On the right side of the camera behind a rubber door are the S50's only connections: an A/V out connector (supplied cable ends in one audio RCA and one video RCA jack) and a mini-USB connector to be used with the supplied cable.

As with most recent PowerShot digital cameras the S50 can be directly connected to Canon's CP-xxx dye-sub and compatible Bubble Jet printers for direct-from-the-camera prints.

The S45 has the same lens as the S40, with a maximum aperture of F2.8 - F4.9 it could be considered a little slow at full telephoto (although similar to other such compacts). The lens takes approximately 1.4 seconds to extend or retract. When the lens is extended the sliding cover is blocked from closing completely, a small push of the cover and the camera powers off, lens retracts and the cover can be closed all the way.

On the base of the camera is a metal tripod mount, Kudos to Canon for aligning it perfectly with the center of the lens and (almost) in the middle of the camera base (front to back).

The slim flash built into the S50 is rated with a range of 0.35 to 4.8 m at Wide and 0.35 - 3.0 m at Tele (all at Auto ISO). Beside the flash is the Focus Assist Lamp which serves a double purpose, firstly it fires a beam of patterned white light in low light situations which helps the auto focus system to get a lock. Secondly when the flash an anti-red-eye are enabled it remains lit for as long as you half-press the shutter release to reduce the size of the subjects pupils and thus reduce the chance of redeye.

Box contents may vary by region:

• Canon PowerShot S50 Digital Camera
• NB-2L Lithium-Ion battery
• CB-2LT(E) battery charger (110-240V)
• 32 MB CompactFlash card
• Wrist strap
• USB cable
• AV cable
• Canon Solutions CD-ROM
• ArcSoft Camera Suite 2.0
• User Manual