[WildGarlic]

I've got the S6500 fd and find the macro option to be pretty good. I do find that it works better in manual mode at f2.8 if you want the subject in focus and the background blurred. Increase the f-stop if you want the background in focus too.

I've used the macro on a zoom setting and it's been ok, but the supermacro doesn't appear to like being on zoom.

The manual focus is a little more confusing but it does work.. and I found another option which allows you to see the bit you are focussing on at a larger size in the viewfinder/lcd screen. It's called Focus Check and the ECF/LCD mode must be set to 30 fps in the setup menu. Further details on page 128 of the user manual.