Canon's 30x zoom PowerShot SX500 IS: First Look

Hi there. I'm Josh Goldman, Senior Editor with CNET. And for those of you who really value small cameras with long zoom lenses, you'd wanna consider the Canon PowerShot SX500 IS. It's certainly not pocketable but considering its 30x zoom lens, it's one of the smallest and lightest options available with that much range. It's also well-priced for a camera with that feature. It does come with some sacrifice though since Canon used a slow CCD sensor and older image processor instead of the high sensitivity CMOS sensors and newer processors found in its higher-end models. This means in shooting performance and low light photo quality isn't as good as those models and you missed out on some features like 1080p movie capture. You do get 720p video though as well as a lot of other shooting options for those who like to leave it in auto or those who like more control. There's no electronic view finder but the 3-inch LCD is good and the grip has this nice notch in front so you can hold on to it and to help you with your framing when you're using the zoom. There's this button on the side of the lens that shoots the lens back so you can find your subject and then zooms back in. All and all, not a bad package if you're doing your shooting outdoors and your subjects aren't moving too fast. I'm Josh Goldman and that's the Canon PowerShot SX500 IS.