Best and smallest 2.0 megapixel Canon Powershot yet!
This ultra-compact camera has excellent image quality in a tiny package. Perfect for that trip you always wanted to take.
I use to have a Fuji Finepix 2600z and this one is much smaller (granted, Canon has a smaller zoom).
The LCD panel is very sharp and bright and you can see it during a very sunny day, a major plus.

What I liked:

-Ultra portable
-Very stylish stainless steel design
-Excellent color reproduction
-Great for closeups
-Outstanding low-light shooting capabilities, for all those nightime pictures! (please use a tripod)
-Fast battery charger (about 2 1/2 hours for a full charge)
-Excellent value for your money

What could be better:

-Image sharpness was slightly soft-looking (is that a Canon thing?)
-Average battery life (about 3 64MB cards)
-Small flash does not have a lot of power

The best thing about this camera is not only that it delivers great point and shoot pictures (for us amateurs!)but that it is extremely portable and provides a decent amount of experimentation and control via its straightforward LCD menu system.
I highly recommend it.

Built like a rock!
I just got this camera from amazon a few days ago, and so far I LOVE IT! It's really tiny (no bigger than a credit card) but built really sturdy so you don't feel like it's going to break if you accidentally happen to drop it. It's perfect to carry with you everywhere. The LCD screen is really nice with the new anti-smudge technology. The screen looks "snowy" under low light, but I really don't mind too much...the pictures come out great! The camera does get warm after some extended use, but that should be normal for such a compact camera. The video mode isn't extensive, but a great bonus and fun to play around with. The ease of use makes this a great first digital camera, but the variety of control settings, such as adjusting the ISO and effects mode, also make this camera suitable for those who like to be more creative.

Very Poor Picture Quality
...

Pros: Stylish design; Convenient to hold; Easy to use; Good close up picture quality; Good LCD; Immediate shutter response; Easy to lear manual.

Cons: Cannot focus under any conditions on anything half a meeter away from the camera; Very apparent artifacts. Everything in the picture including yourself looks like a poster; Very flat and poor feeling of the colors on indoor pictures; After downloading the pictures from the camera to the PC and checking the pictures on the PC, I was so disappointed; Also experienced a bug the first installing the software. Compared side by side with some pictures taken by a Fuji Finepix 40i, Fuji does a much much much better job.

Conclusion: Good for show and tell, not for taking pictures. Canon seems not worth its reputation. How did it get it?

Accessories
This is in addition to my other review of this excellent camera.

I forgot to mention the accessories for this,

1. Get one or two extra Canon NB-1LH batteries. This is the most important thing will need one a long day. (Don't get the older NB-1L, it had 25% lower capacity).

2. Get a Canon PSC-100 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, don't try the cheap imitations in the market. Same for CF card, buy only a branded one. Everything is available here on Amazon itself so get these things along with your camera purchase.

Ofcourse this is just from my experience and may not be totally true with your case !

I preferred this one over the PowerShot S330
I took me a while to decide between this camera and the PowerShot S330. I prefer the S330 for the way it looks and feels and for the fact that it allows to manually set the shutter speed. I also like that feature that allows you to add voice memos to pictures taken. The reason why I decided for the PowerShot S200 in the end is pocketability. Although the S200 isn't much smaller in terms of inches, it feels a lot smaller than any other digital camera I have held in my hands so far. I have had the S200 for a week now, and I just love it! I had it with me almost everywhere I went. It even fits into a shirt pocket without feeling too heavy! That was my main reason for buying a digital camera anyways, I wanted to be able to bring it with me wherever I go. The picture quality is o.k., as long as you don't zoom in too much they are fine. I only store my pics on my pc and email them to people once in a while or post some pics online. If I would want to make prints, I'd go for a camera with more megapixels. But for prints I have a trusted Canon EOS 600 35mm.

For the PowerShot S200 I also bought a small carrying case that clips on my belt as well as a spare battery. I'm also going to buy a flash-card reader. Oh, and of course I bought a 256MB Compact Flash Card. So, it was quite an investment, but I love this camera, and it's size is just amazing.

My favorite gadget...also a damn fine camera
I have the original Canon Digital ELPH, the S100...and over the past year-and-a-half, it's been great! The pictures are, for the most part, perfect (I ran into some problems in Vegas, where the contrast of the dark, night sky & the obnoxiously bright neon seemed to confuse the CCD and resulted in some dark, out-of-focus shots).

This camera fulfills my two most important requirements: 1) high resolution, so that I can print out photos and have them look like they just came from Ritz Camera, and 2) small size, so I can comfortably carry it in the pocket of my jeans...I hate having to hang a camera around my neck and look like a tourist when I travel!

I do have a couple complaints, which hadn't been addressed in the S110, and most likely haven't been fixed in the S200 either:
- Greater control over shutter speed: there is some control over shutter speed, but it isn't enough to really take any artistic pictures or nighttime landscapes (such as a city skyline at night, which is what I was trying when I discovered this shortcoming).
- No battery life indicator (just a low battery symbol, but by then it's too late). It would be very handy if the Digital Elph could display the minutes of battery time left, or even a small bar showing the approximate amount of battery life remaining. In my opinion, there's nothing worse than suddenly having the low battery warning pop up (with the S100, this means ~5 minutes until total shutdown). If you want to see what I'm talking about, I would suggest checking out a Sony Cybershot digital camera (or any Sony InfoLithium-powered camcorder).

Other than these two issues, I LOVE this camera...it's definitely more than proved its worth.

Love this camera!
I just got this camera a couple of days ago and I love it already. The size is perfect, can fit in a pocket, small purse or pack. Picture quality is great! Good for posting on the internet or printing -- I went out and bought a new printer (the HP DeskJet 5550) and the prints are amazing! I'm putting my 35mm camera away and using the ELPH exclusively.

Pocket camera takes amazing picures
This replaces all my other cameras. This sturdy, pocket size digital camera takes amazing point and shoot instant pics, and has a plethora of options you can set on the small, but high quality digital display. Sensitivity, color depth and resolution are great for high-quality prints up to 5x7. Available light pictures are very good if you hold the cameras steady while shooting. Flash images tend to have strong reds, but correct easily with any digital image processing program, including the one supplied with the camera. Don't forget to set your printer's paper and color Properties. Set the colors to match your monitor and it will be much easier to make any minor corrections to the exposure and color of each print.

Middle child.
I have been a dedicated digital Elph user since the first S100 was released and have really gotten my money's worth from that camera. It is a rock-solid, 2 megapixel, 2X optical zoom, pocketable digicam. It was not, however, a perfect camera, and the first update, the S110 attempted to address its major shortcomings, most significantly by fixing the poorly designed power switch and by adding a movie function. Next came the S200, which added to the movie function (60 seconds max., with sound) better battery management and higher amperage and several new user controls. It did *not* add the anticipated 3 megapixel resolution, nor improve upon the 2X optical zoom. The series continued with the S300 & now the S330, and these indeed do offer the 3X optical zoom (forget about digital zooms; they're nearly useless, especially in lower resolution cameras), though not the 3 megapixel resolution (this is important *only* if your intention is printing enlargements greater than 8" x 10"). So with all 5 of the digital Elphs still widely available, which would suit you best? Personally, considering their prices graduate only slowly, and given my experience that a better optical zoom makes for a more useful camera, I'd go for the ... S300. However, if size is not a major factor in your decision process, skip the premium one pays for the Elphs' compactness and consider the fact that you can buy other digicams that are only modestly larger but rather better equipped for less money.

Super Camera!!
This is my 2nd digital camera, as I moved up from HP C200. This camera will do everything you need to do. 8x10 are great quality. The 4x6 is of lab quality on highest resolution. This camera is probably one of the most energy efficent camera. If you hate buying aa batteries this is the camera for you. You will need to get a bigger flashcard. I have a 128 mb flashcard. I can get 96 highest resolution and highest compression photos.
I will not need to get another camera for quite some time, and am very pleased with photo quality

You give up some things to gain others
I've had my Canon S200 for a month. I have 3 main problems with the camera. #1- The Zoom. 2x zoom is just about like having no zoom at all. Forget the 2.5 digital zoom, it makes the pictures too fuzzy. #2- It has problems in low- light situations. I often have to use photo editing software to brighten up pictures. #3- The display is not very clear.

For the same amount of money, I wish I had gone with the Fuji Finepix 2800. It has the 6x optical zoom with a much clearer display.

With that said, it is a very small camera. Slip it in your pocket and no one has to know that you're a tourist. Also, the video with sound is very cool. With a 128 MB card and up you can store many video clips (up to 60 seconds per clip depending on what you're filming. Complex backgrounds such as trees will eat up the time quicker then if you were videoing sky). Also the software that comes with the Canon is very easy to use and the video software is neat too. I've heard people complain about the battery life but I took a whole weekend of videos and pictures with the display on without having to charge it.

So it boils down to: if you're looking for the small size, go with the Canon. If you're looking for zoom in the same price range as the Canon, go with the Finepix 2800.

Excellent Point/Shoot/Print no more file costs camera
My wife and I were fed up with the costs of film and then developing the APS pictures. The last vacation was the final straw ans total film costs for the vacation came to 60 bucks. I did a lot of research and narrowed my choices to the S200,S330 and S3. I looked at the S3 because I promised my wife that the new digital camera would take as good as a picture as the APS camera. But the 3 meg pix was still kinda pricey so the S200 and S330 were the finalists. The cameras from what I read are the same except for the 3X zoom on the S330. I didn't really use the zoom on my APS camera so we bought the S200 off of amazon. Soon as ups came I started to charge the battery. In the meantime I got familiar with the camera and read the docs. Canon did a great job of a quick start guide and the detailed book was more than I really needed. about 1.5 hours later the green light came on from the battery charger (nice feature to let you know it's finished) and powered up the camera. After setting the date and setting the pics to the highest resolution and super fine compression I was ready to go. Point,shoot and view. It was really that easy. I was able to view the slide show of images I took and I erased the pics I didn't like (that pays for itself being able to erase the pics you do not want). I also bought the viking 64 meg cf card and HP 100 Photo printer with this and I can't believe the photo quality coming from this little HP 100 printer. The S200 takes as good if not better pics (settings are on high) than my APS and then the kicker was I pulled the CF card, inserted the CF card into the HP 100 (doesn't require a computer to print) and printed a 4X6 borderless pic in under 2.5 minutes. We both laughed, cause you can't imagine the quality. Side X Side with a APS photo you can't tell the differnce. Took the little printer and S200 to work snapped some photos and printed them off and I get the same disbelief from everyone.
PROS: small compact, rechargable battery, able to do video out to tv, usb to pc, incredible pics, no more film costs!
CONS: got to get a 64+ meg card with purchase (8 meg card isn't enough)
For [more money] get the HP 100 printer and you won't be disappointed...

Outstanding starter digital camera
I've had the camera for a little over a week now and it is everything you've read about it.

The only flaw I've encountered is...a lack of a battery indicator on the camera. Since the camera requires its own rechargeable battery, I'd invest in an extra battery and an AC adaptor; reasonably priced and worth the avoidance of anxiety.

I recently used the camera to take many pictures of the University of Texas tower lit orange in honor of the baseball championship at night. THe night settings were easy to understand and set. It was slightly difficult to take the pictures without a tripod and avoid the blurs....not unlike any other camera (digital or 35mm). I've found the software included to be use to use (although large @ over 20 megs) and the quality is superb.

At this price and size, there is not another camera in its league!

Pocket-sized, but not small on features!
I've had my S200 for three weeks now, and just had to post and let others know this is a great camera. This is my first digital camera, and after much research, I'm pleased to think I got exactly what I needed.

Pros:
- Sturdy! Portable! I work at a summer camp and wanted a camera I could take around with me and not worry about. I've already dropped this camera several times (pretty hefty drop once) but the metal casing is sturdy enough to take abuse. As always, be careful, but you won't have to worry about breaking this camera. You also won't have to worry about lugging a huge camera around and having to set it down everywhere. Shorts, swimsuit, whatever - it'll fit in your pocket.

- Print Quality: I got my first ofoto.com order the other week and the pictures look GREAT. I was worried that 2 mpxls wouldn't be enough, but even the 8x10 I ordered came out fine. Make sure you have a large memory card (I have a 128 mb one) and take pictures on the best possible setting.

- Good battery life: I've seen some bad ratings on this, but don't know why. I take lots of pictures and always use the LCD screen. With that usage, my battery lasts from about 7:30 in the morning until 11:00 at night. I just come home and charge it each night. If you turn the LCD screen off (and the camera off when you're not using it) it will last longer - I've used it for two days straight before charging it. Extra batteries are relatively inexpensive, so get one if you can, but you can always get one later and still enjoy your camera.

Cons:

- No case. You really need a case. I've gone caseless for three weeks now and there is a lot of lint inside my viewfinder (but no other problems). The Canon paperwork is a little confusing about which case is designed for the s200 (get a case designed for it - it's too small to fit anything but a made-to-order case), but check powershot.com to find out which one to order. It's a cheap way to protect your camera for a long time. Buy it online, too - I'm having a hard time finding a case in a store.

- ZoombrowserEX. The software program that comes with the camera to organize your pictures and take them off the camera is not designed well. Windows don't pop up right, and it's easy to permanently delete some of your pictures (no recycle bin).

- Slow. With the red eye reduction flash setting, it takes _forever_ to actually take a picture. Even the autoflash function is still slow. With plenty of light there's no problem, but the flashes tend to be a little slow (although, if you prefocus, there's not as much of a wait). Don't buy this for sports photography.

-Uploading old images. I've had problems with taking pictures off my SimpleTech card and then putting them back on. Half the time the pictures are squished or streched, especially portraits. I'm not sure who's at fault for that, Canon or SimpleTech, but it makes it annoying when you want to share images with your flash card.

Overall an excellent camera. I'm very excited about it and would recommend it to anyone who wants portability and great pictures. I picked the s200 over the s330 because of size (the s330 looks a lot bigger). None of the extra features on the s330 made up for the size difference.

I tried to cover all the bases here. Hope this review from an amateur photographer helps.

Worth Upgrading
I carried an S100 for a year and a half, having concluded at the time that size was key -- after using some ... cameras (like the Largan L-mini, 640x480 w/flash) and getting useful but not great pictures, my primary consideration was that a digital camera needed to be small enough that I could carry it *all* the time, so I could capture pictures of interesting things without planning.

Note that this is not the right approach for everyone - deciding how you'll *use* a camera is a personal choice. If you don't think you'll take pictures in every day life, but just on vacation... or if you need to take pictures for work... you may find that size isn't key, and you may be happier with a larger camera (though I'd recommend other Canon models in that case, including the 330) or a cheaper one.

However, if you're like me, and want to capture the world around you, but in good enough quality to get 8x10 prints of the *really* good ones... if you want to have a camera that fits in a pocket so you don't look like a tourist all the time... this camera merits a good look.

When I say "worth upgrading": I loaned my S100 to a friend shortly before the S200 came out. 130 pictures/day later, my friend had to have one, so I took another look at the S110, which seemed a fine replacement -- and then the S200 came out, and I had to have it.

Features that make the upgrade worth it:
video clips (long enough to be interesting; not only is this good for catching cats and trains, there are also cases where you can't get a clear still shot but someone looking later will get more out of a short video clip) *with* audio
better low light support (both automatic and manual settings down to ISO400)
anti-redeye flash option
ROTATION SENSOR (worth shouting about - it's so nice to just rotate the camera for framing, and have the results come out properly tagged.)
better (2- and 3-zone) autofocus/light level sensing
on-screen histogram for low-light shots (lets you tell if you really got nothing, or if you can pull out more detail in post processing)
"view pictures" mode lets you zoom all the way in, allowing spot checks for blurriness directly on the camera.
New batteries are 25% more powerful.

I'm quite pleased with it; I've taken 700 pictures, 100 movies, and 4 panoramas, in the two months I've had it (and 1500 pictures and 7 panoramas with the S100 before that.) Note that the panoramas are worthwhile - you just want to make some effort to set them up, rather than try randomly. One was an "all guests at wedding reception" panorama that I got printed as a 6 foot by 6 inch strip, which made a great christmas gift to the couple :-)

high quality well featured digital camera
The main purchase decision when compared to other cameras of a similiar (+/- ý100) price, was size and looks. The ixus is significantly samller than most similiar quality cameras.
It may be useful to have one of the swiveling LCD screens, but the balance is that this will fit in your pocket.
The features on the Ixus are very quick and easy to understand, it has easy control of white balance, and easy to learn menu sytems for setting up prefernces ect. the zoom control is right next to the shutter release which is very handy.
The software which comes with the ixus seems to do the job just fine, and really is pretty straightforward to use.
The 8mb card which comes with the ixus is enough to get started with and allows 25 - 30 medium quality pics.
Battery life is pretty short, but i guess this is the norm with digital cameras, the neat laittel charger does its job more than adequately.
I can see an upgrade to a bigger memory card and spare battery coming up in the near future.

The quality of images is excellent, very sharp with brillinat colours, and theres plenty of creative settings to play with, its fairly easy to create professional quality results.
All in all a very satisfying purchase.

This Digital ELPH Rocks!
I wanted small size and a great picture. This has it! You know bulky cameras on vacation are a chore to carry, many times you opt out of taking it with you. I wanted a no-brainer solution for this dilemma and found it. Great Picture quality, great color, ease of use and intuitive menus. Sure it's *only* 2MP, with only a 2x Optical Zoom, but easy trade-offs for what I was seeking. I bought 2-128MB CF cards, a CF card reader and a spare battery for lots of pictures and no hastle with connecting the camera to the computer. Shop around for price, you don't have to (and should not) pay retail!

La pequeýa maravilla
les cuento que quede maravillado con la camara ya que es pequeýisima ademas de las variadas funciones y espectacular nitides en las imagenes y peliculas yo la recomiendo por sobre todo ademas de su sencilles de manejo y alta calidad en su presentacion .
el cargador de bateria que trae es muy versatil ya que se puede ocupar con cualquier voltaje en USA: o Sud America y Europa

Great pics, pain in the behind
I bought this camer 2 months ago and fell in love with it...until: the auto focus became finicky and it took 3-5 seconds to take a picture, the battery life and auto power down function became finicky, the lense would not always retract when powered down, the pictures instantly became fuzzy and "whited out" like bad reception on a TV (tech support could not solve) yet the video worked, the sound on the video began giving everyone speaking a lisp. My camera is now on it's way to canon repair services, I hope I get back a new camera because I think I got the Jaguar of the digital camera industry.

Mark's recommendation
I bought the S110 in December 2001 and have become a digital camera maniac. I really love this camera and have recommended it to my friends. The quality of the photos and its small size have won me over. The S200 has some of the improvements that I wish my S110 had but it is still a great camera. I have an extra battery but have only had to use it a couple of times. I charge my battery every day when I am travelling. The rechargeable battery is really a blessing. It is so convenient and quick to charge. Sometimes I wish it was a 3 or 4 megapixel camera but I'll have to wait for Canon to develop that in the future. I took the camera with me on my two plus week trip to France and took over 350 pics. That meant buying an additional 128mb card in addition to the 128,16,8 and 64 I already owned. It was barely enough. The camera worked well in low light situations(no flash used) when we wanted to photograph some of the paintings we saw on our museum tours. With a steady hand most came out pretty well considering the slow shutterspeed necessary for that kind of lighting. Where this camera mattered the most to me it through with flying colors on this trip and I was very happy with the photos of our trip.

The primary reason to buy this camera is its small size and good quality photos. I carried this camera with me,usually in my pants pocket, 90% of the time I was in France. I barely knew it was there and I didn't stand out as a tourist. I do find myself longing for a camera with more features and more megapixels but would I take it with me as much as I do now? I think not.

I do get a few unsatisfactory photos, but I think it has more to do with using the light well and setting the camera's light settings appropriately. I'm still learning how to use it.

The video feature is really wonderful. It gives short clips with so-so resolution but you can be creative and catch some wonderful moments, especially with children.

i would recommend the canon s30 or s40 if you can afford more and size is not a factor in your decision. These are very highly rated cameras.

A good digital camera - if you have some patience
After the numerous positive reviews on both ... and various camera sites, I went ahead and picked up a S200. I've managed to get some good pictures with it, but it definitely is not a good camera for someone looking for a "point and shoot" device. Careful composing of each shot is required, as is tinkering with the various settings and modes.

For example, on my first outing, I took it to a large aquarium in Chattanooga. When I returned, I realized that only 1 out of the 16 shots I took was excellent; 2 other ones were pretty decent, and the rest were garbage. Not great for a supposedly "point and shoot" camera.

On my second trip, I spent about an hour with the manual, learning the intricacies of auto focus lock, flash lock, various metering modes, and other features. If I spent a minute or so on each shot, carefully determining the best mode for the situation, my results were much better - 6 out of 8 shots were excellent.

If you want a camera for a vacation where you want to snap something neat that you see as you pass by; say, out of a gondola, while on a train, etc - I'd say forget about the powershot s200. If you are looking for a camera to produce excellent "set-up" shots, this may be the one you're looking for.

Pros:
- Great picture quality and color - if you're willing to
compose the shot extensively.
- Rugged, fine-looking stainless steel
- comes with a li-ion battery pack & charger - good battery life
- menus are easy to navigate through

Cons:
- photos that are "point and shoot" are likely to come out blurry or improperly exposed, to the point of unusability.
- Camera does not take Compact Flash Type II cards - only Type I
- No uncompressed file mode - if you do any cropping / editing on your picture, expect it to get worse each time you resave it.
- Focusing is very picky in low-light situations
- Price is pretty high for a 2 megapixel camera
- lower resolution modes are practically useless; only the "best" resolution setting gives quality pictures.

Works like a charm, first and best camera.
I bought this camera only a little time ago and it has been my dearest pal. It is so easy to use and the options are simple to read so that even a primate could figure out how to increase or decrease the picture size. The movie format is exceptionally, it makes it better because it has a microphone. The USB2 connection makes it attach to the computer. The software that comes with it is interesting for people who don't have programs such as Adobe Photoshop. The battery has quite a lot of juice. Be sure to recharge for more than 4 hours (do it while your sleeping), for a good 2 day or more use. This camera and package comes with everything one would want.

Excellent Camera, Good Price
This is by far the best camera I have ever bought. It is my first digital camera, and it's performance far exceeds the performance of my past film cameras. For its size and price, this camera is excellent. Compared to the S330, I would buy the S330, but I couldn't afford it when I bought this.

The Good
Takes great motion pictures - I took a picture of my fan while it was moving, and the picture came out as if it were still!
Size - Nice and small, but big enough that me, with larger hands, can still operate it
Movie Mode - Don't buy the camera for this mode, but it's a great toy to fool around with
Sturdy - Even though it's small, it feels tough

The Bad
Included CF - Only 8meg card. That's only about 12 pics. I bought a 128meg card, which is much better, because I can hold about 100 high res pictures or 200 med res.
No Case - The case isn't included, and is selling for [$$], and Canon could have easily included this
Zoom - Only 2x. Not very helpful, but its better than 1x

The Ugly
Nothing really

So, in short, if you're looking for a mid-priced camera for school, work, or vacation that is good for it's size, go for this camera.

What a camera!
I've had a couple of digital cameras in the past. None of them was half as good as s200 in terms of performance and exterior design. S200 has a solid metal case which makes it both rigid and looking good. It is very easy to hold. Yeah, sure it is the smallest camera around but controls are definitely not crammed together. The pictures it takes are vivid in color and simply outstanding in clarity. The LCD on the camera is very clear under bright sunlight. I don't know how they did that but no camera I've seen came close on this. The battery life is also very good. It takes only two hours to fully recharge the battery. And it has Chinese language option! Which isn't really all that important to me but it's a plus I can use my camera in my own language. Overall this is a amazing buy. I have countless gadgets and this is certainly one of the most satisfying. The only con I can think of is the price at futureshop for this camera. Cheers.

Absolutely stunning
I love this camera! It takes really fantastic photos. Highest resolution is 1600x1200, and all pics are taken at 180 dpi instead of 72 dpi like some digital cameras. At the highest setting it's about 900 kb per picture, so just figure 1 picture per MB on your memory card.

Why is the camera so great? For me it's two things. First, the size. This is a wonderful size for a camera. Small enough to carry around with you, but all the controls are easy to reach and nicely sized. It's small enough that even in the optional case I can fit this sucker in my pocket or keep it in my bag and carry it everywhere. For me there's no point in having a 4 or 5 megapixel camera if I don't have it handy all the time to take pictures.

The second thing is that it takes really fantastic pictures. With its highest setting you can print out 8x10's without noticeable artifacts. It has a 2x optical zoom (never use digital zoom, it's like cropping and then resizing your picture) and a really good optic system. Colors are crisp, and it snaps pictures extremely fast, so what you snap is what you get. Some digital cameras take a second or more after you hit the button to take the picture.

Anyway, for its small size and great picture quality I highly recommend this camera!

Another example where Size Doesn't Matter !
For the vast majority of the snap-shooting public, this tiny gem is probably the only camera that crowd will ever need. I see people on once-in-a-lifetime vacations using those throw-away cameras to capture life-long memories on 4X6 prints. If only they had this camera and a decent sized memory card, they and their memories would be much better served. I have made 5X7 prints from mine and they are excellent. The 4X6 prints look like they could have been shot with a Nikon or Leica. In fact, I do magazine photography with my 35mm cameras but recently shot a MOMA gallery opening with the Elph (only camera I had with me). The shots we so good, they went into a national magazine. The 2X zoom, while adequate for parties and such, isn't wide enough in tight spaces. (Most people who want the 3X zoom Elph crave reach on the telephoto end - I crave my coverage on the wide end!) The software and cables included to download from the Elph are adequate but if you buy a USB card reader, you can do your image transfers without tying up the camera. The size is perfect so you can take it anywhere and the battery life is surprisingly good. I did get a spare battery but have not needed it. I also bought a 128Mb compact flash card so I can shoot at max resolution and not have to worry about running out of "film." If you don't have a Digital Camera yet, get this one and you'll be hooked. - Here is a July 2003 update: Canon has improved this model with a 3 megapixel and 4 megapixel model. I tested the 4 MP version side by side with my 2 MP and could not see a quality difference in a 4X6 print. Thought you should all know!

Go check out the Canon G5 - better in every way and the prices are dropping! A real bargin.

awesome little camera.
I have had my Canon S200 for about a month now and am absolutley pleased with it's performance.

First the design: it is literally the exact size as a pack of cigarettes. (with the cool weight of a tiny gadget like a zippo lighter) Very sturdy feel, feels like a block of metal in your hands. The case does not get smudges from fingerprints and have not noticed any scracthes from everyday use.

Second, picture quality: I have only printed 4x6 prints onto photo quality paper from an Epson Photo printer and as an amateur photographer was amazed at the picture quality. Very crisp colors and details, from daytime outdoor pictures to nighttime indoor pictures. You can see tiny freckles on ppl's faces, good or bad I dont know. There is a macro mode for close-ups. A manual mode which is intuitive, for example, if you want to take Non-Flash shots where flash is not allowed, you dont have to set for No-flash everytime you turn the camera on and off. Set if for Manual Mode>No-Flash and everytime you turn the camera on and off the flash is automactically set off. (or vice-versa) ISO can me set, as well as shutter speed. which is also nice for more creative ppl, or for dark situations.

Third Battery life: I recently took a trip to LA, with two 64mg Compact Flash cards (set for highest resolution each card held approx. 180 images: the camera "says" the card can hold 70 images, but i kept on going to experiment and got different from 180-200 images!) So everyday I would take 120-140 images, go to my hotel recharge the battery, which lasted the whole day, download the images to my laptop and be ready for the next day. and a note, whether you set for high or low resolution the camera takes same amount of time "writing" or recording to disk which is btw very fast. I have both Sandisk and Fuji brand compact flash cards and have not noticed any performance difference.

I was deciding between the S200 and the S300 which are identical, except the S300 has 3X optical zoom instead of 2X, and also has a longer movie mode. 2MegaPixel is perfect for 4X6 prints and 8X10 prints also.

If you are new to digital cameras you will be absolutley satisfied with this camera's print quality, ease of use, battery life, as well as more advanced features which I have not used yet such as the longer shutter speeds. A good online source for digital camera research can be found here: dpreview.com and canon's site has sample pictures taken with this camera.

Have fun.

Excellent Camera
This is the first digital camera I have purchased and am very happy with the purchase. It is fairly easy to use and controls are quite intuitive. There is a host of features I haven't used, and may never use, but the basic point, shoot and look is easy to use, both still and motion. The pictures look great in either digital or hard copy. I would recommend this camera to anyone.

Small + easy + cool + quality pics = Great Camera!
I bought this camera as a birthday present for my wife about a month ago. It's our first digital camera, and we're basically "point-and-shoot" types. So far we love it. The tiny size is a big plus as it easily fits in purse or pants pocket. It feels very solid and the controls are well laid out. Even my wife (not technically inclined) finds the camera easy to use. It also has some neat features such the built-in automatic lens cover and automatically detecting whether you're taking portrait or landscape views and rotating the images internally. It also has an amazing "stitch" feature which will combine several panorama photos taken end to end into one long image. It automatically matches the edges! It's slightly distorted, but still pretty neat. How do they do that? The way the menus are displayed on the LCD screen makes changing camera modes a breeze. You can also upload pictures to your PC without pushing any buttons just by plugging it in! The user manual seems well written considering the complexity of the subject. Like others, I was disappointed that Cannon does not provide a case or larger CF card, but for the money the s200 still seems a good deal. Our local 'big-box' store matched the best price I found on the internet. The picture quality at high resolution is terrific. I view them on my 19" PC monitor and they look very professional. Even the medium res pictures look good. Another unexpected plus was the included software. I found it very easy to use and with plenty of features for a beginner. The included ArcSoft PhotoImpression software does everything I want with a digital photograph including special effects editing, cropping, text layering, framing, making greeting cards and calendars, etc. It simplifies placing multiple images or combinations on one page, which minimizes waste of pricey papers. It also has a "fantasy" section that lets you create dummy magazine covers featuring faces from pictures you take. Lot's of fun to play with, though I haven't fully explored it yet. All told, we are very pleased and impressed with the camera. While I'm sure other digital cameras provide many of the same features, Cannon's photographic reputation, other user reviews and the camera's small size ultimately sold me on this model. This is a great little point-and-shoot camera, I only wish I'd had it on our trip to Europe! I don't think we'll ever go back to 35mm again!

compact, hard and simple
I spent more time and energy to find a digital camera than my apartment, firing my neurons away on such a life-altering event of purchasing a pocket camera. Being a middle class ladder climber, it was like taking a test with multiple choice questions. I compared prices as well. In short, I chose canon s200 for the simplest, clean design, and the hardest-looking, metal exterior. Whoever designed this camera, I can get along with. I chose Amazon.com instead of buy.com for the uncomplicated return policy.
The price is high for a 2MP camera, but I didn't want to spend $500 dollars for a 4MP camera. I rationalized by saying to myself if I don't buy another camera later, spending extra 50 to 100 dollars more is worth it. 2MP will serve my purpose as I am not going to print out posters from this camera. Besides, I don't have too much wall space to hang them. It is a size of a cigarette box, but as heavy as a unopened Budweiser can. It would be nice if the camera came with a longer loop string to put around my neck rather than the small wrist loop. Don't drop it; don't lose it. 125 MP CF card should be big enough for anyone who behaves normally and takes a non-psychiatric number of pictures during a typical vacation trip. This camera is for someone with a sense of moderation. If you supersize your Big Mac meal, don't buy this one. This is for those who would rather take a picture of their children who will stand still and look up for 2 seconds if you are lucky. No time to waste, just point and shoot. If they want to try, let them; you can always erase it. Those who doesn't want to buy another digital camera shoud consider this one. I am not buying another one until I drop or lose this one.

Quite a fun camera!
I've always wanted a digital camera and I finally settled on this one. I had several friends highly recommend it plus the reviews on Amazon looked very promising. They weren't wrong. I just love this thing! Slap a 128MB card in there and you can take so many good pictures! There are a lot of neat features to play with and different settings you can mess around with to get very nice pictures. The size of the camera is astounding. It fits right in your palm! Also, for all of you nerds out there, this USB camera works with Linux using gPhoto2 and gtKam! Definitely consider this digital camera.

Awesome Camera!
I just recently bought a Canon S200 and i have to say, It's ALOT better than most cameras, even some cameras of higher MP. This is because it has a movie recording feature (yes other cameras have this too) but it records with sound! It records about 20fps and maybe lower if u record at max. resolution (640x480). The quality is great(resolution goes up to 1600x1200), it features auto focus, and for experts, you can control the ISO (theres an auto option for newbies). And the reason why I didn't give it 4 stars is becuase in movie mode, the lcd kinda blurs and gains static which is annoying and the quality on movies arn't that great. But, digital cameras arn't suppose to have superior movie qualities, that's what camcorders are for.

Little gem
Love this camera -- Have taken over 1,000 photos with Cannon S200 during two vacation trips to NYC. I run the camera full out (1meg/picture), carry two 256M cards, and recharge my battery every night.

Pro -- Tiny, takes very good pictures, easy to use, fast. Extra praise for Vivid mode (my standard mode), lithium-ion battery (good for two days), included battery recharger (very light weight and no cable), orient switch (no rotated pictures), +/-2EV exposure adjust, Stitch mode (panorama photos), camera settings encoded into .jpg file, and good night photo capability (1s auto, 15s manual with noise reduction).

Con -- Getting pictures from the memory card to the computer can be trouble. On my Windows ME the (autostarting) download wizard stopped when it hit a movie file. Copying from a card reader resulted in rotated images. The fix is to download the memory from the camera with Windows explorer or Cannon ZoomBrowser. Comes with only a wrist strap.

Small Camera, Nice Price, and GOOD Results! A+++++
This is my 4th digicam, the 3rd for Canon brands. I have powershot a20, a40, and fuji finepix2800. You notice that all I've been using is only 2MP camera because to me, 2MP is good enough for me.

OK, Love this camera. Very small, same features as A40 in general. I don't really care about the zoom feature. I know it's only 2x optical + 3x digital zoom. But that's not really important to me. If you want zoom than buy yourself a high-end price camcorder.

The camera has lots of features. When I first got the package, I charged the battery and it took only an hour to do so. Very fast. The body is nice, strong, and very fit to my hand. The battery somehow takes about 1 hour to fully use it even with LCD. I'm talking about constantly taking picture in 1 hr and the camera needs to be recharge. The results is exclnt in most cases with lots of effects such as black & white, sephia, vivid color and lots more..... I know you're gonna love this camera, cause I do.

The reason I bought this camera cause I have a 3-month old baby boy. I just can't get enough of him so I want to make sure I can take picture of him every moment and every second in between. It really fits in my pocket without bothering me at all. The camera it's just somehow heavy a bit but still considered light. I was going to wait for the S230 to come in november but I think It's not worth the wait. Anyway, I don't need 3MP. I'm just an average users, not a pro. Just for fun.... P>So guys..... remember, digicam is all about having fun with it. Don't fall into 4MP, 5MP or maybe 6MP. The quality is somewhat the same. People has a tendency to get the biggest of everything to make them big as well.... typical human being.
Not everything big is always big, sometimes small things can bring you happiness as well. That's what I think about my Powershot S200. Affordable in price, powerful in features, and small enough to carry it anywhere you want to take it.......

nice camera..but...
i bought this camera a few days ago (10days),got a special deal from amazon, especially the price drop right now.GOOD PRICE and GOOD SERVICE. i decided to get Canon S200 because of its "some manual" control (which i'm really looking for) plus the size. I had a chance to compare this camera to Sony CD mavica 300, which we owned but its bulky. The picture quality...mmm.. the quality is good but i still like the quality of the Sony MVC 300 (using 2 megapixel), maybe this is due to the "Carl Zeiss" lens. I took about 250 pics(10 days), my only complaint was that i been getting some kind of "snowflakes or "spotting" on my pics, about 1/3 of my pics have this. I'm not really sure whats wrong with it. First i thought there might be some kind condensation on the camera or in the lens but couldn't find the culprit. i also notice that the "snowflakes" or "spotting" only appears on a telephoto and dark shots.i'll be returning and exchanging this camera for a new one, i'll give it another try. One more thing i noticed is that the camera has some difficulty focusing during a low light + moving subjects (takes longer time to take a pic). well thats it for now....i'll tell more about it when i get the replacement.

Great Camera - Not much changed since the S120
See my review on the S120 because most things still apply. Canon made a few positive changes on the camera interface side but most things are the same as the earlier models (i.e. optical zoom, resolution etc.) The new battery adds a little life but nothing earth shattering.
Still the best camera out there for the casual photographer. I carry mine everywhere I go.

As with earlier models:
The zoom stinks, not a camera for profesionals
The 8mb memory card is a joke, get a 64mb or a 128mb

Even the new and improved battery isn't great, buy an extra one.

Good luck!

no complaints
First digital camera. Very good picutre quality. Easy to operate. Would recomend to othrers. Must buy more memory the 8mb is a JOKE. I would suggest a 128 that will hold enough photos for you. Price is good to.

Just a toy
It's true that Canon S200 is compact, pretty, and well-designed. However, it turns up side down when talking about picture quality. I took some night shots and found unaccpetable outcomes. Usually, I don't use flash for night shots in order to get the atmosphere as much realisitc as I can into my pictures. Pictures from this camera look blur and grainy. Two Megapixel and three-point focus system don't seem to help. Transferring pictures to a computer is another headache. Unlike any other cameras, there is no direct access to a camera from Windows Explorer. I have to install 20 mb software and driver into Windows XP. After using for 30 minutes, I decide to return it. If you are a serious photographer, look for something else.

I Love It!
I just wanted a digital camera I can fit in my pocket and walk around with everyday. This did the job. Not only that, the camera's pictures amazed me. I can even take short videos with sound! The first day I used it in public, people around me were amazed how tiny this camera is. I use to own a HP315, but the S200 beats it 100%.

If there are anything to nit-pick about... I wish the camera can record videos longer than 10-20 seconds. Regardless of your Compact Flash size, it can only take videos that long. You need to keep recording after the 10-20 seconds. Also, if you want to Zoom more than 2x, try the Canon S330 or I believe the S230 has it as well.

fun and handy, room for improvement
This camera is fantastic for convenience. It realistically fits in your pocket, and its compact brick-like shape means nothing is protruding and getting dented as you walk around. I take it places that I'd never take a larger camera, because I can bring it along without a big camera pack hanging off my shoulder.

The main complaint I have is that the image quality isn't great. It's good enough for snapshots, but I've had a lot of so-so pictures. My former digital camera, an Olympus D-460 with only 1.3 megapixels, took sharper and better-looking images. A lot of my pictures on this camera look all right from far away but up close everything is a little fuzzy.

Here's a summary of my pros and cons with the camera:

Pluses:
* Size -- it really can fit in your pocket.
* The charger is small and light-weight and works in standard 2-prong 110V outlets.
* Nice viewing of shots on the camera -- loads quickly and there is speedy and good navigation, even when I had 100s of pictures.

* Battery life is great.
* Video mode is a blast.
* Battery charges quickly, around 2 hours from totally dead.
* You can plug the camera into a TV with included cables and view your photos there.

Minuses:
* Picture quality isn't great.
* Sometimes when you take a picture with the flash, it takes forever (we're talking holding the button for 10 seconds or more) to take. I found I could improve this by depressing the button slightly to get the light setting, seeing the red light go one, and *then* pushing hard to take the picture, then waiting another second or two for it to take. But try explaining that to a Chinese person who you don't know who's taking your picture for you!
* No software included to create a slideshow. I was hoping for something that would make a nice picture-and-video slideshow.
* The video mode can't adjust to different light settings in the course of filming, so whatever setting you start with is the same one it will maintain even when the light changes.
* No warning before your battery dies. The warning light comes on and poof! 30 seconds later the camera's dead.
* No sound on video playback on the camera (there is sound when the clip is downloaded to a computer or played on a TV).
* Maximum imposed recording limit for videos, regardless of how much memory is on your memory card. At the middle quality setting it's about 10 seconds, and at the low quality about 30.

Overall I think the camera's size makes it a good camera, it could use some improvements particularly in picture quality but for casual snapshots it'll do the job. A similar camera worth checking out is the Minolta Dimage X. It's slightly smaller, has longer video recording capability, greater zoom, and audio on video playback, but I've heard the picture quality is worse than the Elph.

Excellent product
This product is GREAT. We really enjoy the size--eay to "tote and carry". We never leave home without it. It is very handy to carry along on all of our island hopping expeditions, especially to Great Inagua, Bahamas.

Great convenience, good value, lacking features
It's a good value, and extremely portable. However, it takes forever to take pictures using a flash. I have used much better digital cameras where as soon as you press the button, the camera will initiate the picture taking. There is no way to check the status of your battery life, a warning light comes on shortly before the battery dies. Picture quality is good when using highest quality settings, I've printed many pictures and they all turn out great. But beware, this camera is horrible for taking pictures up close, and the zoom is quite lacking. The menu is also not user friendly and the controls can be quite confusing. It's a great, portable camera, but if you want a lot of features, this is not it.

Great camera for the price
Digital point and shoot cameras should not be looked at as a replacement to film cameras, the quality just isn't good enough for anything important or for images that you need to enlarge. But, for the convenience of being able to email your snapshots or upload them to a webpage or online auction quickly and easily, nothing beats a digital cam. The image quality of this Canon is acceptable if you understand that you will not be able to match 35mm film quality. The color saturation on the images is surprisingly good however you will notice some milky haze around some of the edges and background if you look closely. This is common (and expected) for low and mid range digital cameras such as this one.

I bought this camera over the newer S230 model because of the price and the fact that the S230 has longer shutter lag. While the S230 has more megapixels, I wasn't willing to pay so much for images that would just end up being emailed and on webpages anyway. And the longer shutter lag in the S230 is unwelcomed. The image quality and 'look' is equal in both cameras as far as I can tell, of course the S230 model just makes them a bit larger.

This camera is quite small, which makes it convenient to have with you all the time, or to put in your camera bag as an addition to other cameras.

It only comes with an 8MB compactflash card. You will need another one. I recommend at least 128MB, which should give you 180 image capacity in the best picture quality mode with 'Super Fine' compression.

The propriatary battery doesn't seem to last very long so it seems like an extra battery would be needed if you are going to rely on this camera a lot. But this will mean that you will have to carry around the extra battery, which adds a bit of inconvenience.

All in all, Canon makes good digital point and shoot cameras for the money. The unit has a lot of features other manufacturers do not include (such as black and white and sepia modes as well as macro mode for close up photography) and it feels quite sturdy and designed well. It doesn't replace 35mm film cameras (nothing but the highest multi-thousand dollar digital cameras will), but for general snapshots and as a complement to your film cameras, this camera provides acceptable results.

Very Satisfied
In short - it lives up to it's hype. I've handled many digital cameras and most feel lik echeap plastic. This is metal, feels solid, not junk. And yes, small. Still learning to do new things with is, seems pretty well designed. Even the manual is written well. It comes with an 8MB flashcard - pretty small, I got a 256 MB flashcard for it cheap on ebay. I also purchased a tailor-made carrying case for it from Canon for [X]. (Better than scratching the LCD and should I ever drop it, might be very good protection.)

Next, I will purchase an underwater enclosure and take it into the ocean. (I live in Hawaii.)

I've used it a lot and found no shortcomings. Pretty safe purchase, especially if you can get it at a good price.

Great entry level camera
I spent the better part of a week gawking at digital cameras, and ultimately ended up purchasing the Cannon PowerShot S200 Digital Elph. Overall, I am happy very with it.

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 isn't included, so I'd recommend purchasing a small camera case and an extra compact flash card. I'm happily using a 64MB card.

Amazing little camera
I absolutely love my S200 Elf. I've had it for several months now and it's performed flawlessly. It's easy to use, takes great pictures, has a very simple interface, compact and quick battery charger (and the battery life is incredible). And you just can't beat the size and weight of this thing. My ONLY complaint is that there's no way to default the camera to "no flash". You have to manually press a button anytime the camera has been turned off in order to get it back to "no flash" again. It's a minor annoyance in an otherwise perfect camera.

Tiny camera, yet far superior to all the others in its class
It's amazing what you can fit in such a small package. You can read the features, I won't waste time there, but what I can say is that this is the best digital camera in its class, hands down. I have tried Olympus, Fuji, Sony, etc. etc., but nothing comes close to this camera. What mainly surprised me was the sturdiness and durability of the body, buttons, and display. The camera just feels great in your hands, not cheap and plastic.

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 you're having trouble getting good pictures in the dark, use the flash -- that's why it's there! Don't 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. I've 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 don't 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.

CAMERA GOOD SHUTTER BAD
Camera very good but shutter [is bad]. When flashing you have to press the button for an annoying length of time. Seems variable too so it is very hard to guess when it will go and get a moving subject. Also even when you have the flash turned totally off the red eye reduction small pre flash still goes off totally ruining the element of surprise. It takes very good low light no flash pictures. I am thinking of just duck taping over the flash window. But other than this it is a fine little camera and a lot of fun. I think it takes great pictures. TORD
I have no use for a ship that does not sail fast for I intend to go in harms way. JPJ

A MUST HAVE FOR THE SIZE
This digital camera has alot of features that are very nice considering the size.Not to happy with the software it comes with and wished they included a case with the camera.But over all the camera alone is well worth it,easy to carry anywhere and takes very nice pictures a must have for every day use or just for those special occasions.Seem to be very durable and cool assecories like the under water cover for those pictures on a vacation or at a event in the rain.

The best one for starters........
I think for starters who's never used a digital camera before like me would have absolutely no complaints with it. For graduate students like me you don't need a professional camera to click images....all you do with a camera is click beautiful and sharp images to keep it for longlasting memories and for sharing with your other friends. So i felt that portability is the main factor along with very good pictures and well ofcourse economically friendly enough....I'm very much satisfied with this. Frankly speaking, I'm not really aware of the techinical jargon associated with the digicams so bought it just by reading the other reviews and BELIEVE ME......People are not joking......They are talking sense and are happy with it and probably want to share it with the others just as i'm doing it right now.....Have fun with your new camera though......hopefully canon powershot.

New S200
I was given this camera by co-workers on 12/16/02. I was asked what I wanted and my response was a digital camera because I couldn't seem to spend my own money on it. The spending limit was $300.

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 wasn't 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 didn't like digital photo's because they wouldn't 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 haven't taken any pictures with my Canon Rebel since I got this camera and we haven't 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 haven't 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 photo's 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 haven't had any success with yet) lasted to the end of your memory. I haven't has success due to low light levels when there was a subject to shoot. It works fine, the results were disappointing.

Art

Best camera I ever owned!
I've been an amateur photographer for 50+ years. I've had all kinds of film cameras, including a compact Contax and a Hasselblad. The Contax was handy and sharp, but it used FILM, which meant two trips to the camera or drug store, one to leave off exposed film, another to pick up the prints, many of which were no good. The Hasselblad was a 'hassel.' You had to remember too much stuff for an amateur and it was big and bulky, not exactly portable or good for snapshots on the run. This Canon is terrific on all counts. It is easy to carry in a jacket or shirt pocket, so it can be whipped out at a moment's notice. You don't need to worry about settings; everything is automatic and the results are great. I have memory cards of 96 and 128MB, which means I can take 40-60 shots, review them in the computer as 'slide show' and quickly pick out the half dozen or so that are keepers. With film camera I was losing interest. With this compact, handy digital I'm a photo enthusiast again, even able to do nature close-ups. I highly recommend this great camera for amateurs. I'm told that professionals are using the higher priced Canons, not only because of the optics, but the graphics software.

Absolutley Amazing
I recveived this as a gift for christmas. I originally was hoping to get the Nikon 2500 but htis is far superior in a number of ways. It takes 15 sec bursts of uncompressed AVI video with sound!! The video looks great. Strait out of the box I was taking pictures, I have a Canon SLR so the interface was a breeze didn't even need to crack the manual. Everything you need comes with it except I would suggest buying a second battery and a 128Mb flashCard, definatly worth it. Hooking the camera up to your TV to watch your videos is just two steps, and your watching. The pictures this camera turns out are amazing, you can customize everything on the fly, film speed, auto exposuring, you name it this is the only choice in my opinion for under 400 bucks. Canon is the only way to go and this proves it.

As easy as it gets
Charge the battery and you are ready to go. This is as easy a digital camera as you will find. The 2.1 Mega-Pixel is not the greatest, however, for the average user that wants a fairly inexpensive camera, this is a good choice.

What a Sweetie-Pie!
It took me a long time to decide to "go digital" and even longer to figure out which specific camera to buy. I'm fairly techno-crippled (faxes and microwaves still seem like magic to me and I still have to rely on my children to program my VCR). Because of my limitations I felt positively overwhelmed by the information to consider when I tried to pick which digital camera to buy. I read as much technical information as I could stand (not very much) and listened to the advice of family and friends until my eyes glazed over.

Finally I decided to purchase this particular camera for several reasons. First, Canon was a brand of camera I'd 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 don't 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 don't 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 Cinderella's 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 can't see on the itty bitty screen on the camera if someone has thier eyes closed for example). I delete pictures I don't 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 product's 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.

Excellent Camera
I love how compact it is as I always missed out on taking pictures of places I`ve been because I didn`t want to LUG THE OLE CAMERA . 2 Mega Pixels are fine for "average joe" picture taking , I actually use less resolution (a feature the camera has) because most of my pics are for the computer or my website ... and don`t need such large files.
Excellent camera for the price as of jan 3rd 2003 (I wrote date coz things change quick in this New Age world of ours

More features and fun than expected
I read every review I could get my hands on about this camera and am glad I did, because everyone is right about the S200, it is great. Some reviewers said you couldn't turn off the flash, well you can. The camera comes with a good user guide and also good software. I was shooting pictures in about 15 min. and downloading to my computer in about a hour. This is my 2nd digital camera and it is far superior to my 1mp HP 100 which 2 years ago cost me about the same. The s200 elph has a nice solid feeling. I feel that I have made an excellent choice in digital photograpy.

The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly
You want the truth, can you handle the truth? Let's begin with my title, "The good, the bad, and the ugly"...THE UGLY-well, there is no ugly. The camera looks that good. Just taking the camera with you will make you cool (I mean, not that I needed any help or anything, but if you do, that's ok and this is the camera for you). The GOOD-for a camera the size of a, actually its the only little rectangular shaped thing I own that small. It is small, period. I carry it in my front jeans pocket when I go out and pretty much don't know its there. I bought this camera knowing that it will be going with me on trips to Asia, and Europe and around town. I don't like being a "tourist" (ie camera on shoulder, carry bags), so this camera is a dream. I will add, it is surprisingly durable as well, you can tell as soon as you hold it. OK, the Pictures. LCD screen, awesome. Bright, crisp, wish my TV was that good, hmmmm...wish my monitor was that good. The photos, here is the deal. You need to learn how to take pictures with the camera. Outdoors, no biggie. Takes great great pictures. I have even entered some in contests. Indoors-a little bit of a bummer. My only real gripe with the camera. Indoor pictures with any camera are not the easiest, but with digital, even harder. I don't know about other digitals, but with the elph, lots of red eye and dark background. A little trick-indoors in sufficient lighting situations, shut the flash OFF, and what you see in the LCD is what you get, usually a better picture than with flash. With practice indoor shots will be sufficient. Batteries, Cannon NB-1LH. Right. Because you don't know what that means, let me tell you. You are not going to find them at Target, or 7-11. They work pretty well though and the camera comes with a charger and one battery. You probably won't buy an extra battery now, but later you will want an extra battery...trust me, I'm telling you. Oh by the way...I am not a Cannon rep or anything, but ONLY buy the Cannon NB-1LH battery-again just trust me and listen. 8MB memory card-The camera comes with it, and it is enough memory for you to realize the camera is the greatest thing since sliced bread- you will want a bigger memory card. Well, in conclusion: Would I buy this camera again? 100% Yes. The camera is just awesome. You will have so so so much fun with it. That I can guarantee. Great pictures, video mode (with GOOD sound quality (only 12 seconds though)), comes with cables to hook up to the TV, probably one of the greatest things I have ever bought. It is one of those deals where after buying it, you won't know how you lived without it before. I don't know if a camera can add to the quality of a persons life, but you will definitely have more fun. By the way, be prepared for every person you take a picture of to want to see your camera. Prepare yourself now for the fact you are going to have other peoples fingerprints all over it. :) Peace out, and enjoy life!~

Best small camera in it's class and price range.
I didn't give this camera 5 stars but it deserves 4 1/2 which means I really like it and recommend it over the Casio Exilim EX-S2 which is half as thick. Both cameras were candidates for purchase until I discovered the Canon Powershot S200 produced better pictures for enlargement.I went ahead and purchased it for snapping pictures of machine parts which can be zoomed in on for greater detail through the viewer on the back.

Awesome. Portable. Love It!
This camera is a dream. It does everything you want it to and more.. It even auto-flips your photos so everything is right-sideup! The camera works flawlessly with windows XP and Macs and it is so easy to create photos or even MOVIES. Plus it's so small that you can easily carry it around without having to string it around your neck, looking like a tourist.

Great camera, needs better batteries
Great size -- I make photographs more often because this is easy to carry. Great pictures -- for the sake of file size, I don't need more than 2 Mbyte. Good ruggedness -- the metal case protects the camera well and looks good. Bad battery life -- I have two rechargeable batteries and usually need both to fill up a 32 MByte compact-flash card with about 50 photos using the LCD display. I recognize that the small size of the camera is made possible by smaller batteries, and smaller batteries mean shorter battery life, but the battery life limits the usefulness of the camera.

Touring Afghanistan
I bought the camera due to its perfect balance between size and picture quality. I've been deployed in Afghanistan since September 02 and this camera has been with me every step of the way. I have been totally satisfied and like some of the other raters, I also recommend a larger memory stick and spare battery.

Rachael Moore
I Love this camera!!!! I had been using my fathers 100 model of the elph (which is no longer made) and fell in love. I have taken the best pictures of my son and the color and clarity at a 5x7 print is just wonderful. I purchase another canon, the A40, slightly cheaper (with the same abilities as the S200), yet returned it and paid more for THE SIZE of Canon S200. I can put this in my purse(an evening purse) and take pictures in places that I wouldnt want to lug a camera case to.

Great Camera, Definitely Recommend
I am very pleased with the Canon Power Shot S200. The camera is everything that I was looking for. The size is perfect, the pictures are clear and also very user friendly. I had previously purchased another brand, which I returned, and am very satisfied with my decision. I also am very pleased with Amazon, the arrival date was exactly what they had said it would be and the price of course could not be beat!

Great Features in a Great Package!
After almost six months of using this camera... I've decided it's one of the most versatile image and video aquisition devices I've used. I heartily recommend purchase.

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 Apple's 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 didn't 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 there'd be lots to record. But with the PowerShot... it's 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 there's 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... that's my experience... also, there doesn't seem to be a battery indicator until you are out of power.

Overall, a great investment!

A solid, quality tool you won't leave home.
I bought this camera when it first hit the market. I have been a Canon fan since the late 60's, and although I have used pretty much every film format except 8x10, I have found that the smallest cameras were the ones that were at hand most often. My old Canon G17QL was my first "small" camera with a quality lens, and it still takes good images after 25 years or so. When the Elph APS series came out, I bought one, and I was hooked. It offered far more than the typical point and shoot camera of the day, and sported a great lens protection system, as well as an armored metal body. I carried it in my pocket for several years, and it always gave great results. The only problem was the continuing expense of film. I dreamed of the day when digital technology caught up with film.

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 it's 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 can't 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 doesn't show any signs of wear. Plastic cameras simply can't compete. The lens door is so well made that despite it's 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 wasn't 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 (that's 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 won't 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. I'm 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 don't 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.

Excelent digital Camera
An excellent digital camera, great price, less than $300; very compact, fits in your pocket. A lot of features, support images with 1600x1200 resolution. I only recommed to buy an additional Compactflash Card because 8 MB its only for 7 high resolution pictures. 128 MB CF I recommend.

Fun easy pictures, movies and panoramic pictures
This camera is a cutie, and takes great outdoors pictures on automatic mode. One trick I found to get good all-around pictures is to put it on manual mode with "flash-enabled" at all times. This gives you good pictures indoors as well as outdoors in most situations, especially backlit ones. Also, pictures with the flash have less shadows on the faces.

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 don't 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 won't smudge). It's 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, it'll 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. It's 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).

Great if you want a small camera, but has its limits
I compared the S200 to a few other digital cameras under a variety of conditions, indoors and out. The S200 was a winner with respects to size and weight, and took decent photos when lighting conditions were optimal. Wide angle performance of the S200 was the worst of the 4 cameras compared (Sony F710, Olympus C-50, Kodak 260). The poor wide angle performance may be due to the tiny optics, the small CCD size, or both. In optimal light, the S200 did a credible job for a 2 mb image size, but lacked the color saturation and contrast of even the Kodak 260, the oldest technology in the test. The Olympus C-50 is about 20% larger physically, has more than double the pixels and costs about twice as much, but outperforms the S200 in virtually every category, particularly indoors when a flash is needed. The coverage of the S200 flash is simply inadequate for most shots.

obviously, i'm a klutz.
...This camera rules. It's a lot of fun, easy to use, and takes great pictures.

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 didn't break.. nor has anything weird happened. It's 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.com's low price, it's worth the extra few bucks to be able to take 400+ hi-res pictures between downloads to the computer.

Also, to save batteries, I'd 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 you're 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.

perfect piece of art!
Pros
This camera is excellent for college students, its relatively cheap, compact and takes good quality photos. The other plus of this camera is that it can take short video clips with sound, so it's definetely an advantage. I would recommend to buy spare batteries and a 128mb compact flash card.

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.

It's what I expected, if not what I hoped for
In a nutshell, this seems to be great little camera. It's tiny, solid, and delivers very good quality pictures. At its "best" settings, the camera delivers more (yes, more) pictures on a single 128meg memory card than the 128 estimated pictures. My file sizes hover around the 800k mark--less than the 957 estimated--a good thing.

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 it's 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.

Can't go wrong
The other reviews have said enough about the cool features and good image quality of this entry-level digital camera. I just want to emphasize its excellent quality. My family has a total of three digital cameras by Canon and also a Rebel SLR bought years ago, and all exhibit the highest level of quality control. You can't go wrong with a Canon.

Great buy
I bought my camera about 8 months ago and it has travelled to about 7 countries since! The size is perfect to travel with and the pictures come out great-even in bad light, with the light compensation feature of course. All other problems can be corrected using the Canon Zoombrowser software.
I only wish I could find the right cover/bag for it. For whatever reason it isn't available in the US; when I found one in Europe it was priced at 38 Euro!

Good camera, but not the best choice
This is a real good camera, but there are butter choices than this. I would consider Canon PowerShot A60 is much better choice than this. It has all the features this one has + it has more optical as well as digital zoon + it's cheaper + we can record video upto 3 min. (it's max. 30 sec. in S200)
Also playback on LCD has sound in A60, which is not present in S200.
Although disadv. of A60 are bigger size (not that much), it uses AA size batteries, I always prefer Lithium Ion Rechargeable batteries. and it is not yet released ;-)

Little tiny monster
Absolutely love this camera.

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)

Great camera for the price
I used a friend's S200 prior to purchasing my own camera. Although I decided to buy the S230 for the extra megapixels (3.2 versus the 2.1 of the S200) I was very impressed with the S200. If you do not intend to make many 8x10 enlargements and none larger than 8x10 and you have a budget this is a great little camera. The pictures at 4x6 size are as good as the S230. The video clips are adequate and have sound. Most important this camera boasts the same small size, easy to use dials, sturdy metal case and quality workmanship and design as its more expensive sibling.

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 I've 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 I'm very satisfied.

Great, beautiful camera.
I was desperate for a digital camera of my own, and found this one. I compared it with many others, even though this was only 2.0 MegaPixels, low for today's standards of a 5.0 and above, it was just right for me. I loved the design, it was a bit heavy, but small for my style. It's perfect for someone who just wants to take fun photos, though I only recommend this for simple photos. It's great when on the computer as tested. I don't regret purchasing it at all for it's promising price.

Amazing little value....
Wow, I was out shopping for a digital camera. I wanted something simple and small. This came out to have alot of bells and whistles.That is the best value you will find for this camera new!!! I almost picked up the Canon A60 with the 3 minute digital recording with sound, but I just wanted wanted something for snapshots with a few features. The s200 has digital recording with sound too!!! It is compact lightweight but there is a slight learning curve to it. Once you figure it out and use the software, you will be amazed at the photos you will take. I was even able to print a beautiful 8 by 10 on this thing.
Pros: Great value at Staples, great zoom for the price, Canon optics, recording with sound, light sensor feature. Extremely light, compact, nice menu, comes with all cables to view on tv and computer!!
Cons: Maybe too small for bigger hands, doesn't use AA batteries, it requires a special nicad battery that comes with it(the charger comes with it too).

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 Pro's, the A60 is a more expensive but somewhat better camera. The A60 has a better zoom, uses AA's, longer recording time with sound, but it is bigger, heavier and more expensive.

Great product!
Sure, there are more sophisticated cameras with higher resolution, but if you are looking for a great value in a mid-range digital - this is it. Excellent build quality, compact and easy to use, stylish, convenient and with more features than most casual users will ever use, this is one super camera. Complaints are few: Batteries are proprietary and pricy (though quite long-lived), only 2x zoom - that's about it. The optional leather case with belt loop is a nice addition. With a 128Mb card you can capture 120+ hi-res images and an amazing over 1400 at low-res! I can fit the camera, extra battery, battery charger, cables and PCMCIA card reader in a case about the size of a paperback book. Highly recommended product!

Great little camera.
I waited years for the digital cameras to get smaller, have less glitches, better interfaces with computers, better quality pictures... the list goes on. When an Amazon special came up with the S200 I decided it was finally time. It hasnt been a disapointment, the size is perfect for throwing into the back pack (make sure you have a good zipper case before doing this) and the picture quality has been great. I have been using it mostly on the medium resolution settings and the pictures have been good enough to us as screensavers on a 20" monitor. The only qualm I might have is that it seems to be more sensitive to keeping still as the picture is taken, but I am not a pro so it could be me.
Bottom line, great quality pictures from a small convenient package. The stainless case also looks cool.

Tiny and wonderful
My parents have this camera. It is light, small and packed with more features than I could ever use. Wow!

warning! outdoor pics only
This is a great first digital camera-- but I wish someone would have warned me that you should only use this camera outdoors. I can't for the life of me get autoflash to work and I can't make the flash go on by choice to take pictures. Beautiful outdoor pictures- woudl love to use it indoors- but even in broad daylight in the house the pictures come out dark and I end modifying them with software--If you are planning to buy this camera- beware that indoor pics don't turn out so great- my disposable camera does a better job.

Love this camera
Purchased this last year for around $325 or so. This is a great little camera, fits neatly in the palm and is fairly easy to get used to. Pictures are superb, for the price is a great camera, no plastic, all metal body. I have a 35mm Minolta that I left home for my recent trip to Maui and have no regrets. This is a great camera for a non professional

Excellent Camera - Great Price!
I purchased this camera for a trip to the UK. It is my first digital camera and for the $ the features are fantastic! Although I did purchase an extra battery, I did not have any problems during my 10 day trip. The quality of pictures is fantastic and even in lower light this camera performs.

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 $!

Great camera value.
This is an excellent value in a digital camera. I bought one after admiring a friend's, and then bought another one to give to my daughter for her birthday. After years of owning high quality film cameras, I am impressed with the S200's excellent optics. For prints up to 8 x 10", you're in great shape. But, what I like almost as much is the camera's diminutive size and wonderful portability. You can stick it in your pocket and take it anywhere. Because of that, you'll tend to shoot more pics. So, be sure and buy at least a 64 mb flash card, because the 8 and 16 mb cards are far too small.

UNIMPRESSED...
I beg to differ with all the raving reviews. There is something very wrong either with this camera's light metering in `auto' mode or its ability to register a wide range of tones - or both. It will work acceptably in diffused light, i.e. with an overcast sky. But try to shoot people in bright sunlight and you get pictures that are far too contrasty: Eyebrows, nose and chin shadows come out far too pronounced. Things are worse if there is a somewhat light background, like lots of blue sky or any non-dark wall. The system goes bezerk and yields pictures where the background is `burned out' while your darling spouse is a dark silhouette. The same happens if your son happens to wear a white T-shirt and you attempt to shoot a waist-up portrait: his face will come out underexposed.

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 you're shooting landscapes there's 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 camera's 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 Elph's accompanying software. This is annoyingly basic. As an example, if you `correct' a picture's 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 Elph's 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 Elph's price range will yield vastly superior pictures in auto-mode. All the features in the world cannot hide that.

On the a working of family trip?
This camera works exactly as expected. Price-functionality ratio is perfect. The 2X optical/3X digital zoom is enough for working or with-the-family trips. If you are traveling with your laptop and-or the family's typical pile of bags, you will love to place it anywhere, including you shirt pocket (do not bend), without sacrificing pixel resolution (OK...2 megapixels are not too much nowadays, but is enough on these kind of voyages) However, be aware that standard battery is not eternal. You can solve this problem playing with the LCD on/off or buying a high-capacity battery and adding up muscles enough for longer trips, or too much to see. A greater MB compact flash card doesn't hurt too.

Digital Heaven!!
I, as many others, have waited for many years for the convergence of price, features, size and ease of use to hit that happy center point. Well wait no more!

This Camera is just plain FUN. I have had it for 5 months and barely a day has gone by that I haven't 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

It's 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 don't have to bring it with you every time.

4. Compact flash reader - I got one of these thanks to other reviewers although I don't 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 doesn't matter anyway.

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

Camera is GREAT, zoom stinks.
Pros:
*Small and compact.
*Decent picture quality.
*Very solid, quality construction.
*Feature laden camera.
*Excellent software & documentation.
*Looks great, nice feel.
Cons:
*Zoom stinks!
*You need to walk forward ten feet to a quarter-mile to zoom this camera.
Note:
I use this camera as my "second" digital camera ("first" is an Olympus C3040) - great for snapshots, not for anything that requires any hint of a ZOOM. I love this camera!

An excellent business tool
This camera is my xerox machine on the road. Using the macro feaure I can capture hundreds of text pages and either display them on my computer later or print them out with excellent clarity. I can capture white-boards full of designs and concepts and review them at my leisure. I use it to photograph parts and assemblies and get good detail. I also use it to build relationships by photographing my contacts in other organziations and e-mailing the photos to them. They really like that.

It's small enough to keep with me. It's rugged enough to take the beating of constant travel. What's more, it's a great piece of equipment. It just feels good. I'm delighted by it each time I use it.

It's 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 that's not how I use it.

Small and Super Sassy..
Small and Super Sassy is the best way to explain this camera. The size is the best thing about it. I can put it in my pocket and take it anywhere. It takes great pictures for a 2.0 MP camera. I used Ofoto to get the pictures printed on kodak paper and you can't tell they are digital pictures. The only downfalls are the 8MB memory card they provide you with and getting used to the life of the lithium battery. Amazon helps with one of these downfalls by providing you with a free 64MB memory card