The new Canon PowerShot S500 (IXUS
500) uses the body of last year's PowerShot
S400 but with a 5 megapixel CCD and with an added button
to allow direct printing.
Three controls sit atop the top
right of the camera: the shutter release; the zoom control which
rings the shutter release and is sprung to return to the centre
position; and the Power switch, which has a small green LED next
to it.
As with many other cameras, the zoom control doubles as a means to enlarge images
in playback with the telephoto side (up to 10X), or display 9 thumbnails per
screen when pushed to the wide angle side.
Recording or Playback mode
is selected with a switch that sits astride the back edge of
the camera. In the Recording mode, the particular recording mode
is selected with the Mode Dial, which is immediately to
the left of the optical viewfinder:
Auto Mode: leaves the
S500 in charge and allows few controls over how the image
is captured aside from the image size and compression.
Manual Mode: offers
the most flexibility, allowing the user to select CCD sensitivity,
white balance, and access to the Long Shutter mode amongst
other things.
Stitch Assist Mode: is
intended to capture a series of images with similar exposures
so they can be assembled into a single panoramic image
later with software supplied with the S500.
Movie Mode: can be used
to record video clips with sound. Three frame sizes are
available: 640 x 480 pixels at 10 frames per second; 320
x 240 pixels at 15 frames per second; and 160 x 120 pixels
at 15 frames per second. 640 x 480 clips are limited to
a maximum of 30 seconds while the other 2 formats can capture
video for up to 3 minutes. Auto exposure, auto focus, white
balance and zoom position are fixed at the first frame
and remain locked until the recording stops.
In Playback video clips can be edited by cutting and resaving the
cut version.
The other external controls of the PowerShot S500 are arranged to the right
and directly below the 1.5 inch, 118,000 pixel, LCD monitor. Starting
on the right of the monitor, four buttons arranged in a circle act as navigational
controls for the camera's menus and to review images in playback. In addition,
each of the buttons has a function in the Recording modes:
Moreover, once the auto exposure has been set by pressing the shutter
release to mid-point, pressing the Metering button locks the exposure
(AE-L), allowing the shot to be reframed if necessary. Similarly,
when the flash is forced on the button can be used to lock the flash
exposure (FE-L).
The Right arrow controls the Flash
Modes: Auto, Red-eye Reduction, Fill-in, Forced Off, or Slow
Synch.
The Down arrow
selects the Continuous Shooting modes: Standard
Continuous Shooting leaves the monitor on and captures
images at 1.5 fps (Large/Fine); High Speed Continuous
Shootingcaptures photos at 2.2 fps (Large/Fine)
but turns off the LCD monitor; or the Self-Timer (10
or 2 seconds as selected in the menu).
First, the Left arrow provides
the Macro mode, which lets the camera focus on a
subject between 5 and 46 cm (2 inch to 1.5 feet) when the
lens is at the wide angle position, and 30 to 46 cm (1
to 1.5 ft) when the lens is at the maximum telephoto setting.
And second, Infinity Mode (Landscape), which biases
the focus to infinity to ensure a sharp image of distant
scenery. Moreover, in the Recording mode, the button can
be used to lock the auto focus (AF-L).
The S500 sports a new button with a small LED at its centre called the Print/Share
button:
it serves to print images directly from
the S500 when the camera is connected via USB to a printer that is
DPOF, Direct Print, PictBridge or Bubble Jet Direct compatible. In
addition, the button can be used to automatically upload images
to a Windows computer running Canon's digital camera software.
The remaining four external controls of the S500 are aligned below the
monitor:
is used to confirm some selections
in the menu, or access specific functions such card formatting
or Long Shutter mode.
calls up the three section
menu of the S500. The first section of the menu is related
to the mode in use (Recording or Playback), while the remaining
two sections are common, consisting of Setup and My Camera,
a series of options that makes it possible for a user to
personalize the camera.
controls the way information
is presented on the LCD monitor. In the recording mode
two types of display are available, one with limited information
about the camera settings, the other with more. In Playback,
the button can be used to display a limited amount of information
about the image, or more, including a histogram.
calls up the Function menu
which provides a simple access to settings that are the
most often changed. (See the Characteristics section
of the review for more details on the Function menu).
And in Playback, the button can be used to delete
images.
Ergonomically, the PowerShot S500
is nearly identical to the previous digital Elph (IXUS) cameras
and continues the easy workability of these models. With the
same clean and sturdy design, the S500 is more of an extension
of the line, but this time offering a 5 megapixel resolution
combined with a 3X zoom.
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Introduction
images
in playback with the telephoto side (up to 10X), or display 9 thumbnails 
per
screen when pushed to the wide angle side.
or Playback 
mode
is selected with a switch that sits astride the back edge of
the camera. In the Recording mode, the particular recording mode
is selected with the Mode Dial, which is immediately to
the left of the optical viewfinder:
