Is the new Canon Powershot A40 the best two- megapixel digi-cam you can buy?
Written: Jun 02 '02 (Updated Jun 03 '02)
Product Rating:
Ease of Use:
Durability:
Battery Life:
Photo Quality:
Pros: Manual mode, user-selectable ISO, movie mode
Cons: No rechargeable batteries/charger included, mediocre macro performance, average shutter lag/start-up/cycle times
The Bottom Line: The Canon Powershot A40 offers consumers ease of use, creative options and features usually found only on much more expensive cameras, excellent images, and a bargain price.
Howard_Creech's Full Review: Pentax Optio A40 Digital Camera
The Canon Powershot A40 is the updated version of Canon’s very popular Powershot A20 digi-cam. On the surface the A40 is a virtual clone of the A20 with just a couple minor changes, but beneath the stylish polycarbonate body shell beats the heart of a rejuvenated digital warrior. The A40 provides lots of useful features (everything that made the A20 popular has been retained) and some neat (and gratifying) additions not usually seen on entry level digital cameras.
The A40 isn’t going to fit in your shirt pocket, but it is easily small enough for larger pockets, brief cases, purses, and fanny packs. The new Powershot features a sliding lens cover and retracting lens, so you can carry it with you all the time. The camera is perfect for families where Mom likes the ease of automatic snapshooting and Dad wants a more serious range of manual/creative options. The A40’s exceptional feature set, very competitive pricing, and standard setting image quality make it one of the best choices for first time digital camera buyers.
Here’s what I had to say about the A40’s predecessor, the Canon Powershot A20
“If you are interested in creative photography then the Canon Powershot A20 probably won’t not meet your needs. If you are looking for the digital equivalent of a compact 35mm auto everything “point’n’shoot” then this Canon digi-cam is about as good as it is likely to get. The A20 is a neat little camera that consistently performs like a champ and it should easily best its competition in ease of use and overall performance. If you're looking for a user friendly entry level 2 megapixel digital camera with a 3X zoom and auto-everything operation, then the A20 should be pretty close to the top of your short list. Beth “adores” her new digital camera and after spending some quality time with Canon’s newest model, I can recommend it without reservation. Canon got it right with this one.”
The Canon PowerShot A20 was a very popular entry-level camera that sold well and produced legions of new fans for Canon digital cameras. How Does the Powershot A40 compare with the superb A20? Canon obviously listened to consumers and this updated model is much more than cosmetic. The new A40 has a movie mode (which the A20 lacked) and even more important, a real manual mode. The A40 is a genuine winner, an update that is better than the original, something as rare in the digital camera world as the movie sequel that is better than its inspiration.
My observations about the A20’s lack of creative input have been answered, in spades, the A40 will function beautifully as an “auto everything” point’n’shoot digital camera, however it also provides lots of creative manual control for demanding photographers; a totally unheard of feature in a sub $300 digital camera. If the A40’s macro performance was just a bit better this might have been the perfect example of just how good a two megapixel digital camera can be.
FEATURES
Lens
The A40 has an excellent quality f2.8-f4.8/35-105mm (35mm equivalent) 3X optical zoom.
LCD
The A40’s 1.5" LCD is a bit smaller than average but it is sharp and bright and the small size shouldn’t be too much of a problem.
Auto mode
In the auto mode, the A40 functions as an auto everything “point’n’shoot” digital camera. The evaluative metering system consistently produces good exposures in full auto. Program AE allows users some input into exposure decisions through exposure compensation, user variable ISO settings, and several user selected flash options.
Manual Mode
The A40’s Manual mode allows users to select aperture and shutter speeds. There are a few reality trade offs, but overall the manual mode is very useable (especially by experienced photographers) and allows a tremendous level of user input into exposure decisions, an unheard of feature in an entry level digital camera.
Movie Mode
The A20 didn’t feature a movie mode and many purchasers complained. Canon listened and the A40 has the ability to record short “low res” video clips (with sound at 320X240, or 160X120 (@20 fps).
MAXIMIZING YOUR IMAGING OPTIONS
Ergonomics & Controls
The Powershot A40 is a solid handful (it weighs a bit more than 13 ounces with four AA batteries and a CF card) but it’s a comfortable camera to use. The functional grip makes shooting easy, and changing settings is a snap. Controls are well laid out and easily accessed. The mode dial is logically located on the rear of the camera rather than in the traditional top-right position. Most of the A40’s controls are external (buttons) rather than internal (menus).
Photo Effects
Photo Effects is a nifty creative option (first seen on the more expensive Canon G2) that allows users to select spot metering, exposure compensation, vivid or neutral color saturation, contrast levels, low sharpening, and sepia or B&W tonal effects. You can accomplish the same effects in Paint Shop Pro or Adobe PhotoShop, but in-camera is usually easier than post-exposure
White Balance
The A40’s White balance options are fairly standard: Auto, daylight, cloudy, tungsten, and two fluorescent modes. What is really weird is that there is no manual white balance option. There’s a manual mode for exposure, but no manual white balance option?
Night/Low Light Photography
The A40 does the best job of any sub 3 megapixel camera I’ve used to date on Night/Low Light Shots. An experienced photographer can manipulate f-stop, shutter speed, and user selectable ISO settings and shoot "hand-held" low light shots that would be a challenge for almost any digital camera; an absolutely amazing performance for a sub $300 digital camera.
Macro
Obviously Canon had to compromise somewhere and the A40’s macro performance is below average for a two megapixel digital camera. The camera can shoot acceptable e-bay images, but for artistic compositions with bugs and flowers, up close and personal, buy a Nikon Coolpix 2500.
Shutter Lag/Cycle/Start-Up Times
Just a bit slower than average for two megapixel digital cameras. Pre-focus and shutter lag times are quite reasonable, but the start-up cycle is quite slow (camera on/lens extension/auto focus/shutter) in the 2+ second range.
Battery Life
A set of 4 alkaline AA’s is good for between 80-100 shots with low to moderate LCD usage. AA’s can be bought almost anywhere, a nice temporary solution when you run out of power. Two sets of re-chargeable NiMH batteries (and charger) are a worthwhile investment.
Image Quality
Digital Images from the A40 are sharp with well-saturated and accurate color (although my friend felt the reds were just a tiny bit “hot”). Excellent enlargements to 5X7 are possible, but 8X10 (as is the case with all sub three megapixel digital cameras) enlargements will show very minor pixelation (under magnification). Image noise and chromatic aberration are well controlled in the A40.
Technical Specifications
Resolution: 2 megapixels (1600X1200)
Lens: f2.8-f4.8/35-105mm (35mm equivalent) filter thread: 52mm
Viewfinder: “real image” Optical viewfinder
LCD 1.5”
Exposure Compensation: yes +2/-2 EV in 1/3 EV steps
Storage Media: CompactFlash (type I)
Exposure Modes: Auto, Program AE, Manual, & Movie
Metering: Evaluative and Spot
White Balance: Auto, daylight, cloudy, tungsten, and two fluorescent modes
Shutter Speeds: 15 seconds to 1/1500th of a second
Flash: built-in with Auto, Off, On, On w/Red-Eye Reduction, and Slow Sync modes
Auto Focus: AiAF (Artificial Intelligence Auto Focus)
Connectivity: USB
Sensitivity: 50-400 (ISO equivalent) user selectable or auto
Power: 4 AA
Street Price Range: $350.00---$275.00
Included
8Mb CF card
4 AA Alkaline batteries
wrist strap
USB cable
AV cable
Software
177 pg (printed) user’s manual
Optional
Underwater housing (are you reading this diverpam?)
Add-on wide angle, telephoto, and close-up lenses
In the Field/Handling & Operation
I love to play with cameras (digital and analog) it’s an affliction I’ve suffered from for almost thirty years. Fortunately, my wife is very understanding and I have a good friend who shares my addiction. He works in the business (he sells new and used photographic equipment) so he functions not only as good company on my camera testing jaunts, but also as an enabler (he furnishes the digital and analog cameras and other photographic goodies we play with).
We had breakfast together the other day and discussed all the new digital cameras just now hitting the market (right before Father’s Day and the start of the summer vacation season). We had just tested Nikon’s nifty new CP2500 and my friend said he’d like to compare/contrast two of the newest models from Canon. Either the Powershot S330 or the S200 against the new Powershot A40. I reminded him of how much I had liked the Canon Powershot A20 and he said, “OK, here’s what we’ll do, you shoot with the A40 and I will shoot with whichever one of the “S” models I can shake loose. We’ll shoot pretty much the same stuff and then we’ll compare the results, side by side.” We ended up spending a couple of days with a Canon Powershot A40 and the tiny little Canon Powershot S200. My review of the S200 will appear later.
For our first test with the new Canon Powershot A40 we shot some color tests. We always use a home-made macro stage (a card board box with the top and front panels cut off. The box is lined with white photographic background paper, and lit from above with a simple studio lighting set-up. We use the same set of colorful plastic beach toys so that results are comparable from camera to camera) The A40’s color was bright, well saturated, and accurate. The auto White balance setting did a very good job overall and the standard pre-sets handled specialized lighting situations quite well. I was a bit puzzled at the lack of a manual white balance option.
After finishing the color tests we drove to Paul’s Fruit & Vegetable Market on Taylorsville Road so that I could buy a couple of Rosemary Plants for my wife’s herb garden. Paul’s has been a Louisville landmark since World War II, a family business that sells fresh fruits and vegetables, nursery plants, flowers, gourmet groceries, and delicious deli items. While I was shopping for Rosemary plants, my friend went inside and shot some of the fruit and vegetable displays (the interior of Paul’s is dim and cool). The available light is from small overhead fluorescents. My friend shot everything twice, once with the A40 and once with the S200. When we looked at the shots from the S200 and compared them with the shots from the A40 we understood just how well the A40 does in night/low light situations. The A40 images were very good with sharp resolution, little or no noise, and very bright accurate colors, while the images from the neat looking little S200 basically, sucked.
The following morning we took both cameras to the Falls of the Ohio State Park (just across the Ohio River in Clarksville, Indiana) the Park is the only place where you can see the 380 million-year-old Devonian fossil beds that made Louisville the perfect site for a town. During the Revolutionary War, the fossil beds (actually the exposed remains of huge ancient reef) formed a falls that impeded navigation on the Ohio River.
George Rogers Clark (the founder of Louisville and a Revolutionary War hero) built a fort on Sand Island to protect Kentucky (then a county in Virginia) from attack by the British in Vincennes and Kaskaskia. That primitive little fort eventually became the city of Louisville. The park is popular with fishermen, birdwatchers, hikers, and picnickers. We wandered around for a couple of hours taking photos with both cameras. The Falls of the Ohio State Park is located at exit 0 on Interstate 65 (North). Both cameras performed very well. Digital Images shot with the A40 printed out very well (on my favorite Epson Stylus Photo 785 EPX) up to 5X7, colors were accurate and resolution was very good. 8X10 enlargements were very good when viewed with the naked eye, but showed noticeable pixelation and highlight burnout under a 4X Mamiya Loupe.
A Few Concerns
The A40’s optical viewfinder only shows about 80 percent of the frame. Images shot at higher ISO settings (400) show a noticeable level of noise. The A40 provides no uncompressed file format (TIFF or RAW) you can only save images as JPEG’s. Macro capabilities for the A40 are below average for comparable 2 megapixel digital cameras. Canon should have included a charger and re-chargeable NiMH
Batteries.
Conclusion
There has never been a better time to buy a digital camera, especially an entry-level point’n’shoot model. Prices are way down (well below half of what they were averaging just two years ago) and popular features that were commanding prices in the $1000 range as little as three years ago are available today for less than three hundred bucks. The digital camera wars are rapidly shifting from the advanced amateur/serious photographer front and aiming straight at the heart of the highly profitable 35mm snapshooter/casual photographer market niche. There are lots of new camera models hitting the stores; cameras that are designed to introduce a whole new generation of photographers to the pleasures of digital photography. In other words purchasers won’t have to be either computer geeks or semi-pro photographers to maximize their digital photography options.
OK, so you’ve finally decided that it’s time to buy a digital camera, Canon's new PowerShot A40 may be the best all round choice for your first digi-cam. With a street price of less than three hundred bucks, the Canon Powershot A40 offers consumers the ability to set ISO values, White Balance, Exposure Compensation, Shutter Speeds, and f-stops, or just say “auto” and let the A40 do the driving.
If you want style, “cool”, and ultra compact, then buy the Canon Powershot S200/S330, the Minolta DiMage X or the Nikon Coolpix 2500. If you want excellent two megapixel images, lots of creative options, point’n’shoot ease of use, superb ergonomics, and scads of nifty accessories then the A40 should be all alone at the top of your short list. In my Powershot A20 review I said, “I can recommend it without reservation. Canon got it right with this one”. The A40 is even better, with more features than the A20, it’s cheaper, and it is a better performer to boot.
Comparable Digital Cameras
Still not convinced? Here is a list of stars among the A40’s competition so you can compare.
Canon PowerShot S330 & S200, Fuji FinePix 2600Z and 2800Z, Minolta DiMage X, Nikon Coolpix 2500 and 775, Olympus Camedia C2040, or the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P50/P51
Are you considering spreading your imaging wings and setting up a home digital darkroom? Check out my reviews of a pair of bargain priced and very capable photo quality ink-jet printers.
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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