Canon PowerShot SD500 Digital Camera

Great Buy!

Posted May 16, 2006 - Just got the camara a month ago and I dont have any complaints, It starts up quick, takes great pictures, easy to switch to video or other picture settings, easy quick to download from the 2 GB card I bought, which gives me 600+ pictures on the highest setting. 7MP is great to have for cropping and the 16x20 picutes I make for senery shots.

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I researched for 6 months before buying this camera

Posted Feb 11, 2006 - this is my third $300+ camera, and it is the best. I reviewed this camera online for 6 months. I went to Circuit City and tried all of the cameras that were on display, this one by far had the best picture quality. ALL 10 other camera's that I tested resulted in blurry images and this one takes the best indoor shots (any camera can take good outdoor shots.) As of today Feb 2006, this camera i think is the best reasonable priced compact 7.1 camera around.

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I was in the market to replace a 5 mega pixel Koni ...

Posted Mar 29, 2005 - I was in the market to replace a 5 mega pixel Konica camera and I couldn't be happier with this Canon powershot. The strengths of this camera are numerous 1) compact size, but high quality feel (metal body, except plastic battery/sd card cover at bottom) 2) highly detailed pictures and amazing color range (other digitals I've used struggled with very rich yellow or red colors, this camera has taken beautiful pictures) 3) Easy to use auto mode in addition to a variety of manual controls (ex. "My colors" allows you to do fun things like color swapping as you take the picture- without using computer software!) 4) a variety of movie modes, from compact, e-mail worthy videos to very high resolution and high frame rate videos. If you are looking for a high-resolution camera with a quick shutter, the canon powershot SD500 is one to look at!

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Took it to Europe this summer

Posted Sep 11, 2005 - I have owned a Sony T1 and sold it because of the lackluster color performance of the sony processing. Picked up the Canon after reading very positive reviews and also because the company has been superb about warranty repairs in the past with my camcorder. I brought it on a motorcycle tour of Europe for three months. First off, it still works; the camera has great build quality and despite a few scratches, is a very rugged performer. Second, the photos are amazing, and although seven megapixels may be overkill for some. It is pretty impressive when zooming deep into a pic without pixellation, and it is useful in blowing up shots for larger prints. The color processing on this unit is the best I have seen compared to the major brands which I have checked out. Some other nice perks are being able to zoom while recording video (which is a premium 640X480, 30fps). Although it is only the digital zoom which is functional once recording is initiated, Sony's lack of this feature irked me. One thing I noticed that wasn't perfected was the autofocus. It can focus on multiple objects, but it doesn't always choose the user intended subject. For instance, trying to focus on a house in the distance, but chooses the coastline as primary focus. Still, small detail should not effect performance for most, and there are some manual override options as well. Lastly, the size of this camera is slightly thicker than many other premium point and shoots; larger still than the SD400 as well. If 7 megapixel isn't a must, and form factor is important criteria in your decision making. You may want to opt for the cheaper and slimmer 5mp model which doesn't compromise hardly any features other than total pixels.

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We've had this camera for five weeks now and my w ...

Posted Apr 15, 2005 - We've had this camera for five weeks now and my wife and I love it. We just got back from a trip to Paris a few weeks ago where we took nearly 200 pictures without the need to recharge the batteries! Also we found that we took more pictures because a) the camera was small and easy to carry around with us and b) getting it out to shoot wasn't a big deal because it was typically in a jacket pocket and not a bulky case. We have also found the resolution and quality of the pictures to be outstanding. This is my second Canon camera (I had a G2) and their design and quality just gets better and better. I love the new, simpler selector dial and the UI on the LCD is intuitive and easy to use. If you're a previous Canon owner the menus are a snap because they haven't changed the design there much which is nice for the sake of familiarity. The software is still the ZoomBrowser stuff and while better isn't great. I'd suggest the free Picasa software for picture cataloging and basic editing. To protect the LCD, buy some PDA screen protectors and cut them to size. It works great. Finally, I can live without the remote shutter release given all the other great features. Overall I'd give this camera 5 stars and recommend it to anybody in the market for a compact digital camera. I talked a buddy at work into one and he just got back from Disneyworld where they took over 400 pictures. He is a Canon 20D owner and pretty picky about his photos and he loved the results.

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This is overall a great point and shoot camera. Th ...

Posted May 15, 2005 - This is overall a great point and shoot camera. The biggest advantage of the 7MP sensor is not that you can make large prints, but that you can crop sizeable portions off and still get good quality smaller prints. The macro mode and movie mode are quite good. In fact the movie mode is surprisingly good for a point and shoot camera, especially the 60fps feature. The AiAF is not very good at picking focusing points. Also, overall, the image is slightly soft and can exhibit purple fringing. However, picture quality is good overall with nice colors. Noise is an issue at ISO 200 and above, but such is the case for all small CCD sensors in P&S cameras. Overall, this is a great camera, but at $500 (closer to $400 with deals) one would expect the biggest drawbacks of this camera (focusing accuracy, softness and fringing) to be virtually non-existant. The inclusion of more manual controls (Av, Tv, M) would be nice, even Canon's A series has these features. As a point and shoot, it's certainly one of the best if not the best on the market, but at it's price point, it's also one of the most expensive point and shoots on the market. Those looking for a better deal (and not the flagship P&S) might do well to look at some older Canon models that are being phased out including the CF based S410.

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This is the best camera that I have owned. I'm up ...

Posted Apr 25, 2005 - This is the best camera that I have owned. I'm upgrading from a Canon a95 5.0 mp camera and this takes far better pictures hands down. The camera is small, but not too small. It has a nice solid feel to it because the majority of the body is metal. I absolutely love this camera! It is so compact yet it has a lot of features. 9 scene modes makes shooting portrait, indoors, beach, snow, foliage, etc. scenes so much easier. The SD500 also has a neat movie mode that can shoot up to 60 fps, but you may need a "high speed" sd memory card for that. If you're considering getting this camera, don't hesitate as you will not be disappointed!

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This camera is great for me because I will have it ...

Posted Apr 6, 2005 - This camera is great for me because I will have it with me at all times. It is loaded with great features (too many to list here). Quick shutter release and minimal delay between shots. Very clear and large LCD for composing and viewing pictures. Hold the shutter release button after taking a picture and the picture just taken stays on the LCD until you release the button so you can show everybody the picture you just took without having to switch to play mode. Plus there is an optical view finder for use in bright light or when the battery is getting low. In short I love this camera and expect that it will serve me well for many years to come. PS. I can't wait to get the underwater case and take pictures in the water.

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Wow, the best digital camera I had so far.despite ...

Posted Mar 31, 2005 - Wow, the best digital camera I had so far.despite moderate short battery life I recommend to everybody, but buy spare one if go i.e. let's say camping for 2 days. sd500 has second generation of canon's digic II. now the movies are not limited to 3 minutes anymore, and there is this "my colors" function. you can swap colors, choose only one color you want, and more. this camera is just full of fun.

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SD500 super camera

Posted Sep 7, 2005 - I have an old Nikon 3100 (3.2 mg) camera that cost me $350 three years ago. This camera at the new price of $450 is a tremendous bargain. In the last month I bought and returned two other compact digital cameras - the Nikon 7900 and the Casio Z250. The Nikon 7900(my first choice) has nearly all the scenes and options of the 3100 and added a few really great features of D-lighting and good red-eye reduction. One feature I loved and used a lot is the Best Shot which took up to ten rapid fire pictures and saved the sharpest. It was great in dim interior shots where a flash wouldn't work. But after 300 comparison pictures against my 3.2 Mg old camera I found the 3100 took sharper and better pictures in almost every situation. The 7.2 mgs of resolution was useless when the camera took fuzzy out of focus pictures. One of the biggest disappointments was the AF light assist. My old 3100 didn't have that feature but what it did do was force up the gain on the LCD and then it seemed to be able to focus in almost pitch dark situations. The 7900 with its AF assist light couldn't focus in ANY situation where the light was needed. If you use this camera in bright outdoor shots it was OK but was terrible indoors and in dim lighting. The next camera was the Casio z250 with 7.2 mgs. It is a computer geeks dream with nearly every feature and program conceivable including aperture and speed settings as well as manual focus !!! One really clever scene (of the 30 scenes included) was one which could photograph pictures or signs atr a slight angle and could digitally correct them into perfect rectangles. This is great shooting pictures or signs or pictures with glass fronts where one can't shoot a flash straight on. I returned this camera because it was terrible in indoors for indoor scenes with a very weak flash and worse it exhibited unbelievable noise in almost every indoor picture even with a flash. The Canon 500SD is a great indoor and outdoor camera. I took some late evening pictures and set the ISO at 400 to get fast hand held dusk pictures that looked very sharp and with little noise as compared to the Casio. There are two scenes I wished they included are "backlit" and "sports" Which are easily done on the other two cameras. I am very pleased with the Canon and feel it is superior to the Nikon and Casio if one considers that a cameras first duty is to take good sharp pictures.

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This is a big improvement over the S500 screen siz ...

Posted Apr 14, 2005 - This is a big improvement over the S500 screen size is better, pictures are crisp and easier to take. I shot about 300 shots in the last 3 days and compared them to photos taken on my Pentax Optio S5i. Wow!!! What a difference the colors jump out at you with the SD500 compared to any 5.1 subcompact camera in the market. The SD500 is a little bigger than the S5i but I found the SD500 was much easier to handle and believe it or not the Pentax was just to small for my hands and wasn't as comfortable as the SD500. I thought after getting my Pentax Optio that would be it for the next year, I even purchased extra batteries and case for it but not after shooting with the SD500 for a day. I'm selling my Pentax Optio if anyone is interested only 1 month old with an extra battery still have the box and all docs it's as good as new, I can't go back to anything else after shooting with the SD500 it's going to be hard to top this.

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Very compact and stylish camera that works like it ...

Posted Apr 3, 2005 - Very compact and stylish camera that works like it is a professional camera. Camera is very powerful and the images are very nice. I would recommend this camera to anyone looking for a compact camera that provides excellant performance.

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Great Camera

Posted Jul 12, 2005 - I paid $469 for this gem. I was looking to replace my Kodak LS443, which is a 4MP camera. I have heard a lot of good comments on Canon cameras. I wanted a small camera to take on a recent trip, the salesman said that this new SD500 would fit the bill. She was right on the money. There is a big difference between the Kodak and the Canon. The fast shutter speed blew me away, I can take picture after picture without waiting for the flash to recharge. It was a little bit more than I wanted to spend, but worth every penny. I highly recommend this camera.

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First of all, I would clarify that this review is ...

Posted Apr 29, 2005 - First of all, I would clarify that this review is for compact size digital camera. So don't compare it to something like DSLR camera and claim that the photo quality is not as good. As I mentioned in the strengths, this camera is small but with large LCD for seeing what you are taking clearly. The user interface is great and easy to use and it supports tons of different languages. For those who is considering buying this as a gift for a foreign friend or relatives who does not read English, there will be no problem. The 7.1M pixels is a great advantages for those who need to print large photos. Although it may not be needed most of the time, it does give you an option. The photos taken are very pretty and clear to me. I know this depends on many aspects but it is much better than my previous camera, Olympus C-2040, which is a very old model. One more thing to mention, this camera also takes MMC card other than SD card. I have an extra 512MB MMC card and I tried to use it with my SD500 and it works great. I highly recommend this camera to those need a pretty, small size, solid, and great quality Digital camera. Basically, unless you are looking for a DSLR professional DC, I would say this is the choice.

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In general, it is a very good camera with many top ...

Posted Apr 22, 2005 - In general, it is a very good camera with many top level features all packed into a small body. It is very easy to put the camera into the shirt pocket. By far, I feel the picture quality is good, but feel not as vivid as my previous 4M pixel Canon S45. However, not many out-door pictures have been compared. The flash is charged very quickly even can do continuously shooting. Battery lasts several hours of continuous use (more than 100 test pictures with different resolutions, two movies that fill the whole 512M card). Also tried the stitch assist mode to take a series of pictures (360 degree of my room). All the controls are designed very well. Perfect for my hands but may be two small for somebody with big hands, especially the power on/off button and the four direction dials. One of my colleagues with big hands has difficulties of handing those bottons. The plastic A/V/digital/USB port cover is a bad design with only one corner attached. For my camera, it is not sealed very well. They should use the same design as the cover of the battery and SD card. For the computer communication, I was a little bit disappoint when I found that although the software with the camera has "remote shooting", the SD500 is not supported by it. The software can only detect it for file transfer but not for remote shooting. The Windows XP also cannot detect it as a camera so that it can be used as a webcam or used as a video capture tool. Because the camera can display images to TV, I finally used the other A/V cable to connect the camera to my TV tuner card's video input then it can be used as a video device through the TV-tuner card onto my computer screen. The USB 2.0 only used for the file transfer is a kind of waste of the speed. Anyway, I am quite satisfied with the camera. It is compact and suitable for traveling and out-door sports.

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