At the top end of Canon’s wildly well loved Elph compact digital camera line, sits the 12.1-megapixel Canon PowerShot Elph 500 HS. This motivating force pocket camera facial appearance a bright, wide lens, a astute upset-cover LCD, and brilliant image feature, putting it a notch privileged than most compact shooters. At $299.99 (supervise over), even if, it’s in an awkward price spot—for, say, $30 more, you can get a best camera, like the 18x-zoom Editors’ Extent Nikon Coolpix S9100 ($329.99, 4 stars), and for in this area $50 less you can find some models that are very near as excellent. Still, if you’re keen to dissipate the $300, and you want a upset-cover boundary, the 500 HS won’t disappoint.
Design
The 6.5-tiny amount PowerShot Elph 500 HS looks a bit uncommon than most compact cameras, thankfulness to its tapered edges—instead of the ever-present blocky rectangle, it has a sleeker, rounder look to it. Measuring 2.18 by 3.96 by 0.98 inches (HWD), it’s certainly pocket-forthcoming. The camera comes in silver, pink, or brown. The lens and built-in sparkle are front and center, and there’s a sliding door on the underside panel that covers the array and reminiscence card slots, next to the tripod mount. A swiveling flap on the right panel reveals a USB and HDMI connection, and up top are the Power pin, Zoom trigger, and Involuntary/Program Mode batter.
500 HS View SlideshowSee all (10) slides
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The brilliant and traditional Canon boundary does a lot to make the upset cover even simpler to use. There’s a generous, dyed-in-the-wool on-cover pin for most of the ordinary functions counting sparkle control, record recording, mode choice, and more. If you have to dig into a menu, scrolling can be vaguely fussy, but most settings are only a tap or two away. I appreciate the physical zoom trigger, even if; that’s one map that’s tough to master on a upset cover. Also, there’s a physical Playback pin next to the spectacle.
500 HS Specifications
- Type
- Compact, Superzoom
- Megapixels
- 12.1 MP
- 35-mm Corresponding (Wide)
- 24 mm
- 35-mm Corresponding (Telephoto)
- 105 mm
- Optical Zoom
- 4.4 x
- LCD size
- 3.2 inches
- Record Resolution
- Yes
Performance
As with all of Canon’s Elph models, the 500 HS is incredibly quick. The camera takes an average of 1.9 seconds to power up and capture its first photo, and then averages 2.3 seconds between shots—both numbers are very impressive, even quicker than the $100-more-high-priced PowerShot S95. At 0.6 seconds, shutter lag (the wait from pin push to image capture), was merely average, even if. There was also the very occasional lag with the zoom means, which led to me over-zoom a few era all through my tests.
In the PCMag Labs, we use the Imatest suite to neutrally rate image feature. In terms of serration, the 500 HS scored an otherworldly center-weighted average of 2,115 lines per depiction height—scores privileged than 2,000 are rare for compact models. This means the 500 HS shoots incredibly astute, fussy photos. Among less high-priced options, the Kodak EasyShare M580($199.99, 4 stars) scored vaguely privileged, at 2,127 lines per depiction height, and the Elph 300 HS scored a decrease-but-still-excellent 1,861.
If Imatest events privileged than 1.5 percent noise surrounded by an image, it will likely be plainly blurry or gritty. The 500 HS was able to go up to ISO 800 lacking hitting that 1.5 percent threshold, another brilliant notch. A few models, like Canon’s own S95, can go up to ISO 1600 lacking recording more than 1.5 percent noise, but the 500 HS screening is still pretty impressive. In most decrease lighting situations—at home, or in the sundown—the camera will still take clear, astute cinema, but it’s probably not the best extent for, say, your nighttime-club shots.
Record, Connectivity, and Conclusions
I was very impressed with the feature of the record shot by the 500 HS. The camera can confirmation in high-definition 1080p at 24 frames per second, or 720p at 30 frames per second. I always recommend shooting in 720p, because 24 frames per second can lead to a vaguely jerkier feel in the record, especially when there’s shift in the frame. Both resolutions looked fantastic, even if, and I was particularly impressed with the microphone: It captured an brilliant stereo image, so I may possibly hear equipment moving from left to right, and it picked up my voice nicely. The camera also allows you to change the zoom and autofocus even as recording record, which isn’t ordinary for a pocket camera. Videos are recorded as .MOV records, which can be uploaded frankly to YouTube or Facebook.
Like all the Elph HS models, the 500 has a mini-USB port for connecting the camera to a notebook, and a mini-HDMI port to facilitate image playback on an HDTV. Both are diligence standards, so replacing lost cables is austere. The camera accepts SDXC/SDHC/SD cards to store photos and videos.
The Canon PowerShot Elph 500 HS is a top-notch compact camera across the board: It’s quick, produces stellar imageas and record, and includes a upset-cover boundary that’s austere to use. It’s a modest high-priced for a pocket camera, even if, and for $50 less the 300 HS performs very near as well. (But you won’t get the upset cover.) The Nikon Coolpix S4000 ($179.95, 3 stars) offers a upset cover for a lot less money, but overall, its performance pales in comparison. If a upset cover is a must, and you’re keen to pay $300, the 500 HS is in this area the best you can find.
