GE Power Pro X500-BK 16 MP with 15 x Optical Zoom Digital Camera, Black

by General Imaging

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 6.7 x 3.9 inches ; 1 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B004LB4SAM
• Item model number: X500-BK
• Batteries: 4 AA batteries required. (included)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (169 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #39 in Camera & Photo (See Top 100 in Camera & Photo)
  • #21 in Camera & Photo > Point & Shoot Digital Cameras
• Date first available at Amazon.com: February 15, 2011

Product Description

Color: Black

From the Manufacturer

If you want it all, you'll want one of the GE Pro series of bridge cameras. The new X500 is as powerful as it is easy to use. All the latest digital camera technology is seamlessly built in to reflect your own powerful sense of style and capture those priceless memories that define our lives. Get closer to the action and take photos like a pro with the X500 from GE's Pro line of digital cameras.

16 Megapixels with 15x Optical Zoom

The X500's 16 MP lens means your images will be alive with detail, capturing every nuance. A 15x optical zoom (combined with a 6x digital zoom) lets you get close to the action without needing to get right in the middle of it. A vivid 2.7-inch LCD screen with Auto Adjust Brightness lets you frame every shot with ease, letting you see exactly what you're getting with each click.

As powerful as it is easy to use

All the latest digital camera technology is seamlessly built in

Electronic View Finder

In addition to the 2.7-inch LCD screen, the X500 has an electronic view finder for more accurate shots in real time and better scene composition.

Shoot Video with Ease

Capture all of your videos with ease. The X500 takes MPEG-4 videos in .MOV format with G.711 monaural audio for simple, one-touch recording of those special moments. And they're easy to share using a USB connection or SD card reader.

High Dynamic Range (HDR) Adjustment

An in-camera HDR feature adjusts exposure for more detail in light and dark scenes. Get the right balance of detail no matter the lighting conditions. A 3200 ISO improves pictures in low lighting condition for optimal exposure.

Optical Image Stabilization with Auto Scene

Correct unintentional camera movements with automatic image stabilization, giving you crisp, clear photos. The Auto Scene feature automatically selects and sets the correct scene type for the sharpest, most vibrant pictures possible.

Face Auto Exposure and Smile Detection

Face Auto Exposure enhances facial features detected by the camera for true subject highlighting, making your friends and family jump out of your photos. Smile Detection lets you capture the right moment by allowing the shutter to automatically release when the subject’s smile appears.

Automatic Brightness Adjustment

An in-camera auto-brightness feature adjusts the camera's LCD viewing screen for more detail in light and dark scenes. Get the right balance of detail no matter the lighting conditions.

AA Batteries

Convenient, easy and no-hassle AA batteries keep you on the go. Get 300 shots from regular AA alkaline batteries, or up to 500 shots from AA NiMH batteries.

What's in the Box

GE X500 digital camera, 4xAA alkaline batteries, USB cable, shoulder strap, CD-ROM, manual, Quick Start Guide, Feature Guides, warranty card.

Technical Specifications

• Effective Image Sensor Pixels: 16 Megapixel
• Anti-Shake: Optical Image Stabilization
• Zoom: 15x Optical, 6x Digital
• ISO Sensitivity: Auto, ISO 80 / 100 / 200 / 400 / 800 / 1600/ 3200
• Recording: 640×480 pixels: 30 fps / 15 fps, 320×240 pixels: 30 fps / 15 fps
• Still Image: 16MP: 4608×3456, (16:9) 12MP: 4640×2608, 8MP: 3264×2448, 5MP: 2592×1944, 3MP: 2048×1536, 0.3MP: 640×480
• Image Compression: Best, Fine, Normal
• Movie Format: MPEG-4 AVC/H.264(MOV)
• Audio Format: G.711 Monaural
• Still Image Format: Exif 2.2 (JPEG)
• Detection Features: Face Detection, Smile Detection, Blink Detection
• High Dynamic Range: Yes
• Internal Flash: Auto, Red-Eye Reduction, Forced Flash, No Flash, Slow Synchro, Red-Eye Reduction + Slow Synchro
• Battery: AA alkaline or NiMH
• Dimensions (W x H x D): 4.06" × 2.92" × 2.68"
• Weight: 12.3oz

Product Description

GE X500 Power Pro Series Bridge Camera with Electronic View Finder, Optical Image Stabilization, 16MP, 15X Optical Zoom, 2.7"LCD, 27mm Wide Angle Lens and advanced features including Shutter & Aperture Priority mode, Program mode, ASCN, Pan-Capture Panorama, Smile & Blink Detection, Face Detection, Face Auto Exposure, Red-Eye Removal, High Dynamic Range. Power by AA Battery.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

230 of 238 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great starter camera if you want better pics than a point and shoot., April 27, 2011

By 

mike (Peshtigo, WI) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: GE Power Pro X500-BK 16 MP with 15 x Optical Zoom Digital Camera, Black (Camera)

Like many other reviewers I am not a professional photographer, and this is my first digital camera. I do like taking pictures though and I've dealt with a few nice film cameras and some nice Fujifilm cameras (a P&S, 'bridge camera' and a DSLR) and I feel like this camera is most definitely worth the price. The X500 is a bridge camera, almost a SLR and almost a point and shoot. But it boasts some great specs and features that you cannot find anywhere in this price range.

Pros. The 16 megapixel sensor is great. Most entry level cameras of any type and brand start off at about 12 MP right now. GE has this model at 16. I think the other 16 MP cameras are over twice the price of this one. You can see the difference when you zoom in on your computer, the clarity is apparent.
The zoom on the X500 is awesome. This camera has 15X optical zoom and along with digital zoom (digital zoom takes away image quality as you zoom in so just keep that in mind when using it) it has a total of 60X zoom.
The X500 has a panoramic mode which I love because I wanted a panoramic film camera and now I don't have to buy one. This camera also has a setting for everything from fireworks to snow to fisheye. More than just night and outdoors.. there are 20 different presets and thats not including the different modes the camera has for shooting (it has manual, very important!)
So far I've taken 100+ pictures and the battery is still full on the display. The manual says it'll shoot 300+ pictures on a set of 4 batteries... thats pretty good.
Not a pro for some, but this camera is a bit hefty. I like it because its like you are actually holding onto something. But it is heavier than I thought it would be.
Viewfinders are sometimes left out of cameras now because they all have screens, but this one has an electronic viewfinder (for those sunny days) I think thats a nice perk.
The video quality is better than I expected, though its not HD. The sound is so-so but thats the case on everything with a recorder.

Cons. The screen resolution and quality isn't the greatest (I have a 3 year old Creative mp3 player that has a much nicer screen and it's smaller.) Like most cameras though you look at the screen and its grainy and the color doesn't look quite right but you snap the picture/ upload and it looks like it should when its on the computer screen (or printed out.) I think they had to cut corners somewhere.
The lens pops out when you turn it on and the lens cap pops off, even if you just want to look at the pictures on your SD. And I also do not like the lens cap. It just slides on. No clips.
The sound effects were annoying, but theres a setting to turn it off (saves your battery anyway.)
Not a biggie but the SD slot is in the battery compartment. Just out of the way I guess.
The camera is a bit noisy, you can hear the processor working and the internal stuff moving around at times. More of a side note than a con though.

Bottom line is I'm not sure how long the X500 will last (because I got it in the mail two days ago) but so far I'm very glad that I bought this camera. It's a lot like Fuji's bridge camera and if you know the menus and buttons from their cameras then this thing will be a snap because its pretty much a carbon copy. The layout is simple enough for a beginner or teen who's looking into photography and it wont break the bank like a nikon or canon with the same specs.

139 of 145 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Bridge Camera ^-^, May 14, 2011

By 

exProphecy - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: GE Power Pro X500-WH 16 MP with 15 x Optical Zoom Digital Camera, White (Electronics)

Like most people who are purchasing this camera, I have little or no experience in photography. Although I've dabbled in the arts of Skype and quick pics using my phone, this GE bridge camera is hardly in the same tier. So many features.. so little time..
Pros:
> Superb picture quality for the price
> Myriad of features packed in one
> Super ZOOM to the rescue!
> Build quality feels legit (ergo, a real, solid camera rather than a cheap toy)

I'll go more in depth with the features. My favorite feature is the HDR conversion of photos. After you take a photo, you go to the photo you just took by hitting the > (play) button. Then hit menu and go all the way down. There's an option called "HDR" which converts your photo to "High Dynamic Range" quality. Simply put, it enhances the colors of the photo, making it brighter and more vivid. Another great feature is smile detection. Press the little smiling button right next to the "waving hand" (that's image stabilization which I always have on =]). If you press it once, it will be in face detection mode. Press it twice and you'll see a smiling face on your digital screen instead. Now, press the shutter button and you'll notice it won't actually take any pictures.. until someone smiles! =D My other favorite feature is the panorama mode, of course! I honestly imagined taking panorama photos to be much more arduous but it's quite simple. You start your photo from the left then you just move your camera to the right while lining up the crosses on the screen! Those are my favorite features so far but there are much, much more I personally haven't played with such as manual mode (more for experts where they set aperture and shutter priority).

Cons:
> Probably the worst problem this camera has are the picture quality of photos taken inside. (Don't worry, the pros outweigh this problem by far)
> "HD" quality videos don't really seem very "HD"
> Wish it came with a camera bag (not really a big deal since I bought one separately but it would've been nice?/ kinda looking for more cons since it's a bit hard xD)
> Not really a con, but more of an improvement suggestion.. Maybe for smile detection, instead of having the need to press the shutter button THEN the camera will take the picture, it could be set up so that when smile detection is enabled, the camera automatically takes pictures when they smile. Also, it could be done so endlessly (meaning it takes pictures of people that smile multiple times, over and over).

All in all, I am extremely pleased with this purchase. An excellent bridge camera (an in-between point and shoot and DSLR camera) for $140 (which I believe is the most inexpensive bridge camera of this quality out there) is a great buy!

Oh on a side note, if you're thinking of purchasing the white version, you won't be disappointed. I personally like the white on this camera. I didn't want it to look just like EVERY other camera out there so I got the white so it could kind of "pop-out." Definitely pops out and is pretty noticeable! =]

Also, I uploaded some photos for you folks interested in purchasing this product. I demonstrated a little preview of the Panorama mode and HDR setting for you =D

149 of 160 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not bad...but not great, either, June 11, 2011

By 

GiveItYourBest - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: GE Power Pro X500-BK 16 MP with 15 x Optical Zoom Digital Camera, Black (Camera)

I had purchased this specifically because I was doing a lot of hiking during an extended trip, and I wanted more than the 4x zoom on my cheap Nikon Coolpix S4000. Since at home my wife has a very nice DSLR with multiple lenses, I didn't want to buy a another DSLR or spend a lot of money on a nicer bridge camera. The previous version of this camera got good reviews, so bought this one just after it had came out.

Out of the box, the camera seems pretty solid, although the compact (but FAT) build is a little weird and takes some getting used to. I initially did a comparison to my $130 12MP Coolpix point-and-shoot, and immediately saw some issues with the photo quality. Like other reviews have stated, indoor pictures are not great, but actually not as bad as some. My Coolpix (like most point and shoot cameras) had some problems as well, but the quality was still noticeably better than the GE. When using the indoor program mode, the shots were acceptable. The outdoor shots were better, but not super great, either. Comparing the same shots with my Coolpix, the Nikon had consistently better pictures.

While for most this wouldn't be too much of a problem, when viewing the photos and zooming in past 100%, there is significant pixel noise on the GE. Again, comparing to my 12MP Coolpix, the same shot at the same zoom had significantly less noise on my Nikon than the GE. Overall, the biggest problem was the inconsistency of the photos. Even using the same settings only a few seconds apart, there were often differences in the exposure, balance, etc. My hundreds of outdoor shots were all over the place in terms of quality. The shots often had a washed-out appearance (which could be fixed in post-processing if necessary).

I took the GE on several hiking trips, and took hundreds of photos, using different program modes and settings, which improved the quality overall, but did not eliminate the inconsistency issue. The zoom was quick and the image stabilization worked very well. The battery life was excellent (although I did not use the flash too much). The focus is moderately quick compared to most point and shoot cameras, although slower than my Nikon. The video mode was poor, but that was expected. I also used the GE in a couple of museums, and using the Museum program mode, it took surprisingly good shots. I also toured an indoor wildlife museum, and using the flash it took some very fine pictures.

Unfortunately, after viewing all of the pictures, I decided to return the camera. I don't necessarily want to talk anyone out of buying this...for most casual users, this camera can take good shots, and the 15x zoom is awesome at this price. For still pictures, outdoor and lit indoor shots, the photo quality is fine (especially using the program modes or manual controls). To get this level of control and zoom, you're going to be paying over $200 for something else, and probably over $300 for anything really significantly better. However, as I often print my photos for framing, the inconsistent quality and extreme noise, even compared to my cheap Nikon, left me wanting a bit more.

PROS-
- 15x zoom works very well
- Many different program modes and manual controls, which work well
- Great battery life and uses easy-to-get AA batteries
- Photo quality can be fairly good under right conditions, and most issues could be fixed with post-processing (i.e. Photoshop, etc.)
- Inexpensive for a good zoom and feature packed camera

CONS-
- Lots of noise when zoomed in (pixel peeking)
- Inconsistent picture quality

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