chelledun's Full Review: Canon PowerShot A570 IS Digital Camera
Mr_chelledun and I are veteran Canon camera purchasers, so although the last model died a bit sooner than we would have liked (probably repeatedly dropping it didn’t help), we still eagerly signed on for Canon digital camera number four with the PowerShot A570 IS. The price was right at around $175.00, and the clerk eagerly hyped features such as image stabilization and face detection.
As I’ll explain in more detail below, the A570 is a good digital camera for the average user. Maybe my expectations were too high, though, because I’m just not quite as “wowed” by it as I was by its predecessor, the A540. Still, I don’t regret my purchase, and I doubt many people will be disappointed with this model.
Physical Structure
If you’ve used or owned a Canon digital camera in recent years, there’s nothing new to see here. The A570 is shiny, silver, and relatively utilitarian in appearance. It’s a medium-weight digital camera at 6.2 ounces, so it feels sturdy without wearing you down. Measurements are 2.5 X 3.5 X 1.7. Basically, it’s about the size of two decks of cards stacked on top of each other. The camera comes with a slightly stretchy strap which can be threaded through a hook on the camera. I like to have it to hook around my wrist while I’m taking photos, but the downside is that the strap sometimes makes its way into my photos.
The A570 has a 2.5 inch screen with LCD display. I had this size screen on my old camera and got spoiled by it. This means I can no longer tolerate using other camera models which have smaller, folding screens. I want to be able to see the picture I took! At the time of reviewing the A540 I expressed concern that this uncovered style of screen would get scratched, but there must be some kind of protective coating because the screen on that camera still looks good after a year and a half of heavy use.
A compartment on the bottom right portion of the camera houses two AA batteries and a memory card. I’ve had a few issues with this compartment. The door doesn’t slide easily on the hinges and I have to fight with it every time I want to change the batteries. It’s possible my particular unit is a lemon in this regard since I haven’t had this problem on my past cameras although they have had a similar set-up. You will want to purchase a large memory card, because the one that comes with the camera will only hold a dozen or so photos. We bought a 2 GB card for around $40.00 at Best Buy at the time we bought this camera. The camera also comes with some fancy software which can be used to email or print photos, but I haven’t personally found much use for it.
Components on the Camera
Canon has camera design down to a science and the A570 is as intuitive as ever. This model comes with the typical bag ‘ol instruction manual but you’ll probably be able to engage in basic use without reading it. The most important control elements, the zoom toggle and shutter button, are located at the top right of the camera for convenient use. Pull the toggle to the right and you zoom in up to four times optical and another four times digital. Pull it to the left and you zoom back out.
The top of the camera also contains a little bitty on/off button and a dial by which users can set the shooting mode. If you don’t know what you’re doing, “Auto” tends to be a safe bet, as the camera selects the appropriate setting for you. “Kids & Pets” is intended to capture fast-moving subjects. Settings for “Indoor” and “Night Scenes” are intended for lower light levels. The “Movie” setting takes a movie, of course, although I consider this feature more of a novelty than anything else. “Manual” allows more experienced photogs to set their own specifications. Some settings are suited for extremely specific situations, like “Snow”, “Fireworks”, or “Beach”. On the upside, you don’t need to remember what the tiny pictures representing each setting mean because Canon now flashes the setting name across the screen when you turn to it. On the downside, one thing I’ve noticed with all my Canon cameras is that the shooting mode dial doesn’t tend to lock into place very well. This means it gets jiggled to a random setting nearly every single time I thrown my camera in a bag or purse. I’ve missed a few key shots in this way by, for example, accidentally taking a video instead of a photo.
The mode switch on the rear of the camera allows the user to switch between photography and viewing mode. By pressing the “Menu” button, the user brings up a dizzying array of options for photo settings which can be navigated by a little round joystick of sorts. This is also how one changes the camera time, security options, and volume. A “Display” button shows the camera’s current settings and the number of photos taken. Pressing the button below the little trash can image will bring the option to delete a photo. Don’t worry, you have to say yes first. Finally, those who are truly technologically savvy can set the camera up to print just be pressing the little printer button.
My Experience
I’ve had the A570 for about three months now and have used it for taking photos of one vacation, a couple of weekend getaways, several family events, and various evenings out with friends. As an outdoor camera, the A540 performs predictably well. Pictures are sharp and colors vibrant when printed out or projected onto my computer. With respect to low light levels, I’ve had reasonably good luck with the “Fireworks” setting, and of taking close up pictures of individuals or groups of people in dark settings. I do think the face recognition feature may be overhyped since I took similar photos that were just as good with my prior cameras. It’s never that hard to get a good picture of a face, right?
On the negative side, this camera doesn’t seem to mark a significant improvement over its predecessors in the Canon family when it comes to photographing in darker settings. I can’t get a decent picture, for example, of a low-light zoo or aquarium exhibit. The camera fixates on the brightest object in the room at the expense of everything else and thereby loses all the detail. Even the “Night Scene” setting doesn’t solve this problem. Red eye also remains an issue with this camera, regardless of what setting is turned on. Further, Canon still hasn’t managed to speed up the time it takes the camera to recycle between flash pictures. Better capture that special moment on the first shot, because it will take another several seconds before you’re free to shoot again. I also expected more with respect to the camera’s advertised Image Stabilization feature. I don’t have scientific data to back it up, but I feel like I’m taking about the same amount of fuzzy or blurry pictures, particularly in lower light levels.
Despite the minor nitpicks above, I am still happy with the A570 and find it to be a good value at less than $200.00. Digital camera prices are clearly on the fall - I paid $100.00 more for this camera’s predecessor two years ago! Its intuitive control setting ensures that camera novices will be perfectly fine setting the thing on “Auto” and snapping away. Those with more experience can take advantage of the various settings to produce more professional results. It’s easy to download photos to a computer using the cord provided or to print at a photo center by simply inserting the memory card.
Overall…
This user-friendly camera is an acceptable option for most types of users. Although some of the “new” features didn’t seem as exciting as advertised, I’m generally pleased with the quality of photos this camera takes. Whether you’re searching for a first, fifth, or tenth digital camera Canon’s PowerShot A570 IS should meet the needs of all but the most hardcore photographers.
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