Sharp EL-W516XBSL 556 Scientific Calculator

As a calculator aficionado, and owner of over a hundred HP calculators, I have to admit that this Sharp model is damn impressive, in features, capabilities and price. I would far rather use an HP calculator than any other (and I do, daily), but I was recently in a situation where I could not use a programmable or graphing calculator. I turned to the Casio 115ES model I had in the garage, and it did a pretty good job, but then I heard about this Sharp model. I checked it out in depth and decided to go for it. It is FAR better than the Casio model (although the two are often close on mundane functions) because of several things. First, it has a very clear display, nice and tall and wide, and it makes dealing with equations much nicer. Second, I like the keyboard layout on this unit better. Nicely spaced, good color contrast on the key legends and so on. Most importantly, the Sharp model can save/recall four equations on the F1-F4 keys, which is awesome. The Casio model only allows one equation, and it's not saved across power off/on. The Sharp model allows you to enter four complex equations and save them, and then fill in the variables and solve for the recalled equation. VERY nice! It also has four redefinable buttons (like HP's Assign function) that allows you to put any normal calculator function on the top row. For example, let's say you're always hitting the Pi (3.141592653...) key in your daily math. Instead of hitting Shift-Pi, you can just assign it to one of the Dx keys across the top. Then it's available anything with one press. These also survive power on/off, unlike the Casio, where you look stack history (past calculations) and so on. Sharp is doing it right.Feature-wise, it has a ton of functions, well organized, and very fast (faster that the Casio 115ES. Try doing a complex number to rectangular conversion and the Casio takes 1-2 seconds, where the Sharp is instantaneous. This unit is comparable to the HP-35s, the HP-15s, HP-33s in terms of functions and capabilities. Although the HP models all allow program creation, I couldn't use those models in my test, so while I would have done the same calculations on a HP-35s, for example, I found the Sharp model to be a good second best. The only bad thing I can say about the Sharp is the quality of the keyboard. Although I never missed a keystroke, the keys were a bit wiggly and didn't see solid. They were fine in real life though, so unless you're a keyboard freak like me (from my HP days), you probably won't notice the difference. For what it's worth, the Casio 115ES has slightly better keys and key response.If you're looking for a NON-programmable, NON-graphing calculator, this is your stopping spot. It is currently (mid-2015) the top model Scientific calculator out there. The rebadged HP models (8s, 10s, 300s, 300s+, etc), which are really just Casio models, can't compete here. The only other calculator that gets close is the Casio 115ES, but honestly, this Sharp is a better machine. And for under $20? I mean, you CANNOT beat that. Well done, Sharp!

I got this as an upgrade from my TI 30Xa. It does what I need and so much more! Like others have said, it’s like a graphing calculator, but without the graphing part. It has integrals, summations, exact answers (pi, fraction, and square root), statistics, scientific constants, vector calculations, matrix calculations, a basic equation solver, and much more. And even though it doesn’t actually graph equations, you can input y= equations and it will give you a table of values you could use to manually graph. It can be a bit tricky to understand how to use it, but once you get the hang of it, you will be flying though menus.Overall, this is, in my opinion, the best scientific calculator you can get.

I am not a real calculator guru but I definitely do appreciate a good calculator. This is a good calculator. I have a few other calculators. I have had experiences the TI-30XSII, TI-83, TI-84 and TI-89. The graphers were loans from school. The 30X is mine. I will be comparing this mostly with the 30X because it's the only scientific of the bunch.The EL-W516 has a ton of functionality. You can do all of the standard stuff like sin, cos, tan, y^x, etc. But you also get functionality that is generally beyond that of what we know as a scientific calculator. There is built in calculus functionality as well as some statistics functions. It also has a list of scientific constants built in, and can do conversions between metric and imperial. It also has a neat engineering function where you can use engineering prefixes such as nano, micro, or kilo and apply that to a number so you don't have to convert it. You can also convert between different number base systems such as hexdecimal, which might be helpful if you are a programmer. I like to think of the 516 as a grapher...without the graph part and then some.From a functionality standpoint, it really can't be beat. If you don't need graphing, I would highly suggest you DONT use a graphing calculator because it's not worth the added confusion. Something like the EL-W516 is probably the best way to go.I really appreciate the solar cells because no one likes changing batteries and it's great to know that if there's light, you can calculate!I do have a few quirks of my own though. I'm sure I can't be alone.From Sharp's pictures, it seemed like the finish was a "satin" or "semi-gloss" finish, but when I received I saw that the finish was in fact very glossy, and subsequently very susceptible to finger prints and smudges. The pictures also make it look like a high quality appliance, but upon receiving it, I realized that actually felt quite cheap. (It's really light weight!). Don't get me wrong, it is well made from good plastics, but I was just expecting something a little different. However, I do not particularly care for the shiny finish. True, I don't want my calculator to be ugly, but the shiny surface makes it hard to read the writing on the calculator when working under a light because of the glare. I've been using this calculator for just over 2 months but already I am seeing scratches around the edges of the shiny front panel from where the cover comes in contact with the calculator. Could have been avoided if they just made it a satin or matte finish... Just seems silly. It's a scientific tool! I want it to look nice, but not to the extent where it interferes with the functionality.Also, probably the most annoying feature is that if you have a non-integer answer, the EL-W516 displays a mixed number as the DEFAULT answer. Why on earth would you do that? This is supposed to be an engineering/scientific calculator according the description. For example, if I divide 67 by 16, the EL-W516 will give me an answer of 4 3/16. Perhaps if I was a carpenter using the imperial system this would be helpful, but otherwise there is no reason why mixed numbers should be the default form. I want to see 4.1875! If I was so intrigued to find out what that number was in fractional, THEN I should go and ask it to convert it. Granted, you can use the "Change" button to convert to fraction and then to decimal, but WHY would they even do that? Decimal should be default!Those are my two major problems with this calculator. Other than that it does an excellent job at making quick and reliable calculations. I love the WriteView input method that allows you to put in your numbers just as you'd write on paper. Not necessarily needed for basic calculations but sure helpful when dealing with bigger problems...Of course, some of the RPN gurus would probably tell me just to get an HP and call it quits..but that's neither here nor there.To be quite frank, if you are looking for a calculator like this, I might consider the Casio FX-300ES Plus or HP Smartcalc 300S but this is still a very good calculator. Don't get me wrong.

Item as described, excellent communication, fast delivery. This seller is recommended!

My son needed it for college. His college and other stores were asking $50.00 or more. He didn't have time to run to the store to get it. His college was sold out, but you can order it online through the college bookstore and pay for shipping and it would take over a week to get here. Amazon it was $42.50 plus I had a coupon; free delivery and it arrived in three days! Great deal and my son have reported that it works great!

Tem inúmeras funções; aparentemente mais completa que a maioria das Casio.Pontos negativos; não tem um manual em português e por não ser tão comum com as Casio ou HP, tem pouca coisa no youtube em português.Mas é bem intuitiva.

Mi esposo está fascinado con ella, dice que es muy práctica, ligera, funcional y muy pero muy completa para lo que él hace..Además, llegó en tiempo y forma y en buen estado...Satisfecha con la compra...Saludos...

Very good calculator for studies!

Realmente la recomiendo 100% ya antes había usado Sharp y me gusta ya que tiene muchas funciones que utilizo en ingeniería!