Buying a P and S ????

I didn't realize the SD550 was that much larger than the SD400 either, but you're right, it is. The SD400 is only .8 inches, which is over 25% thinner than the SD550. .8 inches is definitely below my threshold for a chubby camera.

One problem was, when I had my Exilim, EVERYTHING seemed fat. That camera was around 1/3 of an inch thick if I remember correctly.

Thanks for all the help so far. I am leaning towards the SD550 mostly because I want the quality of the photos. This will be used as a travel camera when zi just do not want to lug around all my stuff. Day hikes, mountain or rooad bike rides, snowshoeing etc and will probubly sit in a pack bag or? Is it a good choice for quality and ruggedness?????

Bob J

Very durable. Nice strong durable metal body. GREAT photos. At 7.1MP, you can't really go wrong. Not bad price, either.

Definitely go a P&S. Nowadays those cameras are no slouches on the performance front and are small enough to take anywhere. I'm usually carrying a bag of some sort when I leave the house so it's no hassle to throw a tiny P&S in there just to capture anything interesting that pops up during the day.

If you're happy to stick with Canon then you should also take a look at the Canon A series cameras. The A510 and A520 have just been replaced by the A610 and A620 (5 and 7 MP respectively) and should be on the market now. These are compact cameras but not as pocketable as the SD550 i.e. unless you're a homey you're going to struggle getting them into your pants The A series would be fine in a winter jacket pocket. Unlike the flat design of the SD550 the A series has a bulge on the right side that forms almost a mini grip. The benefit of this is that it allows you to hold the camera with just that little bit more stability. The A series also have a decent sized viewfinder versus the SD so you can actually take pictures the proper way. Also in addition to full manual and program modes the A series also offer Av and Tv modes just to give you more options in case you're feeling creative.

I have the A80 which was released a couple of years back and it's a great camera. The only downside I find with it is the slow start times (3 or 4 seconds) and the slow recycle time after taking a shot (about a second or 2). I know the former hasn't improved much with the current models, not sure of the latter. But apart from that it has served me well even though it gets banged about in a bag full of other stuff.