| Canon PowerShot SD500 Digital Camera In Review |
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| Hobbies - Photography |
| Written by Dan Feildman |
| Wednesday, 17 September 2008 14:44 |
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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.
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. In design, the Canon PowerShot SD500 is comfortable to hold and control. One note however is that the tightly positioned buttons on the back are easy to press accidentally during one-handed shooting. This camera boasts a large 2 inch LCD with an optical viewfinder located directly above that keeps a smooth, bright and clear image when panning. Apart from the 7.1 megapixel mark, the Canon PowerShot SD500 has most of the customary features of its group, 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 available via 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 available only via the menu system include Stitch Assist (for panoramas) and nine preset scene modes. The Canon PowerShot SD500 has a very intuitive user control system. It also offers a very interesting 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 allows your pictures to be stored in SD memory cards. There's also direct connection to Canon CP Printers and select BJ Printers. This effectively means that you do not need a computer to print pictures. The Canon PowerShot SD500 makes use of proprietary lithium batteries. The advertised battery life is about 160 shots with the LCD on and about 550 shots with the LCD off. If a long battery life is very important for you, you can always pack along some extras - buy them at your local camera store. Another unusual feature is an optional DC coupler, supported via a flap on the battery/media compartment door. This lets you run the camera off AC power (via an optional adapter) while you charge the battery in the included external charger. 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. The other thing I don't like is the mode dial design: Only the center (Manual) mode's label appears level when selected. The labels for 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. About the Author: Did you enjoy this article? Curious about Dominating Digital Photography? Well now you can by reading this free Blog...what are you waiting for? |