-Picture Quality- Amazing for a 2 megapixel camera. I routinely print out 4x6 pictures at great quality. Before this camera I was using an APS Elph. Without a doubt this camera prints much better quality pictures than my old APS compact camera. Although keep in mind, no matter how good the camera is, the prints can only be as good as the printer. The only problem I had with this camera is that it is VERY dependent on the flash for point and shoot pictures. Without the flash, unless you are in bright sunlight, pictures can come out blurry if you dont have steady hands.

-Features- AMAZING. Simply more features than you will use if you are buying the camera for quick snapshots. Also the problem with the flash dependence that I mentioned earlier can be fixed using the manual features. But with that said, it is impractical to change these features manually everytime you want to take a quick shot, but it is very handy when you want to take portrait type or studio type shots. This camera also has a movie function with sound that most cameras have nowadays. Most people say they dont use it, but I use the function a lot. I find the main problem is that most people just forget they have the function so it is never used, but if you can get in the habit of using it youll have priceless small clips (at a low resolution) of things that happened.
A 2x optical zoom isnt too shabby either considering many compact cameras dont offer a zoom.

-Durability- again AMAZING. I have never dropped this camera (well once off a bed, onto some really soft carpet), but Ive owned this for 2 years and probably 75% of those two years that camera has resided in my jeans pocket with lint, keys, cell phones, change... and not even ONE scratch and it still works perfectly. I did buy a small pouch for it, but the pouch really goes against what this camera is about, fast pictures. It wasnt practical to take the camera out of the pouch everytime I wanted a quick picture so I never used it, and it turns out I never needed it.
Also the camera is heavy and solid for its size. Too heavy for a shirt pocket, but definitely light enough to put into your pants. Its made of a metallic material that feels much better than the plastic that most compact cameras are made of.
The display screen on the back of the camera is plenty big enough to use to frame your shots. The viewfinder however does not accurately show the picture you are taking, which is a problem for many cameras. I never use the viewfinder because of this, but I never really want to either unless I forgot to charge my battery and I want to conserve battery power... which leads me to...

-Battery Life- The battery easily lasts the whole day of picture taking if you are on a vacation for instance. Easily I would be able to take 100+ pictures with flash and the screen on. But I have noticed over the thousands of pictures I have taken that the constant recharging of my battery has made the life lessen a bit. But that is to be expected from any battery over a couple of years of high usage.

-Price and Summary- I think the deciding factor for this camera is price. I gave this camera five stars because I couldnt be happier with my camera... BUT i bought the camera 2 years ago. A quick look at cameras of equivalent price and one can easily find 3-4 megapixel cameras for the same price (but maybe not the same quality). A quick look at cheaper cameras and I can also find plenty of 2 megapixel cameras from reputable brands such as Minolta, Nikon and Fuji. This camera has kept its price amazingly well over 2 years for an electronic device (I bought mine 2 years ago for $250). I think it has to do with the HIGH quality of this product. But if you have the extra $$$ for a mere $100 more you can get a 4 megapixel Elph.
I am very satisfied with this product and I know when I eventually get a new camera several years from now it will be another Canon Elph.

My only complaint is when there are odd lighting conditions (i.e. a dark room with candles or a lighted sign), the camera can take a little too long to take the picture. I would also recommend buying the tripod, because the camera takes lovely night pictures.

its got good exposure detection, a very simple to use interface, and has the features i was looking for. the zoom is pretty good for most situations, and its reasonably responsive (boot up time, delay between click and exposure).

im not that thrilled with the macro capabilities, my nikon coolpix 800 did much better. nor am i thrilled about the "no zoom during movie capture" feature.

overall, im quite happy with my s200 as a point-and-shoot camera. id definitely get it again if i had the choice to do over. however, now id probably go for a few more bells and whistles, including more optical zoom and better macro shots. still, cant beat the form factor!

Its the type of camera you can take with you just about anywhere. Its perfect for taking to partys and other events as it can take a real beating without getting hurt.

2MP is good enough for most occations, and you can make very high quality prints in the sizes youre used to for your APS and 35mm cameras.

The AF Assist lamp is a definite advantage, as it allows you to take pictures in relatively low light, usually indoors. It sometimes happens that it cant lock focus, but the camera will still take a picture after a short pause, and usually with a good result at that. This feature is far from perfect, but it definitely gives you an edge over cameras that lack this small, but very important feature.

The battery capacity is not that great. With the LCD screen on, you can perhaps get somewhere between 50-120 pictures taken, all depending on how much youre "idling" in between. An extra battery is a must here. I shoot most of my pictures with the LCD screen off, and on that setting, the camera will still show you the resulting picture in the LCD screen for either 2 or 10 seconds (user selectable), so its not really a problem. With the LCD screen off, you probably about double the amount of pictures you can take, possibly more, before you have to change the battery.

On maximum quality settings, your pictures will usually consume between 700kb and 1.1MB of space on your memory card. Ive found that most pictures end up being about 1MB.

Ive had this camera for a year now, and so far Ive had no problems at all. This has so far been a very reliable camera. Ive also bought a car charger, and two additional batteries for it.

I would recommend buying at least one additional battery (I have a total of 3 myself), as they wear out reasonably quick, and they can not be charged internally in the camera - you have to take them out and put them in a charger.

Cons:
Heavy for its small size. Takes some time to turn on/power up. Battery life could be better. Cheap plastic battery and memory card door cover (broke easily). Weak flash. Telephoto/wide angle trigger gets stuck with use. 8MB memory card it comes with is absolutely useless (I gave mine away).

Very easy to interface with the computer to download images or the TV for easy viewing. Youll want to get at least a 256MB card for all the pictures that youll take with this great camera.

Uploading photos is a breeze. Plug the camera into your computer with the included cable, wait a moment, and your photos are onscreen, waiting for your editing. We use this camera with iPhoto and Photoshop for editing.

The metal clad camera fits perfectly into a purse or a shirt pocket, and is ready to use in a few seconds. Id replace it in a moment, although I hope I dont have to.

One caveat: the included 8mb compact flash card is so small as to be useless. Buy a good sized card from your favorite supplier and youll be much happier. I also purchased a spare battery from a third party, just in case.

as often happens with electronics I buy something and then, through my experience, refine my concept of what I need. Normally I end up purchasing something closer to meeting my needs in a second (or third!) purchase. Or I buy something not quite as expensive as the "top of the line", only later to break down and pay for the improvements/enhancements garnered by laying out the long green.

I may have proven those theories wrong with this purchase. frankly, I can find no major faults with this camera.

I have taking photos since boyhood and have owned quite high-end 35mm cameras from Nikon and Canon. I am demanding in image quality. This camera has fulfilled all my expectations and more from a digital camera. BTW 2 megapixels is more than enough if you use the highest quality setting on the camera and do not plan to enlarge your photos to larger than 8X10"...but who does? the color rendering is also spot on. the metering takes a bit of study (of the manual) and practice to get the right results under tough lighting condition but once you do master that you can get really great results.

the only limitation I find with this camera is the zoom. too little optical zoom range for my tastes and the digital zoom results in reduced image quality. BUT HEY this is for trips, etc. not for professional results, I guess I was spoiled by all my telephoto lenses on my 35mm cameras, I have gladly left all of that bulky equipment in the closet now.

Rugged construction and nice to look at. great photos and low-ish pricing. whats not to love. I think you will not be disappointed by this camera.

The best option you can try is stich photos i recently went to DC and took the landscaping photos and merged it and my friends say one word "Wow" .... you need not be a expert photographer u just need to have cool tool to do it ....

Dont think twice just buy this when u have good offer and you cant beat Amazons prices along with 64MB flash card free and shipping free .... Ordered 2 cameras for my cousins....

+ Compact size and solid Japanese construction
+ Featured-packed with many manually adjustable features that I dont plan on ever using
+ Comes with rechargeable lithium ion battery and charger (this will save you around $50)
+ Records video and audio and has A/V outputs so you can plug it directly into your TV to view the pics and video
+ Nice packaging and excellent documentation - you get the actual paper manuals, not PDF files on CD. Everything in the box is well layed out
+ Sharp LCD screen
+ Excellent picture quality

- Lack of a case or protective cover of any kind
- Flimsy terminal cover on camera
- Pathetically small 8 MB CF card that was included
- Unlike some other brands, namely Olympus, your PC will not recognize the camera as a mass storage device, so depending on your version of Windows, youll need to either install Canons software and/or drivers. I personally dont like installing software on my PC just to be able to download the pics off the cameral. Im not into touching up pictures, so all I want to do is plug the camera in and drag the JPG files from the camera to my PCs hard drive without going through some custom program; you cannot do that with this camera unless you have Windows XP or ME, according to the manual.

Things you should get along with the camera are: a case, larger capacity CF card, and a CF card reader so you dont wear down the camera downloading pics to your PC. I dont think an extra battery is something that you should get right off the bat because its expensive and, unless you plan to take pics all day, would not be necessary. The included battery should be adequate as long as youre not using the flash and LCD with every pic. If you do plan to get a battery, Ive learned from postings elsewhere that you need to make sure that the battery has the same V and mAh ratings as the stock battery. The third party batteries might state that they are compatible, which is entirely true, but they have lower power ratings than the original Canon battery. Youll be able to use them, but they will not last as long as the original Canon battery.

Overall, I think I made the right decision with this one. Its not the best camera out there, but for $, I doubt youll find anything of this quality that comes with rechargeable batteries and charger. Most pics that Ive taken came out fine. Some pics with flash look grainy while others with flash look great - Ill have to take more pics and experiment.

And then you take your first picture. Its not good, so you take a second, then a third, then you fill the weak 8mb flash card supplied with the Elph with test pictures. None of them are good. Theyre either out of focus, or too contrasty, or the background has been `washed out. Almost all are badly framed too. What gives? So you go back to the users manual and re-read and start trying different settings, combinations and shooting techniques. Eventually you manage to produce a really nice picture. Then you realize you have *worked* for it.

The S200 Elph has wrongly been touted as an entry-level camera. Its picture quality in auto-mode-point-and-shoot is nothing to write home about. Lens flare is way, way pronounced (cheap optics, in plain English). To get good photos you have to plan and compose carefully. Which, in my mind, defeats the purpose of going for this camera. It is supposed to be *practical*. Size aside, its no more practical than all digital cameras. You shoot, you download, theres the picture. They all do that, and its the reason we have come to love them. Doesnt mean we have to have bad photos.

There are other gripes, many pointed out even in the positive reviews: problematic flash, shutter lag, no camera case, no battery life indicator, inadequate zoom factor, weak software. But all these pale into insignificance compared to the main problem: Picture quality. This is so essential, I dont see why we should even bother with other shortcomings. After all we take pictures because we expect them to come out beautiful, dont we?

I do. If you think like me, pass on the Elph. If, on the other hand, the beauty of the camera is important, get the Elph. Its small and techno-loaded, its shiny and oh-so-cute. It delivers big in the `cool category. Just dont ask it to deliver pictures.

So my reviews after a year of using it is as follows: The camera is great, the lense allows for clear, sharp pictures. Even 8 x 10s look great. The computer software is very good and easy to use. This camera is also very reliable. I have used it for over a year with no problems at all. Also, I have dropped the camera accidently twice. Once on a hardwood floor from a height of about four feet and the hinge hook on the inside of the door for the memory card broke. I used a piece of transparent tape to hold the door to keep it closed and then ordered the replacement door on the phone for $8 directly from Canon. That drop did not effect the camera at all otherwise. Then recently the camera accidently dropped out of my aftermarket velcro belt case from about three feet up onto solid concrete. It landed on a corner with a solid "thump" and the lithium battery popped out. I was sure the camera had to be damaged ! I picked it up and the outside metal case didnt even have a dent in it, only a tiny scratch on the corner where it landed against the ground. I put the battery back in and turned on the camera and to my surprise everything worked perfectly. This seemed impossible to me but I took a few pictures checked the lense and its motors. The pictures were all there in memory without a glitch. A three foot drop onto solid concrete and nothing but a tiny scratch ?

Hats off to Canon for making one durable little camera. I dont know what metal they used to encase this thing but after my two accidental drops I would not recommend anyone buying one of these expensive digital cameras without a sturdy metal casing. I do not recommend doing this but I have also read several other reviews people accidently dropping this camera into water without effecting it. These Canon Powershots cost more than many others with similar specifications but the others are not as durable nor do they all have the same quality lensing. You get what you pay for and Canon one of the first into this digital market and they know how to build them with the best enginneering and materials. I highly recommend this or any of the Canon Powershot "S" series digital elph cameras.

And then you take your first picture. Its not good, so you take a second, then a third, then you fill the weak 8mb flash card supplied with the Elph with test pictures. None of them are good. Theyre either out of focus, or too contrasty, or the background has been `washed out. Almost all are badly framed too. What gives? So you go back to the users manual and re-read and start trying different settings, combinations and shooting techniques. Eventually you manage to produce a really nice picture. Then you realize you have *worked* for it.

The S200 Elph has wrongly been touted as an entry-level camera. Its picture quality in auto-mode-point-and-shoot is nothing to write home about. Lens flare is way, way pronounced (cheap optics, in plain English). To get good photos you have to plan and compose carefully. Which, in my mind, defeats the purpose of going for this camera. It is supposed to be *practical*. Size aside, its no more practical than all digital cameras. You shoot, you download, theres the picture. They all do that, and its the reason we have come to love them. Doesnt mean we have to have bad photos.

There are other gripes, many pointed out even in the positive reviews: problematic flash, shutter lag, no camera case, no battery life indicator, inadequate zoom factor, weak software. But all these pale into insignificance compared to the main problem: Picture quality. This is so essential, I dont see why we should even bother with other shortcomings. After all we take pictures because we expect them to come out beautiful, dont we?

I do. If you think like me, pass on the Elph. If, on the other hand, the beauty of the camera is important, get the Elph. Its small and techno-loaded, its shiny and oh-so-cute. It delivers big in the `cool category. Just dont ask it to deliver pictures.

But on the positive side:
+Small(its really compact)!!!!
I take it everywhere.
I took it to me when i go places where i should not be going, and it was so small i had no problem taking it out, shooting a picture, and putting it away in my pocket (pant pocket, or jacket pocket, or even shirt pocket) and no one was the wiser.
Its really useful when shoping and i need to take pictures in the store of merchandise.
Most stores(especially Frys, Walmart, etc) dont allow that but its so small the stores dont even notice.

All in all for the price premium, if you can wait till better small cameras come out, or if you have to buy a compact camera now, this is an average quality compact camera.
For a good compact camera go for Nikon, they have better night time flash, then i would recommend Olympus, then the new Pentax Optio S 3.2MP Digital Camera w/ 3x Optical Zoom.

We compared the two as close to Apples-to-Apples as we could.
The Minolta has a little more optical zoom (3x) and more mega pixels (3Meg) as opposed to the Canon 2x optical zoom and 2Mega pixels. Comparing similar photos though, the Canon holds its own. The Canon is also easier to use - the Minolta had better internal software for setup, etc, but that didnt help that much.

This Canon is a bit smaller than the Minolta, a nice easy fit in a pants or shirt pocket. Its kind-of heavy for its size, but it seems well built. The lens motor is louder on the Canon and the LCD screen appears a little rough, but none of that matters to the end resulting photos.

The battery life was pretty good (all digital cameras now-a-days seem to eat batteries) - the Minolta went through batteries at a ridiculous rate, thats the killing factor on that Minolta for me.

Overall, this Canon S200 was a good purchase. Good quality photos for a 2x optical zoom and 2Mega pixel camera.

PS
A nice feature on playback is the Histogram telling you how the light exposure is for the photo.
PPS
The only thing I might wish for is 3x optical zoom, but Im not willing to pay another 100+ bucks for it.

The camera seems rugged enough to handle everyday wear without breaking, although a protective case would have been a nice addition. Canon, you got it almost 100% right with this little guy.

Its small enough to keep with me. Its rugged enough to take the beating of constant travel. Whats more, its a great piece of equipment. It just feels good. Im delighted by it each time I use it.

Its good in low-light. It can catch just about anything I can see. I usually find I get a better picture avaliable-light that with the flash anyway.

Downside - you will not take action pictures with this camera. There is a delay of almost a second from the time you press the button until it actually snaps the picture. But thats not how I use it.

This Camera is just plain FUN. I have had it for 5 months and barely a day has gone by that I havent used it. It really changes the way you approach photography since you can edit on the fly, the instant feedback helps you shoot till you get it right! Trial and error - the best way. Tip - after shooting an image hold the shutter button down and the image will show in the LCD screen

Its very well suited to people with a medium level of computer skills (perfect for Mac users)

The photo stitch feature is awesome letting you seamlessly join panoramic pics together with supplied software.

I recommend the following accessories:

1. Extra compact flash card, as large as you can afford, I got the Viking 128 MB

2. Extra battery, although the supplied pack is pretty good once it runs out you need a back up. (Get the elph Kit which includes a nice case and a really cool strap for not much more than a single battery)

3. If you plan on using the camera with more than one computer (like home and office) get an extra USB connector so you dont have to bring it with you every time.

4. Compact flash reader - I got one of these thanks to other reviewers although I dont use it much. You can upload 50 hi-res pictures in a few minutes with the supplied "image browser" software. It is a good battery saver but with a spare it doesnt matter anyway.

Im still waiting for the perfect printer, everythhing is SO big and UGLY! but I guess if I wait long enough...........

There are ways to overcome such problems (to a degree!): Switch to manual mode. But who really buys a point-and-shoot camera to fiddle with manual settings? If to get acceptable pictures I have to exercise `creative control I might as well stick to my old Minolta Maxxum. The result will not only be acceptable but PERFECT pictures.

But back to the S200 Elph. Another criticism is that parallax correction is way out: Unless youre shooting landscapes theres very little in common between what you see through the viewfinder and what the lens sees. Of course you can always discard that and compose through the cameras small LCD back panel - but try seeing anything clearly there in sunlight!

Two minor negative points concern the flash (you get more `red eye pictures than usual in point-and-shoot cameras) and the Elphs accompanying software. This is annoyingly basic. As an example, if you `correct a pictures contrast (or colour or brightness) and save it over the original you lose all camera settings data (including date/time of shooting).

Much has been said about the Elphs features. It is certainly impressive that so many are crammed in a camera this small. I am, however, unimpressed with the result. Any film-camera in the S200 Elphs price range will yield vastly superior pictures in auto-mode. All the features in the world cannot hide that.

Granted I am not the most well-versed digital camera owner. I am learning as I go and, for a beginner, this is the perfect camera. Each feature is easily attainable in the manual and there is no confusion when trying something new with your camera. So buy it, enjoy it, and spread the word. This is an excellent digital camera with superior features and quality for the $!

Outdoor / daytime pictures are great.

Outdoor / daytime pictures are great.

A great feature is the video clips. You can take short video (*.avi) clips as if you were taking a photo. So you have instant short movie clips that you can view, or email.

Recommendations: I like this camera because it is a step up from my Sony. This is a great camera for the intermediate camera user-lots of features and good quality. For the Pros, the A60 is a more expensive but somewhat better camera. The A60 has a better zoom, uses AAs, longer recording time with sound, but it is bigger, heavier and more expensive.

For a potential buyer, it is more important to read negative reviews, rather that the ones where people write stuff to feel better about themselves.

So, what is not perfect about S200:
-quite expensive extra battery, though very long lasting
-weak flash
-tripod mount not centred (hard to get the accurate position with small tripods)
-software (not pretty, not functional, at least for me)
-expensive accesories (like waterproof case, but at least there is one)

The drawbacks of this camera are the:
1. There is a very minimal(2x) zoom.
2. There is not any warning before you run out of memory on your compact flash card.
3. There is insufficient warning before you run out of power.
4. There is an appearance of red eye in many indoor photos.

These problems can be remedied by always starting out with adequate memory on your card, charging your battery before each use, carrying an additional battery and CF card, and turning off the flash whenever there is adequate light available. This is often the case even indoors. As for the zoom get closer. Do not use the digital zoom as picture quality suffers.

I have discovered that by taking these precautions Ive been very satisfied with both the S200 and the S230. They are both so easy to use and to carry on even vigorous outings as they easily fit in a small pocket. The case has protected my camera from intense humidity and a fall onto concrete. All in all Im very satisfied.

Enter the Canon Digital Elph S200. While small it is heavy for its size giving the impression of quality and durability. I still have a lot of 35mm gear but face it; most of the time you are shooting snapshots that wont be enlarged above 4x6". 2 Megapixel looks just dandy on 4x6" prints even if you end up cropping. When Im shooting something I plan on blowing up Ill use my 35mm or even medium format gear; the rest of the time I use my little Canon. I purchased a 128MB CF card which holds enough shots for entire vacations.

The one drawback to this camera is the time it takes to autofocus a shot. There are times when Im trying to snap a picture when the camera "thinks" for as much as 10 seconds before firing. You can minimize this by pre-focusing the camera before taking the shot but this is not a good camers to try to grab a quick shot.

A month after I got my Elph S200 the Elph S230 came out. The S230 also has a 2x optical zoom but 3.2MP resolution. The S230 is also about $100 more expensive and an inch or so bigger. This would be a camera to consider if you want a little more resolution for larger prints and dont mind it being a tad bigger.

Except for the slow autofocus speed Im thrilled with the Canon S200.

The battery (NB-1LH) however scores only about half of the estimated pictures at this quality. At around 80 photos, it starts screaming for more juice. A backup battery is recommended. Still better than some other highly rated cameras, just not what I hoped for.

Low light conditions are a bit of a challenge sometimes for the camera, so a mini tripod or a monopod are also useful.

Finding a case for it was difficult as well. A small cell phone belt loop thing works best for me, though no extra storage for stuff.

Sooo, great for the non-professional. Great for the outdoors. Great for the active folk with its small and friendly package. Buy the larger memory cards, an extra battery, and hunt for that perfect case. I do love the camera for its pocketability and its ease of dumping photos to my PC, or directly to a TV screen, as it has a slide show mode that you could record directly to VHS if you were so inclined.

Buy it, you know you want to.

Cons
The downside to this camera is that you cant tell when your battery is gonna die as there is no battery indicator until towards the end when the battery beeps 10 times and then the camera shuts down.

Pictures taken Indoor are of low quality, even with flash button on. Most pictures taken indoors are dark and dimm.

However, i still recommend this camera to anyone who wants to have a great time snapping photos.

What is important to know, however, is that today.. 3 days into camera ownership.. I dropped her. From about 6 feet up.. onto asphalt. And it didnt break.. nor has anything weird happened. Its a little banged up, but this metal shell protects.. and if you drop stuff like I do, three days after buying the darn thing.... then you probably should get this.n over a week.)

I recommend getting a carrying case (not included) and a 256 Mb memory card. For Amazon.coms low price, its worth the extra few bucks to be able to take 400+ hi-res pictures between downloads to the computer.

Also, to save batteries, Id recommend leaving the LCD display turned off (hit the DISP button twice) when in picture-shooting mode. Just use the optical viewfinder instead of the LCD when youre taking the picture. (You can still see the picture for several seconds on the LCD after you take it.) If you keep the LCD on, the battery goes in a few hours. Unfortunately, there is no "low battery" warning.

Image Quality: I must admit the image quality is slightly better on the DC290 but the S200 fits my needs great -- im no camera pro.

Battery life: I did my own testing and the battery (840mAh) it comes with lasts about 2 hours with the LCD on and taking pictures--the unit gets warm when left on the whole time i was draining it. (My DC290 lasted maybe 5-10 minutes or after a dozen shots, yuck!). The best thing about this is that it uses Li-Ion and the battery is light... Anyone complaining about battery life should definatly get more cells--cheap and last about 2hrs each. (note: my 2hr test was on the first charge so maybe later charges will last even longer)

Another feature i really like is the movie capability (only 30seconds max though). 30sec movies is about 3.5MB in size using QuickTime codec.

Overall this camera is really great. Its sooooo much better than the DC290--I can actually take many many pictures before replacing the battery w/ the LCD on.

On my recent vacation I used the Canon s200 almost exclusively since it is so portable. You can slip it in your pocket and have it ready in no time. Besides, it is unobstrusive, and you dont go around looking like a tourist with a big bulky bag.

You can also print out pictures with the Canon CP-100 Digital Printer, which is a small portable dye-sublimination printer (not inkjet, so it wont smudge). Its a great combo to take on vacation or to a party since you can print out pictures right there and share with friends and relatives.

Another neat feature is the stitch-assist mode. You take a series of pictures, by looking through the LCD, itll show your previous picture half-way and helps you to line up the image. You can then import this sequence into the Photostitch software provided and get an instant panoramic. The Canon Photo Browser software remembers which set of pictures were shot in a series, and the transfer and stitching is very easy and automatic with a few clicks. This feature is great for vacationers and real estate agents, and adds to the fun of using this camera. The resulting image is likely to be huge, but using any photo editing software you can reduce the size for web-pages (set the width to 800 pixels) and create some really awesome vacation web pages.

Another fun feature is the movie clips you can take. Its very simple to use. Just slide it to movie mode, push once on the shutter-release to start taking the movie, and once to end it. Surprisingly it even records sound, so you can get the kids to say Happy Birthday to their grandma and send it to her via e-mail.

For convenient show and tell, Canon includes a cord that allows you to connect the camera to a TV (and there is both a video and an audio cable - for the sound in the avi (movie) mode).

The wait is over. The S-200 has the diminutive size of the APS Elph cameras, as well as the pocket proof lens protection. It is also all but bulletproof with its tough stainles steel body. This camera is loaded with quality features. With a 128 meg memory card...it is ready to take 128 gorgeous max resolution pics. The color, exposure, and overall quality of the pictures will amaze you. Even the short movie clips the camera can take are of high quality, and have wonderful sound.

There are larger cameras that have similar features for somewhat less money. There are also larger cameras that cost more than the Elph. With the exception of the 4 megapixel S-400 though, I cant think of any that offer better image quality and features in as small and durable a package. Even then, the S-400 costs much more. If the S-200 takes a trip over Niagra falls, it is a lot easier to deal with.

I just ordered the new S-400 Elph to satisfy my incurable desire for leading edge photographic toys. It is a little heavier than the S-200, but has all of the latest refinements, including an extended movie mode. It also costs $... Even after it arrives, my S-200 will still be the camera that is always in my pocket, ready to go at a moments notice.

Consider this; After eight months of constant abuse (just stuffed into any convenient pocket with keys, dirt, whatever, on a daily basis), it doesnt show any signs of wear. Plastic cameras simply cant compete. The lens door is so well made that despite its working environment, I have never had dirt penetrate to the lens surface. After taking well over 2,000 photographs, it performs like new, and delivers high quality SLR class images. It makes better 5x7 images than many larger 3 megapixel cameras, and delivers solid 8x10 performance. If you have a computer, you can enjoy and manipulate all of your work without spending a fortune on processing fees.

Last, and most important, is the simple truth that this camera is so small and tough that you will carry it with you with no more fuss than a ring of keys. After all, the best SLR in the world is useles if it is sitting at home when a photographic opportunity pops up in front of you. If you can only justify one digital camera for all of your family photographic needs, get the S-200. You will be amazed. If you can justify as many cameras as you would like, get the S-200 or the S-400. I bet it will become your most often used camera.

Update (3/23/03). When I ordered the S-400, I also ordered a 24x 250mb Compact Flash card. The 24x refers to how fast the card can store an image. It also determines how fast you can take another picture. I bought this card for the S-400, but the card arrived first, so I tried it in my S-200. At the time the S-200 was made, 128 meg was the largest card available, and I wasnt sure if a larger card would work properly.

The results were fantastic. The S-200 had no problem recognizing the 250mb card right out of the box. The 24x write speed makes taking sequential photos without flash seem like a motor drive was installed (sequential flash photo speed is limited by flash recharge time on any camera). Best of all, the S-200 with the 256mb memory card will take over 250 (thats right, 250!) max resolution photos without having to download or carry a spare memory card. That could well be an entire vacations worth of pictures in the palm of your hand.

The price of the S-200 has dropped since I bought it. The cost of high speed 256mb Compact flash memory today is about what I paid for the 128mb card when I bought the camera. This makes the combination an even better value than before. If cash is no problem, buy the S-400. It is simply awesome with the quantity of up to date features packed into the tiny steel case, but if you prefer an album full of beautiful 5x7 or 8x10 prints from an inexpensive pocket dynamo, but this combination. You wont regret it.

By the way, there are many brands of Compact Flash memory available, and several offer high speed. The brand I bought was Lexar. Im sure others will work just fine, but Lexar offered the fastest (24x) at the time, and I know it works with the Canon line. They also include a USB adapter with the 256mb card, so if you dont happen to have a CF card reader built into your PC or laptop, you can download your images to any computer with a USB port without special software or cables. A nice touch if you are away from home and want to email your pictures from a library or internet cafe.

First, the photos. It takes really nice photos, deals well with low light and high light conditions (I have many awesome pictures shooting into the sun! Beautiful.) There are extensive automatic and manual controls. I print my photos through Apples iPhoto (which imports well from the camera) and even after significant cropping, 4x6 photos are indistinguishable from 35mm photos.

The video mode is impressive. This is a feature I didnt pay much attention to, but it really is a killer feature. I would never shlog around a video camera unless it was for special occasions where I knew thered be lots to record. But with the PowerShot... its small so you can take it everywhere... and it records great little videos ready for the web. Granted, its not as high of a resoulution as standard video, and the length is limited (a couple of minutes on a 128 MB CF card, but for capturing quick video (recently, of skier against a gorgeous mountain backdrop) it is priceless. QuickTime in Mac OS plays them flawlessly (even in the Finder under Mac OS X). The one caveat is not to film vertical orientation... because then theres no easy way to flip it. Did I mention it records sound?

The preview mode is also good, smart enough to rotate pictures taken with a vertical orientation. And you can preview the movies (although without sound).

Connecting to a Mac works well, either through the provided USB cable, or via Compact Flash card and adapter to a PC Card slot. The cable to connect to RCA input is pretty handy, as you can view pictures and video on a TV if your are away from a computer.

Battery wise, there are some problems... after going through a 128 MB CF card of photos, you are going to have to recharge... thats my experience... also, there doesnt seem to be a battery indicator until you are out of power.

Overall, a great investment!

... The few negative comments (in my humble opinion) were mostly not THAT negative, or they were buyers who hadnt figured out the basics of digital photography. ...

Asides from the excellent picture quality, youll be pleased with the quality construction of the camera - all stainless steel except for the memory card and battery doors - not big deal, although it would of been nice to see it all stainless on the outside. But rest assured, you wont find a camera built much better than this. The feel/operation of the control buttons are that of precision manufacturing. The LCD display is excellent, as is the menu set up.

Some reviewers mentioned the need for a larger memory card than the suplied 8MB. The 8MB card will hold only 7 shots on the highest quality / picture size setting, but I would only use that setting for printing or photo development. The camera takes very nice shots on the lowest quality/picture size setting, which makes a approx. 79kb file - great for emailing...and youll get 87 shots on the 8MB card! You might find somewhere in between is best for you - you can always buy a larger card later. Battery life isnt bad for moderate use - about an hour or so...it works for me, but a second battery for travel might be an idea (make sure you get the newer NB-1LH (840 mAh) battery that comes with the camera if you can). The supplied documentation is very good.

The movie setting, like most still cameras, is nothing to write home about. Its good for a short "merry Christmas" to e-mail out. The microphone works very well. Buy a proper movie camera if you want to do serious movies.

I was ready to buy a low-end [camera], but for a bit more got the S200 from Amazon that is MUCH more feature-packed, more compact, a much better performer, and of higher quality construction by far.

Five stars!

The little Canon S200 Elph is remarkable. When you first take it out of the box and hold it, youll know you havent made a mistake. Its like a little jewel, artfully designed, solidly constructed. The metallic body is all shimmery and shiny and, well ... Dare I say "precious"? (If Gollum had one of these, hed forget all about that stupid ring.)

Stop reading the reviews and order one now. If youre disappointed, dont take it back, go see a shrink. You have issues. Seriously.

Finally I decided to purchase this particular camera for several reasons. First, Canon was a brand of camera Id owned and liked in the past; second, this model seemed to deliver the most features at the lowest price; and finally it looks good and has a cute name (pause while eyes of the tecno-literate roll).

The day after I got the camera I took it with me on a family vacation. I started taking pictures almost right away -- although figuring out how to download the software onto my laptop took a bit of time and exploring all the things I can do with the pictures (like printing and emailing) is still in the works. But I dont think any of this is a problem of the product -- everything in the documentation seems clear enough that even a moron like me ought to be able to put this together (eventually).

Here are some of the things even I can do already --

1) I take pictures, choose which shots I dont like, delete them right away and take a new picture. This is great if you have a nine-year old who loves to ham it up for photos (i.e., now mommy is going to take this picture again. This time without the silly faces). This is great for posed shots -- now you can be sure you got that great picture of your family in front of Cinderellas castle BEFORE you walk away.

2) I can hook up the camera to my computer, download pictures and enlarge them to see if I still like them (you cant see on the itty bitty screen on the camera if someone has thier eyes closed for example). I delete pictures I dont like. I may not be able to take a picture over at this point but I used to pay to have the shot developed only to throw the picture away later. What a waste. Plus now I only print the best of the best and only what I need.

3) I can (and do) carry the camera everywhere. This camera is about the size of a double deck of cards. It tucks in a pocket or purse (it even fit in my tiny evening bag along with my lipstick and credit card). I found I was much more likely to take this little camera with me and got some great picures I might have missed otherwise.

4) I had no problems figuring out how to charge the battery, put the battery in the camera and load the flashcard (I did get the 128MB flashcard and never ran out of room). It was a bit more difficult figuring out how to hook the camera to the computer and download the pictures but again, I think these are mostly my limitations not the products or the documentation.

Some disapointments, though not unexpected, were that it is hard to take "action" shots as there is a delay between pushing the button and taking the picture that is hard to get used to. Also, sometimes I accidentally flipped the switch and was taking motion pictures instead of still pictures. It was hard to figure out how to delete the motion pictures I did not want and I did miss the still photos I had wanted to take.

It will probably be a few years before digital photography catches up to film photography in quality and at a price the average user can afford, but in the meantime this is a great camera to learn with while still capturing your memorable moments in photos. I highly recommend this camera for people like me who are not particularly good with new technologies.

I went to Amazon and reviewed all the reviews. I then went out and looked at the cameras. I liked the Canon and that is what they got me.

It is really nice. It is easy to take pictures and wasnt too hard getting them to the PC. It fits in a hip pocket.

I have been dicking with and I have taken about 150 pictures. Currently 75 pictures are still with me and I have deleted about 75. I have e:mailed maybe 20.

I am shooting the 640x480 mode in Superfine. The pictures are about 150k. It is really nice. 640x480 in the Fine mode are about 100k.

Dad didnt like digital photos because they wouldnt print very well. As it turned out, my sister sent him scanned pictures of Polaroids. He really disliked digital cameras due to the print quality.

Once I amassed a quantity of photos, I began to print some. While not perfect (with a cheap printer and regular paper), they were nice.

Dad, who had better printing capabilities, denounced his dislike of digital cameras and asked politely for more pictures. He is having great success printing them.

I did buy more Flash Card memory. I got the 128mb card at Price Club for $50. I have a few pictures on the camera and it says I can take another 577 at the 640x480 superfine resolution.

I will probably buy another battery (just because that is the type of person I am), but it has not been an issue.

By the way, I havent taken any pictures with my Canon Rebel since I got this camera and we havent gone through the 5 rolls of film that was recently developed that we collected over the last few months. I now have instant gratification.

Digital cameras are very nice if you have kids and/or grandparents. And the Canon S200 is easy to keep with you and actually take pictures with. I havent had much success with the movie mode, but from what I have seen, it can be very cool.

Now that I know what it is all about, I would have bought it for myself. The Canon S200 is a complete and robust package.

The software that comes with the camera is pretty nice also (perhaps I have low expectations). It is very easy to manage the photos and also enhance them. I am very happy.

If you want some pictures of a awfully cute boy, let me know. I also pasted a bunch of stuff into Word and created a PDF and it is really nice.

Of course, I only have this robust camera made of metal in my hip pocket. Perhaps some of those bigger plastic cameras are as nice, but you would have to prove it to me...

I would have done 5 stars if the movie length (which I havent had any success with yet) lasted to the end of your memory. I havent has success due to low light levels when there was a subject to shoot. It works fine, the results were disappointing.

Art

Image quality is excellent in most conditions, and very good in the dark, in my experience. This is even on the lowest quality mode. If youre having trouble getting good pictures in the dark, use the flash -- thats why its there! Dont expect the camera to magically take an amazing picture without light. The flash, by the way, is excellent -- it fills well and is plenty bright.

I take most of my pictures at 1024x768, but the 1600x1200 mode is still excellent. Ive seen cameras that take grainy pictures in the highest resolutions, but not this one. Great quality all around. Printed pictures also look excellent in 1600x1200 at 4x6 and even 8x10, if you dont mind a slight loss of resolution. If you need to make prints at 8x10, and still want all the greatness of this camera, get the new 3.2 Megapixel Canon Digital Elph S-230. It is a bit more expensive, but you get what you pay for -- an extra megapixel of resolution.

One other great feature worth mentioning is the Canon Image stitching software to put together 360 degree or multiple-shot panoramas. It works great. I have some great panoramas from everywhere from the tops of mountains to Memorial Stadium during Big Game.

And did I mention how small this camera is? Pocket sized. Literally. No comparison.

One person mentioned a vaild problem; The issue is about snowflakes appearing in some dark shots. I *think* this is actually due to the compression algorithm, rather than a physical flaw. I always keep my compression at "superfine" and I have not had that problem. One can still easily control the size of their image by setting the number of pixels.

I briefly looked at the S230 but quickly came back to the S200. I really believe that for the vast majority of people, this camera has more than enough resolution. Save your money!

Driver Info:

For Windows XP; installing the driver is very simple

For Windows 98; I wasnt as fortunate, but I *eventually* got it to work (however, this is a minor thing, a one time thing, so I wouldnt use it as a basis for a decision)

For RedHat 8.0; It is as simple as it gets, (the driver is already included in the "Digital Camera Tool", all you gotta do is pick the camera name.

Unlike the other cameras, this one had some additional features to put it over the top: it is the smallest camera in its class, has a rechargeable battery (the others needed AA or AAA batteries), and it uses Compact Flash cards. Some of the other camera manufacturers only used pricey proprietary memory sticks or memory cards.

Software is included for Windows machines and there is support for Linux. Redhat Linux 8.0 supported the USB camera connection, out of the box, without needing to install additional software.

There is only one annoyance - there is a delay between pressing the button and when the picture is actually taken. Aside from that, the camera is basically a point and shoot camera, with good clarity and color.

A carrying case isnt included, so Id recommend purchasing a small camera case and an extra compact flash card. Im happily using a 64MB card.