May or may not be the best for you
Written: Dec 02 '03 (Updated Dec 03 '03)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Ease of Use: |
 |
|
| Durability: |
 |
|
| Battery Life: |
|
|
| Photo Quality: |
|
|
| Shutter Lag |
|
|
|
Pros: Tilt and swivel feature on LCD, ergonomic handgrip, creative controls, AA batteries available everywhere
Cons: 1.5" low resolution LCD, AA batteries inconvenient to charge and swap, no RAW, no hotshoe
The Bottom Line: A terrific value with creative controls and advanced features, but I cannot recommend it because of the LCD.
|
|
|
| lawman67's Full Review: Canon PowerShot A80 Digital Camera |
I'll start by saying that I don't own the Powershot A80. I own the Powreshot G3 and S50 cameras, both of which share many features with the A80 and operate in much the same way. I will also add that unlike some reviewers who may just play with a product at the shop and then write a review, I did actually spend a long day at the Norton Simon museum in Pasadena, CA with a friend and his family, shooting with his A80 while he shot with my S50. We passed the cameras back and forth many times and then compared the images at work the next day on a Canon i950 printer. My review follows.
The PowerShot A80 feels to me, a PowerShot G3 owner, as though Canon took the G3 and let it sit under a heat lamp for a few hours. The control layout is a bit different and despite the smaller size, I actually liked the hand grip on the A80 (the fourth AA battery is inside) better than the one on the G3, but overall, the A80 was obviously designed if not by the same person who did the G3, then at least by someone who likes his or her work.
The fit and finish is very similar to the G3, as is the part metal, part plastic body, only everything is in 3/4 scale. While on the surface the removeable lens shroud, which allows the fitment of an adapter for auxiliary lenses, not to mention the tilt and swivel LCD make the A80 look and feel much like a mini-G3, in actuality the camera has more in common with the S45 (and the higher resolution S50 I compared it to).
No, the S50 does not have a tilt LCD, nor does it accept auxiliary lenses without 3rd party adapters that the camera itself was not designed to accept. It is in the electronics and actual use that these cameras are more alike than the G3. The primary difference is the operation in the automatic and scene modes, such as portrait, landscape, etc. In automatic, the G3 uses the center spot for focusing, while the A80 and the S series cameras use Canon's 9-point AiAF. This feature is one of those features that some people love, some hate, and some don't even realize is there. In this mode, the camera tries to guess what the actual subject of the photo is, based on colors, lighting and composition, compared against a large database of photographic information, to pick one or more of the 9 focusing points. I've had good luck wiht it on my S50, and found it to work every bit as well on the A80. I rarely use the G3 on automatic, and have not missed this feature on that camera at all, but I like it on the handier S50 and A80.
The other aspect of the A80 that puts it, in my opinion, in the same category as the S45 and S50 is the lack of a hot shoe for externel flash. Compact cameras with their tiny flashes mounted close to the lens just aren't very good for photographing people in low light. The S50 has serious red-eye issues, and even in just one day of shooting, I had the exact same issues with the A80. That said, the A80 seems to have a little less red eye than the S50, though it also seems to have less range on its flash, which also has less manual control. The S50 (and G3 built in) flash is Canon's "Light Guide" type, which is fully adjustable and for its size, very powerful, hence the red eye. On my S50 I always set the flash to 2/3 stop underexposure and that reduces the effect, not to mention delivers in my opinion a better exposed photograph.
The A80 produces amazing pictures under most conditions (except flash shots of people, of course), but I found the automatic white balance to be easier to fool than that of the S50, though I didn't test it in very many situations. The museum gallery for 20th century art is lit by small incandescent or hallogen (couldn't tell, they are reflected) lights that the S50 handled perfectly on automatic WB, while the A80 pictures were too warm, almost pink.
White balance was the only area of casual snap shot operation that I had any complaints about. The A80 starts up, focuses and releases its shutter faster than the S50 does, sometimes MUCH faster. With prefocus the cameras' operating speeds were all but identical, but when set to automatic and just pointed at a subject, the A80 felt more like a 35mm point and shoot than a digicam, which are typically slower. I think the difference was less than a second most of the time, but it was very noticeable to me.
Finally, the A80 is a much more ergonomic package than the S50. The S50 is shaped like a brick, and while within that shape it is very easy to hold and control, it is still a brick. The A80 is small and light, wiht an excellent grip and all controls positioned for easy one-handed operation, wiht the single exception of navigating menus.
That leads to what I consider the A80's fatal flaw, and the reason I would not buy one and don't recommend it to my friends: The LCD. The G3 and S50 both have beautiful 1.8" LCDs that are very high resolution (117K pixels), have adjustable brightness and are sharp enough to use for manual focusing. The A80 uses a smaller 1.5" LCD that to my eyes was fuzzy, lacked contrast and was all-but useless for manual focusing. I've had a 1.5" screen before on my old S200, and didn't remember it being this bad, so when I got back and looked on the internet I found out why. The S200 (and most 1.5" Canon LCDs) have similar resolution to the 117K pixels of the G3 and S50, while the A80 has a low resolution screen with only 67K pixels. While I enjoy the tilt/swivel feature on my G3, I'd gladly trade it on the A80 for a higher-resolution screen, larger or not. This really surprised me as the less-expensive A70 has the same high-quality screen as the S200 did, and is much nicer than the A80's, except for the tilt feature, of course.
While the screen is sub-standard in resolution and size, it does have the same tilt and swivel feature as the G3 and many camcorders. This really is a terrific feature, allowing you to hold the camera at waist (or ground) level for unobtrusive snaps or creative composition, high above your head to shoot over a crowd, or to be pointed forward for self-portraits and group photos which include the photographer. I wish my S50 had this feature, and really am spoiled by it on the G3. The A80 has it, and it works as expected.
This obvious cost-cutting measure was simply too glaring for me, but then again, I use the LCD for most of my photography and often focus manually for speed (compact digicams have tremendous depth of field, profocusing eliminates the delay caused by autofocus). On the A80 the autofocus was quick enough that I wouldn't need to use MF often, but the LCD was also not sharp enough to review my photographs and evaluate them for focus or exposure, let alone detail.
The lenses are also very similar, with the 35mm equivalent focal length of 35-105mm at f2.8-4.9 common to both cameras. The A80 will focus closer in macro mode and allows the easy attachment of accessory lenses, so I'd give the A80 the nod here, but in most circumstances both produce simply amazing detail and clarity.
The last physical aspect of the A80 that I'd like to talk about is the batteries. As a G3, S50 and former S200 owner, I'm no stranger to proprietary Lithium Ion cells. The A80 uses four AA batteries, and only comes with alkalines. The S50 and smaller S200 aren't known for stellar battery life (I used to average 120 exposures with the S200 and average perhaps 10 or 20 more with the S50), while the G3 is famous for long battery life from its larger cells (300 exposures). The A80, according to my friend, typically lasts about as long as my G3 does on the four AA NiMH 2100 batteries he bought for it.
Battery life is not the issue with proprietary vs. AA batteries though. AA proponents argue that if their batteries die, they can buy some alkalines anywhere from Alabama to Azerbaijan, and they are correct. What they don't often mention is how awkward it is to swap batteries when they die, and how bulky the spares are to carry. In cameras like the S50 and G3, just pop out the dead cell and pop in your charged spare. One piece, that is easily stuffed into a pants or bag pocket and which weighs almost nothing. With AAs, you pop out the four spent ones and put them away, then line up polarity on your four spares and put them in. Not a big deal when sitting in a car or at a desk, but a very big deal while you watch the moment disappear quickly.
AA proponents argue cost, and yes, if you buy OEM proprietary batteries, they are pricey, while generic copies on eBay are usually the same price as rechargeable AAs. I bought two S50 batteries for $11 each, and two G3 batteries for $17 each. Similarly, the four 2100 NiMH AA batteries I bought for my flash were $3 each, and another $15 for the charger.
Both viewpoints on batteries are totally valid and correct, and highly subjective by your own preference. I prefer the proprietary cells for speed and convenience of carrying a spare, while my friend prefers AAs so that he doesn't need to carry spares. We're both correct.
The most important test of the A80, or any digital camera, is the images that it allows you to capture. Except for some strange white balance on some indoor, no flash shots with the A80, I couldn't tell the difference between its pictures and those from the S50. Both cameras were on as close to the same settings as could be, large superfine at ISO 100 (5MP on S50, 4MP on A80), and both were extremely sharp, detailed and lacked significant noise or distortion. In one of the galleries I had to crank the ISO up to 400 and here the A80 had less noise than the S50, so I'd say that in low light the A80 may be a little better. In contrast, the S50 seems to have a bit more contrast, or punch, which is also true when I compare S50 pics to those from my G3 at the same settings. This makes sense as the A80 and G3 use the same 4MP sensor, while the S50 uses a different 5MP sensor that is common with the PowerShot G5.
All in all, the A80 is a terrific camera for the $400 asking prie. If Canon had fitted the same higher resolution LCD as the A70, I would recommend this camera whole heartedly. That they took such an obvious (to me anyway) cost-cutting measure with the 67K pixel LCD really soured my opinion of this otherwise exceptional little camera. My advice is to go to a small camera store that is NOT in an indoor mall, where they will let you take the camera outside and play with it a little bit. Compose images in the LCD of a variety of subjects; people, plants, signs, rocks, etc., and see if you can tollerate the LCD. Perhaps I am just spoiled by the large and sharp LCDs on my G3 and S50, you be the judge.
LCD issues aside, the A80 is perhaps the best value in a 4MP camera today.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 400 (friend)
This Camera is a Good Choice if You Want Something... Flexible Enough for Enthusiasts
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
lawman67
|
 in Computer Hardware |
 - Top 200 |
|
Member: Andrew F
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Reviews written: 208
Trusted by: 63 members
About Me:
Her Majesty's a pretty nice girl but she doesn't have a lot to say.
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.