Canon PowerShot A550

Viewfinder (3.5)
Like other Canon A-series cameras, the A550 has an optical viewfinder that zooms in and out with the lens. Unfortunately, it doesn’t see exactly what the lens sees. It isn’t very accurate – this is the case with most digital cameras' optical viewfinders. When the lens is zoomed out, the viewfinder centers subjects just fine, but the final image will show a larger area. This can be fixed, and users can crop the picture later. The situation is bad when the lens and viewfinder zoom in though. The optical viewfinder can only see about one-fourth of what is actually recorded, and it favors the top portion of the frame.

The optical viewfinder really shouldn’t be used unless the batteries are dying, and power needs to be stretched for a few more photos. If it must be used, I’d recommend shooting all photos at the widest focal length and cropping them later.

LCD Screen (4.0)
The Canon PowerShot A550 has a 2-inch low-temperature polycrystalline silicon LCD screen that isn’t as big as competing models, but it's bigger than the A530’s 1.8-inch display. The LCD is framed in black and looks like it has room to grow, but perhaps the small size keeps the camera affordable. Unlike the optical viewfinder, the LCD’s live preview has 100 percent accuracy, so it shows exactly what the final image will look like.
The LCD resolution isn’t very good at only 86,000 pixels. It must be viewed straight on or else it looks like the screen goes dark. It also sometimes catches glare if shooting outside in bright light or other harsh lighting. There is no way to change the brightness on the screen and no automatic gain to help either. The display info on the LCD can be hidden so that all users see is the image. The screen can also be turned off with the Disp. button. In the shooting menu, users can add grid lines or a "3:2 Guide" that shadows the top and bottom of the frame to the proper format (it doesn’t record this though).

Overall, the LCD screen is not high quality, but it does better than its predecessor and is one way Canon can manufacture the A550 cheaply.

Flash (6.25)
The built-in flash unit on this model looks absolutely huge compared to other similar digital cameras on the market. Most cameras have a thinner flash, but the Canon A550 has a tall and wide flash that is about three times the size of the optical viewfinder next to it. The size of flash doesn’t translate to more power though. The A550’s fat flash reaches 11 feet at best (when the lens is zoomed out). When the lens is zoomed in on subjects, the flash range shortens to 7.2 feet. In the macro mode, the flash is effective from 1-1.5 feet but looks too bright most of the time. There is no flash compensation to adjust the power of the flash.

The following modes are available: Auto, Auto with Red-Eye Reduction, Auto with Slow Sync, On, On with Red-Eye Reduction, On with Slow Sync, and Off. The basic auto, on, and off modes can be found easily by pushing the right side of the multi-selector. The red-eye reduction and slow sync modes can be activated by entering the recording menu. The Canon PowerShot A550 is compatible with an accessory flash that reaches about 30 feet, but it looks strange next to the A550 because it is about half the size of the camera. Still, users who frequently shoot at night or in dark environments may consider purchasing the Canon PowerShot HF-DC1. It costs half as much as the A550 though.

The A550’s flash doesn’t reach incredibly far, but it provides good results within its range. The automatic flash setting seemed to work just fine. It wasn’t trigger-happy like some digital cameras’ auto flash settings are. Pictures taken using the flash didn’t look completely natural but weren’t spotty either. The coverage looks even, which is more than what can be said of most budget cameras’ flashes.

Zoom Lens (7.25)
The A550 has the same 4x optical zoom lens as the PowerShot A530. It measures 5.8-23.2mm (equivalent to 35-140mm in 35mm format) and has a wide max aperture of f/2.6. It is controlled by a thick ring that surrounds the shutter release button and has a sharp nub on the front where the index finger can grip and twist it. The sharp nub isn’t very comfortable. When twisted one way or another, it allows users to stop at seven focal length throughout the 4x range. There is no on-screen indicator to show how far into the zoom range users are, which is disappointing. Another disappointing fact about the lens is that it backfires a little. When users let go of the ring, the zoom does a little dance before settling on a certain focal length. This can be frustrating, and it takes a tiny bit more time than it should. The lens makes some electronic noise – nothing that would stop the show but enough to attract a few glances.

The lens extends about an inch and a half from the front of the body in two segments. If users don’t touch the buttons on the camera for 1 minute, the lens retracts into the camera body. This power-saving feature can be turned off in the setup menu.

Overall, the 4x length of the lens is better than the typical 3x length on budget models and the f/2.6 max aperture will give users an edge in low light, but the overall quality of the optics aren’t very good. The mechanical noise makes it sound cheap, and the barrel distortion visible in the macro mode makes it look cheap.