Pocket sized, weighing in at less than a pound, and carrying a $299 price tag, the Canon PowerShot A-10 is to $600 and up digital cameras what the fully automatic point and shoot compact 35 mm cameras are to more expensive and capable 35 mm SLRs.

It's a great camera for someone who wants to experiment with digital photography without spending more than $500 and a nearly perfect camera for someone who just wants to take pictures for email or other online publication purposes.

Why I Bought It

Simple. I sell items on eBay, and I need pictures. The A-10 provides 1.3 megapixels, which is more than enough for shots to be displayed on a computer monitor. Furthermore, I have an iMac, and the A-10 provides an iMac compatible USB connection and Mac software for interfacing to the camera.

Pros

The camera is very easy to use--basically, turn it on, point and shoot. Within a couple of hours, I had read the camera manual, installed the software on my iMac, taken some pictures, downloaded them, and used them in an eBay auction. I was quite surprised at how easy it was to produce a good quality shot.

The camera is very versatile. It has both manual and automatic "exposure" modes, a mode that takes a rapid sequence of pictures automatically, and a picture review mode. Auto focus, auto flash, and red eye elimination work very well. The zoom control is convenient and arranged so that you know when you are going from optical to digital zoom.

With the macro mode, you can focus as close as about 6 inches. There's also a self timer with 10 second delay.

You can frame shots through the viewfinder or by looking at the LCD display (however, see Cons).

The camera stores the pictures on compact flash (CF) cards.

Cons

If you need to make high quality prints larger than 5" x 7", this is not the camera for you.

Unlike more expensive digital cameras, this one does not shoot "video" and does not have a video out connection.

The LCD screen is almost useless in bright outdoor light. You have to use the viewfinder and go to a darker place to review shots on the LCD. This was my only real disappointment with the camera.

In an effort to keep the package price down, Canon ships the camera with 4 AA alkaline batteries and an 8 MB CF card.

The original batteries lasted less than two days, so if you don't want to spend a small fortune on batteries, you need to get rechargeable NiMH batteries and a battery charger (the Canon CBK100 charger + batteries kit costs about $50 on the web, but Kodak makes a cheaper one).

The 8 MB CF card holds only 16 medium resolution pictures, so I immediately bought a 128 MB CF ($55 after a $10 coupon and $25 manufacturers rebate). This card holds 271 shots, more than enough for an extended vacation.

Finally, the basic camera doesn't include an A/C adapter, so I bought a Canon ACK600 (about $50) to use for photo sessions at home and when connected to my computer.

Cost

The basic camera kit lists for $499, but with careful internet shopping, you should be able to get it for $299 or less. I paid $291 at Amazon, and I've seen it as low as $234 at dealers I wouldn't do business with. The complete outfit that I assembled cost a total of about $450.

Useful Links

For my review of another camera, check out Nikon FM10.


Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): $291
This Camera is a Good Choice if You Want Something... Easy Enough for Anyone to Use