Electronics Review: Canon PowerShot A570IS Camera

Stars: 5 out of 5
Pros: Simple camera that takes great pictures while using AA batteries

Cons: Flash recharge slow

The Bottom Line:

Still takes great pictures

While fitting in my pocket

A great investment

NOTE: While this review was written in 2007, I still use this camera quite often, and I still am really glad I bought it.

In Which I Join the Digital Camera Age

Having finally decided that digital cameras aren't just some passing fad (okay, so maybe it had more to do with other things being a higher priority like a computer I could download the pictures to), I recently bought my first digital camera. There were several things I knew I wanted, and the Canon PowerShot A570IS fit the bill. I'm really glad too, because I love it.

Please keep in mind as you are reading this that this is my first digital camera. I can't compare it to others. While I have used the occasional digital camera, I have never handled one enough to form an opinion or a basis for comparison. Additionally, I don't know what half of the digital terms mean. I will just be discussion my experience with this camera in laymen's terms.

Basic Features

There were two features I was determined to get with a digital camera, both of which seem to be hard to get. The first was a view finder. Maybe it's just the old fashioned part of me holding on, but I didn't want to let go of that yet. I will admit to finding myself using it half the time when I don't need to use it out of habit, but it has been nice for the few times I couldn't see the display screen or had the screen turned off. Still, the more I adjust to a digital camera, the less I use the view finder.

And the great LCD screen makes it easier and easier to stop using the view finder. The picture is always sharp and easy to see expect in extreme conditions like bright direct light.

The other thing I wanted was AA batteries. I like the idea of being able to change batteries on the go. I was told over and over again how much it cuts down on battery life. Yet it also gives you more options for getting replacement batteries on the go. While I might eventually break down and buy rechargeable batteries, so far, I have been using the disposable kind. I haven't completely kept track, but I know I get over 100 pictures before the low battery sign starts to flash. Once that comes on, I turn off the display screen or turn the camera off more frequently. All told, I get over 200 pictures before the batteries completely die and the camera informs me it is time to change them. Since I have been known to go for months without taking a picture, I think this is a decent amount of pictures.

When I started researching cameras, I learned about Canon's Image Stabilizer (IS). I immediately latched on to this idea since I have been known to take some shaky pictures in my day. The basic idea behind this feature is that it compensates for small human movement. I love it! So far, I haven't taken any blurry pictures.

The camera comes with a 4x optical zoom. This is slightly smaller then my old film camera's 5x zoom. Have I noticed? Not on your life. The zoom moves smoothly all the way out and back. Some might call it a little slow, but I like the fact that it won't zoom too quickly so I have to keep adjusting it. The IS feature helps keep the zoomed in pictures sharp, and the ones I have taken look great. If, however, the 4x zoom isn't enough for you, the camera also includes a digital zoom that, combined with the optical zoom, increases the zoom to 16x.

A new feature on this camera is the Face Detection feature. Basically, when you press the trigger button half way down, the camera looks for faces and focuses on them. If you are watching the screen, you can see the various boxes show up around faces. The idea is the camera uses the faces it finds to set the light and focus. To be honest, I haven't noticed that much of a difference between the shots here and the shots with my old camera.

As with all digital modes, cameras are getting better and better. This one features 7.1 mega pixels. The pictures I have taken are certainly sharp, even when I start zooming into the picture.

The camera uses the SD memory cards that most cameras use, making finding a card quick and easy. I got a 2 gig card for a great sale price.

Shooting Modes

For those who don't care, the camera can just be set on Auto and left alone. On this setting, the camera judges the situation and uses the best settings for focus, light, flash, shutter speed, and anything else involved. The majority of the pictures I have taken have been in this setting, and they turned out fine.

If, however, you want to use a special setting, there are plenty of other modes on this camera. With a quick twist of the dial on the top of the camera, you can access portrait (focuses on the person and blurs out the background), landscape, night shots (reduces camera shake to help with shots of people at twilight or after dark), kids and pets (faster speeds for things that don't want to stand still), and indoor (maintains true colors in spite of indoor lighting). Then there's the stitch assistant that allows you to take several overlapping pictures and merge them on your computer later for a true panorama shot. And, like all digital cameras, you can shoot basic films as well, although that eats up lots of storage space.

But we're just getting warmed up! One option on the dial is Special Scene. This contains even more options to get the right picture. Night scene is different from night shot because it works to capture the person and the background. Foliage works well for trees and flower. Snow and Beach make people standout against a bright background. Fireworks captures the show with the best settings, while Aquarium adjusts to capture the fish in an indoor aquarium. The final setting is Underwater which, shockingly enough, provides the best setting for shooting underwater. Since the camera isn't designed to go underwater, Canon does sell a water proof case to be used before using this setting.

Now, while I said that I have used the camera mainly on Auto, I have tried some of these settings. While the flowers looked fine with auto, the colors really stand out with the foliage setting. The fireworks came across slightly better with that setting as well. And the night shots and night scenes I took look great. Of course, you need to remember to readjust it when you are done or you'll get some bad pictures if, say, you are trying to take a picture of a person indoors while the camera is still set on night scenes. (Oops! On the plus side, my pictures of Niagara Falls at night look incredible.)

Now if you want more control then all these preset options give you, you can manually set the shutter speed, aperture, and film speed. I honestly have no clue what any of this stuff really does. The default or special settings I already described perfectly capture what I want to capture.

Flash

The flash has two settings, on and off.

What surprised me the most when I got this camera was the lack of a red eye reduction setting. The camera decides if it needs to use red eye reduction or not and flashes accordingly. I have seen hints of red eye when the camera didn't use that flash, but it was minor and easily edited out using today's software.

The flash does provide the biggest drawback to the camera. It takes a while to recharge. And the weaker the batteries, the longer it takes. While the flash is recharging, the camera essentially freezes up. The view screen goes black and nothing else works. This only lasts for a few seconds. Honestly, it's probably only a second or two longer then it took with my old camera. But it does require some patience.

Viewing the Pictures

As with most cameras, you have several options for viewing the pictures. With a simple flip of a switch, you can play back the pictures on the view screen. Using the camera's controls, you can even delete pictures you don't like right then and there.

The camera also includes a cord for hooking your camera up to a TV. Again, you use the camera's controls to scroll through the pictures.

The camera comes with an interface cable that can be used to hook the camera directly to a printer or computer. That means you can print or transfer your pictures without removing your memory card. If connected to a printer, you use the camera's buttons to find the picture you want to hit, and then hit the print button on the back of the camera. Included when you buy the camera is some software that helps you download the images to your hard drive. This software automatically starts up when you plug your camera in, and I've found it very easy to use. I've had no trouble getting the pictures I want from my camera stored where I want them on my computer. And considering I'm not always tech savvy, that's saying something.

Depending on your computer, you can always take the memory card out of the camera and plug it directly into your computer as well.

Conclusion

I knew I would love getting a digital camera, and I was right. Canon's PowerShot A570IS works perfectly for a non-tech, non-expert person like me. I can get the pictures I want without too much effort. I think I will be taking lots more pictures in the future then I have in years past.