I bought the camera to upgrade from a Canon A40 (3 Mega pixels) to this S500, and tested identical shots with both cameras. Sadly the older camera took much better pictures. The color on the Elph seemed faded. Tried their VIVID color option, and it over compensates for the color problem.Sadly, I'm returning the camera. Wish I knew what other micro digital camera to get instead. Maybe a Dimage X50?