Canon PowerShot SX500 IS Pro Reviews

If you're new to photography, you want something a bit better than the cheapest models and you want to learn the art, then the Canon PowerShot SX500 IS will give you the features, modes and zoom you need. Give this camera a go.

If you simply must have the longest zoom in the smallest, lightest body at the lowest price, the Canon PowerShot SX500 IS is worth considering. It's not a fast camera and it's not great indoors or in low light, so if those are must-haves, I wouldn't bother. For outdoor photos and video of stationary or slow-moving subjects -- close or distant -- it should satisfy.

Canon has taken an interesting approach with the SX500 IS. In trying to make it as small as possible, yet maintain the 30x optical zoom, Canon has had to make a few compromises, notedly not offering full 1080p video capture, doing away with a viewfinder and scaling back on-camera controls. While it is a well-presented model, there are surely a lot of bridge camera customers who value these controls over the necessarily compactness of the camera. So while it's an excellent model on the whole, it won't be to everyone's taste.

The PowerShot SX500 IS provides an unbeatable combination of massive zoom range in a compact lightweight body that, for now at least, is unmatched by anyone else. If you want a smaller camera, you'll need to make a compromise on zoom range and if you want a longer zoom range you'll be carrying a bigger, heavier camera. With PASM exposure modes, Creative filters, and Live Control, the SX500 IS caters for the needs of point-and-shoot casual snappers as well as more demanding photographers. The latter may be disappointed at Canon's decision to opt for the 16 Megapixel CCD sensor rather than the 12.1 or 16.1 Megapixel CMOS sensor which offers better low light performance, stacking modes and avoidance of vertical streaks on bright highlights in videos. A CMOS sensor would also have addressed another of the SX500 IS's weak spots - its continuous shooting performance. It would also, of course, have increased the price. As it stands the Canon PowerShot SX500 IS provides a compelling blend of features in compact and well designed body at a price that makes it hard to ignore. I wouldn't mind betting that many people who start out with different ideas about what they wanted from a super-zoom end up buying a PowerShot SX500 IS and I highly recommend it.

On paper the PowerShot SX500 IS sounds very promising. It’s well priced and has that significant 24-720mm equivalent lens with excellent image stabilisation technology too. Design and operation meet the mark for sure, but the lens and image quality fall short, particularly for a camera such as this. If you want to zoom in on those far-away subjects to extract their utmost detail then the SX500 IS’s struggles with colour fringes, slight softness from image processing and image noise problems throughout much of the ISO range. For the more casual snapper looking for a deal, the PowerShot SX500 IS does have its positives. But it’s worth paying out those extra notes to get hold of a more significant and, ultimately, better superzoom if that’s what you’re in the market for. Canon’s budget superzoom idea is a good one, but the features are a little overstretched at this price point.

The compact size and ease of use makes the Canon Powershot SX500 IS appealling although the slow shot to shot times and slow continuous shooting may put some people off, particularly if you want to capture high speed action such as sports. The extremely close focusing distance certainly impressed us, although with the subject so close to the lens, lighting does become an issue. The Canon Powershot SX500 is good value for money and while noise is a little high, if you mostly shoot outdoors at lower ISO settings then image quality is generally good. The camera would be suited to beginners as well as the more advanced, and with manual controls it should be possible to learn more photography skills as you go along.