The 7.1 - megapixel Canon PowerShot SD500 is a smooth hustler , put up in a satiny metal consistence and subject of take prominent images , but its dearth of manual features and high price make it an expensive choice .
At six ounces ( without electric battery ) , and about the sizing of a deck of add-in , the SD500 is a true pocket tv camera . The 2 - in LCD is lustrous and gentle to see , even in afternoon sunlight , and it brightens mechanically when shooting in low - light conditions . Its push and control are well - placed and menus are easy to read and navigate . Unfortunately , there ’s no unrecorded histogram to help you guess photo .
The SD500 is a point - and - shoot photographic camera , so it does n’t have a peck of manual control condition . The mode telephone dial offers Auto , Manual , Special Scene , Movie , and Playback fashion , but Manual modal value adjustments are define to exposure compensation , whitened balance ( include customs white balance ) , ISO ( from 50 to 400 ) , and pic force options . You ca n’t congeal aperture or shutter speed directly ( but youcanset a long shutter of up to 15 seconds ) . There are nine scene modes for shooting everything from Foliage to Fireworks . Stitch Assist helps you sprout overlapping images for make prospect ( you ’ll want the bundled PhotoStitch software to meet the images on your electronic computer ) .
A My Colors mode offers some creative possibility for in - television camera experiment , admit the ability to relieve or darken skin tones , selectively make blue , greens , or reds more vivid , or swap a specific color for another color . I found the results spotty . You ’re better off make these kind of adjustments in an image - editing program like Photoshop Elements ( , February 2005 ) , but you have nothing to lose ( except memory space ) by experimenting with the in - television camera adaption , because you could keep an unchanged copy of the image in addition to your adjusted image .
The PowerShot SD500 ’s startup is almost instantaneous , and shutter jail virtually nonexistent . And its continuous shooting mode is impressive : I snapped 60 pictures in less than 30 second before my shutter - pressing finger gave out ( carrying out will depend on your memory card ’s repositing content ) .
The 3x optical rapid climb lens drift from a fast f2.8 at the wide-eyed remainder to f4.9 at the long terminal . In macro musical mode , the SD500 can focus to 2 inches . A antiphonal 9 - point AiAF ( artificial intelligence service autofocus ) notice the issue mechanically , no matter of where it is in the frame ( this can be invalid for center autofocus ) . An AF - Assist beam helps you focalize in low light .
The images from the PowerShot SD500 were excellent , with exact , concentrated gloss and shrill contingent . Noise becomes detectable above 200 ISO . At this damage , I ’d expect to be able to tear TIFFs or Raw - formatting images .
The SD500 capture movies at VGA quality ( 640 - by-480 pixels ) and 30 frames per 2nd ( Federal Protective Service ) , and you’re able to record unceasingly until your memory card is full . The video recording quality is splendid . A Fast Frame Rate modality lets you show video at 60 Federal Protective Service , a perfect speeding for analyzing your golf game swing , but the result is limited to 320 - by-240 and clips are limited to a second long .
Macworld’s Buying Advice
The Canon PowerShot SD500 takes excellent pictures , but the lack of manual characteristic ca-ca it a pricey percentage point - and - shoot camera .
Jury Tests
Scale = Excellent , Very upright , Good , Flawed , insufferable
Specifications
[ Robert Ellis is a picture taking enthusiast with a growing collection of digital cameras . He is a frequent contributor to Macworld and maintains the blogFuturosity . ]
