Canon S410 vs. S500 - which one should I get?

[gcmoryc]

Is the CCD in the S500 acutally different from the one in the S410,
or is the 5 megapixel vs. 4 megapixel reached through manipulation using the same hardware (CCD)????

I read some reviews that stated that the noise on the S500 is greater then on the S410, especially at higher ISO settings. Please advise.

I am not concerned about the price difference between the two,
but do not want to pay extra just because one has 5 MP and the other 4 MP if they are both using the same CCD.

[Jon]

They're different sensors.

[gcmoryc]

Thank you Jon -- would you recommend the S500 then?

What does the difference mean in real terms???

[Jon]

Essentially, the 500 will have smaller individual photoreceptors and higher pixel density than the 410. Not being an S-series user, I can't recall how much newer the 500 is than the 410. If they're roughly contemporaneous (within a couple of months), the 500 will be noisier than the 410, but I really suspect they'll both be fairly noisy at high ISO settings. In general, the larger the photoreceptors the less noise occurs during picture-taking, and the newer the camera line the better the noise-reduction algorithms so newer cameras can have higher pixel density with less noise apparent. As to those two cameras, I'm not familiar enough with all their specirics to have a particular preference, but I wouldn't decide strictly on the noise levels if there's some other difference than the megapixels, like available modes, LCD size, macro modes, . . .