Overview
The Canon Powershot A580 is a 8 megapixel digital camera with a 4x optical zoom lens. It is a point and shoot model.
Why Buy The Canon Powershot A580
If you are looking for a cheaper digital camera that places the emphasis on picture quality rather than looks and style then the Canon Powershot A580 digital camera could be the one for you. It also offers one or two extra features over more basic point and shoot digital cameras.
Main Features
Megapixels:
Zoom:
LCD Screen:
Dimensions:
Weight:
8
4x
2.5 inches
94.3 x 64.7 x 40.8mm
175g
Macro:
HD Movies:
Manual Controls:
Batteries:
Memory Cards:
5cm
No
No
AA
SD/SDHC
Image Quality - See Sample Images Below
Outdoor Scenic Shots in Good Light
This is a good start. From this picture I can see that the colours are likely to be well balanced, the camera able to cope with contrasting scenes and that pictures will be sharper than you would normally expect to find from a digital camera in this price range.
With the lens zoomed right out I am impressed by the fact that focusing does not fall away as you move towards the edges of the shot. This is an area where other cameras can produce an increasingly soft shot.
Once again a Canon Powershot digital camera is able to produce a sharply focused shot where sharpness remains more or less constant across the photo.
Looking into the area of the building that falls in the shade usually tells us more about the camera than looking at the brightly lit sunny areas. This is because it is harder for a camera to focus on the darker sections. The Powershot A580 has no problem and highlights the fact it is capable of producing sharp photos.
Portraits
I especially like the colours in this photo. This helps to produce a warm feeling to the photo. Focusing is good and skin tones retain a natural feel to them.
This is my favourite test shot. There is plenty of colour in the photo and the Powershot A580 has managed to keep the light produced by the flash unit to just the right level.
Here we have another photo that works well. Although I prefer the indoor portrait with flash this photo suggests that while the light indoors is reasonable you should have the option between using flash and creating a more natural look.
Macro, Colours and Noise
This is a good quality macro shot when you take into account the price of the camera. You should be able to produce pleasing close ups in most situations.
The colours produced by this Canon digital camera are consistent throughout all my tests. Compared against other brands the strength of the colours produced by Canon digital cameras are somewhere in the middle rank.
A degree of noise does start to creep in, especially in the darker areas. Noise levels are acceptable though and do not detract too much from the quality of the photo or print. Even so I would only increase the ISO setting to 400 if conditions necessitated it.
By the time we reach ISO 1600 picture quality is seriously struggling. I would only look to use this setting in extreme conditions and I had no other way of securing the shot.
Summary
No complaints at all. The Powershot A580 upholds the tradition of the Powershot series for producing very impressive photos.
Style
The Powershot A580 is like a very cut down digital SLR camera. It has a good sized grip on the front to help you hold the camera steady. It is available in silver.
Shutter Lag Times
Single Shot
Five Shots
Single Shot With Flash
Five Shots With Flash
0.35 seconds
7.39 seconds
1.12 seconds
22.71 seconds
Ease of Use
This camera is easy enough to use. It can be operate as a simple point and shoot camera, but there are also some useful features hiding in the functions and menu areas.
Points I Like
Picture quality - value for money
Where it Could Improve
Shutter lag times with flash
Verdict
No surprises. This is another Canon digital camera offering very good picture quality at a very reasonable price. If you want something relatively inexpensive, but effective then you could do a lot worse than pick up the Canon Powershot A580.
Product Shots
Front View
Back View
Top View
Sample Menus
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Related Pages
Canon Powershot A580 Review Canon Powershot A580 Specification Canon Powershot A580 Sample Images Canon Powershot A580 Features
Review Date
April 2008
