Do I really need a 7 megapixel camera???
Pros:
Sharp, realistic colors.
Very fast with Ultra SD
Movie mode
Cons:
Need to buy larger SD card after purchase
The Bottom Line:
You wont go wrong with this camera and you won't feel the need to upgrade for some time to come!!
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Overall Rating:
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Author's Review
The best small digital camera you can buy!! I spent hours researching and testing. Won't repeat all the positives already stated by others.
What I want to do is inform you about a misconception regarding megapixels (high vs low).
You may decide to buy a less expensive camera when a salespeople at camera/electronic stores says, "Do you plan on mostly printing 4x6's, or will you do alot of enlargements"? You respond, "mostly 4x6 prints". The sales person then tells you that you won't need to get a 7 megapixel camera and can get along with a much less expensive 3 or 4 megapixel camera.
Not true!! If you plan on cropping your pictures, it is the equivilent of enlarging them and then printing only a portion of the image on a 4x6 print. Too severe of a crop with a lower megapixel camera and you get a fuzzy image. So, it's not just 8x10's and larger that need the high MP count. It's all photo's.
I crop almost every picture I take. It allows me to get a much larger share of "good" photo's. For example, I shoot many shots very wide on purpose. Because the SD550 has 7.1 MP, I can "frame" it up later without losing quality. So, I have not printed anything bigger than a 4x6 but I have not lost quality. The couple of extra hundred dollars you spend on this camera goes a long way.
When the salesman says "2 or 3 MP fine for 4x6"..that's true only if you don't crop pictures. With the Canon, I've made perfect close up portraits (face only) from wide shots which included other people in the original shot.
Remember, it's more expensive to buy 2 camera's (the first one, and then the one you really should have gotten) vs. just doing it right the first time.
Summary: Shoot lots of pictures, shoot wide, compose/crop later with no lose of quality. At times, I make 3 or 4 unique good shots from just one picture (just by cropping).
You will really enjoy this camera. Take it from someone who was not impressed with digital cameras as compared to my very expensive SLR 35mm camera's. I now use the Canon SD550 more than my Pro camera's.
