- Canon’s HS SYSTEM with a 12.1 MP CMOS and DIGIC 4 Image Processor improves shooting in low-light situations without the need for a flash
- Full 1080p HD Video for exceptional quality with stereo sound, plus a dedicated movie button for easy access
- A large 3.2-inch touch panel LCD offers easy and intuitive operation
- A bright f/2.0, 24mm ultra Wide-Angle lens, great for shooting portrait photography in low light conditions or
- Get high-speed shooting in a point-and-shoot camera: High-speed Burst Mode captures 8.2fps
- 12.1 effective megapixels, 1/2.3-inch high-sensitivity CMOS; 4.4x optical zoom and 4x digital zoom; Aperture and Shutter priority modes
- Full 1080p HD Video for exceptional quality with stereo sound, plus a dedicated movie button for easy access.
- A large 3.2-inch touch panel LCD offers easy and intuitive operation.
- Get high-speed shooting in a point-and-shoot camera: High-speed Burst Mode captures 8.2fps and
- And lowers noise levels at higher ISO settings.Super Slow Motion Movie records video at high speeds to allow slow motion playback.
- For using a shallow depth-of-field for great images with beautiful soft backgrounds.
- Zoom optically while shooting video and keep footage stabilized with Dynamic IS.
With the Canon 5128B001 PowerShot ELPH 500 HS Silver 12MP Digital Camera with 4.4x Zoom and 3.2 In. LCD Display you will experience an even more intuitive touch panel technology. Do almost everything right on the LCD, like choosing an AF point, set exposure settings and record videos, all with the touch of one finger. The PowerShot ELPH 500 HS brings the art of photography at your command. It is packed with great Canon essentials like an f/2.0 lens, the HS SYSTEM, 1080p Full HD video and 24mm Wide-Angle Lens so every moment is captured in pure Canon brilliance.
LOVE my new camera!,
I love this camera! I wanted a higher end point and shoot camera that could keep up with my kids and do well in low light. I read a lot of reviews and settled on this one. I thought about the ELPH 300hs but decided I was too used to using the touch screen on my Sony Cybershot to go back to buttons. I love the touch screen! The menus are well laid out and it is easy to find things. I was a little worried it would take me awhile to figure out the Canon menus since I have been a Sony user for so long, but I am not having any trouble at all! I am having fun trying out all of the programs/effects on the camera. The Kids and Pets setting is just what I was looking for. My kids don’t sit still for me to take pictures and now I can just snap pictures of them on the go without the picture being too blurry. After reading reviews I was worried about battery life. I decided to buy and extra battery since we had a big wedding we were going to and I didn’t want my camera to die before the day was done. Turns out I wouldn’t have needed the extra battery. I still have the first battery in after taking 150 pictures and a few short videos. Another thing I love is that there isn’t much delay between pressing the button and the actual capturing of the picture (this was a big frustration with my previous camera). The only thing I noticed is that with moving subjects and in low light you really have to make sure to give the camera time to focus by holding the button halfway down for a second or two before snapping the picture. I had great luck with this camera in low light. I snapped some really awesome pictures on the dance floor at the wedding. I was even able to shoot a little video on the dance floor. When I tried that with my old camera it turned out almost black, but with this camera I got a great video of my 3 year old dancing. I have only had this camera for a week, but I haven’t found any area where this camera has let me down yet. I am excited to keep experimenting with some of the programs and effects I haven’t gotten to use yet. Bottom line….Great camera!
UPDATE: I lost my ELPH 500 HS while we were on vacation (a long sad story). I needed a new camera fast so I went to Best Buy and they only had the ELPH 300 HS and nothing else was really close to the quality I wanted at the price I wanted so I bought it. The 300 has pretty much the same functions as the 500 and still takes great pictures. But I would take my 500 back any day! The touch screen makes it so much simpler to navigate through the menus and change settings quickly. I don’t think the microphone is as good on the 300 because a couple of my videos are hard to hear. It seems a little slower to focus and snap a picture, but maybe it is all in my head. One problem I noticed is that my photo editing software (I use Picasa) would automatically pick up the red eye on photos with my 500 but on the 300 I have to manually select the area to change it. The 300 looks cooler than the 500 and is a little smaller, but I loved the large screen on the 500 and you don’t get that with the 300 since they had to make room for all the buttons. Bottom line in my opinion: Spend the extra $70 and go for the 500 – it is worth it.
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|Excellent advanced Point and Shoot!,
Please note that for a point and shoot, this camera deserves a 5-star review. But in fairness to certain small details, and Amazon’s inability to allow users to give partial stars (e.g. 4.75 stars), I will have to settle for 4-stars.
Cosmetic PROS: Unlike some of the SD and Elph cameras in the past, this one feels solid. Canon even improved, to some extent, the flimsy-feeling battery door. It is a HUGE improvement over the previous flimsy plastic doors on earlier models. The large 3″x1″ screen is sharp and beautiful and gives an accurate depiction of what your camera will capture. Switching between full program mode and full automatic is a simple slide button on the top of the camera allowing an advanced user and a novice to both have their options easily. This also prevents any accidental mode changes that can happen with setting-wheels or external buttons.
Cosmetic CONS: The lens cover seems a touch too loose, at least on my specific camera. It rattles and moves slightly when handling the camera after the power is off and the cover is closed. Not a deal breaker by any stretch of the imagination, but you might notice this rattle too. The card slot, at least on my specific camera, is strangely snug. When I slide the card into place, there is some friction that made me question whether I was forcing it into the slot in the wrong direction. I pushed the card in until it clicked into place, but then it did not rebound like normal (like when clicking the top of a retracting ball-point pen.) Again, it may just be my specific camera. (Edit: I forgot to mention that while the battery door is now more durable, the A/V door feels very flimsy. It doesn’t swing out like a door. Rather, like the cap on a tupperware drinking bottle lid, the door detaches from the camera but remains linked to it via a moderately flexible piece of plastic. And because the door snaps firmly in place when closed, you really need fingernails to get any sort of leverage to open it. For what its worth, if I had to choose only one, I still much prefer the more durable battery door than a durable A/V door.)(Edit: Also, while I love the huge screen, please note that if you wear polarized sunglasses, you may have issues shooting on a sunny day with the screen appearing to disappear. This is more of a problem of the polarized lenses than the camera, but its worth noting.)
Touch screen: Personally, I prefer standard buttons. However, this touch screen is fine. It is big enough that my fingers are able to select menu items easily. For those of you coming from touch screen cell phones, you may find this screen less sensitive than your phone, thus requiring you to apply more finger pressure than you are used to. This isn’t a flaw in my mind, but I can see where others may think the screen is being non-responsive. The lanyard comes with a tightening slide. And this slide also has a fine point on it to help you make selections on the touch screen if you are having problems–similar to the stylus of the old palm pilots. Hard to use if your hand is in the lanyard, but hey, its a start!
Features: My main reasons for purchasing this camera was to get aperture priority, shutter priority, and a macro setting as options. Unlike the Canon’s S95 with an external ring control, the aperture settings on the 500HS are buried in the touch screen menus. That is fine for my uses and will be fairly intuitive to previous Canon users. The f2.0 aperture setting DELIVERS! For those wanting shallow depth of fields on their point and shoot…wow! I loved this! I haven’t had any problems (yet) with the camera focusing on the wrong subject even in macro setting. And because this comes with Focus Lock, you will probably be able to work around that problem if it ever arises. Strangely, but not a deal breaker, the camera doesn’t seem to have a BULB setting for shutter speed and maxes out at 15″. I don’t use that setting and speeds enough to warrant complaint, and maybe there are slower shutter speeds and I just missed them, but I figured I would share that tidbit with others who may be needing those speeds. It is just odd considering my old-old Canon SD630 had bulb setting and I think 2 minutes (but its been so long, I may be mistaken.)(edit: Just realized that this camera doesn’t have exposure bracketing (where it takes three automatic shots with different exposures.) It still has exposure adjustment allowing you to +/- exposure stops, but I am a little surprised to not find this previously included feature. There is something called Best Image where the camera takes 5 continuous shots but automatically keeps only the best shot, but this seems to be geared toward facial expressions/blinks/etc. and not exposures. The lack of bracketing is only a minor drawback for me–heck, its taken me a couple of weeks to realize its not present–but its worth mentioning.)
Video: Because I didn’t buy this for…
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