Review on Black GE Power Pro X500-BK Digital Camera - 16 MP with 15x Optical Zoom (OLD MODEL) by Kevin King

I am blown away by all the features this camera has to offer. For $155 I got the camera, an 8GB SDHC card (recommended brand is SanDisk) and a small waterproof/shockproof case from Zeikos. This is the perfect size for travel. Reasons why I chose this camera: I'm going to do an internship abroad for a few months and I need a compact camera with a strong optical zoom and megapixels. I have read reviews and countless buying guides. I originally bought a Vivtar T328 but as soon as I received it the touchscreen stopped working so I returned it. I came across this GE X500 model quite by accident. It's built around a Fuji S-series camera (it really looks and feels like a Fuji) and costs a lot less. Don't let the GE/General Imaging brand fool you. The founders of General Imagining left Minolta (now Sony) and Fuji. This suggests that they are serious about this price. Pro Features: I like being able to take photos in automatic mode when I don't have time to plan a photo session. But when I have a day to photograph large planes landing at San Francisco International Airport, I like being able to set manual modes. With this camera I can set aperture and shutter priority and manual white balance. I also like the ability to set ISO settings. I also like the 27mm wide-angle zoom with 15x optical zoom. Just the 5x digital zoom speaks volumes about how professional this camera is. The more optical zoom you can get, the better. I tried taking photos and I can tell you they turned out to be just as professional as the expensive Canons. I also like the different scene modes, portrait, panorama, optical image stabilization, as well as the electronic viewfinder and the auto-brightness LCD screen. . I like that you can see the menu functions in the electronic viewfinder. ArcSoft looks like good software and I will test it. I recommend you give it a try before moving on to the more advanced Adobe Photoshop. Be creative. I also like that I can record movies without needing an HD recorder as I have a camcorder and it's a good way to record short movies from photos I've taken. It does not replace your separate camcorder. For avid videographers, it is better to use a film camera. Often people want high quality video from a versatile camera. As long as I can use the optical zoom to record video, that's enough. I also like that the camera comes with a decent strap/lens cap. I strongly recommend you to buy a Class 4+ 8GB SDHC San Disk memory card, a small Zeikos carrying case and 4 rechargeable AA batteries with charger. spend more than 50€ for a new one. Setup: Setup was easy. First I turned on the camera and set the date and time. A world clock function with Home and Travel setup was another great feature I wanted. After setting the date, don't forget to format the SD card and do this every time you download photos to your computer or get a new SD card as it will optimize saving to the card. If you need more space on the map, reduce the resolution to 10 megapixels. Overall I can't believe the quality and price of this camera. When I saw and tested the Fuji S camera today, I was amazed at how similar the GE camera is at a fraction of the cost. The Fuji camera was $270 versus $155 for everything. Who is this camera good for: This bridge camera is good for those who don't want the added weight of a DSLR and its interchangeable lenses. Considering that airlines charge a lot for extra baggage, this baggage can be the second piece of baggage included in carry-on baggage, since you are allowed to take a backpack and one personal item. the best choice. For a beginner who needs manual functions, this camera is well suited. Now don't spend $100 for accurate shots, buy this bridge camera and you will be happy for years. It's lightweight and durable. Happy shooting (: