Canon PowerShot ELPH 520 HS 10.1 MP CMOS Digital Camera with 12x Ultra Wide-Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom Lens and Full 1080p HD Video (Black)

I'm really happy with this camera. It takes great snapshots, and it is so small that I can always have it with me. Nobody will ever mistake it for a several thousand dollar DSLR, either in price, weight, or picture quality, but the 12x zoom in such a small package was the sweet spot for me. And lets face it, for most of us, being able to get the shot because you have your camera is much more important than the really high quality picture--that you're never going to blow up to room size anyway--that you would have got if only you hadn't left your big, heavy, awkward DSLR at home! Some folks have compared the quality to cell phones. There's no comparison. I can get shots that are just dark blobs on the iPhone. The battery is pretty small, though, so make sure you have two or three, which I have always done anyway (they're small, so it isn't that big a deal). Be careful if you buy an off brand battery: Many of them have LESS capacity. Don't go by the picture, many of them appear to be photoshopped to say 1000mAH, but the specs give you the real value. I picked up the Wasabi Power Battery for Canon NB-9L and Canon PowerShot SD4500 IS, ELPH 510 HS, ELPH 520 HS, ELPH 530 HS , and it seems OK so far, but I haven't rigorously tested it. The reviews were pretty good, though.

At the time I ordered this camera, a black one, there were some 300 reviews posted. I read them all. Some people had valid gripes I suppose but after trying three other small 5x zoom cameras, 2 Samsungs and a Fuji for about 1/2 the price of the Canon I decided to try the Canon Elph 520 despite some negative comments. I was also intrigued with the 12x optical zoom in such a small package. I have two other cameras that I use but wanted a more portable / pocketable camera but didn't want to loose out on the higher zoom that I need once in a while for bird pictures. I have shot some 160 pictures, including a few videos and have transferred via cable to my laptop many of the recordings. I have also used the mini SD card in a card reader to transfer photos to my ipad and my laptop. It all works well. the SD card is a bit small but isn't really all that hard to handle but you do need to be careful where you are when you are handling that dime sized card. The picture quality has been terrific with great colors and sharp clear images. I have not experienced any of the softness or graininess some people have reported. I have the P mode set for ISO 200 and the Auto mode for auto ISO. If there is any question of grainy photos I use the P mode and a tripod. But so far I am just super pleased with this camera's performance and it is becoming my #1 goto camera. I wouldn't call this a drawback but there is no manual control for aperture, shutter speed or focus so the really creative types won't be pleased by that but they can buy some other camera instead of griping about this one. I'm not much of a fan for the included Canon software either. I have taken good photos by the light of our street light and got a good moon shot with it too. It's a small camera with a 1/ 2/3 sensor that works above it's pay grade because of the Digic 4+ help. The battery charger I received is just a little box with a flippy plug on the back side. It plugs in easily and stows away cleanly. The charger has a separate light indicating the charge is complete. I like that feature. One of the cameras I tried left me guessing about when the battery was done charging. One of my other cameras is an old Canon SX 120 IS I've used for a long time and the new Elph 520 takes a very similar picture (maybe a bit better). I like this camera.

I have to give this product one star. I feel bad doing this, but if you are like me and only plan on using the camera for video vlogs / vlogging, you will be disappointed. I bought this camera because its small form factor and the video specifications, on paper, is an improvement compared to the ELPH 330 HS. On paper, the 520 HS is superior in that it can record 1080p@30fps vs the 330 HS's 720p@30fps. It is newer than the 330 HS, and its base price is higher. There are positive reviews all over the web and there are not many negative reviews. I could not, however, find reviews that specifically target video. So I went for the 520 and hoped for the best. The camera feels solid, and I cannot knock it for its form factor and its performance when taking photos. It seems to excel at taking photos, and its slim design makes it easy to carry in your pocket. At first it seemed awesome as I recorded the first few videos. I noticed that autofocus was not turned on, and I continued recording after I turned on the autofocus setting. Once I started to edit the clips, I heard a sound that resembles a mix between a metal click and a plastic click. It is repetitive and consistent. At the bottom of this review I will provide a link so you can hear the sound I'm describing. I first thought that the sound could be coming from the plastic dongle of the wrist strap hitting the side of the camera as I moved around. It made sense and it would explain the metal / plastic sound I heard. After removing the strap, however, the sound continued. I noticed that the microphone is embedded into the metal ring around the lens. Usually the microphone is under the flash (as in the 330 HS). This small difference actually makes a rather large impact on the audio quality and makes the 520 HS's microphone super sensitive to any motion of the lens. Once I became aware of the root cause, I searched for any reviews that referenced the same problem. I found only one review that I would consider a trustworthy source (PC magazine- [...] ) PC magazine hit the nail on the head and noticed the issue, but since they were mostly focused on photo specs, the problem only received one sentence in their page long review. Here is what PC magazine says: “The camera can zoom and focus while recording, but the sound of its lens moving in and out is audible on the soundtrack." I read the PC magazine review prior to purchasing this camera, but the issue did not stand out. Furthermore, the 330 HS has the same sound issue when focusing, but the *key* difference is that the 330 HS has a faster autofocus mechanism, and on top of that, the microphone is below the flash. Both of these factors diminish the sound from the lens in the 330 HS. Since the microphone is literally on top of the lens in the 520 HS, the sound of the lens is amplified rather than filtered out. It was very disappointing and I can’t believe Canon did not pick up on this during QA. I don’t understand the benefit of moving the microphone into the lens. Lastly, I am not the only one with this problem. There are two other popular vloggers that I know of who recently upgraded to the 520 and their initial reviews were positive. After a few weeks of video, however, they also noticed the problem. Since they use several different camera models simultaneously, it took longer for them to catch this issue. During this time, however, I bought the camera. So if you plan on buying this camera for primarily video work (such as vlogging), DON’T buy this camera!!! Go with the 330 HS instead. -Michael & Claire One of my videos that highlight the issue: [...] (listen at 3:35 but it happens throughout the video). I usually hide it with background music, but that only goes so far.

For some years, I have had a Canon Digital ELPH S100, with which I have been very pleased. But time marches on, and the 2MP resolution of that fine little point and shoot has long been left behind. As I recall, the camera also offered only three or four times optical zoom, if I'm not mistaken. So when I saw that Canon was offering this ELPH 520 with 10MP and 12X optical zoom -- and Amazon was selling it for less than half the price I paid for the S100 back when -- I couldn't resist. Incredibly, this new model is even more compact -- both thinner and lighter -- than the S100. As other reviewers have stated, I don't know how Canon gets a 12X zoom into this little body, but they did. Needless to say, this gives you much more flexibility framing shots from one vantage point. I didn't know if I would miss the optical viewfinder of the old model, but the 520 has a large (3-inch), bright LCD screen, and I just went out and shot some beautifully composed pictures of nearby architectural landmarks here in the Gramercy Park area of Manhattan. As someone wearing both glasses and a brimmed hat on a cold day, I appreciated being able to compose pictures despite those encumbrances. I have barely begun to delve into the wealth of features this mighty mite of a camera offers, including HD video capture with stereo microphones, plus a long array of shooting modes to handle particular situations and subjects, including fireworks, portraits, low light, under water, snowy backgrounds, and more. The camera also offers some artistic special effects like vivid color, posterized shots, fish-eye lens, monochrome, plus the color accent so popular in advertising photography (one object in color -- the rest of the photo in monochrome). Best of all, you can set the camera to AUTO mode, and it will determine the best settings for any situation automatically. The camera comes with a USB cable to download photos to your computer, a proprietary battery and charger, wrist strap, plus photo software. You will need to buy a MicroSD memory card; I thought I had one or more in the house, but found this card is smaller than the ones I had bought a few years back. I must also state that the red color of the camera body is MUCH more attractive than it appears in the photo on this page. It is a beautiful red wine color, with an iridescent glow. If you like gadgets in red, you will NOT be sorry buying the camera in this color, I assure you! I will report back if I encounter any drawbacks or problems. (I saw one reviewer complaining about slow read/write to the memory card; after reading the camera instructions, I believe he needed to conduct a "low-level" formatting of his memory card, which is supposed to solve such a problem.) Until then, I am thrilled with this little gem and can't believe what a superb and convenient camera you can buy for the money... UPDATE: it was a beautiful, sunny, early spring day today, and I took a walking tour of lower Manhattan, bringing along this little Canon. THIS MIGHTY MITE TAKES THE MOST INCREDIBLE PHOTOS!!! EVERY single shot was perfectly exposed and in focus. In addition, I think there's something in this camera that even improves the photo composition. The image stabilization works perfectly too, which is handy when you're zooming in on the top of a sixty-story building. Decades ago, I used a fine (and expensive) Nikkormat 35mm camera, and out of 100 photos there were sure to be a few clunkers. I took 103 photos today, and every one was a winner! Trust me, folks, you will NOT be disappointed with this camera. I only wonder why anyone would need anything larger or heavier to take great pictures; I don't think you do anymore. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!

I ust bought this camera for my wife, who is a technophobe. She loves it. The camera is simple to use on automatic mode...it really does everything for you. Now, why are there some negative reviews for this camera slamming it for image quality? Out of the box, the Canon PowerShot ELPH 520 HS is not configured at its highest-possible resolution. I don't know whether to blame lazy owners who don't take the time to go through the manual, novice owners who just don't understand, or Canon for making a bad decision for not making the default the highest resolution and for including the owner's manual on a CD where most people will never see it. So, here's what you do: Go into the camera's menu. Look for Image Quality and change the resolution from Fine to Super Fine. Now you own a tiny camera that takes great photos that Amazon sells for the same price brand new as Canon sells for a refurb. New, Canon sells this camera for over $130 more than Amazon. People who complain that image quality suffers in low light at high ISOs, I have news for you: Expensive digital cameras that cost $500 and up have the same problem. You could get a Sony DSC-RX100 II for over $700, which does really well in low light, but this camera is aimed at a different user base. Looking at images at 100 percent magnification, I did notice noise. But for most people, this isn't going to be an issue. Keep in mind this is an inexpensive consumer camera, not a professional grade camera, and not a prosumer grade camera. If you are a professional photographer looking to make giant prints, you aren't using this Elph. This is a camera to keep in your pocket or purse, meant to take photos of your friends and family. If you are looking for a little point and shoot camera that takes great photos, is easy enough for just about anyone to use, and that sells at a price that won't break the bank, this is the camera for you.

I had been using a Canon Powershot 1200 IS for a long, long time, and while the picture quality was normally pretty good, it had a limited number of sizes/resolutions it could photograph in. I am a light-use camera user (mostly use the camera for vacation pictures and cute pet moments). I wanted a Canon camera that was inexpensive, quick to turn on, could photograph in more resolutions (especially 1:1), and would have a general increase in picture quality over the IS 1200. I've been using this camera for a few months now. General impressions: --Really pleased with the picture quality improvement over the 1200 IS. It does much better in low light, and in general, the colors appear richer. --It is super small, about the size of a deck of cards. The case I was using for the 1200 IS is a little loose on the ELPH 520. --The camera menu navigation buttons on the back of the camera differ from the vast majority of other Canon cameras, and I HATED it at first. There's no external "delete picture" button and I couldn't easily find a delete option in the menus; I actually had to get out the manual and look for instructions in order to find it. This camera takes 4-5 clicks to delete a picture instead of 3 because is does not have an external delete button. --Battery life isn't as good as the 1200 IS. I only use mine in short bursts, but I still noticed that the camera needed recharging sooner than my IS would've at similar rates of use. --Uses a microSD card for storage. I fortunately already owned a USB microSD card reader, but for others, it's not as widely used as SD cards. I am mostly satisfied with this camera. I think that it is a good camera for the money, and I definitely prefer its photo quality to the 1200 IS. But I'm not 100% convinced I got the best possible camera for this price range (especially because of the irritating design issues with the buttons/menus). [UPDATE 8/9/2014] Took this camera and my old IS 1200 on vacation. (The battery life on this camera is so bad that I didn't trust it to last the whole 5-day vacation.) However, the picture quality when at max zoom level is SUBSTANTIALLY better on this camera than it is on the IS 1200.

This camera takes nice still photos but the video leaves much to be desired. I was quite disappointed in the quality of the video, especially when using zoom. Also, it uses a file format that is incompatible with my Panasonic HDTV so I cannot hook it up to the tv to watch my videos. Also, I cannot edit the video using Windows Live Movie Maker as when I try, it crashes the program. I don't recall the format but you may want to check this out before purchasing. If I had known the problems I was going to have, I would have purchased a Panasonic Lumix, which would have been compatible with my tv (albeit for a lot more money). I think it cost around $100 but I was able to apply my Discover Card rewards so I only paid around $69 I believe. Pros: Small and portable; 12x zoom; nice still picks; nice looking camera and easy to use; affordable. Cons: Poor video and file format that can be a problem, depending on the devices your hooking it up to.

First and foremost I can tell you that I have been doing nothing but gushing over this camera since my husband and I bought it. For the price it is a perfect little point and shoot. And it literally is that. It took fantastic pictures right out of the box (well technically not, but I'll touch on that a little later). We didn't need to play with the settings or fuss with it in low light. The flash worked great and the face detection system is spot on. And I can't say enough about the optical zoom. There is not too many, if any, cameras out there at this price point with a 12x optical zoom. And it works great. You can zoom all the way to 12 and your shots still are sharp and crisp. Of coarse the digital zoom goes to 48x but you lose resolution the further you go. Now to touch on the out of box functionality. The one draw back with these cameras is no memory. And that is the case here. A couple shots is all you get unless you have a micro-sd ready to pop in. But those are quite inexpensive now and I popped an 8gb in and you can take over 3000 shots at full resolution. In closing, we loved this camera. We loved it so much we bought a second one so we can each have one. I got the cool blue colour though, red is his thing haha. But as DSLR users we totally appreciate the functionality of this little compact camera and fully endorse it. Happy shooting!