Review along with Tips for your new GE x500
REVIEW: My last two digital cameras have been point & shoot Kodak's and it took so long for the camera to reset in between pictures I was missing shot after shot. Plus, the Kodak's didn't have any kind of picture stabilization so half the pictures came out blurry. With that said, I was in the market for a different brand of camera.
I was considering the Nikon L120 but really didn't want to shell out that kind of money so I kept putting the purchase off. Then I came across this GE x500 with its list of equally good features, great reviews and incredible price. I didn't even know GE made cameras so I have to say I was a bit leery about how good it would be compared to SLR style cameras with name recognition but I went for it and it has ended up being the perfect camera for my picture taking needs (vacations, special occasions, holidays, parties, pets, occasional on line classified ad or auction).
TIPS: I haven't had the camera that long and with all the features, figuring it out can be a little intimidating but I've played around with it enough to discover the setting I found easiest for starting out and I wanted to pass it on. When you turn the camera on for the first time it will lead you through the language and date set. (Super easy to do.) Once that's set up if you turn the wheel on the top of the camera to SCN, 20 little icons will show up along the bottom of the LCD screen. As you scroll through the icons it gives you a description of what each one is for. Some of the icon modes include: Sport (for fast moving objects), Beach (for strong sunlight), Fireworks (bright images against night sky), Glass (for shooting images behind glass), Sunset, Snow, Indoor, Portraits, Landscape, plus several more including a few special affect modes. When you choose the icon/mode for your situation the camera automatically sets itself to take the best picture in that circumstance. Last night I took pictures in the house with the flash on and using the Indoor mode and I couldn't believe how crystal clear they came out. I was also able to take one picture right after the other (unlike my Kodak)! I'm very pleased and can't wait to discover what else can be done with this camera.
WHAT YOU'LL NEED: You should also know you will need an SDHC Card since the camera only has internal room for 3 images. I bought the Transcend 8GB, Class 10 for $13.00 here on Amazon and it works perfectly even without formatting. The Class 6 would probably work as well if you want to save a few bucks although they are currently the same price...go figure. (The Class determines the speed in between shots, the higher the class the faster.) I also recommend the SMALL Zeikos Camera Bag available on Amazon for $5.00. (The Medium would be too big.) It's padded and the perfect size for this camera plus a few essentials like extra batteries, cleaning cloth, cables, etc. I actually put my Flip Video Camera in the bag too.) Next, I recommend the Duracell Value Charger if you don't already have one. It comes with 4 pre charged Nimh batteries for around $13 on Amazon. You'll have all the accessories you need after these purchases. On a side note, I went ahead and paid the $10 extra to get this camera in white and it was worth it. Love the look over basic black.
CONS: I was super disappointed that it came with a CD instead of a paper Users Manual but I printed out the pages I thought I'd refer to most (but that doesn't help if I need instructions on another feature and I don't have a computer and the CD on me @ a Disney World park). It creates a .thm file (thumbnail) for every picture you download to your computer. The only purpose for this file is for viewing your pictures while IN YOUR CAMERA. It is not needed once you transfer pics to your computer so it can be deleted once transferred but it's a bit of a pain. Lens Cap is cheap and doesn't stay on that well so I leave it off except while the the camera's in the bag. I think it should have come with a screen/lens cleaning cloth (no biggie, just sayin).
SUMMARY: Well, that's it. If you're in the market for an SLR style camera I really don't think you can go wrong with this one if you're an amateur photographer who wants to take better than average pictures (and as long as keep in mind that although it does have some point and shoot features it is an SLR which means you'll have some figuring out to do to take full advantage of those professional photography shots).
UPDATE: Even though the Duracell battery's charge is *impressively long* while in the camera, you might want to consider purchasing an extra set of (4) Nimh batteries so you always have a set of freshly charged batteries in the charger. That way you can just switch them out without having to wait 6 hours to recharge each time. Lastly, I found another handy feature using the camera wheel on top of the camera. If you set it on ASCN the picture taking conditions are detected and the most suitable settings will automatically be selected without any manual adjustments. This feature is similar to the other one I mentioned (SCN) but with this one the camera automatically selects for you. It's also similar to the "auto" setting (the camera symbol on the wheel) but it makes more adjustments for you than just one preset "auto" mode. (For instance, when on the ASCN setting it knows when you're taking a close up and adjusts itself accordingly.) I know the look of the camera probably isn't a very big determining factor when purchasing but I have yet to pull this camera out without someone saying, wow, nice camera