Overview
The Canon Powershot A510 is a 3.2 megapixel digital camera with a 4x optical zoom
lens. The lens has a focal length equivalent to a 35-140mm lens on a 35mm film camera. The optical zoom lens is backed up by a 3.2x digital zoom feature.
In many ways the Powershot A510 fits into its own niche. Although it falls into the category of a standard digital camera it has a number of advanced features that the majority of its rivals do not offer in this range. These features include manual exposure. If you are looking for a straightforward point and shoot model then don't rule this one out though. It can be used in fully automatic mode and with its competitive price it is likely to appeal to a very wide range of people.
Image Quality
This camera follows on from the earlier Powershot A75 model and that was a very hard act to follow. The pictures I managed to produce with the Powershot A510 are good, but not exceptional.
The outdoor shots are fine. As is normal with a three megapixel camera there is a slight loss of detail in areas that are either very dark or very light. Other than that there were no real problems with the shots.
Indoors the test in very poor light produced an extremely good result. With the benefit of an Auto Focus (AF) beam the camera is able to focus well. The flash exposes the picture properly too.
The indoor portrait is a shot that many digital cameras struggle with. The picture taken with this camera is not quite as pin sharp as I would like to see, even with the assistance of the Auto Focus beam. The Powershot A510 does manage to light the picture well though and there is minimal loss of detail in the dark area of the hair in comparison to other models.
In the colour test, although a vivid set of colours are produced I feel that there is a slight blue caste over the picture. If you view at the sample image and look closely at the monkey's banana it has a blue tinge to it.
Shutter Lag and Recycling Times
Shutter lag is the time it takes to take each picture. A constant criticism of digital cameras is the delay in between clicking the shutter button, the picture being taken and the camera being ready to take the next picture. From a pure shutter lag view the Powershot A510 took a picture and recorded it in 0.35 seconds. That is a slightly faster than average time.
In terms of recycling times I was able to take five pictures in the space of 8.32 seconds. That works out at a rate of 1.66 seconds per picture. I am not claiming that this is the most scientific tests, but it should give you an indication of the recycling speed of the camera. At the time of writing this is a new test I have added for my reviews. Early indications are that this is on the fast side. My test is carried out indoors under standard conditions and it is possible that you would see better results outside.
Features
For lining up shots there is a 1.8" LCD screen. This is also used to access the menu system. If you prefer there is an optical viewfinder that you can use for composing images.
When you unpack the Powershot A510 it is likely that you will want to turn the camera on and take a few pictures. To do this you can place the camera in its automatic mode and it will make all the key decisions for you relating to the exposure. All you need to do is point the camera and take your picture.
The automatic mode is supported by a wide range of pre programmed shooting modes. These help the camera to produce the best possible shot across a variety of different photo opportunities. The shooting modes available to use are Portrait, Landscape, Night Scene, Fast Shutter, Slow Shutter, Stitch Assist (for panoramic shots), Foliage, Snow, Beach, Fireworks, Underwater, Indoor, Kids & Pets and Night Snapshot.
The built in flash unit has a maximum range of 3.5m, this reduces to 2.2m when the optical zoom is fully extended. The flash modes are Automatic, Always on and Always off. Slow Sync Speed and Red-eye Reduction are also available to use. To boost the power of the built in flash unit the Powershot A510 can be connected to an external flash unit, Canon's High Power Flash.
To add variety to your shots you can take advantage of photo effects for black and white, sepia, low sharpening, vivid colour and neutral.
There is a self timer with a delay that can be set to two seconds, ten seconds or a number of seconds that you select. Sound memos of up to sixty seconds can be added to each image to help you preserve the memory of each picture. Close up photography is catered for with a macro mode that lets you get in as close as 5cms to the subject.
If you need to fire off a number of shots in quick succession there is a continuous shooting mode that lets you take up to twelve pictures at a rate of 2.3 frames per second.
Short movies can be captured as well. The maximum length of each movie is three minutes. This is for movies shot at a resolution of 320x240 or 160x120 at a rate of 15 frames per second. Higher quality movies with a resolution of 640x480 at a rate of 30 frames per second can be captured, but the maximum duration is only 30 seconds.
Indoor shots in low light are helped by the AF (Auto Focus) Assist Beam.
Canon supplies all the necessary software and cables to connect the Powershot A510 to a PictBridge compatible printer, computer and a television set.
More advanced features include fully manual exposure settings, plus aperture and shutter priority. You can also select from Evaluative, Centre-weighted average, Spot (centre) metering, exposure compensation between +/- 2 EV in 1/3 stop increments, shutter speeds between 15 - 1/2000 seconds and ISO equivalents between fifty and four hundred. There are white balance settings for Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H, Custom and you can also opt to focus manually.
To increase the capacity of the camera you can buy tele and wide lens converters and a close up lens.
Ease of Use
The Canon Powershot A510 is easy enough to use if all you want to do is use it as a point and shoot camera. Owing to the number of features it has you will need to spend time with the manual to get the most out of it.
Cost
You can pick up a Canon Powershot A510 for around £143. This compares to around £135 for a Sony DSC P73 and £125 for a Nikon Coolpix 3200.
Style
The Powershot A510 looks very similar to many other digital cameras. It has a standard rectangular shape with a handy grip on the front of the camera. This helps to keep everything steady when you are taking a shot and is likely to lead to sharper images.
Its dimensions are 90.7 x 64.0 x 38.4mm and it weighs 180g.
Batteries and Memory Cards
Two AA batteries are needed to power the camera. To keep running costs down you may find that you can save some money by picking up a set of rechargeable batteries and a charger.
Images can be stored on either Secure Digital (SD) Card or Multi Media Cards (MMC). Canon supplies a 16mb card with the Powershot A510, but it is certainly advisable to pick up a high capacity card to go with your camera.
Click here to save money on SD cards
Points I like:
Very good feature set for the price
Where it is not so hot:
Limited movie recording times
Summary
Canon has produced another good camera with the Powershot A510. You will be hard pressed to find another digital camera in this price range that offers more features. It is a shame that the movie times haven't been stretched out more and although the shutter lag shouldn't pose you a problem the recycle times are above average.
Canon Powershot A510 Front View
Canon Powershot A510 Back View
Canon Powershot A510 Top View
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Canon Powershot A510 Review Canon Powershot A510 Specification Canon Powershot A510 Sample Images
