The product being made in’China’ isn’t the issue. These days, practically everything’s made from ch1nky land. With excellent quality too! The GE brand has proven itself both in consumer and industrial products even before we were born. So far, since 2007 it’s General Imaging division has made waves in the camera industry. First the X1, then the X5, now its latest Power Pro series the X500!
Being a newcomer in the camera industry, GE can’t measure up(yet) with a Nikon, or a Cannon, or an Olympus, or Pentax, etc. but given it’s strategic pricing, plus the features their camera pack, GE sure takes a piece of the pie.
The X500 has a reasonable supply of auto-scenes and manual settings that would make the average digital photographer or serious beginner quite happy. With several f-stop, shutter speed, EV & ISO settings available, plus the fact that it’s photo sensor is a CCD, make this Bridge Camera quite a gem.
Look and feel like a high end pro dSLR, without the need to carry heavy, bulky & different lenses, make this mega zoom camera more desirable for the practical but serious amateur photographer.
Never worry about loosing the chance to capture precious photographs anytime anywhere, thanks to it’s very common AA(x4) power source. Unlike most digital cameras, you have to bring along a charger adapter & look for an AC power outlet., and that’s where manufacturers get a chance to hack a lot of profit -from those very expensive OEM / proprietary battery cells & chargers. With the GE X500, you can get its batteries practically even from a small store in any jungle in the world.
Every Yin has its Yang. The GE X500 falls short of performance in low light exposures. Something that most serious photography enthusiasts look forward to in showing their mettle, ambient light photography. This camera produces noticeable grainy images in mid and high iso settings.
Because of its slow picture processing time and slow recycle time, this camera may not be a star in capturing quick successive shots during important events.
The net of it is no camera is totally better than the other, it all depends on’user-purpose’. For most serious amateurs and perhaps some practical professionals, GE’s Power Pro X500 advantages certainly outweigh it’s disadvantages.