PowerShot SX500 IS 16.0 MP Digital Camera with 30x Wide-Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 3.0-Inch LCD (Black) (OLD MODEL)

I am not sure what the mixed reviews are but this is a great fully functional camera. I am not a photographer, but I do love to take pictures. I started out with my iPhone and a Sony point and shoot. I realised I love taking pictures. So I did a lot of research this camera stood out. There is mixed reviews, but I continued to look at best buy, Walmart and amazon. The majority was anywhere from 4-5 stars all across the board. I even watched YouTube. So I decided for the price and just starting out I would give it a shot. Amazon sent it out and I began to use it. I have to say I love it, pictures are clear, movies are amazing. I began to take pictures at the lake, nature and my dog. Came out great. I know most are saying that the camera is not good for action shots and Lowe light, if you play around with the settings it's much better. It's not a fast camera but again you can play around with that setting as well. What I found to help me is that I ordered books like canon power shot digital photography and digital photography for beginners. They have helped with the understanding of this camera. This camera is small and compact, and it does a little of everything . It's great for me for just starting out and not mention I have has three back surgeries and unable to lug all that equipment around. Overall this is great camera small easy to use, great pictures and a lot of fun. Like I said I am no photographer by doing a little research you can have a wonder camera. One more thing order the tri pod and extra battery it helps for the 30 x zoom it is amazing. So if you are someone looking for great camera that takes great pictures and enough settings to feel as though you are a pro, this is worth every penny.

I love this camera! I recently returned an Olympus DSLR camera because it was difficult to operate and the printed images were not that good. After some research I realized that what I really wanted was a point and shoot camera that was on the small side and easy to operate. Voila, this is it! I use the Auto setting right now but will try the manual settings too, although the Auto does exactly what I want it to. The camera is small but easy to handle and lightweight. Taking videos is also easy and the results are nice. The videos are clear with very natural coloring which is what I like my videos to look like. Images are also very natural looking. For someone who's not a professional photographer I see no reason to buy a DSLR when you can get a point and shoot that does such a good job. The 30 zoom and 16mp are more than enough for the casual photographer. The battery lasted through about 200 pictures and 3 short videos before I had to recharge it. I just purchased an extra battery to carry with me so I don't lose any important pictures due to the battery running out. The camera did come with a lens cover that stays attached to the camera with a wire to prevent loss. I was pleasantly surprised to see this because it didn't say a lens cover was included with this camera. I would highly recommend this camera to anyone looking for great quality pictures and videos with ease of use.

I don't understand the other reviews, really? Are you people serious?! I LOVE this camera, when I first saw it was "to be released" I started getting exited, I need this camera, the zoom was (is) perfect, the price, eh, not outta sight. Finally the day came, It was available to order, I ordered, waiting, patiently for it to arrive in time for our Disneyland vacation. It arrived. I was sceptical, bigger that I was used to, smaller than I expected, would it live up to my 200? ... Then the I took some test shots, garden pics, they looked beautiful!! So we were off to vacation, I took many, many pictures, day, night, motions, stills, portrait, landscapes, flowers, characters, all looked good but only able to see them on the camera. When I got home, I plugged the camera into my 55" HD tv via the hdmi cable, started the slide show..... The moment of truth! Did I get my monies worth? Risking a $4000.00 vacation photo shoot of hundreds of pictures of my kids, the park, capturing the actual "essence" of our grand vacation on a $329.00 camera? I DID!!! Breath-taking 16 mega pixel pictures adorned my 16:9 Full HD 1080p resolution panel (1920 x 1080) TV screen, flawless, gorgeous, vivid colors, absolutely stunning!! I was thrilled, all the photos in 16:9 format. I couldn't get enough!! I was the most excited of all the family members, "look, you can see so much detail..." I was beaming!! Plus the HD video, It's OUTSTANDING!!! Great camera, for the casual or everyday shutterbug! I love it!!! Oh, and don't believe me? 4/5 stars at one site, 4/5 stars at another, and 8/10 at still another.

Let me start off by saying, I'm not a photographer and I know this is not a professional grade camera. I purchased this camera so I could take nice pictures of my kiddos as they grow throughout the years, but my iPhone seems to take about the same quality of photos. However, when I purchased this camera, I didn't have an iPhone so it was a good investment at the time. This is a pretty lightweight, not so bulky camera that takes decent images for day to day capture. It has a nice zoom range, without compromising image quality too much. There's also a slot for a memory card and another for the rechargeable battery. For the price, it's a good camera and it's basic features makes it an easy one to use for most anyone.

This was a gift for my kid. We had to go with used because momma can’t afford a brand new one. The kid loves it! Takes great pictures and we have an adapter to put them on her phone for easy sharing. The battery is holding up and love that it came with the memory card. Still figuring out the settings but that’s part of the fun.

I got the SX500 IS as an upgrade from my 8 year old Lumix, not wanting to go full DSLR, but maybe something in between. Portable, inexpensive, yet with a high optical zoom and good image stability. There are undoubtedly other models with better features that take higher quality pictures, including Canon's own SX50, but none for under $200 that I could find. Checking on reviews at various sites also led me to believe the SX500 IS was at least comparable, and usually better than the other 30x "ultra" zoom cameras. After playing around with it a few days, mostly on the Auto setting, I'm very happy with the optical zoom and the image stability you get at 30x, better than I got with the Lumix at 10x. Macro shots at an inch or less look great, at least in good light. Low light shots get very grainy as the ISO kicks up to 800 very quickly so I'll be playing with the manual settings more there. Tons of those settings that I'll have to really study--as another review pointed out, this isn't a beginner's camera, but then I didn't want one and am willing to dive into the details a bit. Possible cons: movies are "only" at 720, but look plenty good (for 1080, maybe consider the SX50?). The aperture speed was rated low for this camera at just under 1 sec. Haven't taken any high speed shots yet, say a bird in flight, so I can't comment on it yet. The battery life is also supposedly short, but I always get a spare (2 for $15). My maybe biggest gripe is the awkward shape, which is to say the lens is very long, so the camera is very boxy. I don't want to get yet another dedicated camera bag, and it doesn't fit into any of my laptop backpacks or satchels very well. It's not a big camera, it's just not very flat in any 2 dimensions, so just... awkward. All in all, this was a fantastic value, and hopefully a gateway into better photography. I'll update this review after delving more into the finer points of the camera. Update (9/3/2013): I see the price has gone up past $250, and the "super zooms" have gone to 50X. Having done some sports stadium shooting from the back fence to full zoom on the field, I can capture closeups of plays, even fastballs leaving the pitcher's hand from 200-300ft away, so I'm more than happy with 30X, and the stability is very impressive, at least in full daylight (perfect conditions). Still need to test at, say, nighttime concerts, but I still think this is an excellent value, even in the $250 range, and a steal for under $200.

I really like to take pictures of birds and wildlife, and I was quite disappointed to find out that this camera has no "continuous shooting" or "rapid shooting" mode. Well, it does, but it's not fast. You can take a picture approximately every 2 seconds. I have a 4 year old Powershot SX10 and it can take up to 6 frames per second, and even my husband's sub-$100 Canon Elph can take around 4 frames per second! Waiting so long between photos is unacceptable if you're trying to take pictures of wild birds! I'm lucky to get ONE picture of a bird with the SX500 before it bounces around or flies away, instead of 10 or 11 with my SX10. I have missed out on a lot of shots, which is unfortunate because the 30x zoom really is great! If you like to take rapid-fire pictures of anything (wildlife, kids, pets, sports) then this is NOT the camera for you! My other gripe is with the focus when the zoom is fully extended. I'm impressed at how steady the camera is (the image stabilization really works!) but it seems like the camera has trouble locking focus at full telephoto. I have missed out on nice shots because of this issue as well. Overall picture quality is great. It's a Canon, they're all high-quality. The camera is small, lightweight, and portable. It's fun to use and I really, really wish it didn't have that unfortunate lag. I'm going to buy the SX50 instead. A little larger, a little pricier, but it's worth it if I don't have to miss out on any more great bird photos. Bottom line - don't get this camera if you need to take quick continuous photos. Most people probably don't care a whole lot about this feature but if you do it is critical.

I recently took this camera, along with my PowerShot Elph 110, on a Caribbean cruise. Because I have the waterproof case for the 110, I used it whenever I was shooting in wet areas and also for underwater shots. I used the SX500 in dry locations. In some instances, I was able to take comparable shots with both cameras and the difference was really striking. Let me preface this by saying that I'm NOT a photographer. I'm just someone who likes to take a lot of pictures. I like them to come out well, but I know virtually nothing about photography beyond what I've learned through trial and error. I found the low-light shots taken with the SX500 to be FAR superior than those taken with the Elph. Yes, it's difficult to capture a moving subject in low light. This isn't and expensive, professional camera. I'm very pleased with the results considering the price I paid. The biggest selling feature was the zoom lens. I was absolutely AMAZED how clear shots taken from VERY far away came out. I took this camera to Opening Day, to see the Red Sox players get their World Series rings. We didn't have the best of seats, so I had to really max out the zoom lens. I was certain the photos would be blurry. It's difficult to hold a camera really still, extremely zoomed in, while standing in a crowd. The photos were OUTSTANDING. I mean really...outstanding! I'm extremely pleased with this purchase. The camera is small and easy to carry with the strap around my neck. When I want something I can slip in my pocket, I opt for the Elph. I would classify this as a bridge camera. It's NOT as easy to carry around as a pocket-sized digital, but it's also not as cumbersome to carry around as a more professional model. It's EASY to use...even for novices like me! And it takes great photos. I'm sure as I have more trial-and-error lessons under my belt, my shots will be even better.