Rating: 
Summary: Not quite ideal
Review: After a couple of weeks of taking pictures and experimenting with settings I'd say this is good, great in many circumstances, but not perfect.Some of the issues are just limitations of the form factor, the form factor was the deciding point in my choice of cameras. Perhaps I had some unrealistic expectations of the ability of technology to overcome physics? Basically, with a 5M pixel sensor and a tiny little lens you don't get fast shutter speeds unless you either have excellent lighting or use the flash. Fortunately the flash is perhaps unexpectedly powerful, so most indoor shots can be well lit and fill-in can be used outdoors, though you seem to have to go to manual mode to force the flash to be used. The battery seems to last well even when using the flash. Some reviews say you need to use one battery while charging another. Well, I don't know what they were doing, I meant to change the battery yesterday morning and the camera is still going strong today, I think that's about 150 pictures since I last changed the battery for the spare. Batteries still have memory effect even though it is less pronounced than with NiCd technology of the past, the NiMH battery in the laptop I am using now has only half the capacity it should. Anyway, back to the camera. The metering system isn't clairvoyant, it does sometimes pick the wrong subject, especially in backlit conditions which is why I know about forcing it to use fill-in floash. Indoor shots without the flash will often be blurred, I took one just after landing in Chicago ORD and there was a lot of blurred motion on walking people though I had managed to hold the camera steady as the background was sharp. If you don't use the red-eye reduction mode on the flash you will get amazing red-eye. I use a 512Mb Sandisk Ultra II that I picked up for about $120, that gives me about 350 shots in fine mode. The speed of the card hasn't really been a noticeable benefit the way I have used the camera. The colors are good, I'm not certain they are great, I have a suspicion they are a little blue. Certainly blue scenes seem very blue. Speaking of blue... my old Olympus shows red flares to the right of bright edges, so a white light will have a red halo to the right. On a couple of shots the S500 has shown a blue halo to the left, one example was a person standing with their back to a very brightly lit window, even though he was correctly exposed. Perhaps fill-in flash would have fixed this, but that would have given some red-eye. In summary, this camera has shown me that there's no substitute for big pieces of glass even in the modern day, the lens is still the most important part of a camera. My old Olympus 3040z with an f1.8 lens was much more effective in low light... but I never had it with me when I wanted to take a picture "right now". The S500 in the small belt pouch with the 512Mb compact flash has proven sufficient for about 3 days of casual photography. However, if I want to take memorable and sharp scenic shots I'm going to have to bite the bullet and buy the EOS10D. I hear now that the S410 may have better low light performance, so perhaps I'll sell my S500 and try that instead.
Rating: 
Summary: Canon quality a disappointment!
Review: After rave reviews by both photo experts and friends on the S400/S410, I went for the latest and greatest S500. Unfortunately, I've gone 2 for 2 with failures. The first had scratched optics and a damanged display....Amazon was amazing and quickly shipped me a replacement. Unfortunately, the replacement was subject to the E18 (jammed lens) error within the first five minutes of use. So watch out for Canon quality problems. Amazon was very helpful in returning both failed items and sent me the following:
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I am sorry that your replacement shipment was also problematic.
As it seems that the problem with this item is more widespread than we originally thought, we are not able to send another replacement. We will investigate and remedy the situation with the item; however, I cannot guarantee when the error may be fixed.
We will gladly refund you in full for the return of this item.
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Rating: 
Summary: Very Nice and Compact
Review: Awesome compact size, nice images, great color, easy to use with excellent construction. In short the camera has a very high "Coolness Factor" and worth every penny. The only two thinga I would change would be to relocate the tripod socket to the center of the bottom plate. The camera is dense for it's size and with the "center of gravity" where it is, relative the tripod socket, restricts the camera's use in the vertical position when matched with a tiny tripod like the Sima ST-10T Mini Tripod with the tripod legs retracted. Get a slightly larger tripod (30-50% larger) and everything will be just fine. Second, the camera will let the user set exposure compensation in 1/3 EV increments, and set the type of lighting source, ie florescent, incandesces... but not in video mode.
Rating:
Summary: Canon has done it again!!!
Review: Canon has got itself a real winner with this one.The S500 is a very comprehensive point and shoot.Quality construction,ease of use,asthetically pleasing and good value.Pictures come out sharp and vibrant.The movie mode could be a little better(compared to the new Sony DSC T-1 which can take video at 30fps,just like you would see on a DVD)but that's a small complaint. All the new cameras coming out in May04 from just about all the manufacturers will have a high-res movie mode,so you might want to wait if you want to take video with your cam as well. Back to the Canon.I highly recommend this camera.Of course you will want to upgrade the included flash memory of 32MB which is just not enough.Also get some sort of carrying case,this camera is too expensive to let it get knicked or bumped.I found another site that has great articles on digital cameras:www.digitalelectronicsreview.com Check them out for a second opinion. Enjoy
Rating:
Summary: I love this ultracompact camera
A wonderful small camera
Review: Canon have done it again and produced this year another great ultracompact camera. The Powershot S500 really hits the mark for me. Small, and well designed it is also a well-rounded performer in the digital camera world. At 5 megapixel resolutions you can take very good quality pictures. The camera itself is aesthetically pleasing and easy to use. It comes with 32 MB compact flash, so you may well want to upgrade this capacity. Also, a case is not supplied in the box. Still these are small minuses. Like a lot of the newer ultracompact digital cameras the S500 has a movie mode, and can capture 2-3 minutes. Outdoors it takes some very nice pictures, but I was actually pleasantly surprised by its indoor performance with flash. It is possible to take some good photos without red eye problems. You cannot really go wrong with this camera if you want a good high performance compact.
Rating:
Summary: Top Notch!
Review: I am a big fan of Canon cameras, so I might be a little biased. But that doesn't mean I don't use cameras from other manufacturers. I have found that Canon cameras, in this case the Powershot S500, are at the top of the camera market. The design is terrific. Canon really outdid themselves with the design of the Elph line of digitals. It's good looking and compact, but still packed with all the features you need. The one thing I really love about this camera is that it just feels solid in your hand. It's a small camera, but some people are surprised at how solid it feels. Included with this camera is a high speed 32mb compact flash card. They're the first to include a card of this type and size which is great. But if you're shooting at maximum resolution, you can really only take 11 pictures. You'll need at least a 64mb card to get 24 pictures at maximum resolution. The quality of the pictures and performance of the camera are very high. I can't believe the amount of information that is captured at 5 megapixels. The pictures are remarkably clear and vibrant. The camera performs well in all conditions. The low light assist lamp works well. The only thing they could have included was an 'action' shot mode that trims down the shutter speed to capture fast moving objects or people. The software you get with this camera is very good. Easy to download pictures, great organization, and all the little features like stitch assist are great. Overall an excellent camera. If you're looking for a top of the line point and shoot, you'd find it hard to find a better camera than the Canon Powershot S500.
Rating:
Summary: Unable to focus, questionable picture quality
Review: I bought an S500 to carry as a simple point and shoot camera. I returned it soon after buying it, as I found it unable to focus in many situations. I was outdoors on a bright, sunny day and found the camera could only achieve focus around 50% of the time. Indoors, even with good lighting, the camera was able to focus only about 33% of the time, causing me to miss many photos, including one of my daughter winning an award. I was also disappointed with the picture quality when focus could be achieved. I took a picture of some purple flowers and when viewing the picture on my desktop, it appeared as if the flowers had been pasted in using a low-quality process. Granted, I'm comparing the picture quality to that of a Nikon D100, but I would have expected the quality to be at least close. There is no way I could recommend the camera. Yes, the small size is appealing, and I found the video to be quite good. However, its inability to focus simply made it unusable. I don't know if I got a lemon or if others simply tolerate this poor excuse for autofocus.
Rating:
Summary: Great Camera....whats that spot on the LCD - II
Review: I exchanged my camera from Best-buy after finding the spot on the LCD the very next day. Since then I have had the opportunity to take some pictures and I must say I am very happy results. My wife took the camera for our daughters easter parade and the pictures are excellent. Crisp clear picture of little kids doing their thing as they marched (or ambled is more like it) to the chapel. Some people have said that Canon does not deliver true skin tones - for me that myth has be shot to bits! My daughters class is ethnically and racially diverse and skin tones were delivered flawlessly. Flash is quite effective. I could not find any obvious flaws with it. In fact I like to use the camera without flash to capture indoor shots and I was blown away by the results. Of course, I was capturing inanimate objects. I like the manual setting options. The camera allows you to set defaults for each mode (except auto) i.e. exposure, ISO etc. Thats useful if you want more control over your shots. It allows you to shoot in B&W also, which is great(and I
don't thing the P10 has this - I may be wrong.) I also bought a 256mb flash Card - and I can get 99 pictures at 5mp. Decreasing the size to 1600x1200 at Fine (instead of superfine) gives you approximately 420 images. The flash card (SanDisk 256mb) cost only about $45 (it was on sale at best buy and I got 10% off of 4 Digital Camera accessories.) What an awesome buy! P.S: I tried to update my original review but my updates are not reflecting. I
Rating:
Summary: My first digital camera!
Review: I have been resisting the digital camera thing for a few years now. I tend to lean more towards the Polaroid way of taking pictures - just point and shoot and you have your picture right there. Well, "guess what" my friends say, that is exactly what a digital camera does! So after much research, I decided on this cute little Canon PowerShot. It hurt my pocketbook a touch, but so far I think it is highly worth the price I paid. The PowerShot is incredibly easy to use. It is literally just point and shoot, but with amazing zoom capabilities, red eye reduction, and I can even shoot short video clips with sound. This camera is so much fun! I find myself taking pictures all the time as this little guy fits so easily into my bag. When I think about it, I am not sure why I resisted going digital. With a camera as good as this, there is just no reason not to. I love my PowerShot and would highly recommend it to anyone looking to buy a new camera.
Rating:
Summary: INCREDIBLE !!
Review: I just purchased the S500 as a second camera and addition to a Canon G1 that I have used for three years. The S500 is simple to operate, has extremely easy to use set up tables on the lcd, very solidly built, attractive, small and takes INCREDIBLE photos. I think I will retire the G1. I tested the camera out of the box for resolution, dead pixels, etc. It was flawless and the first photos blew everyone's socks off. A photo of a child from across the room was zoomed in to show individual freckles and eyelashes. The leaf veins on a nearby plant became clearly visible when zooming in the finished photo. Multiple indoor, outdoor, close and distant photos revealed the same resolution, clarity and detail. Note that on superfine, the camera does use nearly 2Mb memory per photo, but with a 256Mb CF I still get over 100 pictures between changing cards. I tried a Minolta and sent it back. I've used Nikons and Olympus digitals at our office. None offered the ease, clarity, size and feel of the Canon S500. I am VERY pleased.
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