stuleg's Full Review: Pentax Optio A40 Digital Camera
When I purchased my Canon Powershot A40 at the tail end of 2002 it was the very best the digital camera market could offer, which rather goes to show how far digital cameras have come. What was considered at the time to be a top end piece of equipment is now very much a basic model as megapixels have increased and prices have come down. Nevertheless this is still a very competent camera which should not be resigned to the scrapheap just yet, it is also selling at giveaway prices on sites such as ebay and Amazon which means that digital photography with the Powershot A40 is well within most people’s budget.
• What’s in the box? •
If you buy the A40 new you will get a plethora of extras to ensure the very best use of the functions on the camera. Apart of course from the camera itself there is an 8MB compact flash memory card to slip into the camera and store pictures on. Four AA batteries ensure you won’t need to pop to the shops before you can try out your new toy while a USB Interface cable ensures simple connectivity between Camera and Computer. An AV cable enables the stored pictures to be shown on a television that boasts the required sockets and a wrist strap can be attached or not depending on your preference. 2 CD-Roms hold the Canon Digital Solutions Software and Arcsofts Camera Suite which are both needed to install the camera and the relevant drivers to work it. Finally a selection of manuals in varying sizes tell you about the camera in as detailed or brief a way as you are comfortable with.
• Key Features •
The A40 is an all singing all dancing digital camera with numerous features to keep the average user occupied for days, and yet if you prefer a simple aim and shoot approach to photo taking the A40 is more than capable of that, it can be as simple or as complex to use as you want it to be.
• 2.0 megapixel CCD - Without getting too technical a megapixel is a measure of an images resolution. 2 megapixels is approximately 2 million pixels and this shows the depth of detail a camera can capture. 2.0 megapixel is the bare minimum a digital camera should have nowadays with some new top end models boasting up to 10.0 megapixels.
• 1.5 inch colour LCD viewfinder and real image optical viewfinder - The LCD viewfinder is a great way to size up your picture subject while seeing what it may look like on a computer or television screen. It is also used to view previously taken pictures in a slide show format as well as listing menus for the more advanced options the camera boasts. It also gives information such as the space available on the memory card, shutter speed and exposure settings. If you prefer the traditional way of photography then the optical viewfinder is waiting for you to put your eye to it, this method is an advantage if battery power is low as it saves using the LCD screen.
• 3 x Optical zoom and 7.5 x digital zoom – The 3 x optical zoom is equivalent to 35 - 105mm on a 35mm camera, which is really the minimum zoom you would want. In addition to this there is the digital zoom which simple enlarges the pixels on the LCD display rather than physically zooming in on the picture subject. The optical zoom is fast and produces a crisp image while the digital zoom does appear a little grainy when used to its full capability.
• Autofocus and fixed focus modes – The autofocus works by finding three focus areas at the middle of the picture and using them as a guide, if it is turned off the camera switches to fixed focus which simply concentrates on whatever is in the middle of the frame.
• 3 resolution settings – Depending on the clarity of picture and detail required the cameras resolution can be set to 1,600 x 1,200, 1,024 x 768 or 640 x 480 pixels. The higher the resolution the larger the pictures overall file size will be. In movie mode there are 2 resolution options, with 320 x 240 and 160 x 120 available.
• Self timer – Which can be set to either 2 or 10 seconds.
• Movie mode – In movie mode the A40 can capture up to 30 seconds of moving images with sound, although this is a fairly small amount it is good enough to capture important or sudden occurrences. You can keep filming in 30 second segments for as long as you have space on the compact flash memory card.
• Multi function controls – With a function rich camera like the A40 the controls need to multi task, and they perform well at their designated functions. Most buttons simply scroll through what they can do one at a time with many of them telling the user their function on the LCD screen.
• Compression – This function sets the quality of the photograph to superfine, fine or normal – with superfine being the most detailed. This increases the overall file size of the photograph.
• The look and feel of the camera •
The A40 comes in silver grey livery with the casing made predominantly of plastic. A little too large to fit in the pocket the camera is also on the heavy side when loaded with the 4 AA batteries needed to power it. That aside the camera has a solid feel to it with no loose or flimsy parts ready to snap off or break, the controls are positioned well so that the user does not have to move hands too much to call up the various functions. The viewfinder is large and clear while the LCD screen is sharp, the zoom lens moves in and out with very little noise while the sockets required to connect the A40 to a computer or television are well protected from dirt with a rubber cover.
• The bundled Software •
As mentioned above the camera needs the drivers on the Canon Digital Solutions Software disk to enable it to work effectively. This software also allows an amazing amount of manipulation to uploaded pictures or film clips. Simply selecting the panoramic picture master stitches images together seamlessly for that full 360° look to landscape photography. Other more standard features include red eye reduction sections as well as cropping, rotating and distorting any given picture. Arcsofts Camera Suite is more of the same although it does include Video Impression software for editing movie clips captured with the A40. Personally I installed both programs but rarely use them, preferring instead to use Windows XP`s Scanner and Camera wizard to upload pictures and Paintshop Pro 9 to manipulate and edit. Users of computers not running Windows XP will still need to use the bundled software for the main part, which is compatible with Macintosh and early Windows operating systems.
• For the more experienced camera user •
For those who take their photography seriously the A40 is capable of providing a host of tweaks and functions to keep budding David Baileys happy. The shutter button sets focus and exposure when semi depressed and fires the shutter when pushed completely. The flash set button gives six options - Auto, Red-Eye Reduction Auto, Forced, Suppressed, Red-Eye Reduction Forced, and Slow Synchronised. A removable lens ring means that standard lenses can be added to the A40 with the use of an adapter which retails at around $35. The macro / snapshot / infinity button lets the user toggle between three settings which adjust the way the focus works depending on the proximity of the photograph subject and the light conditions. A built in ISO speed sensor determines the cameras sensitivity to light conditions with five settings to obtain the perfect look to a photograph.
• So how good are the photographs? •
This is what we really want to know, it is no good having an all singing all dancing camera if the photographs taken are not of suitable quality. Luckily the A40 delivers well whether you are a novice aim and shoot photographer or an experienced user. When looked at on a computer screen the images are crisp and clear when taken at 1,600 x 1,200 resolution. If you prefer to print your photographs they hold up well to traditional film prints at a size of 8 x 6 inches – although printer quality and paper used will affect the result. Printing at any larger size starts to affect the quality although I found you could get away with printed photographs of 12 x 8 inches before the image started looking pixelated and blocky. All in all colours were true and details easy to pick out.
• Final thoughts •
So we have a decent digital camera that can still hold its own amongst the newer competition. The Canon Powershot A40 is currently selling on Amazon or ebay for around the $60 mark which makes it a bargain introduction to digital photography. The controls are well laid out easy to master while the LCD display is clear and accurate. The 8 MB compact flash card supplied is hardly worth bothering with (it would only hold eight pictures of the quality below!) but with new 1GB cards retailing at under $50 you can fit well over a thousand photographs onto it before uploading it. On the subject of uploading, the software is fast and easy to understand and photographs take about 1 second each to transfer – once this is done the memory card is wiped in seconds and ready to use again. The camera is a little on the heavy side and battery use is not great, especially with the flash and LCD screen in use but the purchase of a rechargeable battery adapter will reduce costs considerably.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 300 This Camera is a Good Choice if You Want Something... Flexible Enough for Enthusiasts
3x optical, 6x digital zoom, 2.5" LCD, triple anti shake, face recognition, digital zoom enhancement, 21MB internal plus SD/SDHC slot, MPEG4 movie mod...More at eCOST.com
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