Canon Powershot SD500

Auto Mode (7.5)
The PowerShot SD500’s auto mode blocks access to the camera’s manual functions, so users can only choose Image Size and Compression settings from the Set menu. Metering modes and the burst mode are not available in the automatic setting, but flash and macro shooting can still be accessed.

Movie Mode (8.0)
Video images are recordable on the SD500 and are only limited in duration by the size of the memory card in use. Since the Canon PowerShot SD500 can record up to 1GB on a Secure Digital memory card, photographers have plenty of space to record movie clips. There are three sizes that movies can be recorded at: 640 x 480, 320 x 240, and 160 x 120. The first two sizes record at a selectable 30 or 15 frames per second. The smaller 160 x 120 option can record for 3 minutes at 15 frames per second; this is most suitable for emailing and web posting. Like other SD models, namely the SD200, SD300 and SD400, the SD500 has a Fast Frame Rate movie mode. This mode shoots 320 x 240 pixels at 60 frames per second — for up to one minute.

The optical zoom is disabled in movie mode, but there is limited digital zoom available in the Standard mode (as opposed to the Compact 160 x 120 mode and Fast Frame mode). Users can zoom from 1-12x digital zoom in the Standard mode. In the other movie modes, there is no optical or digital zoom.

Drive / Burst Mode (7.5)
The Canon PowerShot SD500 has a decent burst rate that shoots 2 frames per second. Some compact digital cameras have recently included 3-frame-per-second burst modes, but many compacts still hover in the 1-2 frame-per-second range — the SD500 being one of them. I still see the speed of the SD500 as one of its stronger attributes.

Playback Mode (8.0)
The Playback mode is conveniently placed on the main mode dial and allows photographers to view their pictures in single frames, index pages, or slide shows. When images are viewed in single frames, Canon’s Intelligent Orientation technology automatically rotates images to the correct view. Individual images can be magnified up to 10x; histograms can also be viewed. Sound memos up to 60 seconds can be added to each image file. Images can be displayed in index frames of nine thumbnails per page. Users can search for photos by jumping 10 or 100 images, jumping to the next JPEG or MPEG-4 file, or jumping to the next shooting date. Movie clips can be played back normally, in slow motion, or even frame by frame — all with sound.

Custom Image Presets (6.5)
There are nine selectable scene modes included on the Canon SD500, though most point-and-shoot digital cameras in this price range offer between 10 and 20 scene modes. The following scene modes are available: Portrait, Foliage, Snow, Beach, Fireworks, Underwater, Indoor, Kids & Pets, and Night Snapshot.The SD500 does include night and portrait scene modes, but surprisingly lacks the basic landscape mode that is oh-so-essential for those vacations to national parks. Scene modes can be found when the "Func. Set" button is pressed; they appear as icons and can be scrolled through with live views of the lighting changes. The limited preset selection is particularly disappointing when coupled with the camera’s lack of manual exposure controls. Generally manufacturers will equip cameras with either a range of manual controls, to enable users to work out the details, or the camera will include an expansive list of presets to help orient the camera to the specific shooting situation. With the limited preset selections available, users are left to a strict point-and-shoot interface.