Digital Trends

Canon PowerShot SD500 September 7th, 2005 | by David J Elrich

Conclusions

Canon wins very high marks with this tiny camera. Picture quality is excellent, the form factor is terrific but not museum quality. One of the ELPH's few negatives is the proprietary lithium ion battery that really doesn't have the juice to keep you shooting for a day. A spare is mandatory as is a high-speed SD card. The LCD screen isn't the best in the world but it's more than adequate. Beyond that, you'll be shooting like crazy and since it's so small you'll take it everywhere. And that's what photography is all about.

Pros:

• 7-megapixel picture quality
• High-quality 3x Canon optical zoom
• Extremely fast with no shutter lag
• High quality movie mode
• Accepts affordable SD cards
• Nice software bundle and documentation

Cons:

• LCD screen has issues with strong light
• Possibly too small for some users
• Expensive for a point-and-shoot digicam
• Uses proprietary lithium ion battery;
• buying a spare is mandatory
• Also budget for larger high-speed SD card