Epson L-500V Review
By: Steve's Digicams
Review posted 1/10/2005
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Click to take a QTVR tour of the L-500V
The EPSON L-500V is a compact, five megapixel digital camera that includes Epson Photo Fine Technology, along with high-speed continuous shooting and a creative feature called PRINT Image Framer®, which adds unique frames to any photo with a touch of a button.
The EPSON L-500V is fun and easy to use, which makes it ideal for today's photo active user, who is usually taking photos of family and friends at every opportunity. In addition to its 5.0 megapixel CCD sensor and incredible 2.5" LCD screen, this sleek, black-bodied camera includes a 3x optical zoom and a 4x digital zoom, prints directly to the PictureMate™ personal photo lab (and select Epson Stylus Photo printers) and includes PRINT Image Matching® II technology for producing the best possible prints on PRINT Image Matching-enabled photo printers.
Epson Photo Fine Technology was first introduced with the introduction of the EPSON P-10000 Photo Viewer and is now being integrated into several Epson imaging products, including the EPSON L-500V. Epson is a technology leader in the manufacturing of LCD modules which are incorporated into a number of devices including many leading brands of AV projectors, digital cameras, cellular telephones and Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs).
Not only can the EPSON L-500V capture beautiful images, but it captures them fast with a high-speed continuous shooting mode. The camera can capture up to three frames per second, at the highest resolution, until the user's optional, high-speed memory card is full. This feature is ideal for capturing a variety of activities including outdoor events such as soccer or football games. The EPSON L-500V is fully automatic for fast, point and shoot functionality and it also has a manual mode for added control.
P.I.F. is a feature that is specifically designed to work with select Epson Stylus Photo printers and PictureMate. It's as easy as selecting a frame design and choosing a photo. Frames can even be chosen before a photo is taken. There are over 100 frames to choose from that ship with the camera, four frames that are stored on the camera's internal memory and additional frames on CD which can be uploaded to a Secure Digital™ memory card. Frame choices include everything from birthdays and holidays to baby-theme frames.
L-500V Features
- 5.0 Megapixel CCD for image sizes up to 2560 x 1920 pixels
- 3x optical zoom that covers 34-102mm (35mm equivalent)
- Has a maximum aperture range of f/2.8 - f/4.9
- 2.5" color LCD with up to 20x playback zoom
- Compact and durable metal body that measures 3.62" x 2.48" x 1.26"
- Auto and Manual exposure modes
- Records VGA sized (640x480) movies w/sound, the length of these clips is limited only my memory capacity
- Exposure compensation: ±2EV in 0.5EV step increments
- White Balance: Auto or 5 presets
- Shutter speeds of 1 seconds to 1/2000 of a second
- Selectable ISO settings from Auto or 100 to 400
- Record up to 30 second voice memos
- Built-in microphone and speaker
- Lithium rechargeable battery and charger included
- USB connectivity for PC and Mac
- Over 100 P.I.F. frames to choose from
The Epson L-500V Digital package is available now for a street price of around $399 and includes a 16MB, USB cable, Users manual, Software CD-Rom, Li-ion battery and charger/AC cable.
Physical Views
 
The L-500V compared to an average CD disc.
The KM DiMAGE X50 compared to the L-500V |
L-500V Specifications
| Camera Effective Pixels |
Approx. 5.0 million | | CCD Sensor |
Total number of pixels: approx. 5.36 million | | Lens |
5.6mm (W)--16.8mm (T) (35mm equivalent: 34mm--102mm)
F2.8 (W)--4.9 (T) | | Digital Zoom |
Approx. 4x (approx. 12x when combined with its 3x optical zoom) | | LCD Monitor |
2.5 in. Epson Photo Fine Low-temperature poly-silicon TFT color LCD; Number of dots: 512 x 384x 3 (RGB) | | Autofocus |
TTL contrast detection system | | Autofocus range |
Normal AF: 20"--infinity (0.5m - infinity)
Macro AF: 1.97"--19.69" (0.05m--0.5m) | | Shutter |
Electronic iris control shutter with mechanical shutter | | Shutter Speed |
Auto/Fill-in: 1/30-1/2000 sec.
Flash Off: 1/2 - 1/2000 sec.
Slow synchronized: 1 - 1/2000 sec. | | Exposure Control |
Auto exposure with manual ± 2.0 exposure value adjustment (0.5 EV increments) | | Sensitivity |
Auto (ISO 50 - 200), ISO 100/200/400 equivalent | | White Balance |
TTL auto/preset (daylight, cloudy, incandescent, fluorescent, mercury) or custom white balance | | Built-in Flash |
Auto, flash off, red-eye reduction, fill-in flash, and slow synchronized | | Flash Range |
2.30' - 12.14' (wide), 1.64' - 6.89'(tele) | | Shooting Modes |
Full Auto, manual, continuous shoot, movie, and five scene modes (Normal, Landscape, Portrait, Night View, Night Portrait) | | Continuous Shooting |
Take up to 3 pictures per second up to the optional memory card capacity. High speed card (transfer speed of 10MB per second or faster) required to achieve 3 frames per second. | | Self-timer |
Shoots after approx. 10 sec. or approx. 2 sec. | | Recording Media |
Secure Digital (SD) type memory cards, 16MB card included | | Image Recording Format |
Image: JPEG (EXIF 2.2), DCF (Design Rule for Camera File System), and DPOF 1.1 (Digital Print Order Format) compliant
Movie: AVI format | | Compression |
Fine, Normal, Economy | | Number of Recording Pixels |
Still Images
2560 x 1920 pixels
1600 x 1200 pixels
640 x 480 pixels
Movies
640 x 480, 320 x 240, or 160 x 120 pixels (Fine or Normal) | | Interface |
Full Speed/High Speed Mass Storage Class, PRINT Image Matching, Exif Print (2.2) | | Power Source |
Rechargeable 3.7V 1230mAh Lithium-ion battery with AC charger | | Operating Temperature |
0--40 °C (32--104 °F) | | Box Contents |
Epson L-500V, USB cable, Camera Basics, Software on CD-ROM (User's Guide, Epson PRINT Image Framer Tools, PRINT Image Framer Designer, Windows 98SE driver and QuickTime), Li-ion battery and charger/AC cable | | Environmental Requirements (Operating range) |
Temperature: 41° to 95° F (5° through 35° C)
Humidity: 30% to 80% (non-condensing) | Dimensions
(w x h x d) |
3.62" x 2.48" x 1.26" (W x H x D) (excluding protrusions) | | Weight |
Approx. 5.82 oz (without batteries and memory card) | | Warranty |
One-year limited in U.S. and Canada |
*Specifications are as represented by the manufacturer* |
Visitors of Steves can visit the stores below for real-time pricing and availability. You can also find hot, soon to expire online offers on a variety of cameras and accessories at our very own Camera Deals page.
