Overview
The Canon Powershot A620 is a seven megapixel digital camera with a four times optical lens. The main attraction of the Powershot A620 is it offers some advanced features while its price is kept down to a reasonable level. Therefore it is well suited to anyone who would like to experiment with photography and perhaps take up photography as a hobby without spending out on a more expensive digital camera.
This type of camera also appeals to couples and families where one person is looking for a simple point and shoot camera while someone else would like a camera that is more advanced.
Image Quality
Before testing the Powershot A620 I had tested the Canon Powershot A610. The Powershot A610 is a five megapixel version of this camera and I was extremely impressed with it. I had expected to take a series of more or less identical test shots with the two cameras. For some reason although the Powershot A620 is very good it did not quite match up to the quality of the Powershot A610. Nevertheless it still managed to produce a set of photos that stand up very well in comparison to many of the best digital cameras I have tested.
One area that really stands out is the clarity of the shots. This underlines the quality of the lens. This leads to a number of pleasingly sharp shots. With some digital cameras you find photos tend to lose their focus as you move towards the edge and corners of the photo. This is not the case with the Powershot A620 and the photos stay sharp right up to the edge. Another area where the camera is strong is with the colours it produces. As with most of the Canon digital cameras I have tested it is especially strong with blues and greens.
These features are emphasised in the outdoor scenic type shots. I am particularly happy with the first shot in the series and I feel this underlines the capabilities of this camera. Even the darker areas of the photos are handled well. This suggests scenes with high levels of contrast will be captured successfully. This is another area where other cameras have struggled.
The two portrait shots are also up there with the best. This is another area that underlines how well the camera reproduces colour. The outdoor portrait was taken in winter when it is very difficult to produce a warm feel to a photo. The Powershot A620 does very well here. The indoor portrait manages to show a high level of detail and is also sharply focused. The drawback is the level of red eye in the photo. This occurs despite red eye reduction being used.
The indoor shot of some beer bottles is taken in more or less complete darkness. The camera copes with these conditions extremely well and suggests indoor shots within the range of the flash and auto focus illuminator should not be a problem. This is another area where the camera manages to produce one of the sharpest images I have managed to take in these conditions.
As I mentioned above colours are very strong. This is highlighted by the dedicated test for colours. If anything the blue areas are too strong.
Finally the macro shot is another photo that stands up very well in comparison to others. It is bright and clear. This suggests the Powershot A620 is worthy of consideration if you are looking for a camera to produce photos suitable for online auctions.
Shutter Lag and Recycling Times
The Powershot A620 managed to take a single shot in 0.48 seconds. To be honest I would have liked to have seen a faster time. It took 8.80 seconds to take five consecutive shots. This works out at a rate of one photo more or less every 1.76 seconds. This is a good time, but does not make up for the time it takes to capture a single photo.
You can compare this camera to other models by taking a look at the Shutter Lag Comparison Table.
Features
The 4x optical zoom lens has a focal length equivalent to 35-140 mm in 35mm format. For close up photography the camera can focus from just 1cm away from the subject. There is also a 4x optical zoom feature.
The 2" LCD screen pulls out and twists round. This is very useful. It allows you to tilt the LCD screen away from bright sunlight and it also makes it easier to see the scene when you are taking shots at awkward angles. The screen is comprised of around 115,000 pixels.
When you first start using the camera there is a fully automatic mode. This makes the camera very easy to operate. A step up from automatic mode are a selection of preset scene modes. These are Portrait, Landscape, Night Scene, Night Snapshot, Kids & Pets, Indoor, Foliage, Snow, Beach, Fireworks and Underwater. These are also easy to use. All you need to do is select the most appropriate setting for the scene you are about to photograph. This helps the camera to produce the best possible photograph.
As you get to know the camera there is a whole range of features to try out. These include Stitch Assist and My Colours. Stitch assist helps you to combine images into a panoramic picture. My Colours allows you to use a number of digital filters to change the appearance of the final image. These are also separate features covering Vivid and Neutral colours, Low Sharpening, Sepia and Black and White. Short voice memos can be added to photos once they have been taken. This short commentary helps to preserve the memory of the photograph.
For the more experienced photographer the Powershot A620 offers fully manual exposure. Aperture and shutter priority are also available. The maximum aperture settings are f2.8 and f/4.1. Shutter speeds can be set between 15 seconds and 1/2500 seconds. There is a custom mode that lets you save key settings.
Other advanced features include three types of metering (Centre-weighted average, Spot), exposure compensation (+/- 2 EV in 1/3 stop increments), ISO equivalents (AUTO, 50, 100, 200, 400) and white balance settings of Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H and Underwater. There is also a Custom setting.
Continuous shooting is also available. This allows you to press down the shutter button and keep taking pictures. This has a top speed of 1.9 frames per second. The camera keeps shooting all the time the shutter button is pressed down until the memory card is full.
Another useful feature is a histogram. This can be displayed on the LCD screen before you take the picture.
The built in flash unit has a range of 4.2m. This reduces when the zoom lens is in use down to a minimum of 3m. You can also vary the power of the flash. This is a useful feature to have. The flash modes available to you are automatic, always on and always off. You can also select red eye reduction, slow sync speed and first or second curtain synchronisation. To increase the power of the on camera flash you can buy Canon's High Power Flash (HF-DC1).
There is a self timer for when you would like to appear in a photo. There are three different settings you can choose from. The first allows you to set a two second delay before the picture is taken. The next one allows a ten second delay. The last one is more complex. With this one you can select a delay time of your choice up to thirty seconds. You can also shoot up to ten shots at the end of the delay time.
Up to either one hour or 1gb (whichever is the shorter duration) of movie footage can be recorded. The maximum resolution is 640x480. A top speed of 30 frames per second can be achieved at this resolution. In addition there is also a mode that lets you shoot a minute of footage at a rate of 60 frames per second at a resolution of 320 x 240. You can play these clips back in slow motion. This can be useful for analytical work such as watching back a golf swing. Zoom is available while movies are being shot.
Canon supplies all the necessary cables and software to connect the Powershot A620 to a computer, television and a PictBridge compatible printer.
To further increase the flexibility of the camera you can add conversion lenses to it. These increase either the telephoto (1.75x TC-DC58N) or wide angle (0.7x WC-DC58N ) capabilities. You will need to buy a lens adaptor to be able to fit the conversion lenses. There is an underwater case available as well. This is the WP-DC90 and it is waterproof to a depth of 40m.
Ease of Use
When you first get your hands on this camera you can use it as a straightforward point and shoot model. There is a lot more to it than that though and you will need to be prepared to spend some time with the manual to get the most out of it. I must admit I do not find Canon digital cameras the most intuitive models, but any effort you put in to find your way around will be worth the effort in the end.
Key controls are the control dial on the top of the camera, a number of buttons on the back of the camera, plus the function screen and menu system. The basics are easy enough to pick up, but for a lot of the goodies your will have to dig a little deeper.
Cost
You can pick up a Canon Powershot A620 for around £225. This compares to around £240 for a Olympus SP 350, £255 for a Fuji Finepix E900 and £340 for a Panasonic DMC LX1.
Style
This camera has more similarities with a traditional 35mm film camera than with the sleek, slimline looks of many digital cameras. To help you take a steady hold of the camera when you are taking a shot there is a handy grip on the front of the camera. The camera is light grey and is made of plastic.
The camera weighs in at 235g and has dimensions of 104.8 x 66.0 x 49.1mm. Owing to the size and shape of the camera a case to carry it around in is likely to prove its worth.
Batteries and Memory Cards
Four AA batteries are required to operate the camera. Canon suggests that you should be able to take around 350 shots with the Powershot A620 before you need to change the batteries. Taking these figures at face value it sounds as if you will get a high number of shots before you need to change the batteries. It should be noted most digital cameras that use AA batteries normally use two at a time as opposed to four. Therefore to keep down running costs a set of rechargeable batteries and a charger are worth considering.
SD cards are used to store images on. A 32mb card is supplied as standard. I was able to take 15 shots using the default settings before the card was full. Therefore it is advisable to pick up a high capacity card as well.
Click here to save money on SD cards.
Points I like:
Sharpness of the photos
Variable angle LCD screen
Indoor photo quality
Feature set at reasonable price
Where it is not so hot:
Noticeable shutter lag
Red eye in indoor portrait
Summary
There is a lot to like about the Canon Powershot A620. Photos are sharp and clear and the manual exposure controls are a strong attraction at this price. There are plenty of other features to try out as well. This underlines the all round capabilities of the camera. All I would really like to see is a faster shutter response and reduced red eye.
Canon Powershot A620 Front View
Canon Powershot A620 Back View
Canon Powershot A620 Top View
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Canon Powershot A620 Review Canon Powershot A620 Specification Canon Powershot A620 Sample Images
