Pros: Good pictures,low cost, 4X zoom, SD memory card, separate mode for picture review
Cons: no battery indicator, no setting memory, slow recharge time
The Bottom Line: Good camera for beginners that later want more sophisticated features and especially those who want to print 8x10 photos. Not good for those who want decent video.
denniskly's Full Review: Canon PowerShot A520 4.2 Megapixel Digital Camera
I need a camera as a present for my daughter. After talking to her I came up with these requirements:
- A point-n-shoot camera that also offers some manual functions for special occasions
- A camera that is average in size, not too bulky nor too light
- Adequate pixels to occasionally print 8x10
- And last but not least: priced between $150 - $200 (as of Dec 2005)
With this in mind I narrowed my choices to Canon A510, Canon A520, and Sony DSC S80. After a month or research I bought the Canon A520
The Camera:
My first impression with the camera is that it's firm, compact and yet light weight. I feel I'm holding a camera, not a toy. The body is sleek, sexy. The grip is firm and yet it's not too bulky like the Sony DSC S80.
Without reading the manual I load the memory card, batteries, then take a couple of pictures, look at them, and delete a picture. Then I try simple (but frequently needed) changes such as flash modes, picture sizes, all by trial and error. After a while my conclusion is: as a point-and-shoot camera the A520 is pretty easy use, all the buttons are easy to understand and can be used intuitively.
When reviewing the pictures I find a good feature: on all cameras you have to power on to review the pictures, and every time you power on the camera the lens protrudes causing wear and tear on the motor. This camera has a separate mode that allows you to browse the pictures only, not requiring the camera be in recording mode and thus the lens doesn't protrude.
The camera uses SD card, which I like the most. SD card is cheap and compact. However only 16M card is provided. Given the camera 4M pixels and cheap SD price (for $30 you can et 512M) a 32M card should be provided.
Battery:
The camera uses 2 AA batteries which to me is the best scenario. Some cameras use 4 batteries which make them bulky and heavy. Others use proprietary rechargeable batteries which means you have to shell out another $50 for extra rechargeable batteries and charger. The use of AA batteries also mean you can buy them at any store in case of emergency.
Warning: if you decide to invest in rechargeable batteries try to buy ones with 2300 mAh and up, preferably 2500 mAh. If you can afford NiMH batteries go for it. Since there are only 2 batteries you need those that can hold more charge.
I have no accurate way to measure the life of battery but with my estimate the battery consumption of the camera is from average to good.
There are 2 big problems relating to batteries:
1. This camera doesn't have a battery indicator. Although when the battery is low the camera does display a low-battery indicator but this is not enough. I want to know if the battery is fully charged before getting out of the house, not after.
2. Another problem is the lack of memory to keep the camera settings when you change the batteries. Most other cameras have capacitors to keep the settings while you remove the dead batteries to load with new ones. This mean all the settings you selected (image size, exposure compensation, flash mode etc...) are lost, you have to re-select your favorite settings every time you change the batteries.
Picture:
- Outdoor shots: I think the picture quality is very good but not excellent. It's not a surprise here, most camera perform well in full sunlight.
- Indoor shots: in this area I think A520 excels others. The range is pretty good. I stand up to 15 feet away from the object and the picture is still good. With other cameras I had or tested the good range is about 10 feet. Canon claims to have a 'zoom flash' feature with this camera, which ties the flash to the zoom, making its angle narrower, thus provides more flash range. It also has AF-assist lamp which helps to focus in low light condition. I don't know exactly how these features work but I'm very pleased with indoor result. The flash coverage seems to be even. The pictures tend to be overexposed but the camera allows me to adjust that. However recycle time with flash seems to be long. I have to wait for quite a time before the flash is recharged for the next shot.
- Picture size selection: I can choose from 4 image sizes (2272x1704, 1600x1200, 1024x768 and 640x480) each with 3 qualities (super, fine, normal). As you can see 2272x1704 is 4M, 1600x1200 is 2M. I think the camera should have a 3M size as well.
- Video: can capture of full screen of 640x480 but beware, it only captures 10 frames per second, make it really jerky (the regular video is 32 frames). I'm not impressed at all at video quality. If you want a camera that capture decent video clips avoid this one.
- Picture printing: I bring a couple of pictures to CVS for printing. I compared with pictures taken by my old Pentax Optio S(3M). For 4x6 outdoor pictures A520 are better but not much. For 4x6 indoor pictures A520's are much better.I tried to print an 8x10 using my old ALPS MD-1300. I can see a difference between 3 and 4 Mpixels here: the picture taken by A520 is sharper, the color is better.
Zoom:
This camera offers 4X optical zoom, which is one of the main reasons why I chose it. However this 4x benefit doesn't come free, since the lens must be designed to make 4X zoom instead of 3X the wide-angle on this machine is reduced, I have to stand further to take a family shot and if it's indoors further away means less flash coverage. Zoom doesn't work when you are in video mode
Manual features and Accessories: this camera comes with adequate manual features such as manual aperture and shutter speed, manual focus, white balance adjustments etc…Also it comes with a bunch of accessories, which allow you to expand the capabilities. For example you can buy a wide-angle lens or a underwater case.
Conclusion: in spite of the drawbacks overall I like the camera. It has good to very good indoor and outdoor pictures, low price (I paid $161, online), compact and easy to use. I would recommend this camera to beginners that later want more sophisticated features and especially those who want to print 8x10 photos, the 4Mpixels pays. For those who want decent video you should look elsewhere.
What I like:
- Good pictures, especially indoor
- Low cost
- 4X zoom
- Use of SD memory card
What I don't like
- Only 16M card supplied.
- Cycle time too slow
- No battery indicator
Here a little bit about the reason why I nixed the other cameras:
- Sony DSC S80: body too bulky, expensive and proprietary memory card (I hate anything 'proprietary' don't you), LCD too big, which eats up battery fast(many people like big LCD though).
- Canon A510: A510 and A520 are almost identical except that A520 has more pixels (4M vs 3M). As for prices A520 is only $20 more, so I chose A520.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 161 This Camera is a Good Choice if You Want Something... Flexible Enough for Enthusiasts
4.0-megapixel CCD captures enough detail for photo-quality 11 x 15-inch prints 4x optical zoom, 9-point AiAF, 13 shooting modes Large 1.8-inch display...More at Amazon Marketplace
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