Rating: 
Summary: Great if you want a small camera, but has its limits
Review: 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.
Rating: 
Summary: Switched from Kodak DC290
Review: I just got this camera and it's awesome! My old digicam, a Kodak DC290, was decent but way too bulky to fit in my pocket and the S200 does this perfectly (figure it is about as long as your index finger and tall as your thumb and deep as half your pinky; aprox of course).Image Quality: I must admit the image quality is slightly better on the DC290 but the S200 fits my needs great -- i'm no camera pro. Battery life: I did my own testing and the battery (840mAh) it comes with lasts about 2 hours with the LCD on and taking pictures--the unit gets warm when left on the whole time i was draining it. (My DC290 lasted maybe 5-10 minutes or after a dozen shots, yuck!). The best thing about this is that it uses Li-Ion and the battery is light... Anyone complaining about battery life should definatly get more cells--cheap and last about 2hrs each. (note: my 2hr test was on the first charge so maybe later charges will last even longer) Another feature i really like is the movie capability (only 30seconds max though). 30sec movies is about 3.5MB in size using QuickTime codec. Overall this camera is really great. It's sooooo much better than the DC290--I can actually take many many pictures before replacing the battery w/ the LCD on.
Rating:
Summary: Fun easy pictures, movies and panoramic pictures
Review: 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).
Rating:
Summary: Excelent digital Camera
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: A solid, quality tool you won't leave home.
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Nice package, fair images
Review: Really well designed, especially compared to the Nikon 2500, which I also use. I have had the camera over 7 months and use it all the time.
Pros: Fits in my pocket, starts up quickly, feels solid, good battery life. Video is really fun, but available length of clip is hard to judge. The Canon case (...) designed for it is better than any non-OEM case I could find.
Cons: Lens flare, lens flare, lens flare. Bright overcast skys cause washout of the top of the image. If you don't care about what your images look like, it's not a problem. However, I find it extremely annoying. I print on a color printer and send images to Shutterfly, and both methods result in the same washed out look to the contrasting elements (trees, houses, hair, etc) against the sky. With a deep blue sky, no problem. Also, I use a 256MB card. When the card is nearing capacity, switching to playback of still images is painfully slow.
Other: Get the 3.2 Megapixel version.
Rating:
Summary: Great Features in a Great Package!
Review: 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!
Rating:
Summary: Great buy
Review: If you are like me, and know nothing about digital cameras, i would highly recomend this camera. It is very easy to use and the picture quality is EXCELENT. This camera is worth every penny.I highly recomend this camera to anyone considering buying a digital camera.
Rating:
Summary: Great Camera, Definitely Recommend
Review: 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!
Rating:
Summary: Rachael Moore
Review: 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.
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