Rating: 
Summary: Best value for the money
Review: This is my third digital camera, my previous was a 3.2MP Casio QV3000EX. While Casio is not a well known name in the US for cameras, it's still hard to find a digital camera today that matches the QV3000EX feature/price point. The S50 does this and more!The Good:
1. Made in Japan (not China as some other Japanese cameras ie Minolta).
2. Metal case, and it feels like it is well made (heavy). Buttons give a solid feel.
3. Turns on quick - 4 seconds.
4. Small size. This will easily fit into your shirt pocket. The S50 has the features of a G3 and the compactness of the S400. The best of both worlds. No other 5MP camera comes close to this size, with the exception of the Minolta F300.
5. Extreme manual control: 10 aperature settings (most digital camaras have 2), 45 shutter settings! You will not find a camera with more control at this price.
6. Lens can zoom in macro mode. Others such as Minolta S414 cannot.
7. Fast Canon lens - great pictures in low light and little to no blooming (purple fringe). In my opinion, Canon makes the best digital camera lens. The Casio QV3000EX has a Canon lens, and it takes great pictures. The lens makes or breaks a camera, don't compromise here.
8. Will NOT turn on when in your pocket. It's just plain annoying that manufacturers continue to make knobs that turn at the slightest touch. The dial on the S50 gives a solid and metal sounding click.
9. Battery charger is small an unobtrusive. Fits into the smallest of camera bags. The Bad:
1. You pay a price for Canon. But you get what you pay for. You can get a cheaper digital camera, but you will not get one that has perhaps the best lens, great auto focus, and exreme manual control, and - in the end great pictures. Take a look at the sample pictures at Canon's site. Compare them to similar cameras. You will wonder why you thought of buying another brand. Also consider the S400 for a more limited point and shoot, or the G3 for professional/traditional SLR look and feel.
2. Uses a proprietary battery. To be honest, I'd rather use AA Ni-MH batteries. But with the Canon system, you probably get bettery power management since they can monitor the battery state better than if it is generic rechargables. In the end it's probably a wash. Buy a second battery.
Rating: 
Summary: Beware the sliding door of doom
Review: The Canon PowerShot S50 is a terrific small digital camera. It packs in an amazing array of features, starting with the generous maximum 5 megapixel image size (you can make them smaller to conserve space on the CompactFlash card). Several modes are available to you such as Sports (high shutter-speed and high resolution shots), Portrait, Night, etc. You can put it in complete Idiot Mode (okay, Automatic mode) and let it select your shutter speed and aperture, or you can pick one or the other and let the camera pick the missing one, or you can go full into Manual mode and pick both. There's even a Movie mode, complete with sound! This small camera fits in a purse easily (okay, not a small purse), and doesn't get in the way if you're shouldering it in a case (not included). That means the optical zoom is limited to 3x. And unfortuately, the S50, like all the PowerShot S family, starts out at 11mm, which is a very wide-angle value. Even at 3X you will only come in to 55mm, often not as close as you'd expect. There is a digital zoom, but so what? Crop your picture in software later rather than play with that silly feature. But getting back to the range, I found it insufficient for shooting
across a large (but crowded) room. If you work closer in this won't be a problem. I agree the sliding door that covers the lens (and turns on the camera) seems flimsy. That's because it can cause problems. My 3YO niece got ahold of mine and ripped the door off. I was able to reattach it but now it's like a loose tooth, just waiting to fall off again. Even under warranty, my choice was to send it back to Canon for 12 weeks or live with it. I couldn't live without the camera, so I kept it, loose sliding door and all. I've just learned not to lend it to people who can't baby it; a good push and that door is off the camera again. Then I bought a Canon Digital Rebel, which is an even better camera, but not the same type as the S50 at all. The latter can fit into a generous shirt pocket; the Digital Rebel is a big ol' digital SLR (single-lens reflex camera, a through-the-lens viewfinder, typically with interchangeable lenses). One of the S50's limitations is a slow shutter response. I can't tell you how many shots I've missed using it; I frame it lovingly, I see the perfect moment, I shoot... but no score. The people have moved on, the sun has set, the universe suffers heat-death, and finally the shutter clicks. If you want a fast shutter then you must have a digital SLR, as almost all the compact-style digital cameras such as this one have the delayed shutter issue. Another note of annoyance on the PowerShot S family: they come with a wrist strap but no shoulder strap. I don't know what use a wrist strip is for a camera; if I'm not using it then I want my hands free. I bought a generic shoulder strap but it wasn't a great fit. At least Canon should offer one as an extra-cost accessory. I still give this camera 4 stars for putting so many features in such a small package. The pictures are reasonably good, and at this size you can crop plenty out and still print good 4x6 inch images. The PowerShot S50 comes with software, but you'll probably want to buy your own image editing package. The one provided is fairly limited. Useful software includes PhotoStitch, which allows you to make your own panaramic style images from a series of linked shots. The included CompactFlash card is also too small for typical use, so plan on buying a bigger card.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic picture quality and value
Review: The picture quality and feature set of this camera is fantastic for the price. I've used it with its underwater case for taking fantastic scuba diving pictures during a Carribean vacation. There are lots of great features such as automatic mode for simple point&shoot and for the intermediate photographer using manual settings. Three additional nice modes include: panorama, short video, and rapid shoot (taking multiple shots in rapid succession). The included software is great for managing pictures and powerful to help enhance any picture. A couple of drawbacks: (1) the sliding lens cover can pop off and (2) battery does not last very long. A few suggestions: (1) use hi-speed compact flash card (at least 128MB to get about 50 hi-res pictures), (2) definitely invest in an extra battery, (3) when using underwater, make sure to wipe interior lens of underwater case with anti-fog solution before each undertewater outing.
Rating: 
Summary: It's a nice camera, but...
Review: I've been mixed on how to review the Canon S50. I bought it after much thought vs the Canon G5 or the newer Olympus cameras, and overall I'm relatively pleased, but I did have my share of problems with it. First of all, the reviews stating that the mechanical door is somewhat flimsy are absolutely correct. It's nice not to have to worry about accidentally turning on the camera, but my first S50 had a malfunctioning sliding door (it wouldn't open completely), and I had to exchange it for another one, which has worked fine. Second, the exposure settings and picture resolution out of the box are not optimal considering the 5 megapixel CCD sensor, which is one of the major selling points of the camera. My shots were consistently underexposed, and the low resolution settings seemed more designed to fit on the woefully small included compactflash card than to provide good shots. It was easy to change the settings through the extensive menu, but with a point and shoot one expects good pictures without having to tinker with the settings. On the plus side, the camera is very feature-rich, and the image quality is good once the settings are tweaked. Also, the small size makes it easy to carry around, which is the main reason I chose it over the larger G5. A major draw is the ability to save images in the RAW format, which many other manufacturers lack. The RAW format can be thought of as the name suggests - a "raw" image without any noticeable compression that might degrade quality. In comparison, a JPEG is considered a "lossy" format, in which one sacrifices some detail in order to have a smaller file size. Once I bought a 512MB compactflash, I saved all my images as RAW files and adjusted them on the computer. The included Arcsoft and Canon software are not really very good, and you'll get much better mileage from Adobe Photoshop/ Photoshop Elements or Paint Shop Pro. To summarize,
Pros:
Small size
Good picture quality once default settings are changed
RAW image format capability
Feature-rich Cons:
Mechanical sliding door can give problems
Out-of-the-box image settings less than optimal
Slow shutter speed
Inadequate Compactflash card included
Need to open battery door to get at Compactflash card
So-so included software
Rating:
Summary: Great pictures from a tiny camera!
Review: As an avid amateur photographer, I love my Canon EOS SLR, but wanted to buy a digital camera for traveling and family snapshots. Since a digital SLR body was out of my price range, i researched maybe 15 compact digitals before settling on the S50. I'm thrilled with my purchase and would recommend this camera even to folks who, like me, are used to higher-end SLRs. The S50 offers an incredible array of features and options in an improbably small package. I've had it for about six weeks and have yet to take advantage of all the bells and whistles. Although the camera offers options galore, its controls are pretty intuitive. And despite its myriad features, you can use it right out of the box in its "Auto" mode. Its color fidelity is stunning -- even with magentas, which some digital cameras don't capture well. Its automatic white balance is also superb; it produces none of those ugly casts you get with cheaper digital cameras. If you prefer to set the white balance yourself, though, this camera gives you plenty of flexibility. I've had very good results with the focus. The couple of blurry pics I've gotten were probably my fault because I didn't give the camera enough time to focus. The focus lock seems pretty quick - comparable to that on my SLR. There are a couple of areas in which this camera doesn't perform as well as my SLR (an unfair comparison, but worth mentioning). One is the slight, occasional shutter delay. This can be annoying but it's not the end of the world for travel and family shots. If you're big into anything that involves split-second action, though, I'd recommend you stick to an SLR. I must also echo other reviewers' comments on the flimsiness of the lens cover. I contemplated returning the camera because of this but was so impressed with the quality of the pictures that I instead resolved to handle the cover with kid gloves. It's helpful to note that you don't have to use the lens cover at all, if you're worried about it... the camera powers down automatically after a while, and you can wake it up again by depressing the shutter. (Of course, this option leaves the lens exposed to dust and scratches...) That said, the S50 offers a couple of huge advantages over film cameras. One is its performance in low-light settings. I've been amazed at the S50's ability to capture pictures indoors, without a flash. No funky purple ghosting, either! And I love the LED screen that's built into the back of the camera. It has pretty good resolution so you can tell what's in focus, and you can adjust its brightness depending on whether you're shooting indoors or out. It's great to be able to compose your shot without having to mush your glasses against a tiny viewfinder, and it's even better to be able to review your photos at the end of the day. The software that comes with the camera is easy to install and intuitive to use (on a Mac, anyway - can't vouch for the PC version!). The 32mb memory card that comes with the camera, on the other hand, is inadequate... I'd recommend buying a card with at least 128mb of storage. An extra battery couldn't hurt, either! On the whole, I think this is one of the best compact digital cameras on the market today, and certainly in its price range. I'd expected to compromise some image quality in moving from film to digital, but am surprised and delighted to find that's not the case. If I had my choice to make over, I'd buy this camera again.
Rating:
Summary: Nice Camera For The Price But...
Review: Overall, I am satisfied with the quality of the pictures taken outdoors. The landscape shots turned out beautiful. If you want to shoot quick photos, this camera is great for the price. However, there are a few drawbacks with this camera as stated below. 1. Sliding Lens Cover Pops Open.
2. Too much red-eye in flash photography.
3. Pictures look grainy and blurry in low-lighting and in macro shots.
Rating:
Summary: Satisfied
Review: I'm new to digital photography. This camera was fairly intuitive to master. The accompanying software is excellent and makes downloads to the computer painless. It takes stunningly good photos, and that's the important thing. The video quality, however, is yucko. Don't buy the camera thinking that you'll take great short clips as part of the package. You won't. Why didn't I give it 5 stars? 1) It is slow on the draw when you snap a pic. Just a little too long for it to capture the scene so that you can move on to another pic. 2) The sliding door on the front is, so far, sturdy but it sure feels wobbly and breakable. I don't care for it. 3) The all-in-one function button in the back is sensitive to the slightest pressure in the wrong direction, especially if you make a selection and then press straight down (the dreaded middle position). Ugh, what an awful idea. 4) Forget the memory card that comes with the camera. Canon, just put the higher-capacity card in the camera. We all know that disk space costs practically nothing, and the card you give us is pathetic (it seems all camera manufacturers do this, and I wish they would just stop the cutesy games on this matter). Bottom line to potential buyers: If I had to do it over again, I'd get the same camera. Others here have mentioned all the good points, and I agree with them.
Rating: 
Summary: Good camera - except for red eye
Review: Happy with the features, functions, and performance of the camera in all except one area. The red eye reduction function is useless. I'm aware of the physical reasons behind red eye, and undertand it can never be completely eliminated. But most of the photos I've taken of friends and family are absolutely terrible when it comes to red eye. I had a compact Pentax zoom 35mm before this, and the red eye reduction with that camera was outstanding. Cannot undertand how many outstanding reviews I read about this camera with any mention of it's weakness in this area. If you ever plan on photographing someone's face, look for another camera.
Rating:
Summary: Love it, love it, love it!
Review: I purchased this camera from Amazon this spring and couldn't be happier with it. It was my first digital, but the 2nd digital Canon in our household (husb has Canon S110 Elf - another great *LITTLE* camera!). This 5 mp camera is loaded with features and creates stunningly crisp images. It will take me a long time to ever use / figure out how to use them all. I have 3 complaints, but they are all minor: First, I don't care for the slide-lens-door-open-to-turn-on-camera feature. I agree with another reviewer, it seems like it could break eventually. Second, the video only shoots at 15 frames per second. This information was not easy to find - in fact, it wasn't until we shot the video that we were able to know fps on this one. It's great that it will shoot for 3 full minutes, compared to our other Canon's 15 seconds, but I'd take less time and more fps. Third, you can't zoom while shooting video. Again, a very, very minor complaint. All in all, I'd buy another one in a second. It would be nice eventually to see them put the fold-away lcd panel on this model like the G5 has, but maybe one day. At Amazon's great price, you just can't beat this camera! (Also, it's so compact - quite a change from my old clunky slr with 20-105 zoom lens on!) Highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: With Canon you can't
Review: I bought this 50% sale so I thought I made a good buy.. at least this is a 5mpix camera. This camera has two major drawbacks; Autofocus and Chromatic Aberrations. I take a lot of panorama and mosaic picture and even if one is out of focus it is all ruinded. Every fourth picture I take with autofocus is slighly or completely out of focus. Chomatic aberrations (purple or neon effect) appears on shiny surfaces and this is really annoying in high resolution images. This camera is good when it works but most of the times it does not. If you take more than 30 images a month I DO NOT recommend this!
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