Canon added the 7.1-megapixel PowerShot SD500 to its Digital ELPH line in February, 2005. The new model again expresses Canon’s ELPH-line philosophy of excellent imaging in small packaging; the SD500 has a 1/1.8-inch CCD with 7.4 total megapixels and a Canon Digic II image processor housed in its thin, 6-ounce durable plastic body. Canon engineers departed from the sharp, linear ELPH aesthetic, opting for a more fluid styling, dubbed the “Perpetual Curve Design.” The compact camera boasts a 3x optical zoom lens and 2-inch LCD screen and retails for a bold $499.99 (USD). The PowerShot SD500 relies on a hefty selection of automatic and preset options. It does add a few manual controls, but it is still likely to disappoint manual photographers without the inclusion of aperture and shutter speed controls. Nevertheless, this Digital ELPH packs a lot of power into its sleek steel-colored, compact body and should be a popular model in the compact high-resolution camera segment this year.
