Canon 610/620 vs SD450/550

[tarreiwa]

I have researched this for days and I am down to these cameras - I lean towards the Canon 610/620, my husband wants a smaller camera like the Canon 450/550. At the end of the day, what is a better investment?

Most of our prints will be 4x6, maybe 5x7. Would the 5MP in both catagories
(610/450) be the better choice or is it worth the jump to the 620/550?

I really just want a point and shoot that takes fabulous pics.

(by the way - this has been a great site to get info!)

ANOTHER THING - IS IT WORTH BUYING A SERVICE PLAN?????

Budget

* What budget have you allocated for buying this camera? Please be as specific as possible. Under $400

Size

* What size camera are you looking for? Or does size not matter at all to you? Husband wants a compact, I want small enough to fit in my purse.

Features

How many megapixels will suffice for you? I gues 5MP - (although I find myself getting sucked into 7MP) - I will only be printing 4x6/5x7.

* What optical zoom will you need? (None, Standard = 3x-4x, Ultrazoom = 10x-12x, Other - Specify) . I think this is important, especially for school events. The more the better.

* How important is “image quality” to you? (Rate using a scale of 1-10)10

Do you care for manual controls? No
General Usage

* What will you generally use the camera for? family shots; school plays, etc; vacations; indoor/outdoor

* Will you be making big prints of your photos or not? 4x6, 5x7

Will you be shooting a lot of indoor photos or low light photos? yes

Will you be shooting sports and/or action photos? 5yr old soccer - is that an action sport?

Miscellaneous

Are there particular brands you like or hate? canon

Are there particular models you already have in mind? (610/620) or (450/550)


(If applicable) Do you need any of the following special features? (Wide Angle, Image Stabilization, Weatherproof, Hotshoe, Rotating LCD) no

[coldrain]

The 550 and 450 are of course the most purse-able. The difference in size and weight is quite big. Of course the A610/620 have a swivel screen, a bit more zoom range, manual controls and AA batteries(nice when traveling). All are good cameras, the 550 doing a bit better in my opinion in image quality compared to the 450. Since small seems te be preffered by both of you, I think the SD550 would be the best choice here.

[TampaJim]

To answer the other portion of your question -

Service plans are generally very poor buys. A better way to "protect" your purchase would be to use a Platinum MasterCard or VISA. Their use automatically gives you double the warranty (up to one year additional). Plus, the card gives you a FREE 90 day OOPS warranty against breakage, loss and even theft. Check your credit card disclosure for additional information.

Ciao!