A Weekender's Blogger: GE X500 Camera Review and Sample Shots

It's been almost a year since I purchased my first bridge camera, the GE X5, and my review probably gave helpful information to a lot of potential and aspiring people who wants to have an SLR-like feature in a compact build at a very affordable price. I have brought my GE X5 to a lot of different places, if you have been following my blog, and has never failed to capture the places that I've been to. GE instantly created a runaway success for this model.

What better way to continue on this success by releasing its younger brother, GE X500. Priced at Php9995, the new model boasts the same old size, weight and build but GE has added a few more surprises in its sleeve.

For one, GX500 includes a 16-megapixel sensor, 15X Optical Zoom, and 27mm wide angle lens. We'll talk more about these features as we go along with the review. They have also added new scenes on the SCN option of the camera. They also improved some of the menu icons and displays, such as the battery status, and scene selection.

Just like with my GE X5 which I used during my trip to Boracay last year, I decided to bring both cameras to my trip to Boracay this year! Probably a good venue to do my first photowalk with GE X500 and also to do a quick comparison with my older unit, GE X5.

The photos I have captured on my GE X500 were set to 5mp only. This is to save precious memory during my trip.

First, I took some interesting macro shots, and just like its older brother (GEx5), GE X500 handled it pretty well.

Next stop would be slow-shutter speed photos. These would come in handy for those fantastic night shots. Here, this is pretty tricky - instead of doing the "Manual Mode" and adjust the shutter speed, I let the 'Fireworks' option under the 'SCN' mode do the magic! This means that you no longer have to go on Manual mode and figure out some settings on the shutter speed. The SCN option will program everything automatically. Here are some shots of some firedancers in Boracay. (Please note that for night shots like te ones below, we recommend the use of a tripod.

Another added scene on the 'SCN' mode is "Sketch". This is pretty handy if in case you want to do some creative shots without post production. Here are some samples of Sketch Photos. This would add a little bit of fun into your shots.

One of the most popular features of GE X5 was the Panorama Mode. They also included that feature on the GE X500. Here a sample shot of a Panoramic Photo captured using GE X500. It was still able to capture the same lighting conditions on all three frames, as you can see from the sample below, the transitions from one frame to another is almost seamless.

The user experience of GE X500 is pretty much the same with GE X5. There were only some minor changes on the user interface that improved a lot on the user experience. The battery life is pretty much the same with GE X5. At full charge, I am able to use the camera for about a week or normal use. But if you're into photography and a lot of night mode and flash, it'll last for 3 days.

Here's an example of the HDR feature of GE X500 (and X5), wherein you can make HDR adjustments on the unit itself, avoiding post production on your PCs. On the left - original photo. On the right - HDR processed

Overall, GE X500 is a worthy upgrade to GE X5. The body and design is the same, but they have improved the interface, added some scenes, and effects, increased the megapixel count. GE x500 even manage to have a lower retail price as compared to X5.

If you are new to photography who do not have the budget, or if you already have an SLR but is already tired of bringing a lot of things when you travel, or if you really wanted to be practical - then GE X500 will be the right bridge camera for you.

[added, 10/31] More Macro Samples: