The Canon PowerShot SD500 is a great little camera.  But there's one feature that might cause you to avoid it: the LCD screen.

It's a love-hate relationship.  Due to its large size (a definite plus) and the fact that the screen it has no real protection on it, the screen can be cracked with virtually any contact.  Mine cracked and was destroyed the very first time we took it on a trip.

As far as its features, its ease of use and its picture quality, the Canon SD500 is a great product.  If you've done your research, you know its abilities and I won't bore you with going through them (you can Google reviews and find plenty of good ones).

My purpose for this guide is to warn you beforehand about the LCD screen issue.  I purchased the SD500 because of the size of the LCD screen.  But the downside to its size is that it's not well protected, and very fragile.  To the uninformed used to a regular camera, protecting the LCD screen isn't thought of...but unless you store the camera in a very secure camera case, it can break quite easily.  Our solution was to purchase a very small case to firmly secure the entire camera while fully cushioning the screen without giving undue pressure.  Then, for travel sake, we place that case in a protective area of the suitcase.  Since the original problems, we have had no issue with the LCD screen.

To their credit, Canon DID cover the problem and replaced the LCD under warranty, as it happened the first time I used it and was not considered as "impact" damage not covered by the warranty.

The PowerShot SD500 is a highly-rated camera and I concur...it's a great model.  But unless you take the steps to overly protect the camera, it will be a heartBREAK to you quickly.

If this article opened your eyes on something, please mark it HELPFUL.  Thanks!