Canon PowerShot SX500 IS Camera - reviews

Canon PowerShot SX500 IS Camera - reviews

This camera is a compact and quite functional camera with a very excellent, in my opinion, 30x optical zoom. In general, when I became the owner of the camera, it seemed to be considered the most compact with such a large zoom, but most likely at the moment there are other, more powerful devices, but nevertheless I'm definitely not going to change my camera in the near future.

The fact is that I like to take photos from a close distance and also zoom in on distant objects, so I needed a very good zoom, but at the same time I didn't want a massive and heavy camera with a bunch of functions and gadgets that I don't need, which I will never use in my life.

In general, it was not important to me on the appearance of the camera, the main thing is that it meets my needs: A good zoom, a good macro mode, light weight, without unnecessary functions, a large screen.

Of course, I would like to have replaceable optics, but this was secondary, the criteria that I wrote above were in the first place. And this kid went through almost everything, well, except for probably unnecessary functions. There is no photo editor and various cutting tools like fisheye or aging frames, as for me, these functions are completely unnecessary.

The only thing I liked about what I thought was useless is the color enhancement function, when the refreshment is dim or when the colors in the frame are not as saturated, this mode helps to make the photo more lively and beautiful, so it's useful.

As I wrote above, the zoom in it is 30x optical, which allows you to perfectly zoom in on distant objects, while the frames are clear and beautiful, and not as it usually happens. There is a screen in the camera, it is a 3-inch screen, it is stationary, but large enough and convenient, you can view the finished frames on it and see well what you want to photograph. The flash is extendable, manual, and at first it seems inconvenient, but in fact then you realize the beauty, especially when you are a tourist and sometimes in some places you can't use flashes, here this camera wins a lot. At the same time, the flash is quite powerful. Her weight is about 350 grams, but I will touch on this point a little later, and now I will tell you about the main plus for me in this camera.

Namely zoom. In order not to be unfounded, I will give an example. These lovely Greek pigeons were photographed on the roof of the hotel, located across the street from ours, there was a row of shops between us, a road and a row of shops and a small front garden, while they were sitting on the fifth floor level, we lived on the 4th floor.

It is a pity that there is no frame in comparison to really understand the distance, but there are a lot of such frames on the Internet, if you are interested, you can look at them, they really show the real situation. Throughout the review, I will periodically add frames taken on camera and will sign whether there is a zoom or not.

These swans are also one example of a strong zoom. They were on the opposite side of the pond and didn't let people get close to them, but I managed to make a frame with them. It is worth saying that in this device, the lens is strongly pushed out when approaching, so you need to be very careful with it at this moment, since it is quite vulnerable at this moment if it is touched.

Yes, of course I like it, but I want to highlight the disadvantages here so that you don't expect that this camera is so amazing. He makes shots very beautifully during the day, perfectly zooms in and photographs from a short distance, but his night shooting sags, as in general, photos indoors with dim artificial light do not come out very well. But then again, everything is known in comparison, that a couple of friends have SLR cameras that are 10-15 thousand more expensive than mine, they made shots in the dark the same way, or even worse. So it's not about the price at all, and the quality does not depend on it.


Photo modes.

Fully automatic (AUTO)
Completely manual (M) - more suitable for studio schematics, or if I need to artificially darken the frame, I use it
Aperture priority (AV) - here you can set the value for the aperture, while the camera makes other settings itself, automatically
The shutter priority (TV) is the same, but the shutter speed is already set here
Software (P) - I didn't really understand its differences from manual, to be honest, I've never used it
Direct control (live) - adjust brightness, saturation and add dark or cool shades in real time. This is useful when shooting in a room with very yellow lamps
And then there are creative modes where you can add effects to the photo, make portraits, adjust the illumination, various weather conditions, such as snow or fireworks.


Shooting a video. Until I bought a Gopro, by the way, here is a review of it, and before I bought it, I shot all the videos on camera. And in comparison with goupro, of course, you can see the difference, but nevertheless, even now if I review the recordings from it, they are in very good quality, everything is clear, without shaking, since it has very good stabilization, and there is no such thing that these videos are now ashamed to show someone.

And in general, if you do not want or do not want to carry a camera and a goupro with you, then this baby is quite enough for you, the quality of the video as a result, after the same review, you will definitely not regret it. In general, I still sometimes get confused in the settings, but this is when the camera is in fully manual mode, then there are difficulties with the settings, since switching between them sometimes causes me difficulties. But nevertheless, all the most basic settings are placed in a convenient location. For example, switching modes occurs with a wheel, as well as an approximation, it is generally placed in a very convenient place on the case. And in general, some buttons can be configured as you like, for example, to link some specific mode with it, in which, for example, you often take pictures and you often need it. Mom says it's heavy, I say it's average. Of course, it does not compare in weight with such a small soap dish, but if you compare it with large SLR cameras, it is generally heaven and earth. This camera can easily fit into a bag and it is quite possible to carry it with you without really bothering your back. But here everything is known in comparison. It is difficult for me to say exactly how many years I have been using it, but during this time I did not notice that it began to pass, as it often happens, that the quality began to be lost or it took longer to take pictures. On the contrary, I find more and more chips in it that allow me to make the frames more beautiful and interesting, and I like that these chips do not end. For example, saturation enhancement mode, sometimes on the bright frames themselves, this mode begins to play with new colors, and sometimes the most nondescript frames with it become very beautiful, bright and interesting. I regret that I did not find this mode earlier, it would have turned out more interesting photos.

Personally, I have an SD memory card in it, simple, not micro, 64 gigabytes, I've had it for a long time, I don't delete photos from it, and there are still about 21 gigabytes left, and I take a lot of photos, and I shoot a lot of videos.

Obviously, the video takes up a lot more, but at least I still have space on my memory card, and that's good.

Recording formats. The video here is standard MP4, jpeg photos, there are no problems with opening on devices, for example on smartphones, the only thing was that the video did not open on the iPhone, but it was an old model. Recently I tried the same thing with 10 and everything loaded and opened without any problems.

Charging the battery. It takes a long time to charge, I admit here, especially if you need the camera to work for a long time the next day, then you need to keep it on charge until the last. But nevertheless, it keeps charging well, and there is nothing that my friends often complain about, that the camera can write a full charge to victory, then show a minimum of charging for a couple of minutes and pass out. Here the indicators are discharged gradually and inform the owner about it, which is good.

after charging. Here I also have such a small dissatisfaction. Charging here is typical for large cameras, but it's not a big camera, but still claims to be compact, why does it need such a massive charge, which is extremely inconvenient to carry around, especially if you're flying somewhere and flying only with hand luggage, where the weight limit is, and this charge weighs along with the wire and a rather heavy fork are generally decent, so I don't really like this fact. Plus, it will not be possible to put the camera on a tripod, connect the charger and shoot something for a long time, for example, it did not work out to shoot a play in the theater. And all due to the fact that the battery can only be charged in the removed state.

My experience of using the camera. So, in what conditions did I use this camera. I will not talk about banal, on vacation, I will tell you about more non-standard situations. Somehow I took pictures of her in a heavy downpour at the bottom of the aircraft, standing in a raincoat. Water was everywhere, covering the camera with a package. The lens was in drops, but it even added a special charm to the frames.

She shot fireworks several times in the dark, and if everything is not so perfect with her night shooting, then she photographs fireworks amazingly. Several times, at my own risk, I did not take it off my neck when climbing in the rope park, but it could only fall off me if I turned upside down, but this did not happen. I also rode her on a huge carousel, walked on a suspension bridge over a precipice and filmed my descent on a zipline. So this camera has come a long way with me and I hope it will take the same amount and even more.

What is included in the package? Included in her kit is a protective piece on the lens, on the mount, a belt, which I would advise you to put on right away. The charger and the wire to it, the battery, the cable to connect, while there are two outputs, but hdmi is not included. And of course the instruction, which describes all the functions in great detail, and I would definitely advise you to read it.

You know, I'm used to it. If earlier I was bothered by the fact that this is a separate case, it will not fit into the bag, now I noticed that I began to take bags for rest or for trips with the expectation that I have a camera, for example, a hiking backpack with a special compartment for the camera, and there I can take it without a cover at all. But the cover to it is certainly needed, without it it will quickly scratch. At least a small one. I usually carry a lot of little things in mine, like removable memory cards, rags for optics and mirrors.

During this time, I realized that this camera is still not intended for extreme, tourism, although of course it can perform these functions, it is ideal for filming wildlife, animals close-up, trees, mountains. It is very interesting even just to zoom in on objects and study them. And that takes time. Therefore, it is ideal for a leisurely rest, when there is time to play with the modes, find interesting objects to approach and make unique shots.

Here I will say for sure, it is definitely not worth dropping it, as well as other cameras, and in general, all the equipment in general. There are quite a few fragile details here. Even if the lens is not removable here, it will not be difficult to damage it, especially when turned on, especially when shooting in zoom mode. The same applies to the screen, which will definitely crack if you drop the camera on it.

So a tip, always put a strap around your neck and do not wear the camera without it, because sometimes, purely out of habit, you can let it out of your hands, deciding that it is hanging around your neck, but in fact not. It would definitely be a shame for me to break such a camera.

Conclusion. From all of the above, I definitely advise this camera to buy for those who do not need a huge camera, but nevertheless they are not satisfied with the soap dish, for those for whom taking a photo is not just a couple of clicks in different directions, but to try to find the perfect angle and play with the approximation.

I decided to share my experience of using the Canon PowerShot SX500 IS camera. Now, in 2016, the model is no longer on sale, but the review will be useful to those who purchase a photo camera or those who take a camera of the same form factor, but a more recent model. So, I bought it to replace the soap dish from Canon, some old IXUS (I don't remember the model anymore). The quality of the shooting was amazing, the pictures are great! With a 30X zoom, you can use it instead of binoculars. Videos in HD quality, just super! It was my first camera with a fixed lens, and I was afraid that it would be inconvenient, but the only disadvantage was that sometimes I forgot to close the lens with a special lid. Excellent display with good resolution, which shows a clear frame.

Today I will tell you about the Canon PowerShot SX500 IS camera. My soap dish broke and I started looking for a replacement. Of course I would like a mirror, but its size. So, I decided that I would buy soap. So, I started searching online stores, and then of course I read reviews. I stopped at this photo. The price is 5990 money in the M.Video store. There are many modes in this camera. If you do not understand anything about manual setup, then I do not advise this camera, since it sometimes does not quite correctly determine which of its functions to apply on the machine. If you understand, then take it, you won't regret it. I really like this camera because it has a flash. It perfectly illuminates even at night. It opens manually. For me, this is not a minus, it's not difficult. In general, I can also say that the settings of this camera are simple and even a child will understand. Here are some examples of my photos.

A convenient, easy-to-use and high-quality Canon PowerShot SX510 HS camera. The firstborn was on the way and the idea came to mind that it would be very important to capture the first days, smile, steps. And at home, only the old Samsung soap dish was lying around and clearly no longer met expectations. It was decided to take a new camera. But we are not professionals, and there was no desire to understand complex technology. On the contrary, I wanted ease of use and at the same time high-quality photos. After searching the Internet, we came to the conclusion that the best option is the so-called "soap dish with a super-mind".

What's it? This is a camera that is also called semi-professional. We ran around local digital equipment stores and, with the help of sellers and a small fraction of the knowledge gained from the Internet, chose Canon PowerShot SX510 HS.

It wasn't a problem to figure it out. Well, personally, I even looked at the instruction disc. Yes, there is not a paper instruction, but a disk - very convenient. In fact, the camera is already a year old, and we take pictures in auto mode. Not well, at first I "pretended to be a photographer", but I quickly got tired of it.


So, what do I personally like about it:

6. Simple, but smart "filling". As I wrote above, dealing with all kinds of modes is not a problem. I will not describe the modes, but the standards in all such models, I will only mention that they switch conveniently with a wheel on top.


Here, of course, the photos are compressed, I cropped them a little and they stretched and the quality does not seem perfect, in fact it is better.

And now attention! I just found out about him myself and I was very pleased. It turns out that the camera records how you take pictures. Ie, makes mini videos while you select a frame and focus. I somehow didn't pay attention before, I thought the camera was creating some system files for itself.

I immediately decided to find out why this is happening. The answer lay on the surface: the very wheel that switches modes has been shifted from Auto mode to the mode of shooting clips from each photo (for keeping a diary. Video assembly is a camera icon with a piece of film. By the way, you can see in the photo that it is selected. Ahahah, sorry for the misleading.

That's how it turns out: on Avto, it turns out, we take pictures for six months, and for six months on the Video Assembly mode. Now I'm even a little upset that when I read I ignored this mode, because I don't like to shoot videos, but it turned out that I didn't need to shoot anything myself. And if I had been aware from the very beginning, I would have put it right away, because in the case when you shoot a small child, it turns out very cool in the end. It's just not so cool to record videos, because the videos threaten to become boring and of the same type, and in this mode you can shoot only the most important things even for the whole day. I recommend it to everyone! It's a pity I didn't understand how to add one of these vidyushek from the computer here, for clarity.

We draw conclusions: if you are not a professional, but you want high-quality pictures, you just need a Canon PowerShot SX510 HS.

This is the third camera in my life. I must say right away, I am not a professional, but just an amateur and cameras for 50,000 money have never interested me. Still, I want the pictures to please the eye, to be of good quality, so that you can shoot from afar and on the go. In general, once again I got into El Dorado. My gaze immediately fell on this particular camera.

A 16-megapixel PowerShot SX 500 IS camera with a high-quality 30x optical zoom in a convenient ultra-compact case. The intelligent image stabilization system ensures the clarity of images and videos, regardless of the degree of approximation. I looked at a couple more for comparison with similar functions, but cheaper. It turned out that the second ones work on batteries. The last century, I thought, and took the Canon PowerShot SX 500 IS.

By the way, the battery itself lasts for a long time. For the 5th day I've been taking pictures of everything that falls on the eye and still 3 sticks. HDMI support is also pleasing. Now you don't have to throw the video on the laptop, but you can immediately watch it from the camera via the HDMI cord. The only, but very small drawback in my opinion is the shutter cover, it is not very convenient to take it off every time, and sometimes I forget to put it on at all. It would be better if the valve was automatic.