yakkowarner's Full Review: Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-S500 Digital Camera
Some Basics
3x optical zoom
6.0 Mega pixels
2.4 inch LCD monitor
F-stop: 5.4 – 16.2
ISO speed: 80, 100, 200, 400
Media format.
It accepts the Memory stick duo. That is the small Sony stick that is half as long and a tad bit small on the width than the original Sony memory stick. It will not accept the longer memory stick, or any other format.
It also claimed to have 24MB of internal memory that held 6 pictures before becoming full.
Zoom capabilities.
It is a 3x optical zoom and a 6x (total) digital zoom. I never recommend digital zoom and therefore never use it.
Image capacity
Image capacity depends on your memory stick. My first run of images was an average of 2.600MB (about 90 images taken and the images were taken at 6 megapixels). High of 3.060MB and a low of 2.369MB. So expect around 380 photos with a 1 gig stick.
Still image format.
JPG, 6MP
You can also set it to 3:2, 3MP, 2MP, and VGA (e-mail). But with most people having broadband and space I do not see myself using anything other that 6MP.
Movie format
.avi
A 5 second movie was 1.45 MB.
A second movie was 2:33 minutes and was 46.8 MB
It too about 1.3 minutes to download a 47meg file from the camera to my hard drive using the port on the camera. It took about 4 seconds to download the same file using my Sony MagicGate. It should be pretty obvious that I am not going to hook this camera up for downloads.
The auto focus
It is on par with the cheaper digital camera market. It is not fast enough for sports but fine for family photos and still shots. If you want to take action shots then this is not the camera for you.
Shooting speed
You’re looking at 1 shot per second in ideal conditions (at 6MP). In darker situations it will be a little longer. I have not had much luck with taking continuous shots like I can with my Nikon F100.
There is a burst setting you can use on the program setting. It depends on the lighting and other factors, you can expect to get one frame a second (or less). I changed the MP size as well as lighting but the burst setting just did not work well at all. Consider it a worthless feature, there are much better digital cameras (and film cameras) out there that do it a million times better.
LCD screen
This is a huge screen, almost the same dimensions as the back of the camera. The LCD screen is crisp and colorful. While not as good as a CRT, it does its job remarkably well.
One cool feature with the image review feature is you can zoom on the image saved on the camera memory stick.
Another cool feature when reviewing your photos on the camera, it shows you the date, time, f-stop, ISO, and flash setting.
Light source
There is a flash on the front of the camera. It is a simple flash and works. No problems with it thus far. There are no attachments or ports for an external light source.
Picture taking modes
There are several PHD modes available. The can all be easily accessed by the round knob on the top of the camera. They are…
Camera symbol
This will probably be the most commonly used setting. It is the automatic setting that does everything for you but unlike the mode listed below it is not designed for one type of environment.
P, program
This is the mode you have the most control with. You can (through a menu) adjust EV, Metering mode, white balance, ISO, P. Quality, Burst mode, P. Effects (B&W, Sepia), Saturation, and sharpness.
TwilightCaptures the dark surroundings in distant night shots Twilight portraitFor portraits in dark places CandleCaptures the atmosphere of candlelit scenes BeachCaptures the blue color of water in beach scenes, etc. LandscapeFor landscapes, etc., with a distant subject. Soft snapFor soft portraits of people, flowers, etc. Video mode
It operates as a video camera at 320x 240.
Play or Review picture mode
Review your photos.
Transferring photos
You have several options. The one I use is the Memorystick accessory, the Sony Magic Gate. You can also connect the camera directly to your computer via a USB port.
Output ports
Audio/video output ports (to composite inputs) and the USB connection port.
My take on the ergonomics
Nothing special here. While there is nothing negative about the design it doesn’t form to the hand as well as it could of. I give it a 3/5.
My take on the photo results.
The picture results I think are great. While not as good as 25 speed slide film, it is as good as some of the grainer speeds of film and definitely better than the disposable cameras I have used. The colors are more vivid than my old Sony digital and the resolution is of course better.
The major problem with this camera is the lens quality. Because it is so small you can’t get a big lens in there like you can in an SLR. That will always affect the final product which is why a professional would never use this camera. But it is ideal for spur of the moment family/vacation photos.
I highly recommend a monopod or tripod if you use the zoom capability or shoot in dark settings.
My take on the LCD screen.
Talk about big, the LCD screen is almost as big as the camera is tall. Not only that but the screen is pretty nice. It is easily read in day light as long as it is on the brightest setting. At lower LCD screen brightness levels you will have trouble seeing it in bright daylight, but it will prolong your battery life.
It does not have a viewfinder. Some people may find this to be a problem but I haven’t missed it at all.
Auto off
It turns off 3 minutes & 2 seconds after hitting the on button.
Durability
So far no issue to mention, even minor ones.
Battery life
The manual states that you will get approximately 30 minutes or 60 images when using alkaline batteries. It also states that you will get approximately 350 images from Nickel-metal hydride batteries. From my first two sets of batteries (both alkaline) this estimate would be pretty close. I got 24 pitures on the first set of “demo” batteries provided by Sony. If I didn’t play with the camera on the plane as much as I did I think I would have gotten more, but not by much. The second set of batteries (Kodak Max) lasted the afternoon. The kodak gave me 60 more pictures before switching to my Ni-MH 2100 Panasonic rechargables. Now I have currently taken about 5 minutes of video and taken 190 photos and the batteries are still going strong.
Note: for these runs I tried to act as normal as possible. I had the LCD screen at normal (not bright) and let the flash work if it needed to. (I estimate it at 50% of the time.)
Reasons I do not recommend getting this camera
It does not have image stabilization.
Small optical lens.
You hate Sony.
Not a slime model (when comparing it to the latest in small digital cameras on the market today.)
You want to have control over the apeture and/or focus manually (there is a program mode but it does not give you the control a SLR has).
Will I use this to replace my tape camcorder.
No. While I like the ability to take movies on this camera (up to 50 minutes on a 1 gig memory stick) I find that the lens is not as good as my 10 year old camcorder. But the quality is the same (320x240)
Weight and dimensions
Weight: 7 oz
Length: 1 3/16 inch
Width: 3 3/8 inches
Height: 2.5 inches
6.0-megapixel CCD captures enough detail for photo-quality 14 x 19-inch prints 3x optical zoom; 2.4-inch LCD display QVGA Movie Mode captures 320 x 24...More at Amazon Marketplace
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