Canon ELPH 520 HS

Canon ELPH 520 HS is Canon's Ultracompact camera initially introduced on January of 2012. The camera has got a 10MP, BSI-CMOS 1/2.3" size sensor with a max resolution of 3648 x 2736. It is known as "IXUS 500 HS" in certain regions.

The ELPH 520 HS is ranked #56 out of 151 in Ultracompact cameras & over-all #987 out of 1465 for digital cameras in our list. You should check our Advanced camera finder to find camera ratings based on your customized factors.

Below is a diagram of multiple factors used in the rating system.

The Canon ELPH 520 HS has a history of related digital cameras. Down below, you can find all earlier and new models as well as important specifications.

You can view the ELPH 520 HS from various angles in the gallery underneath.

Here is a collection of good and bad points of the Canon ELPH 520 HS based on features which are generally considered necessary in a camera.

The Canon ELPH 520 HS features the DIGIC 5 chip. The sensor specification on the Canon ELPH 520 HS is 6.17mm x 4.55mm (1/2.3"). The 28 mm² sensor has the capability to capture 3648 x 2736 pixels with aspect ratios of 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9. The camera comes with Image Stabilization (Optical). In body stabilization is preferable than digital stabilization since the latter can produce cropping.

Photography Glossary

The BSI-CMOS sensor has 10MP and provides a native ISO range of 100 to 3200. Unfortunately, RAW photos are not saved therefore the user has less margin for error.

The picture underneath illustrates the ELPH 520 HS's sensor size in comparison to other common sizes. The ELPH 520 HS sensor has a crop factor of 5.8 and is presented in green.

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To get an understanding of various aspect ratios, you can refer to the visual below.

Canon ELPH 520 HS is 0.34 pounds (155 grams / 5.47 oz) & the overall size of the camera is 87mm x 54mm x 19mm (3.4" x 2.1" x 0.7"). The weight of typical Ultracompact camera is 121 grams and the Canon ELPH 520 HS is more heavy than various competitors.

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Underneath is a shot of the Canon ELPH 520 HS besides a soft drink so you're able to get a sense of its size.

The top view under will provide the button design on the ELPH 520 HS.

The ELPH 520 HS is equipped with a built in lens with a focal range of 28-336mm making it a 12.0 x zoom which won't be huge however it could be handy in certain circumstances.

At it's widest 28mm, it comes with an aperture of f3.4 making it very sluggish and not very good for low light conditions and you will likely find it difficult to get a shallow depth of field. You might also need to raise your ISO causing noisy pictures. On the long end, 336mm is terrific zoom and comes with f5.6 which is pretty slow and you might have to utilize slow shutter speeds.

The ELPH 520 HS has the following connectivity:

• USB Yes
• HDMI Yes

Digital cameras that feature NFC or Bluetooth connectivity can easily be controlled wirelessly via smartphones. You can easily transfer photos and oftentimes alter settings without the hassle of connecting straight with the camera.

Some apps also provide a Liveview and hit the shutter if you are not near the camera. If the camera has a HDMI port, it could be connected to an external display. A good number of cameras enable you to recharge the battery pack with the USB socket.

The max video quality on the Canon ELPH 520 HS is 1920 x 1080 and you can save in H.264 format. 1080p quality will provide a decent balance between quality and file size but 1080p is not going to leave you with any room to crop. The body does not have a microphone or headphone jack which means that you have got zero control over the audio. It is perhaps best to look at an alternative model in case you want decent audio for your video clips.

Canon ELPH 520 HS does not have environment sealing so rainy conditions could ruin the camera.

The Canon ELPH 520 HS has got a 3 inch fixed display with a resolution of 461 thousand dots.

Please be aware that the display screen has no touch support.

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The ViewFinder specifications for Canon ELPH 520 HS are as follows:

• ViewFinder None

Viewfinders are quite useful during sunny outdoor conditions which can easily make the camera display washed out and difficult to see.

Canon ELPH 520 HS continuous shooting rate is 3.0 fps. The max shutter speed is 1/4000 seconds.

Canon ELPH 520 HS comes with just built-in flash with missing external flash support.

Canon ELPH 520 HS comes with only Contrast Detect Autofocus & is missing Phase Detect Autofocus. Phase Detection focusing is a lot more quicker & exact than Contrast Detect focusing. The camera has got Face detect making it helpful for people photography.

The AF system has got 9 focus points to pick from. It also boasts Tracking Autofocus for things that move. Canon ELPH 520 HS lacks manual focus. Manual focus ability can be good during low light scenarios or you require more accurate focusing control.

The battery pack (NB-9L) for the Canon ELPH 520 HS is built to last for 190 pictures with respect to the CIPA requirements which is less than it's competitors. The usual Ultracompact camera battery life is 214. Nikon L32 comes with the maximum (320) battery life within this type of cameras.

Following is a collection of Ultracompact cameras that have the strongest battery life:

ModelVisualizeBattery LifeRAWNFCBluetooth

Nikon L32
ELPH 520 HS vs L32320 nonono

Olympus TG-870
ELPH 520 HS vs TG-870300 nonono

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Panasonic FP5
ELPH 520 HS vs FP5260 nonono

Sony TX20
ELPH 520 HS vs TX20250 nonono

Sony TX55
ELPH 520 HS vs TX55250 nonono

The following diagram gives a outline of the Canon ELPH 520 HS for specific kinds of photography. To see more, check out the specific section underneath.

The Canon ELPH 520 HS gets a rating of 26 which is bad, and means the camera is just not good for portrait images. Shooting portraits favors greatly towards sensor resolution, RAW support plus the option to utilize external lighting.

Coming in at a reasonable points tally of 55, the Canon ELPH 520 HS is reasonably suitable to buy for street photography. A very good street photography camera features a fine balance of picture quality and portability.

A bad sports photography points tally of 29 indicates the Canon ELPH 520 HS is just not good for taking pictures of sports. A camera needs good focusing and continuous shooting for sports photography.

Weight is very critical when buying a travel camera. In general, the Canon ELPH 520 HS gets a modest 58 as a travelling camera which is relatively appropriate for your journeys.

For those who are looking to pick a digital camera for landscape photographs, the most significant factor is going to be image quality. The Canon ELPH 520 HS with it's bad grade of 35 for a landscape camera is just not good amongst its competition.

A camera for vlogging should come with a articulating display screen, mic port and if possible image stabilization. Considering all the details, the Canon ELPH 520 HS is just not good as a vlog camera as it comes to a bad score of 32.

If you are shopping for replacements to the ELPH 520 HS, here is a list of the top placed cameras that fall under the family of Ultracompact.

The chart below will give you a summary of the ELPH 520 HS compared to it's highest scoring rivals mentioned previously.

Here are a handful of other cameras you may regard as alternate options. To check out a extensive comparison, click the "compare" link.