Canon PowerShot S500 5MP Digital Elph with 3x Optical Zoom

Canon PowerShot S500 5MP Digital Elph with 3x Optical Zoom Review

I received this camera as a gift three years ago and it has served me well. It is easy to use and takes high quality pictures. It tends not to want to take the picture unless the image is in focus, which I love. And I have never experienced an E18 error. I also love the video feature and have captured some great moments on it (works better with a larger memory card).

My complaint is that it does take a long time to power on which can be annoying when youre trying to quickly snap a picture of something that is happening right at that moment.

As time has gone on, the power on has taken longer than it did in the beginning, and it takes a REALLY long time (10 seconds-ish) to switch back from play mode to snap mode. And sometimes it will just shut itself down when I go from play to snap mode, even with a full battery.

I am assuming that these faults have come with the aging of the camera and that my beloved first digital camera is slowly dying. It really has served me well for these 3 years but now it is starting to malfunction, and repairs are not cheap! (I dropped it while at the circus recently and the panoramic,b&w and video functions stopped working and I was told it would cost a minimum of 4 to fix it.)

Canon PowerShot S500 5MP Digital Elph with 3x Optical Zoom Feature

• 5-megapixel sensor captures enough detail to create photo-quality 13-by-17-inch enlargements
• Canon 3x optical zoom lens combines with 4x digital zoom for 12x total zoom
• 9-point autofocus; movie mode; PictBridge compatible
• Store images on Compact Flash Type I memory cards (32 MB card included)
• Powered by rechargeable battery pack NB-1LH (included with charger)

Canon PowerShot S500 5MP Digital Elph with 3x Optical Zoom Overview

The biggest breakthrough for the slim and trim ELPH line is the increased resolution of the PowerShot S500 Digital ELPH camera. Utilizing the same CCD sensor as is found on the top-rated PowerShot S50 and G5 model digital cameras, this five megapixel model captures JPEG images in SuperFine, Fine and Normal resolution modes and is also the first model in its class to offer 640 x 480 movie recording at ten frames per second for up to 30 seconds per clip. With the PowerShot S500 Digital ELPH, users also have the option of capturing 320 x 240 and 160 x 120 movies with sound at 15 frames per second for up to three minutes per clip.The PowerShot S500 Digital ELPH features an ultra-compact and fast (f/2.8-4.9) 3x (36-108mm equivalent) optical zoom lens. The lens - with its seven-element design - also offers a wide Autofocus range from as close as two inches (in macro mode) to infinity. Canon has also extended the power and range of this camera's digital zoom to 4.1x (from a previous high on Digital ELPH Cameras of 3.6x).For taking pictures on the fly, the S500 Digital ELPH camera offers a continuous burst mode that captures up to 2.2 frames per second at full resolution. The PowerShot S500 Digital ELPH model also has a shutter speed that extends to a fast 1/2000 of a second and features a built in flash with a range of up to 11 feet and automatic, red-eye reduction and slow synch settings. The camera's sharp, clear and easy to read 1.5-inch LCD monitor even allows users to check the smallest of details thanks to a 10x playback zoom.

Canon PowerShot S500 5MP Digital Elph with 3x Optical Zoom Specifications

Adding megapixel power to the popular S400 Digital Elph, Canon's PowerShot S500 bumps up the resolution to 5 megapixels--providing richer details and improved clarity. Elegantly designed and super compact, the S500 has a protective stainless steel shell with a celabrite finish, which mixes metals and ceramics to produce a tough cool-toned exterior that is visually stunning. It also features a 3x optical zoom, high-resolution video capture, and Canon's new Print/Share button, which helps you quickly connect directly to a printer or send an image via e-mail.

The S500's 5-megapixel sensor captures a wealth of detail.

Optics and Resolution
The 5-megapixel PowerShot S500 can capture 2592 x 1944 images for poster-size prints. It also has 1600 x 1200, 1024 x 768, and 640 x 480 resolution modes. The 3x optical zoom lens has a focal length of 7.4-22.2mm (35mm equivalent: 36-108mm). It also has a 4.1x digital zoom.

Movie Mode
The PowerShot S500 lets you capture high-resolution 30-second video clips with sound at 640 x 480 (10 frames per second). You can also capture 3-minute movies at lower resolution settings: 320 x 240 and 160 x 120 (both at 15 frames per second).

More Camera Features

• 9-point Artificial Intelligence autofocus (AiAF) for fast and sharp images, even with off-center subjects
• 1.5 inch low-temperature polycrystalline silicon TFT color LCD (118,000 pixels)
• Real-image optical zoom viewfinder
• Built-in flash with auto, red-eye reduction, and slow sync modes
• Record a voice memo of up to 60 seconds and attach to images
• Shutter speed: 15 - 1/2,000 seconds
• White balance control: Auto, pre-set (daylight, cloudy, tungsten, fluorescent, fluorescent H), or custom white balance
• Continuous shooting: 2.2 frames (maximum 14 images)
• 2x to 10x zoom into captured images while reviewing via the LCD

Canon Technology Features

• Digic Imaging Processor: While much technical discussion of digital cameras centers around the optics and the CCD sensor, the complex task of image rendering is the job of the image processor--the "brains" of a digital camera. Canon's latest, exclusive DIGIC Imaging Processor significantly enhances digital camera performance in numerous areas. DIGIC's high-speed signal processing is combined with high-capacity buffering to give Canon digital cameras fast response and continuous shooting capability unmatched by other digital cameras. DIGIC delivers longer battery life and beautiful, rich color rendition with far fewer white saturation problems. And DIGIC's unequaled precision delivers clear, noise-free images that are demonstrably superior.

  Canon's 9-point AiAF makes it easier to focus even when your subject is off-center in the frame.

• iSAPS Technology: Canon iSAPS (Intelligent Scene Analysis based on Photographic Space) technology dramatically improves the performance of AF (Autofocus), AE (Auto Exposure), and AWB (Auto White Balance). By analyzing a huge volume of photography data, accumulated over 60 years and the manufacture of over 150 million cameras, Canon engineers arrived at statistical relationships among focal length, focus distance, scene brightness, and other factors. Equipped with this "fore knowledge" Canon PowerShot cameras can optimize AF/AE/AWB settings for any given scene more rapidly and more effectively.
• Multi-point AiAF: Canon's wide-area, multi-point AiAF (artificial intelligence autofocus) automatically selects one or more focusing points based on factors, such as subject position and motion. AiAF works in conjunction with iSAPS Technology to more quickly and accurately achieve autofocus under a wide variety of shooting conditions. You get fast, accurate AF whether you hold the camera horizontally or vertically, with stationary or moving subjects, with off-center subjects, and even in low-light/low-contrast lighting.

Direct Printing/Sharing
The PowerShot S500 introduces a new Print/Share button that speeds and simplifies printing to compatible Canon and PictBridge enabled printers and one-touch image transfer to Windows XP, Me, 2000, and 98 computers for use with image processing programs, uploading to the Internet, or placement in e-mail. When connected to a Canon Compact Photo printer, a Movie Print mode divides the selected clip into equal parts and prints thumbnails of a maximum 63 equally spaced frames onto a single sheet of Postcard Size Paper.

Storage and Transfer
Images and video are stored on CompactFlash memory cards (Type I only) and the included 32 MB card holds approximately 21 images at the Large/Fine setting. Images can be downloaded to either a Mac or PC via USB 1.1 connectivity, which means the camera can be connected to any USB-based Windows Me/2000/XP and Mac OS 8.6 or later computer without installing any software.

Power and Size
The camera is powered by rechargeable lithium-ion battery (NB-1LH). With the LCD on, you will get approximately 190 shots. It measures 3.43 x 2.24 x 1.09 inches and weighs 6.5 ounces (without batteries).

What's in the Box
This package contains the PowerShot S500 digital camera, 32 MB CompactFlash memory card, rechargeable lithium-ion battery (NB-1LH), battery charger (CB-2LS), USB and A/V cables, and wrist strap. The supplied software on the CD-ROM includes browsing and printing software ZoomBrowser EX (Windows) and ImageBrowser (Mac). Other software includes PhotoStitch, plus photo and movie manipulation software ArcSoft PhotoStudio and VideoImpression.

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*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Oct 09, 2009 18:36:04

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