dnhoshor's Full Review: Canon PowerShot A430 Digital Camera
The Canon PowerShot A430 is a simple, rugged and flexible point and shoot camera, that is well suited to kids, first-time digital camera buyers, and as a second camera. While it only has a maximum resolution of 4 megapixels (2272 x 1704), It has extra features that give the camera a little WOW without being overwhelming. It takes good pictures in well lit conditions.
The A430 is about the 4" W x 2" H x 1.5" D. It's not very heavy or all that big, but it's too thick to fit comfortably in a shirt pocket. It fits easily into a jacket pocket. The buttons are large enough that even with my man-sized hands I don't feel like I'm likely to accidently change settings. The upper right rear of the camera has a thumb grip that keeps my thumb comfortably out of the way. The A430 uses two AA batteries, so you are unlikely to be far away from spares. Use NiMH rechargables for the best performance and cheapest use in the long run, but plain old alkalines will do in a pinch. In addition to having a 1.8 inch LCD display, the camera has a viewfinder which is great for sunny conditions where the LCD may wash out.
The PowerShot A430 feels solid. When started, the lens extends from the camera on just a single tube instead of a multi-segment telescopic assembly. I think this is the main reason the camera is thick, but also makes it feel less fragile. The camera starts and focuses quickly, and sounds a confirming beep when the camera is focused. Once focused, the camera shoots rapidly with very little shutter lag. The camera also has a focus assist lamp so that the camera is able to focus under low light situations.
The PowerShot A430 has a quite a few little extras that can make picture taking more fun and flexible. It has a 4X optical zoom lens which is a little more than the normal 3X lens found in most point and shoot zoom cameras. It has a super macro mode that lets you get as close as 1 cm (0.5 in.) from your subject, and a one-touch macro mode that lets you get as close as 5 cm (2.2 in.) from the subject. Don't be put off by the 4 megapixel resolution. The A430 will give you sharp pictures for printing up to 8 x 10 uncropped and will let you do considerable cropping for 4 x 6 pictures. It's more than adequate for anything you're likely to publish on the internet.
Using the camera is simple. There's a full automatic mode that's okay for most outdoor and indoor shooting situations. One thing I like about the automatic mode is that it resets the camera to a standard setting each time the camera is powered down. The only settings retained are the resolution and whether to use normal, fine, or superfine jpeg compression. You can override the default settings with selections for the flash settings, self timer, macro setting, or fixing the focus to infinity, but these setting will only be active until you turn the camera off.
There's a manual mode that lets you adjust the exposure settings, the white balance, the ASA film speed equivalent, etc. When used in the manual mode, most of the settings are retained after each power cycle. The manual mode has a couple of gimmicky, but potentially useful features. The color settings let your either accent one color, while turning the rest of the photo into gray scale. The color settings also let you swap one color for another. For example you can make a color picture with yellow grass or purple skies. These color changes are done entirely within the camera. Fortunately, these color affecting modes let you save the picture normally at the same time you playing with the colors so you won't lose a good shot just because you were monkeying with the the color.
Finally, there's a SCENE mode that lets you select common settings for various shooting situations, portraits, fireworks, indoor party, kids and pets, etc. The scene type selected is remembered from session to session.
These three setting types, automatic, manual, and screen are selected with a simple rotary thumb wheel. The thumb wheel also has settings for viewing your pictures, and for the movie mode. The camera supports making movies with sound at either 640x480 at 10 frames per second, 320x240 at 30 frames per second, or 160x120 at 15 frames per second. While not broadcast quality, the ability to make little videos with sound is a nice extra.
Other little niceties on the PowerShot A430 include the ability to add sound notations to your photos of up to a minute in length. There's a self timer available in all the still modes including 10 second, 2 second, and custom delays. The custom delay is nice in that it will let you take up to ten pictures in a row at intervals from one to thirty seconds. It can act as a poor man's time lapse camera. The manual and scene mode also have repeat photo modes that continue to take photos as long as you hold down the shutter button. The manual mode also has a stitch assist mode that helps to make panoramic pictures. Used with the stitching software that comes with the camera, it does a pretty good job of automatically creating panoramas.
The PowerShot A430 has a few weaknesses. The most notable is the flash. It's only good to a little over ten feet, and is slow to recharge. The second weakness is the tiny 16MB MMC card included with the camera. The camera uses SD memory, one of the most common varieties. Spring for a larger card immediately. The view mode lacks the ability to see multiple images at the same time, and it doesn't display the shutter settings. None of these weaknesses are show stoppers. Contrary to some of the other reviews, I think the battery life is pretty good. I agree that the battery life isn't too good with alkaline batteries, but with NiMH rechargables, you can shoot for a long time.
I really think that the PowerShot A430 would be a great camera to give to kids. A six or seven year old would probably have a great time with the camera with a some supervision. There are enough features on the camera to keep older children entertained for a long time without feeling they were using some second-rate junky kid's camera.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 149 This Camera is a Good Choice if You Want Something... Easy Enough for Anyone to Use
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