Customer Reviews
Jack of all trades, Master of all.
This is truly the master of all trades. 7.1 megapixels is really as good as it gets by todays standards. The only other camera that beats this one is the Canon S2 IS with its 12x zoom, but even that camera doesn't have 7.1 megapixels, and is quite bulky (trust me). Canon really locked it down with the swivel LCD, which was a life saver while taking photos at a concert. I used a 2GB Ultra II SD card with it for hi-res photos and movies, and the camera worked wonders.
I have one or two very minor gripes with this camera.. but you'll realize that this was the only way the camera was sub $400.
- The red-eye is an issue
- Wish it had optical instead of digital zoom in movie mode
- I wish Canon would switch to Mpeg4 instead of AVI for movie mode (Better Compression)
I think its safe to declare that Canon is the digital camera king.
Excellent Camera For The Price!
I owned a Canon G2, 4 megapixel camera for a couple years prior to looking for a replacement. I looked at other brands, but ask any camera aficionado, and they will tell you, "Canon is the best brand." I compared many cameras, and almost bought the PowerShot S70, but am glad I did not for the following reasons:
+ I like the feel of a more professional camera like the A620
+ You don't have to use rechargable batteries!! I didn't realize how inconvenient rechargables are until you have the choice; this camera is one of the few I have seen that takes regular AA batteries! If ever you run low on power, every corner store in the world has AA's! (No more running to the re-charger).
+ Fast processor: The DigicII chip it comes with is amazing! Coming from the G2, it feels almost as fast as a camera worth 5x more! (Extremely fast start-up times too).
+ Awesome picture quality: I can't believe I waited this long to buy an upgrade; most of my G2's pictures were blurry... NOW maybe 1 in 100 pictures are a bit off-focus, but not even that bad. Just great looking, true-color & sharp resolution pictures.
+ Price! For all the features, I was prepared to spend at least twice as much.
+ Lightweight, small (but not too small), and compact + great battery-life. The lens retracts nicely too; so no lens cap needed like the old G2.
Some cons?:
- Wish the grip was rubberized like some more professional cameras, but it's still ergonomic so it's not that bad.
- Flash is good, but not "great." It is fine for 95% of the shots, but on longer dark rooms, the shot still comes out a bit dark. I didn't try tweeking the +/- settings, so it is possible that could be overcome.
- No "Bulb" setting. I liked my "B" setting on my old 35mm camera and kind of miss that feature. The longest shutter time offered on this camera is "15-seconds," which for most will be fine.
I can't think of any other "cons"... This is just a great little camera, and one I expect will last me at least another 2 years. The next camera I plan on buying to compliment this one will be the Canon Digital EOS for real professional situations, like portraits and landcapes that I like to frame... but for everything else, this camera has it all.
Disappointed
Perhaps the camera has a broken shutter, but the pictures are blurred. I shot about 70 photos, called Canon twice and am still unhappy with the camera. Most of the pictures look as if the exposure is set wrong and that hand shake was a problem. I have taken pictures professionally and am disappointed.
I did a lot of research before purchasing the camera and I liked the features. However, the pics look like they could have been done with a cell phone. The camera definately wasn't worth the money. We are very disappointed and the camera is going back to the store.
