The Canon Powershot SD550 is just as good as the Canon SD500. Indeed, the only current ultra-compact camera which produces better pictures is the Fuji F10. The SD550 and SD500 are a bulkier than your average ultra-compact, but the extra grams are worth it. Battery life was far below average and even below that of the SD500. While the Fuji Finepix F10 is the better camera in terms of image quality, the SD550 has better ergonomics and continuous drive.

See our commentary for the Canon SD500, which completely applies to this camera as well.