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"Is There A Perfect Digital Camera For Beginners?"
This review was
October 21, 2003
It seems that almost every day, I get an email from someone who asks if there is one single brand and model of digital camera that I would consider the "perfect" digital camera for a first time buyer. It's very hard if not impossible to answer this really, because each person has different needs from a digital camera. One user may want it for designing web pages. Another wants one just for photos of items they're selling on Ebay. Someone else wants to make photo quality prints of their children, and yet another places a priority on a small size so they can carry it in their pocket. So as you can imagine, there really is NO single camera that is the "perfect" digital camera for every single user. Still, I felt the need to try to pick a current favorite. One that might suit MORE people in general than most other models out there at this time. So, here it is... the Canon PowerShot A70.
Rather than a formal review I'll give a description of the main features the A70 offers and why I think this makes it nearly perfect for many first time buyers (and even those looking for their second camera in many cases). I'll provide links to the larger review sites reviews on this camera for those who want to read up more on the specifications and greater details of this model:
The Basics: The A70 is fairly small in size, being around 4 inches wide, by 2 1/2 inches tall, by 1 1/2 inches thick at it's widest point. Not quite "jeans pocket" sized, but it can easily fit into a coat pocket or purse, and being lighter in weight, it's not a burden to carry around. Offering a resolution of 3 megapixels, the A70 will give you a top images size of 2048 x 1536 pixels. The camera offers a pretty standard 3X optical zoom lens (equal to 35-105mm on a film camera), and a digital zoom that will enhance it up to 9.6X (though as you've read here before, the more you use a digital zoom, the worse the image quality gets, so use sparingly). There is a built-in lens cover that closes over the front of the lens when you turn the camera off. The built-in flash has a small orange lamp just under it, which in lower light conditions will illuminate to assist the auto focus so it can lock on. I found this lamp to be a little on the weak side really, but not everyone is including it on their cameras, and it still works fine for such things as taking snaps of a friend who's standing close to you in a low lit room, etc. The color LCD screen is bright and clear, and the navigation buttons on the back are easy to get used to once you read the manual. The camera uses Compact Flash memory cards, and comes with a small 16 meg card to get you started. Design: Anyone familiar with the older Canon A20 and A40 units will see a similarity to the design of this camera, however, the hand grip is now curved inward more than on previous models. Many like this design, but I'm not terribly crazy about it (see photo below). For many it may not be a big issue, but those of us with bulkier hands may find the grip a little tight and awkward. Not a huge issue overall though, but something I wish Canon designers would evolve further on future models. As you can somewhat make out from the camera photo (top), there are buttons for the menu and functions, a "set" button to set features, the camera/view switch, and instead of a navipad button which you pivot like on most cameras, four individual buttons which let you navigate menus, and double as buttons for flash and macro (close up) settings. Build quality is fine. It's plastic, but a higher grade of plastic. The memory card compartment is a bit flimsy feeling, as is the switch on the back that flips you from photo mode to view mode, but other than that, no complaints about build. As a note, there is a built-in lens cover that closes when the camera is powered off.
Basic Features: For the first time buyer, there is a simple "auto" mode, where all you have to do is turn the camera on, aim it, press the shutter, and let the camera handle all other settings. When you learn a little more, you can turn the mode dial on top to adjust for various types of photos represented by small icon symbols on the dial; for example, "portrait" mode so your subject is sharp but the background is blurred, or, a "sports" mode where the camera will pick a faster shutter speed to catch quickly moving subjects (such as at a soccer game, etc.). As your skills increase even further, there are manual controls where you can adjust the shutter speed, aperture, white balance, and even the intensity of the flash, manually to suit your personal tastes depending on the type of creativity you want on a particular shot. The camera's menu system is not the most intuitive to use, so you will need the manual from time to time when you get started. After a while you'll get the hang of it all. Once you feel the need to become even MORE creative, you can remove a ring from around the camera lens, where it will allow you to attach a small choice of other lenses by Canon for more control, such as a wide angle lens, and a telephoto lens which extends the range of the optical zoom (More on this below). Power/Memory: The A70 is powered by 4 AA sized batteries, and gets good life even on alkaline batteries, which is rare for digital camera. Still, you'll save lots of money if you go ahead and plunk down for a set or two of Ni-MH rechargeable batteries right off the bat. Compact Flash is the memory card format used, and I've used cards up to 256 megs in size with no problem. You'll want more memory, too (read next about the movie feature). Movies: One of the most interesting features of the A70 is it's movie clip mode. Most digital cameras today have one, but the A70 takes it a step further by offering a physically larger sized movie. The standard size on most cameras is 320x240 pixels (rather small), and while the A70 will allow you to take movie clips up to 3 minutes in size at that size, it also has a 640x480 pixel sized movie mode. At this size, the camera will allow you to take approximately 30 seconds of video, at 15 frames per second - now, that is about half the frame rate of a standard camcorder, so if you move the camera around while filming, it can look a little jerky compared to camcorder video, but it's still vastly improved over 320x240 sized clips. It records sound as well, through a small microphone on the front of the camera. Hooking the camera up to your TV via the included cables will allow you to watch these oversized clips on a regular TV and they'll look pretty good, too. They won't replace a dedicated camcorder, but come a lot closer to "good" video than most other cameras do at this time. One note of caution however - if using the 640x480 mode, it will use A LOT of memory. Even a 128 meg memory card won't handle more than a few clips. If this feature is something you like and will use a good bit, you may wish to invest in a 256 meg "high speed" memory card (your retailer will steer you to the right one) or even higher if you can afford it. On an extended weekend, you'll quickly fill up a smaller memory card with 3 megapixel images and large movie clips, so prepare ahead of time by buying more memory. Image Quality: Image quality is good, and though I'm pickier than the average person, I'd cross that line and say that it's "very good", in good shooting conditions. Pictures look great when viewed on a monitor, and prints on my HP Photosmart inkjet printer looked very good as well. I took my memory card to my local Walgreens, and printed nice looking 8x10 prints on their Fuji digital printer as well. The A70's images are good enough for it to be considered a viable "all around" use camera, be it family photos, vacations, or very light professional work such as small business web sites or fliers, brochures, etc. The photo just below was taken outdoors on a sunny day and is compressed a bit to load quicker here, so they're better out of the camera than shown, but it gives a decent idea of what to expect:
In terms of Macro (close up) shots, the A70 has a dedicated macro mode which is accessible via one of the buttons on the back of the camera. Those who used previous models in this series probably saw how poorly they did in this area, but I'm happy to report that the A70 has a much improved macro capability, as seen in the shot just below of a dandelion. Those who need an Ebay camera for things like stamps or smaller items will find the A70 much more useful than previous A-series models.
Accessories: If you look at the photo on top of this page of the front of the A70, you'll see a round, raised area or "ring" that circles the outer lens area. By pressing on a button next to this, the right can be removed to expose a connections area, where a plastic adapter ( Canon part # LA-DC52C) can be screwed onto the front of the camera. By itself, the adapter allows you to attach 52mm sized filters to the camera, such as a U.V. filter (to protect the main lens), or a polarized filter (to reduce glare on water/glass/metal shots). Handy. There are also two main accessory lenses you can purchase that can be screwed onto the front of the adapter as well. The Canon wide angle lens (their part # WC-DC52) which will give you a 0.7x wide angle (making it in the 26-27mm range), adding about 30% more subject matter to your wide shots. The Tele lens (part # TC-DC52) will turn your 3X zoom into an approximate 6X zoom. You do need the adapter, in order to connect either of the accessory lenses to the camera.
The A70 with adapter and wide angle lens attached.
The adapter does add some bulk to the sides and front of the camera, no longer making it "compact" (but still small). The benefits can be worth it however. Simply using the adapter and a filter will keep your main lens scratch and dust free. Using the wide angle lens really adds to scenic shots where you want more in the photo (mountain ranges, vertical building shots, etc.), and the tele lens will add real zoom, without having to resort to the much more image corrupting digital zoom feature. The adapter is around $20, the wide lens around $99, and the tele lens around $129 (U.S.). Just below are two shots put together of my back yard. On the left, is a wide angle shot without any extra lenses on the A70. On the right, is the same shot at the same spot, but this time the wide angle lens has been added. You can see how much more is included in the photo. Note that when using the wide angle lens, a very slight amount of blurring can occur in the four corners of the image. These are not severe however, and should not effect your shots adversely. Note that I have heavily compressed each image so they'll load faster for folks with slower internet connections, so their clarity is low - it is simply to illustrate for you how much more of the subject matter you can include using the wide angle lens.
Without wide angle lens (LEFT), and with (RIGHT)Oh, and one more note regarding the adapters. The wide angle at least ( I don't have a tele to look at hands-on ) does NOT have a thread on the front, so you cannot use filters directly on the accessory lenses. I tried to trick it, and put a polarized filter on the ADAPTER first, then, screwed the wide angle lens on the front of the filter thinking that would work. Nope. The tiny amount of extra length the filter added to the whole setup caused a round dark area in the photo, like you're looking through a tunnel. So, the point is, you can use filters if you just use the adapter piece... you apparently cannot use filters with the accessory lenses.
Who can use the A70, (and what to expect): I see the A70 as being a good all-around use camera for beginners and also for those who may own a more extensive camera, for use as a "second camera". It's easy enough for novices once you study the manual a little bit, but offers many manual controls (shutter speed, aperture, white balance) and lens options for those with more experience in photography to get a bit more creative. With the 3 megapixel resolution and lens quality, you can expect very good email and screen images, 4x6 and 5x7 prints, and "pretty good" 8x10 prints (when hung on a wall at regular viewing distances), but close inspection of an 8x10 will show the limitations; if your needs rely heavily on making lots of 8x10 prints, you'll want to opt for a higher resolution camera, but if all or most of your photos will be for web uses and prints of 5x7 and smaller with an occasional movie clip, I think most users will be happy with the A70. I do not consider the A70 to be perfect - the weak auto focus assist light, slightly plasticy build in some spots, and a color LCD screen that is a little prone to scratches, keep this from an "A+" grade. However, while there are lots of 3 megapixel cameras around in this price range these days, but none of them have all of the manual control options the A70 has for this price, and very few of them even offer that 640x480 movie mode. With good image quality on top of this, the A70 comes as close as I can get to a "perfect" camera for many first time buyers and users of most all skill levels.
Conclusions The current retail price for the A70 at the time of this writing (late Sept. 2003) averages at $299.00 in stores, though you can occasionally see them on sale from $279 to $299 here and there. Some stores are charging $299 and throwing in a 128 meg memory card with it, so this makes it a better deal as well. We are entering the 2003 holiday season now, and with the A80 (see below) hitting stores, chances are some better sales on the A70 are on the near horizon. Shop around.
Alternatives: Want more? A new model A80 (click it to go to Canon's site) is reaching stores for the holiday season now, which will upgrade the sensor to 4 megapixels, and add a swivel feature to the color LCD screen, so you can swivel it out from the camera body for tougher angled shots. A note however, in that the A80 will NOT have the upgraded 640x480 movie clip mode the A70 has - it'll only feature 320x480 sized movie clips. (hey Canon.. huh??). If you want LESS, the very similar looking Canon A60 is a 2 megapixel version of this camera, but again, this one too does not offer the extended sized movie clips. The A60 is around $229 to $249 in stores now, and the newer A80 is expected to sell in stores for around $349 to $399. Links are provided below to very extensive reviews written by the major reviewers. These folks do this for a living, and have written incredibly detailed reviews that will tell you more than most even wanna know about the camera, and even provide sample images as well. If you found this review and theirs helpful, then help support their sites as well as this one, so we'll be able to continue bringing you and others this kind of information. Donation areas are provided on this site in the Q&A area, and at the bottom of the Gallery page. Now go out and buy a camera!
Steves-digicams review - click HERE Dpreview's review - click HERE Dcresource's review - click HERE [ Click HERE To Return To The Home Page ]
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