Digital Cameras : Canon PowerShot SD500 Digital ELPH

This is an amazing camera. I had a luncheon to attend and my wife called me an hour and a half before it started to tell me that the camera had been delivered. I asked her to throw the battery on the charger and I would swing home to pick it up on the way.

I turned the camera on for the first time at the luncheon and took about 30 pictures in low light. Almost every shot came out great and I had not read the first page of instructions in the user manual.

Since then I have experimented with the manual settings and filters and have had some amazing results. I think I paid less than $700 for the camera, a 1 GB SD card (recommended) an extra battery and three year extended warranty. After using the camera, I could say that I would be happy, even if I paid $1,000 for the whole set up.

I have also added the Canon Pixma iP4000 Photo Printer and the quality of the prints is amazing. In one shot (medium distance of a poker table with players) you can read the engraving on a glass and the time on a players watch.

My last digital was slow to power up and slow between shots. The Canon SD500 has a power up time and time between shots of about two seconds, even when shooting at the largest size and best quality. The camera is also very well constructed. If you are comparing price and quality, you should have no reservations about spending a little more for this camera. Hide Full Review

In short, this is the best point and shoot camera I have owned. The battery life is superb, the pics are so rich and amazing, the user options are great and a lot of fun, the b/w's are stunning, and you cannot beat the size. The only reason I am giving it a 4 on Features is because I wish they had expanded the manual options to allow for faster shutter speeds and not just the longer (1+ second) shutter speeds (although, like I said, point and shoot).


After returning from a 2 week trip to Europe, I had a lot of time to get to know the camera. It was so great to just reach into my pocket and snap some pics while on tour busses, in museums, and around the country side. It was also nice to not have to drag along a lot of equipment or cumbersome bags that attract unwanted attention in crowded cities.

As for my con, I handed off my camera for a waiter to take some pics of my friends and me in Hard Rock Cafe, and all three shots were blurred. This was due to the fact that he was in a hurry. Just remember, the lens is not that large and you will need to stay pretty still in low light, because while we were in the vault museum the light was lower and I have some very crisp pics of me and my friend playing Jimi Hendrix's, Eric Clapton's, and Kurt Cobain's guitars down there.

The video feature on this camera was also a lot of fun. I was able to get some great shots of street musicians and this really helps out when you are trying to describe out of the ordinary things to people. There was a slight whining sound in some of the audio, but it was not too distracting (and since it is not my main video camera, was not a big deal). I would highly suggest getting at least 1 gig of memory if you are taking a long trip (I had 2 high speed 1 gig cards in Europe and used both of them for video and stills).

Overall, this thing ROCKS! Hide Full Review

If your looking for great quality and still don't want to drag a big box with you, this is the camera of your dreams. The camera is so compact that, it easily fits in your pocket. very good shutter speed. Overall I have to say, this is the best camera in the compact category for under $500 Hide Full Review

i used before a hp 3 megapixels, kodak 5 megapixels, pentax 4 megapixels,sony t33 5 megapixels and finaly i found what i was looking for,nothing compare to this camera, is simply the best, try for yourself Hide Full Review

Just bought today. Already printed photos with my i900d printer-photos turned out excellent. Buttons are easy to access unlike my kodak 7630. Its also nice in video mode to be able to zoom in and zoom out making videos. Hide Full Review