Digital Camera Review

Digital Camera Review

Apr 13, 2005 - By Emily Raymond
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.
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Connectivity
Software (7.0)
The SD500 comes with a Digital Camera Solution Disk Ver. 23.0 CD-ROM. It takes almost 10 minutes for the computer to install and restart. The disk includes three software programs: ZoomBrowser EX, PhotoStitch, and PhotoRecord. The ZoomBrowser is the editing software; it has simple cropping and color adjustment commands — and even a red-eye correction — but not much beyond that. It’s not the most intuitive software program, but works pretty well once deciphered. There are three modes to view pictures in ZoomBrowser: Zoom mode, Scroll mode, and Preview mode. Zoom mode displays large thumbnails of images. Scroll mode displays the thumbnails smaller. The Preview mode shows the thumbnails on the bottom of the screen, with the highlighted thumbnail in a larger window complete with file information to the side. With ZoomBrowser, photographers can rate their photos with one, two, or three stars. They can view histograms and file information, easily export pictures to wallpaper, screensavers, or CDs, and display full-screen slide shows. The PhotoStitch program is solely for piecing pictures together; it can stitch the pictures automatically or users can make their lives difficult and try to do it themselves. The PhotoRecord software is for consumers who want to make scrapbooks, but don’t have the time. This program supplies users with decorative templates to place photographs on before printing. Users can add captions with different colors and fonts before printing their scrapbook.





Jacks, ports, plugs (6.5)
The SD500 has two jacks beneath one port cover: USB 2.0 Hi-Speed and A/V out. The latter is NTSC and PAL selectable within the setup menu. This camera does not have a DC in jack for external power; the battery must be taken out and plugged into the included charger instead of recharging directly in the camera.

Direct Print Options (7.5)
Printing is simplified on the SD500 with the Print/Share button that lights up with an LED when files are being transferred and printed. This Digital ELPH is DPOF compliant and can print to PictBridge compatible printers via its USB connection.

Memory (5.0)
This Digital ELPH comes with a 32 MB Secure Digital card and is only compatible with SD memory cards. There is no internal memory included.

Other features (6.5)
Self-Timer — The camera can be set to snap the shot 2 or 10 seconds after the shutter release button is pressed. It also has a custom self-timer function that lets users choose a time delay between 1 and 30 seconds and how many pictures to take at the end of that delay — between 1 and 10. The camera has an orange LED and accompanying beeps (the noise can be turned off) that indicates when the camera will capture the picture.

Display Languages— The following languages are available for display menus: English, German, French, Dutch, Danish, Finnish, Italian, Norwegian, Swedish, Spanish, Simplified Chinese, Russian, Portuguese, Greek, Polish, Czech, Hungarian, Turkish, Traditional Chinese, Korean, and Japanese.

My Camera Settings— The start-up image and sound can be changed, as well as the operation sound, self-timer sound, and shutter sound. Images and sounds can be supplied by the camera or downloaded with the supplied software.

Box Contents — User Guide, System Map, Quick Start Guide, Software Starter Guide, Direct Print User Guide, Product Registration Guide, Canon Limited Warranty, Digital Camera Solution Disk Ver. 23.0 Software, A/V out and USB cables, Canon lithium-ion battery pack NB-3L, plastic battery cover, battery charger, wrist strap, 32 MB Secure Digital memory card, and of course — the Canon PowerShot SD500. Most of the contents are self-explanatory except for the System Map, which shows what is included in the box and what optional accessories are also available.

Optional Accessories— The PowerShot SD500 is compatible with the Canon HF-DC1 high-power flash and the Canon WP-DC70 waterproof case, which can come with a WW-DC1 case weight.  

Coach Edition Gift Set — This optional set is for the trend-setters. It comes with a Coach-brand leather carrying case and a metal neck strap (which I don’t think would be very comfortable, but is apparently very trendy).

Sleep Mode – The SD500 also has a sleep mode, which saves battery power. Canon’s Intelligent Orientation sensor can detect when the camera is picked up and will wake it from its sleep mode. And this camera does need to save its battery power; the battery only lasts 160 shots with the LCD on, though it can take 550 pictures with the screen off.

Image Parameters Page 9 of 12 Overall Impressions
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