others have remarked on the flimsy rubber cover over the A/V out and digital out and speculate that it may not last the life of the camera.

5. IMAGES. The images are excellent. If they turn out substandard, you may be able to clean them up w/the accompanying software. If youre good with the manual settings, you can probably get the quality you are looking for. Definitely comparable to my old 35mm; and I dont see a huge difference from a friends 3MP (Canon Powershot S30).

6. LIGHTING/OTHER. The camera has excellent compensation for different lighting (natural, cloudy, flourescent, tungsten, etc.) Alternatively, you can adjust this manually. The Elph line appears to have problems with red-eye reduction. Others have remarked that the red-eye reduction setting is less than satisfactory. Thank goodness for software editing (on CD that comes with camera).

7. ZOOM. I think a 3x optical zoom is a MUST for a 2MP camera. Turned off the digital zoom, as I dont want false hope of having quality zoom at the purported ~7.5x total zoom. The zoom is actually slightly better than my old 35mm.

8. OTHER MANUAL FEATURES. Ive always been a point-and-shoot user, however, there appear to be many manual features that offer a lot of flexibility. I suggest practicing with these features, e.g. exposure, white balance, shutter speed, iso.

9. CASE. Doesnt come with camera. I bought the Canon PSC-300 case which has a small hole for the wrist stap to pass though and may be worn on your belt. I tried the PSC-20 case. It was just too large for me, I could also stick the USB connector in the bottom. I picked up a cheap case (under ten dollars) by Lowerpro which fits like a glove! It has a zipper pouch without the annoying velcro flap-over of the PSC-300 and PSC20 that would stick to my wrist strap.

I have to admit a bit of "pixel envy", but the 2MP and seems adequate for most of my cropping/enlargement needs, and printing 4x6s to 5x7s, possibly 8x10s. 3MP will likely provide more cropping/enlargement options considering the current optical zoom limits. My criteria were size and image quality for approximately three- to four-hundred US$. When canon comes out with a 3MP I will consider upgrading when the price comes down to current s330 prices. (Since my original writing Canon came out with the s230--Im not totally sure which I would buy at this point.)

If youre looking for a compact 2MP camera, the s330 is the ONE for you!

Update... i just bought the s400. Love the new processor, smaller size, and 4MP.

Although this camera can still give you better results with a little tweaking, the automatic settings are better than almost all others in this price range. And of course this is one of the most Pocketable cameras out there. Dont get me wrong there are some very cool manual features on this great little camera. My favorite is the slow shutter control. You can set the shutter to several speeds from 1 second to 15 seconds. And the camera comes with built in processing to eliminate hot pixels (those bright spots that appear on most long exposure digital pics). I have used this several times always with good results.

Overall there is little to complain about with this package. It comes with a good battery for general use, good software, all the cabling you need to get going and even a fairly well written manual. If you are planning on using this on long trips where you will not have access to an electrical outlet very often, then you will want to get the extra battery. And I highly recomend the Canon PSC-300 Case, it is perfectly sized for this camera and still has room for extra memory and battery.

Do yourself a favor and get a Viking 128MB compact flash card. The reviews I have read tell me this is the best memory for the dollar. Very fast and very cheap.

...These are bar none, the best digital camera reviews on the net.

Buy this camera and enjoy!

I had taken a few photographs with friends Minolta, Kodak, HP, and Nikon digitals. The S330 is definitely above them. I would have given the S330 a blazing 5.0, but would actually rate it a 4.5 do to size of my hands vs. the size of the camera and the LCD size( glad I wear reading glasses) and the spot effect of the flash from a distance.

I shot a 12 exposure role of Kodak Gold Ultra ISO 400, after metering off of a gray card and keeping that exposure setting and compared to the same photos with the S330. The S330(on auto) was a little underexposed in the shadows, but not enough to not compensate with a competent graphics program. Landscape photographs out the van window at 60 miles an hour were good. There was some blur, but if you lead the shot as you would in shooting skeet, it was acceptable. Color was acceptable in all cases(not like the overt blue when shooting ektachrome.

When I ordered my camera, I also ordered a 32 meg and 256 meg CF card ( Simple Tech cards and Flash Link CF card reader ). I strongly suggest the average user to order a supplemental 32 or 64 meg CF card when they order this or any other digital camera. I just ordered a spare battery and will order the car battery charger and AC Adapter kit in September. The low battery feature should give an obnoxious warning, but it does not.

I have had no problems with the software that was included with the S330 of the CF Card Reader (running windows 2000). Strongly recommend this digital camera, as I have been well pleased. Point of note: READ YOUR MANUAL.

Outstanding quality pictures. Comes with everything you need to start taking pictures right away.

The only thing I dont like is that it lets you record only 25 seconds of video clips.

Totaly Recommended.

Overall, my family loves the camera and we use it a lot. Especially nice are the Sepia, Black/White, photo stitching, the LCD is about the best Ive seen even looks good in bright and low light, memo feature is cool, the colors are very accurate and the pictures look great, it feels like a real camera not some piece of plastic. And best of all it fits in purse or bigger pants pocket.

8/5 Ive played with the camera for about 2 months now; in 1028x768 mode with super fine quality I can get 270 pictures on a 128meg card (49.00 Viking Card); I had Wal-Mart print 4x6 and 5x7s and they are perfect; they look better than my 35MM.

Im very impressed with the manual adjustments you can make; from the 50-400ISO to the lighting. I took a hike in the Adrondack mountains and was able to adjust the lighting to take pictures in the forest. The movie mode is very good but you cant rotate movies and the 320x200 is so so when displaying on a 35" TV. One problem, downloading to my PC is extremely fast, about 150 pictures in 2 minutes but sending pictures back to the camera is painful at 10-20 seconds per picture, ouch; also you can not send AVIs back to the camera.
Still a great camera.

Pros:
Small, portable and built very well
Easy to use with manual mode of various settings
can take cute video clips

Shutter lag is not bad
Takes great pics
3X zoom is nice and quick
Love the ability to review pics on camera and magnify 10X to check detail and quality

Cons:
video clips not the greatest quality and very short
sometimes my indoor pics arent in sharp focus
sometimes it seems camera wont focus quickly (indoors)
Camera is a bit expensive for 2 MP

Overall, I highly reccommend it! Its easy and fun to use. Good luck!

The photos are very well done with good focus, exposure, etc. It allows you to exercise your creativity to an extraordinary degree. The panoramic stitching software is superb.

I have taken more than 120 photos at a time and still had power to spare. You should get a large memory chip (128M or 256M) because the 8M is only good for 12-16 fine quality photos.

Of course, it is a 2MP camera so you should not expect 13x19 prints but 5x7 or 8x10 are just fine. Panoramics are truly impressive - an 8x36 of New York City is stupendous.

I am delighted with this in every way. It has exceeded all my expectations.

1. For example, the auto-focus have a hard time locking under low light conditions. The picture is actually in focus, but the indictator says otherwise. As long as you hold the camera still for long shutter speeds the camera should take a well focused picture under low light conditions. The focus assist light is not that great either, but most other models in this catagory dont even have this feature.

2. Not a good camera to take distant objects at night. The flash is too small and weak, but that is a trade off for having a small camera.

3. The biggest issue with this camera is probably the auto white balance. If you use the auto mode under artificial light, the AWB feature doesnt work well at all!!! But this can be corrected under manual mode. I hope Canon will have a firmware fix for this.

Overall, its hard for you to go wrong buying this little camera. The image quality is above average. Its size and construction is top of the class. My only real big complain is the camera is too pricy for 2MP. Oh... In addition, 50 bucks for another battery is not that cheap either (you should get one for long trips). 8MB compact flash card is so somewhat useless (only 10-32 max shots depending on the quality). So you probably to have spend another 150 dollars to make the camera "complete".

If you havent looked at other subcompacts, I recommend Nikon Coolpix 2500 and Minolta DiMage X. Those are great cameras too, but S330 filled my needs betters than those two. Cannon S30 and S40 are great, too (suffer the same low light problems <- from what I heard).

1)No battery status. I have not yet found a way to find out how much battery is left at any given time. The camera suddenly alerts you when you have about 6-8 photos left to snap.

2)No case. Camera does not come with a case of any kind. I would like to protect the nice finish on the camera.

3)Problems to transfer the MPEG (the less than 30 second movies) to the computer. The MPEG movies did not automatically transfer to the computer with the rest of the images, not sure if you have to change the settings to do so??

4)No power cord. The camera does not come with a power cord, so you constantly have to run the camera on batteries, even when you have it hooked up to the computer.

However, I did a lot of research before buying this camera. Its my second digital camera, and Im overall very satisfied!! The camera takes great pictures, the flash is strong enough at night, and the size makes it fit snuggly in your jeans pocket! I also bought a 256 MG flash card...This is a must!! The Flash Card works perfectly!! I have not yet bought an extra battery. The battery included in the S330 has 30% more capacity then the previous models in the powershot series. I snapped about 180 pictures with a fully charged battery, and when do you really to snap more than that during one day??!

I really recommend this camera! Its a go!

Good luck!...

Its worth it to pay the extra for the resolution and the zoom. Plus, its very compact at 3.7" by 2.5". Check it out!!!

The interface is actually really intuitive with most options being labeled by easy to understand pictures as opposed to words. I was also impressed by how well it did with fast moving pictures.

My only reccomendation at all is that you buy a 128MB card to go with it. With the extra space you can use the highest compression and size settings for even better looking pictures.

The price might be a little scary at first, but trust me when I say you wont regret it.

I also found the included ZoomBrowser software very useful to organise all of "My Pictures" on the computer.

Bought it in the USA for a considerable saving. Approx. [$$$] vs. [$$$] in Switzerland. Even saw it priced for [$$$] in the UK. Canon distributes the camera under the IXUS product line outside of the USA. I guess this is how they can command a price 50% higher.

Only recommendations for improvement - 1) Better viewfinder (although I only use the LCD display) and 2) Battery meter.

This is my fourth digital camera over the past 3-years. I have always stuck with Canon digitals because I just think they are the best out there (sorry Nikon!). My last camera was the Powershot S300, and I loved it. But when the S330 came out I saw enough improvements to buy it. And Im glad I did. Picture quality is without equal among similarly priced 2 to 4 megapixel cameras.

Dont fret about it only having 2 megapixels - whens the last time you had anything enlarged beyond an 8x10, anyway (never, right?). 2 megapixels will give you fantastic results, will allow you to take subsequent shots quicker, will let you store more photos on your compact flash card, and cost less than the 3+ megapixel cameras. For 99% of you, worrying about 2 megapixels not being enough is kind of like worrying your cars top speed - youll never take your car that fast, and with the camera, youll never notice the difference between 2 megapixels and 3 or 4 megapixels.

The most important things to me are picture quality and portability - you cannot take great pictures if your camera is left at home. This camera fills the bill better than anything else out there for me. Ill admit that Canons Powershot S200 is also fantastic, but since it only has a 2X optical lens, it just is not as versatile as the Powershot S330.

Buy this camera!

I forgot to mention the accessroies for this,

1. Get one or two extra Canon NB-1LH batteries. This is the most important thing will need one a long day. (Dont get the older NB-1L, it had 25% lower capacity).

2. Get a Canon PSC-300 Soft Compact Case for this.

3. Spend some money and get either a 128MB or 256MB CF card. 128MB should me enough for most people.

4. CF card reader is NOT needed, the USB cable that comes with the camera works perfectly fine.

Buy only Canon branded battery/case for this camera, dont try the cheap imitations in the market. Same for CF card, buy only a branded one...

ive owned the S330 for about two months now, and have to say it is an excellent camera. -the fact that it is digital is a dream come true because i never expected this kind of image quality outside of film P&S cameras. interaction with the camera is completely intuitive, and the controls are simple/excellent. build quality is substantial, sturdy, and very impressive outside the plastic flashcard door (although every camera seems to have one flimsy something or another)
the camera offers more features by way of light balance, artistic modes, manual modes and flash combos than the better film P&S cameras out there like the fixed lens stylus epic and the yashica T4. the lens is extremly fast at 2.0 (?) or is it 2.2? anyway, its very fast for a P&S so this gives you better opportunity to shoot without the flash which should be avoided on any camera. the camera even warns you of camera shake if the lighting is low and the shutter speed is long. very cool.
very nice effects can be achieved using differnt metering and focusing techniques..(see photo.net to learn how to properly shoot with a P&S). add in the sepia, vivid and B&W settings, and you can really be extremely creative with this little camera. software is excellent, although a bit simple, and ive expereinced NO problems at all using Windows 98se. flash card reader is not at all necessary. canon instructin manuals, cables and everything related is excellent as it comes in the box -ready to rock. BUT, you need a bigger flashcard (96 should do) and a case of some type to protect the lovely metal finish. xtra battery is essential if youre shooting all day.
ive been using this camera for going out when i dont want to lug the G2 around. its size is good, but not great. the s200 is a good compact size in my mind because the s330 is a hair too big to keep in a jeans pocket, plus its a bit heavy (but in a good way). this is being nitpicky, but the 3x zoom is worth the xtra size i guess. the LCD screen is excellent, although the viewfinder only includes about 80% of what your actual image is on the screen -annoying if youre trying to compose a shot through the viewfinder in an effort to save battery life with the LCD off. on the other hand, its very easy to fix composition errors in the software.

a word on digital.. if youre a photo student, or if youre looking to improve your photography, then BUY a digital camera. its free to blast away photos and test different technique, lighting, point of view, composition etc.. and you SEE your results instantly in the LCD. also, you know if youve blown a shot. youll learn much much faster because youll remember exactly how you shot, when, in what mode etc (all recorded wiht the image).. critical for learning quickly, and you dont need to take notes and burn a thousand frames like with film.

It has the following positives,
1. Excellent looks, build quality.
2. Great night shots, not found on any other compact 250gms camera, new long shutter feature in manual mode for upto 15 secs.
3. Very reliable and tons of features like charger works all over the worls, PAL/NTSC video out, all cables included (unlike Sony).
4. Accepts cheaper Compact Flash cards which are easily available in sizes upto 256MB. Not expensive 64MB sticks here :)
5. Very much pocketable. Easily goes into the trouser pockets. Slightly tough to fit into jeans pocket though. Look at S200 if you want even smaller camera.
6. 2.1 MP may looks low compared to other 3/4 MP cameras but this one offers more features without sticking you with any sticks ! Dont just use MPixels as your sole criteria when selecting camera. If you wont print them bigger than 8x10" then 2MP should be enough for now unless you have that extra cash :)
7. 3x zoom very faster to start and fold back. Works smoothly. You can turn the digital zoom off permanently.
8 LCD is superb, pictures look great on the 1.5" LCD. (a bigger 1.8" LCD on other need not neccessarily mean better quality, my last years Fuji had 1.8" and comes no where near this 1.5")
9. Great user interface... think of these Elphs as Nokias of digicams. Other cheaper cameras out there might not have same reliability, features, user interface and picture quality.

Problems,
1. Battery... lasts on 120 shots or so... you WILL have to buy a second one for extra [money].
2. The battery/CF doors feel flimsy. There are not made of metal but of plastic which looks like silver colored metal. But this much better than an all plastic one !
3. Canons ZoomBrowser EX software is very unstable. It keeps crashing every few mins on Windows XP. Canon needs to iron out the problems in this. After buying an expensive camera atleast its SW should be reliable ! (Atlhough I havent encountered any problems downloading pics till now, I dont see any reason to buy a CF card reader, this works fine with the cable, took just 3 mins for 100 big pictures)
4. Price is still high for a 2MP camera, although its become much more affordable than last year.
5. Movie mode is almost useless because of 5 sec limit on decent sized clip. Its just a marketing thing. Same with the audio/mic on camera.
6. Included CF card is just 8MB ! (it costs [money] to get a 32MB card for bulk purchases). Someone has to start including these necessary things like a decent 64MB card along with new cameras.

Spend few extra bucks on this cool camera and you wont regret !

... Also Stephen Wildstrom in Business Week (4/12/2002) reviewed the Kodak Dx-4900 and Nikon CoolPix 2500, but in his conclusion he came back to his good old Elph s-110 as his pocket digital camera of choice. If you are on a fence about buying the S-330 you will not be after reading these reviews!

FYI- I wondered how much the S-330 weighs with the battery and 128 flash card, well it weighs 9.5 ounces. I was looking at bidding for the camera on [line], but the finally bids were often about the same as the Amazon.com price or even more. Plus I just like to buy from Amazon.

The automatic camera settings are very realistic, and the advanced (manual) settings are much more numerous than similar cameras in this price range/megapixels. Manual settings dont take very long to learn, and give the user just enought freedom so as not to totally blow any important shots you may be taking. The LCD is bright and clear, and the function buttons and menus are very easily navigated. If you do however have to look in the owners manual for some guidance, Canon leads the way as far as simplicity and explainations go. All the descriptions are accompanied by photos representing what buttons the user is to press to reach the desired result.

For me, the most impressive part of this package are the solid construction of the camera body (all metal and easily gripped with one hand,)and the advanced editing software that accompanies the imageviewing software for your computer. I was excited by how real the photos looked, but was twice as pleased after I touched up the photos with the editing software.
I used a ...printer that isnt necessarily a "photo" printer to catalog my shots, and the pictures were better than any I had experienced with a 35mm camera.

If you are looking for a light-weight, yet pocketable digital camera that will take better pictures than you thought were possible, then look no further than the Canon S330 Digital Elph.

Ive used the camera for a little over a week now and have taken nearly 500 pictures and am still on my second battery charge (about 2/3 of the pictures Ive taken have been with the LCD off). The included 8 MB compact flash card limits the number of hi-res, hi-quality pics you can take, but you can buy a 128 MB card for a little over 50 bucks (I recommend one from SimpleTech) and be able to hold from 128 to over 1000 pictures, depending on resolution & quality.

The camera has lots of options and is especially versatile in its "manual" mode where you have a little more control than you do in the full auto mode. It gives you freedom to lock the AE, focus and other settings, as well as apply special effects/enhancements. I leave the camera in manual mode most of the time, since it retains its point-and-shoot simplicity; that way theres one less step to take (turning the selector dial) when I want to change how the cameras taking pictures.

It also has a video mode and photostitch mode. In the photostitch mode the camera helps you line up multiple shots so you can merge them into a single panoramic shot using software on your PC (included).

If youre considering this camera but fear it may be too small to easily hold, dont worry. I have larger than average hands and have no problems at all with manipulating the buttons and taking pictures (although, as with all things, it takes some practice).

Enough rambling, the bottom line is....

This is definitely the BEST 2 MP, 3 x zoom, compact digital camera available at this time.

For an everyday user this camera would be a perfect choice. Once you figure out how the menu system works all the functions of this camera are easy to learn how to use.

The one bad thing I have to say about this camera is that the video and sound quality are a little disappointing. While it is a very cool feature to have on a small digital camera, this could have been improved.

Overall I am very happy with this camera and would suggest it to anyone looking for a small, pocket-sized digital camera.

At first i just took pictures using the automatic function figuring that the manual controls would be too dificult but within the first day I was shooting pictures in manual mode, adjusting white balance and lighting and such, and printing them. I was very surprised by the quality that my two year old inkjet print the pictures at (as long as you dont look too close or print them over 8x10 which your not supposed to do anyways) on glossy photo paper.

I was also concerned because indoor shots came out very dark but I soon realized that the brightness could be adjusted with the included software which was very basic yet helpful. The movie quality is low but thats not what a camera is for so its a nice little extra.

Overall I have had no problems with the camera and I am very pleased with my purchase. This would be an excellent camera for anyone looking for an easy camera for a novice with some advanced functions. If there was one thing I could change I wish it was a little smaller but besides that I am very happy and excited for that next oppurtunity where I can show off my new digital camera.