On the outside the Canon PowerShot Elph 520 HS ($299.99 direct) is a gorgeous super-slim?camera?our review unit may be the bluest piece of consumer electronics that I've ever laid eyes on. Unfortunately, it incorporates some serious compromises to achieve its svelte form factor. The 10-megapixel camera doesn't do well in anything but bright light, and it uses an easily misplaced microSD memory card to record photos. It is a very responsive camera, but its shortcomings prevent it from ousting the 18x Nikon Coolpix S9100 ($329.95, 4 stars) as our Editors' Choice pocket superzoom.
Design and Features
The camera takes its design cues from the Elph models of nearly a decade ago. All of its corners are squared off, a departure from the rounded form factor of more recent models like the Elph 510 HS ($349.99, 3.5 stars). ?Despite packing a 12x (28-336mm equivalent) lens, the camera measures just 2.1 by 3.4 by 0.8 inches (HWD) and weighs about 5.5 ounces. The 7.3-ounce 510 HS is larger all around?2.3 by 3.9 by 0.9 inches. In addition to vibrant blue, the 520 HS is available in red, black, or silver finishes.
The camera's physical controls are minimal, but adequate. A toggle on the top switches between full Auto mode and Program mode. The rear features a dedicated Movie Record button, as well as controls to adjust EV Compensation, adjust the Flash settings, and engage Macro mode. ?The rear LCD is 3 inches in size and features a 461k dot resolution. It's very bright and sharp, although not as clear as higher resolution displays like the 921k-dot LCD found on the Sony Cyber-shot HX7V ($299.99, 3.5 stars).
Photographers who want to exercise some manual control over the 520 HS will be happy to know that its menu system is both intuitive and responsive. Hitting the Function button during shooting brings up an overlay menu that occupies the left side of the rear display. From here you can adjust the Shooting Mode, ISO, Drive Mode, White Balance, Metering area, and other common settings.
Performance and Conclusions
The Elph 520 HS, which is powered by Canon's Digic 5 image processor, performed admirably?but not exceptionally?in our speed tests. It can start up and grab a shot in about 2.8 seconds and records a 0.2 second shutter lag. It does shoot at better than 2 frames per second in continuous drive mode?requiring you to wait only 0.4 second between shots. The Samsung WB750 ($279.99, 3.5 stars) is the fastest compact superzoom that we've tested?it can start and shoot in 1.9 seconds, records a 0.2 second shutter lag, and can grab an 8-shot burst of photos at 10 frames per second.
I used Imatest to measure the sharpness of the 520 HS's lens. The results were good, but not exceptional. A camera must be able to capture 1,800 lines per picture height in order to record sharp photos, but this Elph fell a little bit short, only hitting the 1,734 line mark. The Fujifilm Finepix F600EXR ($349.95, 3 stars), a camera with a larger image sensor and a 15x lens, did better here, recording 1,981 lines.
Where the camera falls short?and we're talking way short here?is in image noise. When a photo is composed of more than 1.5 percent noise, it appears very grainy. The Elph 520 HS is only able to keep noise under control through ISO 200?which pretty much restricts the usability of the camera to broad daylight. What's worse is that, even when using the flash indoors, the ISO tends to be in the 400 to 800 range?at which the camera is grabbing photos that are about 1.7 percent noise. In normal conditions, 1.7 percent isn't terrible?but close examination of the photos at ISO 400 and above shows a very aggressive noise reduction system that saps detail, leaving you with images that have waxy textures and an excessive amount of grain.
This would be shocking in a standard 10-megapixel point-and-shoot camera with a standard 1/2.3-inch sensor, but that isn't the case with the 520 HS. Inside the camera is a 16.8-megapixel 1/2.3-inch sensor, but the zoom lens is not able to cover the entire sensor with light. The camera crops photos as it takes them, so it really only uses the center part of the sensor. This effectively gives you a 1/3-inch sensor, which is small even for a digital point-and-shoot. The camera's poor performance at higher ISO settings and its slight lack of sharpness can be explained by this design choice. Technical analysis aside, the simple fact is that if you want a long zoom camera that does better in low light, consider the Coolpix S9100 or the Sony HX7V?both cameras can deliver clean images through ISO 3200, and the Sony offers the added benefit of an integrated GPS.
In the terms of video performance the Elph is ok. It records 1080p24 or 720p30 footage in QuickTime format. The camera can zoom and focus while recording, but the sound of its lens moving in and out is audible on the soundtrack. If you're shooting faster motion you'll want to set the camera for 720p30 mode, but the 1080p24 option is desirable for those times when you want to give your footage more of a cinematic look. Despite its small size, Canon did manage to squeeze a mini HDMI port and a standard USB 2.0 port onto the side of the camera, so connecting it to your HDTV or PC is pretty simple. You may find yourself using the USB cable to download photos rather than your computer's SD card reader, as the Elph 520 HS uses a tiny microSDXC memory card to record photos. These cards are really small, so you'll probably want to get one with a big storage capacity?changing the memory card when you're out and about taking photos seems like an almost sure-fire way to lose it.
The Elph 520 HS excels as a fashion accessory, but falls short on performance. If image quality at ISO 200 and above is important, look elsewhere for your next camera. Our Editors' Choice Nikon Coolpix S9100 is a bit larger, but packs a much longer zoom lens. If the size of the 520 HS is compelling, consider a novel alternative?the 12-megapixel PowerShot Elph 310 HS ($259.99, 4 stars) is a great little camera that earned our Editor's Choice award for mid-range compacts. Its lens doesn't have quite the telephoto reach as the 520 HS?it covers a 28-224mm field of view?but it is sharper, allowing you to crop photos to magnify distant objects as needed, the same way that the Elph 520 HS does in-camera.
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