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Friday, November 18, 2011

Canon Powershot SD500 7.1MP Digital Elph Camera with 3x Optical Zoom

Features: The first 7.1 megapixel (MP) Digital ELPH with 3x Optical Zoom and new elegantly curved design in a metallic body Large 2 LCD screen for easy on-camera viewing DIGIC II Image Processor for even faster processing speed, crisp vibrant colors and excellent image quality USB 2.0 Hi-Speed support for faster downloads and file transfers Enhanced Movie Mode with new Fast Frame Rate Movie recording at 60 fps (320 x 240) plus 9 Special Scene Modes and Digital Macro Mode New My Colors feature for color customization while shooting Print/Share Button for easy direct printing and downloading plus ID Photo Print and Movie Print with Canon CP Printers Canon Includes: PowerShot SD500 Digital ELPH Wrist Strap WS-700 SD Memory Card 32MH Battery Pack NB-3L Battery Charger CB-2LU Digital Camera Solution CD-ROM AV Cable AVC-DC300 Interface Cable IFC-400PCU

Amazon Sales Rank: #5641 in Camera & Photo Brand: Canon Model: SD1000 Number of items: 1 Dimensions: 1.00" h x 2.20" w x 3.50" l, .50 pounds Display size: 2 The first Digital Elph with an amazing 7.1 MP CCD, which captures enough detail for photo-quality 15 x 20-inch prints 3x optical zoom; 2.0-inch LCD display Enhanced movie mode with fast 60-frame-per-second capture rate DIGIC II Image Processor provides fast, accurate image processing Powered by rechargeable Lithium-ion battery; stores images on SD memory card

With a host of new features and a unique "perpetual curve" contoured design, the brushed stainless steel titanium grey 7.1-megapixel PowerShot SD500 continues the PowerShot tradition of pushing compact camera design into new territories. Driven by the same DIGIC II image processing architecture that propels Canon's EOS-1 pro-series digital SLR cameras, the camera features a 3.0x optical zoom, large 2.0-inch LCD, high-quality VGA video clips at 30 frames per second up to the capacity of the memory card, high-speed USB 2.0 connection, 'My Color' in-camera color editing, and a Print/Share button for easy PictBridge direct printing and fast file uploads. Its 7.1-megapixel sensor allows detailed enlargements up to 15 x 20 inches. New Design While still referencing original PowerShot designer Yasushi Shiotani's 'box and circle' concept, the PowerShot SD500 design represents a departure from the traditional rectangular PowerShot. The silky finish and distinctive curves are designed to feel great in the hand, while rounded contours exaggerate an already slender body, 8% lighter than the previous top-of-range PowerShot SD500. The large 2.0-inch LCD screen features a QuickBright function that takes the screen temporarily to maximum brightness for improved visibility when shooting outdoors. A Night Display option improves LCD visibility for composition and framing in low light conditions. A sophisticated mode dial replaces the mode switch of previous models. Blistering Performance Trusted by professional photographers and agencies such as Getty Images for its outstanding image rendering ability, DIGIC II assures superb image quality through improved colour gradation and white balance accuracy. DIGIC II also delivers instant 0.8 second start-up time, uninterrupted 2.0 frame per second shooting until the memory card fills, and the new USB 2.0 high-speed interface for fast uploads. Processing power also supports a new high-speed image playback function, image jump function (with search facility) during in-camera review, fast image rotation, and increased card writing speed. Auto focus speed is 55% faster than its predecessor, thanks to a more compact, redesigned 37-111mm zoom lens and its new rear focusing system, combined with DIGIC II processing. Shooting Features To increase shoot-and-share enjoyment, a Hold function now allows users to extend indefinitely the display of a newly shot image, and to delete it immediately if necessary without the requirement to switch to replay mode. The camera returns to shooting immediately when the shutter button is pressed again. A new My Colors menu gives users pre-capture control over image colors in stills and movies. Nine sophisticated color-editing features include Color Accent, which gives users the ability to convert all but one chosen color of an image to monochrome. Other My Colors functions allow favorite colors to be made more vivid and colors to be swapped--a feature designed for creative or fun purposes as well as practical applications, such as product design or interior decoration planning. Users can choose to save 2 copies of the image--with and without an effect applied. For maximum versatility and ease of use, the PowerShot SD500 has a total of 13 shooting modes. These include Auto, Manual (allowing more experienced or adventurous users to take control of settings such as white balance, exposure compensation and shutter speed, which extend from 15 seconds to 1/2000 second), and stitch assist for creating panoramas. 9 Special Scene modes include portrait, snow, and beach modes for simple set-up in popular shooting situations. A new more powerful flash features 6 modes and has a range of up to 4.8 meters at ISO Auto. New movie features The PowerShot SD500 incorporates a number of new advanced video features. Digital zoom is now available while shooting video and users can record up to one minute at 60 frames per second (fps) for smooth in-camera slow motion playback. Control over slow motion improves with more sensitive, five speed level adjustment, while white balance and exposure adjusts automatically when zooming during video capture. For recording clips suitable for email attachment, a ‘Compact' mode provides for recording up to 3 minutes of 15 fps, 160 x 120 resolution files. Ergonomics Despite successfully decreasing the size of the viewfinder, Canon's engineers have maintained a 16mm eye relief, perfect for prescription eyeglass wearers. The Intelligent Orientation Sensor not only rotates automatically images taken with the camera held vertically, it also improves auto white balance, auto focus and auto exposure by helping the Camera's iSAPS 'built-in photographer's assistant' to take into account likely positions of sky and foreground. Extending Creativity An optional waterproof case allows users to capture exciting marine life stills and video down to 40 meters. The case includes a diffusion plate to counter the 'snow' effect produced by particles suspended in the water, and a double glass lens to prevent fogging. Optional buoyancy compensation weights prevent the camera from pulling to the surface during scuba or skin diving. A new optional High Power Flash accessory, the HF-DC1, further extends the options for night and indoor shooting. With a guide number of 18 (ISO 100, meters), the slave flash automatically fires in-sync with the camera's in-built flash, ignoring any pre-flash. It can be adjusted to three power output settings based on the aperture value of the camera. The unit attaches to the camera with a supplied bracket that maintains the ability to mount both camera and flash on a tripod. Print and Share For photo prints without first uploading to a computer, the PowerShot SD500 supports full PictBridge functionality. When coupled with DIGIC II compact photo printers such as Canon's new Compact Photo Printer Selphy CP600, the camera/printer combination is capable of producing borderless photo prints in just 63 seconds. Wide (100 x 200mm) format landscape printing is also supported with these printers, images being automatically cropped to fit the wide format direct from the camera. Functions such as ID photo print, N-Up (Multi-image) printing, and movie clip series printing are also supported. One-touch upload is available via the print/share button and now supports direct transfer to both Windows and Mac platforms. Software and access to Canon iMAGE Gateway Software supplied includes ZoomBrowser EX (Windows) and ImageBrowser (Mac) for viewing, managing, and archiving images. Other software includes PhotoStitch and PhotoRecord, plus photo manipulation software ArcSoft PhotoStudio. Drivers include TWAIN (Windows 98/2000) and WIA (Windows Me). Picture Transfer Protocol (PTP) support allows the camera to connect to any Windows XP (SP1-2) and Mac OS X (v10.1.5-10.3) system without the requirement for a driver installation. Camera ownership entitles the purchaser to register for 100MB storage space on the Canon iMAGE Gateway, an online gallery where images and movies can be stored in albums and shared to selected friends and family. New My Camera functions (such as shutter sounds and start up images) can also be downloaded to the camera from Canon iMAGE Gateway.

Most helpful customer reviews 1208 of 1224 people found the following review helpful. Which of the SDxxx Series is right for you? By diljs Let me begin by saying that Canon makes exceptional digital cameras; the best in the market right now. This is because they have always used high quality components since they began manufacturing digital cameras. This one is no exception. Now that I've sold you on a Canon, which one should you choose? First off, let's see if you really need an SDxxx camera, or would be better suited with a cheaper non ultraportable camera. The SDxxx Series offers several key advantages over less portable models: -Beautiful, sleek design and metallic body will wow anyone who sees it. -Gorgeous 2 inch LCD screens -The excellent Dig!c 2 processor (other Canons only have dig!c 1) -Much better movie mode than previous Canons -Small light, easy pocketability On the other hand, there are some significant drawbacks due to the components Canon had to use to get the camera so small: -Few manual controls. -Pictures are not as sharp as those of similar non ultraportable cameras. -The flash is very close to the lens (lots of redeye problems) -More purple fringing issues than other Canons -Proprietary batteries that are expensive to replace -The LCD is very fragile. Read the SD200 and SD300 reviews to see lots of unhappy people whose LCDs broke. Canon's warranty does NOT cover this either. My suggestion? Buy using a credit card that offers a warranty in addition to the manufacturer's. If your lcd breaks, many CC companies will replace the camera no questions asked! If you don't need the ultra portability and flashy looks of the SD cameras, a slightly larger camera with more features might be right for you. I would highly suggest Canon's A510 or A520 if you don't need an SD model. If you still want an SD model, which one should you choose? The SD200 with 3.2mp, the SD300 with 4mp, the SD400 with 5mp, or the SD500 at a whopping 7.1mp? Your first instinct may be that more megapixels is better. Today, however megapixel ratings are similar to Ghz ratings in the computer world: They used to mean a lot, but they don't mean as much anymore. More megapixels do NOT mean a better image. They mean a larger printable image. Unless you have to have huge prints, you simply do not more megapixels. In fact, the 3.2mp of the SD200 is enough for anyone who doesn't plan on printing pictures larger than a standard 8.5x11 sheet of paper. That having been said, there are some differences between each SDxxx model. In order to get the larger 7.1mp sensor in the SD500, Canon had to make the camera larger. Thus, it is around a quarter inch thicker and 30% heavier than the other 3 models. The larger size did enable Canon to pack more features into it, however: Features unique to the SD500: -1/4 inch thicker -30% heavier -50% longer flash range -14% more battery life The SD400 and SD500 also share these benefits over the SD200/SD300: -New "Night Display" feature which brightens the LCD in low light -My Colors feature lets you highlight or swap colors right on the camera -USB 2.0 High Speed support The following are shared by all the SDxxx Cameras: Pros: -Beautiful, eye catching design -Great image quality, though not as good as non ultraportable models -New Dig!c 2 image processor -Excellent Movie Mode -3x optical zoom is adequate for most people -Excellent, intuitive manual controls -Huge 2.0 inch lcd that looks great under various lighting conditions -Uses widely available and cheap SD cards Cons (most of these are minor quirks): -Some purple fringing problems -Proprietary batteries are expensive to replace and inconvenient at times -Lots of issues with fragile LCDs -No RAW support -Few manual controls If you do choose this product, the first thing you should buy is a larger SD memory card. The camera comes with a 16mb card (32 in the SD500), which is pretty much useless. You should also immediately purchase a case and some screen protectors to

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