Canon PowerShot SD500 Digital Camera In Review
Posted on August 21, 2008
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If you are looking for a quality digital camera, take a look at the Canon PowerShot SD500 Digital Elph. This newest model has an impressive 7.1 megapixel resolution. While megapixels do not guarantee better images, you can’ t refute the S500’s superior image quality.
The SD500 executes well on speed and sharpness tests. It also got a fun My Color feature that will be sure to please many kinds of users.
As far as design, the Canon PowerShot SD500 is delightfully comfortable to hold and control. One thing to watch for is that the compact layout of the buttons on the back can be easy to accidentally press during one-handed shooting. The LCD is a large 2 inches and the optical viewfinder located just above is nice and maintains a smooth, bright and clear image when panning.
Outside from the 7.1 megapixel ranking, the Canon PowerShot SD500 has most of the standard features of its division, including an f/2.8 to f/4.9, 7.7- to 23.1-mm (37- to 111-mm, 35mm equivalent), 3X optical zoom lens.
All the standard modes are accessible through the mode dial as well as through the menu system, including Playback, Auto, Manual (which lets you adjust white balance, ISO, EV compensation, and color effects), Macro, and Movie. The Movie mode lets you capture VGA video clips at 30 frames per second. Other modes offered only by way of the menu system include Stitch Assist (for panoramas) and nine preset scene modes.
The Canon PowerShot SD500 has a very perceptive user control system. It also offers an out of the ordinary shooting mode called My Colors. You can make blues, greens, or reds more vibrant, or lighten or darken skin tones.
The Color Accent and Color Swap options create some surreal effects. Color Accent lets you isolate the color of one object, while the color information for the rest of the photograph is dumped. The result might be a bright red rose in the middle of a black-and-white wedding shot.
In Color Swap mode, you select a certain color in a scene on the LCD, and then select the color you want to swap it with. For example, you could isolate the bright red of one car and swap it with the blue from another. You have to make your color selections before you shoot however, so make sure you’re not going to miss the shot.
The Canon PowerShot SD500 allocates your pictures to SD memory cards for storage. There’s also direct link to Canon CP Printers and select BJ Printers. This in fact means that you do not need a computer to print pictures.
The Canon PowerShot SD500 uses proprietary lithium batteries. The promoted battery life is about 160 shots with the LCD on and about 550 shots with the LCD off. You can always buy extras at you local camera store to take along with you if a long battery life is important to you or needed for the situation.
Another feature seldom seen in other cameras is an optional DC coupler found in a flap on the battery/media door. This permits you to operate the camera off AC power by means of an optional adapter while you charge the battery in the external charger that’s included.
Overall the Canon PowerShot SD500 is a worthy contender in the market. A few faults to be found are that it has some difficulty finding the intended focusing point in Macro mode. Also in the Macro shots, the flash had a tendency to make most of the picture overexposed when used except for the lower portion of the image which would be dark due to the extended lens blocking the flash.
Another drawback is the mode dial design. Only the center (Manual) mode’s label shows as level when chosen. The other labels (Playback, Auto, Macro and Movie) are slanted when you turn the dial.
Be sure however that the Canon PowerShot SD500 is a great ultra-compact camera. From its looks to its capabilities, this camera is impressive. Then once you add on its remarkably unique features, the Canon SD500 stands out among the rest as a contender for a top seller.
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