Canon PowerShot Digital Elph review: Canon PowerShot Digital Elph

Editor's note: Subsequent to our original review, we tested a second unit of the SD500 which delivered much better photo quality. We don't know what was wrong with the first unit, but we are convinced those results were atypical.

We really enjoyed shooting with the Canon PowerShot SD500. It has an exterior design that combines form and function more elegantly than any point-and-shoot we've ever tested. A Digic II-powered image-processing system enables the SD500 to snap a limitless stream of 7-megapixel photos at a respectable clip, its start-up time is tops in its class, and it delivers decent photos when compared to its competition.

Editor's note: We have changed the rating in this review to reflect recent changes in our rating scale. Click here to find out more.

Shooting speed in seconds
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)

Canon PowerShot SD500

1.5

0.6

1.4

Sony Cyber Shot DSC-P150

1.9

0.6

3.0

Canon PowerShot S70

2.0

0.8

3.1

Olympus C-7000

2.3

0.5

2.2

Continuous-shooting speed
(Longer bars indicate better performance)

Canon PowerShot SD500

1.7

Olympus C-7000

1.5

Sony Cyber Shot DSC-P150

1.4

Canon PowerShot S70

1.0

Battery life
(Longer bars indicate better performance)

Canon PowerShot SD500 (600mAh LiIon)

1,300

Sony Cyber Shot DSC-P150 (4.4Wh LiIon)

958

Olympus C-7000 (1,230mAh LiIon)

820

Canon PowerShot S70 (720mAh LiIon)

262

For an ultracompact camera, the SD500 produced some very sharp shots (top), as you can tell from the detail above (bottom).