Front (8.0)
The front face of the SD500 is completely flat; even the lens barrel is flush with the camera body. It is rectangular-shaped except for the left side, which has a soft curve to it. At the apex of the curve is an oval-shaped shiny metallic highlight, which runs over the side and functions as a wrist strap loop. Just to the right of this front highlight is the vertically aligned Canon logo in a textured silver color. To the right of the logo are the words “PowerShot SD500 Digital ELPH,” also vertically aligned.
To the right of the branding mania is the optical zoom lens, which sits flush with the camera body when the SD500 is turned off. On the outer base of the barrel, a light-colored text reads “7.1 Megapixels.” On the inner rim are the words, “Canon Zoom Lens 3x, 7.7-23.1mm, 1:2.8-4.9.” Above the lens and to the left is a small hole in the camera body; this is the microphone. Directly above the lens is the optical viewfinder, with the AF assist beam / self-timer lamp to its left. In the top right corner is the built-in flash.
Back (7.5)
The back of the SD500 is also quite flat, except for the raised buttons and slightly raised LCD screen. The 2-inch LCD takes up the left side of the back; just beneath it is yet another Canon logo. Above the right side of the LCD screen is the circular viewfinder (don’t worry — there’s a rectangular frame inside) with two LEDs to its left. To the right of the screen are all of the camera’s controls.
At the top where the thumb naturally rests is the mode dial, which also acts as a pseudo-grip for the thumb. This dial is not notched like most dials, but has a single protrusion surrounded by two divots. The following modes are represented by icons on this dial: Playback, Auto, Manual, Scene, and Movie.
Below the mode dial and to the left is the Print and Share button, which has a print icon above it and a LED in its center. Below this button is the navigational dial, which functions to not only scroll through menus, but to change certain exposure settings while recording. The navigational dial consists of a solid circular ring that surrounds a button labeled “Func. Set.” Each direction on the dial has a slight protrusion for grip. The top of the dial doubles as a metering mode switch in recording mode and the Jump function in playback mode. The right portion of the dial changes flash settings; the left side switches the focus mode to macro or infinity. The bottom of the dial can be used to put the camera in the continuous shooting mode or self-timer in recording mode. When in playback mode, the bottom part of the dial acts as the delete function. All of these functions are labeled with graphics next to the dial. Below the dial are two buttons. On the left is the “Disp.” button that provides shooting information or turns off the LCD screen. On the right is the Menu button. Overall, the layout of the back is fairly traditional and intuitive, but looks busy with all the icons and buttons.
Left Side (7.5)
The left side of the PowerShot SD500 is completely free of features. It is covered in a darker gray panel, framed within the lighter silver casing of the camera body. On the panel, there are four tiny protrusions, one in each corner. When this camera is properly held, users shouldn’t need the marks for gripping; however, they add some interest to the otherwise vacant left side.
Right Side (7.5)
This side of the camera has a similar dark gray panel, but the top one-third of it detaches and slides upwards and away from the camera, revealing the A/V out and USB ports. This little cover is labeled “A/V out, Digital” and is connected by a thin strip of rubber. There is a tiny divot below this cover door, but it is not quite wide enough for a fingernail; it will require some prying to access the ports. Below the cover and centered on the right side is the metallic highlight that runs over from the front of the camera. This highlight has a loop in it for attaching the wrist strap. The right side slopes slightly upward to the front.
Top (8.0)
There is yet more labeling on the top of the camera. On the left side is the name of the camera: “PowerShot SD500 Digital ELPH.” Below these words are the letters “AiAF.” Directly below these letters are five oval-shaped holes in a smile-shape orientation; these act as the built-in speaker. On the right side of the top, there is a set of buttons surrounded by a dark gray panel. On the left side of this panel is the power button, labeled “On/Off” and highlighted with a green LED in its center. On the same panel, off to the right, is the shutter release button surrounded by the zoom switch. A protrusion in the front of the zoom switch makes it easy to toggle to the right for telephoto and left for wide-angle views.
