Canon PowerShot A70 3.2MP Digital Camera w/ 3x Optical Zoom
by Canon
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Canon PowerShot A70 3.2MP Digital Camera w/ 3x Optical Zoom
Customer Review: DURABLE + great price, functionality, and picture quality
Summary: 5 Stars
This is an excellent camera. I have the Powershot A60 and have worked a bit with the A70. The only difference on these cameras is that the A70 has more megapixels, other than that they are THE SAME. The cameras offer various features, each with several different ways to manipulate the camera, including shutter speed and aperture. For the beginner, it offers a few preset options that allow a quick switch to the desired need of the user. The manual is very clear and easy to apply. I would recommend this camera to someone wanting a point and click camera, as well as a more advanced person desiring some control of the camera. The only complaint about these cameras is that they are poor for low light photos. The low-light problem I have is in the requirement of using the flash and that the camera will usually not focus in low-light, creating not-so-nice blurry memories for many indoor family events.
This camera has optional shutter speeds of up to 15 seconds, which I like to use with streams and other pictures involving water. The speed has its highest shutter speed at 1/2000 of a second, which I haven't yet had success with, but will have fun playing with (it needs to be really bright for this). I haven't yet played with the aperture, but it seems like it will be fun to play with as well.
If you are wondering if you need 3 MP (A70), consider what you want to do with the pictures. I would recommend a 3 MP if you want to do some cropping or want to blow up pictures greater than 5x7. I simply use my A60 just for 4x6 and looking at pictures on my computer, which it does an excellent job of.
I would recommend getting either a 128 or a 256 Mb compactflash card (cards used in these cameras) in addition to this camera (runs between $40 and $70), because the camera only comes with a 16 Mb card, which holds about 15-20 pictures. I personally prefer Lexar's 12x or higher cards. Get rechargable batteries!!! Amazon's prices seems to be the cheapest for both cameras and compactflash cards (or within a couple bucks of other places).
I would highly recommend either the Powershot A60 or A70 to anyone that wants a digital camera because of the versatility offered.
Update:
I have now had my Powershot A60 for over two years, and it is still functioning despite the serious abuse I have dealt to it. The camera has been dropped numerous times and has also taken a tumble down a 20 foot rocky steep hill (I thought it was a goner after that one). It has endured backpacking, rock climbing, and general outdoor adventures with me, and although its casing shows many scraps, dents, and scratches, the camera's functionality is beyond all of my expectations. The only problems that have developed is that the LCD seems to be dying slowly and about 20% of in-door poorly lit shots turn out grainy and have horizontal lines (all of which occurred after that major tumble, so I expect that is the cause); that is, 80% of in-door shots still look great. At the prices you can find this camera at around the internet, it is an awesome intro and general use digital camera, and with the low price, you can even pick one up for your kid (since it is now so cheap -- look elsewhere than Amazon). Anyways, I am looking to pick up a second one of these for the inevitable event that I completely destroy this sturdy camera.
Also, in its 2 years of use, I can honestly say that I have not found a single time where I truly needed more than my 2 MP to get a great shot. I have taken this camera to the Canadian Rockies, to the Western Caribean, and all over the western US, and of all of the pictures I have, I don't see a true need for a higher megapixel than 3 MP (mine is 2 MP) or zoom (3x), unless you need a camera for your profession.
Customer Review: First Digital Camera and Happy as a Pig in Shhhhhh!
Summary: 5 Stars
After many hours of research I am happy to review the Canon A70 Powershot. My first and probably only digital camera for a long time.Easy to use, simple to learn, and compact.
I don't mind the 4 AA batteries. I bought "good" recharable and have taken about 100 photos and a video on the first set with no end in sight yet.
The camera has many "bells and whistles" but not that many buttons and settings to use them. Tricky.
The autofocus takes about 20 pictures to get used to, but then it is a worthy attribute.
I love the stitch command. When you're standing in front of scenery that is 4 or 5 pictures long, the downloading software will "Stitch" them together into one long picture...very cool.
The camera is small but not too small. The camera comes with all the downloading software you need and works with all the "photoshop" software that my Dell computer already came with.
The user manuals are useful, and not totally technical geeky.
Trust me, 3.2 Mpix is just fine. The only reason to get 5.0 Mpix or higher is if you're making posters or just want to say "it's a 5.0 Mpix". My opinion is don't waste your money, just get this camera. It'll do everything and anything that "joe-shmoe" picture taker needs.
The only bummer, is the 16bit (or whatever the measurement is) card that the camera comes with. It only holds about 25 pics or maybe 30 to 45 seconds of video. I'm checking for a 128 or 256 card that will hold more pics than I know what to do with (download them and take more). They make a 516 but again, do I need all that or do I just need to say "it's a 516 card".
Don't worry, the card is like a floppy disk. It just clicks in and out. BUT BEWARE, my friends told me if you take the cards in and out constantly you run the risk of bending or tweeking the tiny connector pins in the camera that connect the card to the camera. If you do this...time to buy another camera. This goes for all digital cameras so I'm getting a bigger card for $$$ to $$$ bucks and will never take the card out again (just download them, erase them, and keep on shooting).
Which come to think of it...you know those Windows Media Player videos all your friends send you at work...this camera takes those. The software downloads it as a WMP video and then asks, "want to e-mail this?"...heck ya, this is fun.
Word to the wise...if you plan on taking action photos of fast moving/fast action sports or activities you might want to research more expensive digital cameras that can take 3 or 5 frames per second. This camera can do it but not every picture may be in focus as the "shoot" button focus' the shot when pressed half way down, lets you know it's in focus, and then you press all the way down and it shoots. If you just shoot away it focus' as best it can and takes the shot.
The camera does not come with a little camera bag, but hey, most of the little bags provided with electronic stuff is lame anyway. It does come with a cord to hold it, but I didn't put it on.
Lastly...NO LENS COVER...totally cool, it has it's own that opens and closes when you turn it on and off. Nothing to lose and no "uh duh take the lens cap off" moments.
Hope this has been useful. A very worthy purchase. ....
Customer Review: Solid, no-nonsense, easy-to-use camera
Summary: 5 Stars
The Canon A70 Powershot is my first digital camera. Before this one, I owned a Canon EOS 35mm and spent hundreds of dollars a year on printing photos. However, I wanted to save on photo printing fees, share photos with friends and family over the web, and still enjoy the features that used for years on my EOS. I wanted to take photos in night and dim light situations as well as daytime and wide scenery, and enjoy the creative expression I had with the EOS. Going digital with the Canon Powershot was the most sensible move I could have made.Things I like about this camera:
- the 3 megapixel resolution allows printing of very clean, clear photos on glossy paper;
- colors are natural-looking, vivid and realistic
- the ISO setting of up to 400 makes it easy to take photos without flash
- CompactFlash cards are cheaper than the other alternatives on the market
- the software included allows easy transfer of photos via USB
- power-up time is minimal
- the camera is a comfortable weight, and feels like a more expensive camera to the touch
- battery life (when using standard rechargeable Ni-MH AA batteries) is more than satisfactory for the casual photographer (I take maybe 50 photos a week, most without flash but with the LCD on, and only have to recharge once a month or so)
- photos taken using digital zoom, while looking grainy on the LCD, end up with surprisingly crisp clarity overall
Things I dislike:
- no 800x600 resolution setting (sometimes 640x480 seems too small and 1024x768 too large for photos shared over the web or used in PowerPoint slide shows)
- inept redeye settings (it never seemed to work too well for me - is there something I'm missing?);
- photos taken in sepia seem a tad yellowish for my taste (possibly a problem that could be adjusted in printing)
- the meager selection of LCD display background and sounds
- camera cannot read or display photos from a CF card that have been edited and resaved in a separate PC application (the LCD just shows a question mark)
- slightly flimsy focus knob/level (I would have preferred a bit more solid feel)
- removing the CF card requires a bit of a trick to get the lid off (it's fine once you get used to it, however)
- focus cannot be adjusted while recording video, and the sound quality of the built-in speaker is comparable to a cheap child's toy
- some purple stripes appear on the LCD in certain lighting conditions during shooting (these do not appear in the final photo, however)
All this said, for the main reasons why I bought this camera, I haven't regretted the purchase. (But for sharing photos over the web, the single most aggravating point is the lack of a 800x600 photo resolution setting! Alas, that is what Photoshop is for...) The camera is simple enough to use, feels sturdy, takes photos that are of excellent quality, and the benefits of this camera far outweigh the disadvantages IMO. Although I'm no expert photographer, I feel like I have purchased a product that will satisfy my basic needs and my creative needs for years to come.
Customer Review: The Best 3.2 - Point N Shoot out there.
Summary: 5 Stars
Hi,I Desgin Web sites and do graphic design for a living. For the past few years, I have been using my high resolution scanner to get film images onto my computer and then upload them to my web server. But within the last month I have been using Canon's Powershot A70 to reduce work time.
But I did not only purchase the Dig Camera for Web site building...(seeing as how you probably don't need anything more than 2.0 Mega Pixels for viewing images on a computer only). But since our old SLR camera broke (dropped it and never worked since), I wanted something to get good prints as well.
Well, judging by the reviews, I figured I shouldn't write something without doing my homework as well. Also, I didn't want to write this after using the camera for one day. So I gave myself quite some time to play with it to give this review more detail.
I would love to make a PRO vs. CON list, but to be quite honest, I haven't found any CONS.
So, For the Features this camera has, the quality of the name and the lens, and the price you pay, you couldn't find a better camera anywhere.
It has a great 3.0 Optical zoom, with a combined digital zoom, you can get up to 10X focus.
It's the perfect point and shoot, but doesn't limit itself to beginners only as it has several (12) shooting modes...plus a manual mode where you can change the shutter speeds and aperature level.
With the movie mode (which includes sound) you can choose three levels, which also includes the 640x400 AGP mode. I recommend trying out that setting and burning your videos on a CD and watching them on your DVD player. (pretty cool)
The Digital zoom is hardly noticeable at all when I used the "Super Fine" setting....and that was at Max zoom.
It has an easy to use panorama function where you can take 360 degree panorama shots. It also has a fairly simple stitch program in the software bundle to automatically put together your panorama shots into one using artificial intelligence...bla bla bla stuff.
I agree that the 16M FC is barely sufficient if you want to take plenty of pictures. I would also recommend getting a card between 128 - 512...just as a suggestion...but that has nothing to do with the camera itself.
Other than that, The camera is perfect, the quality of canon images are awesome, and battery life lasts quite a sufficient amount of time. Although I will always recommend that you get rechargables, not because the camera sucks up the juice (because it doesn't), but rechargable batteries are better for the environment. To give you an idea of how long the batteries last, I used the camera for about three straight days of constant picture shooting, movie making and lots of uploading to the computer. Overall I took about 600 shots (with a variety of different quality), and about 12 minutes messing around in moving mode...and the batteries finally started to give...
so, battery life is exceptional.
and that's about all I have to say
Customer Review: It does have issues, but I don't leave home without it
Summary: 5 Stars
Let me get the negatives out of the way first. This camera does have a soft focus, and that can be a problem if you are a precise focuser. About 90% of the time the autofocus picks up what the center of attention should be, but for the other 10% of the time learn to use the manual focus. If you're taking family snapshots, you'll be fine, so long as they're not moving too fast. This leads to the other issue: there's a slight delay (1/2 sec at the highest photo settings) when you take a shot. Most of the time, it's not noticable, but if you're trying to take action shots with precise shutter timing, it'll take some practice. The delay is much, much better than some of the waits I've experienced on older cameras -- sometimes it was a full second or more. More to the point, if you're a photo perfectionist, then why are you buying a 3MP digital camera in the first place? You should save your money and buy a digital SLR where you don't have the limitations that come with cameras in this range.
All that said... you can have my camera when you pull it from my cold, dead fingers. I've had experience with a number of digital cameras, and I've never had one that actually makes me look like a good photographer. The A70 is a great fully automatic camera, but its manual settings make it the "missing link" between the entry-level and SLR models. I've never seen a $...camera that gives you this much control over your shots -- shutter speed, aperture, focus, white balance, film speed, and exposure are all under your control in program mode. There are a number of presets (e.g. fast shutter, variable aperture and time, and a few more I can't remember right now) that allow you to take control of only the settings you want to control. You can also attach proprietary lenses (with a sold-seperately attachment ring), adding still more flexibility. And, while it does have a learning curve, you can take great shots straight out of the box -- something I couldn't say for some of the earlier digital camera models I've used. If you're looking for a camera that gives you manual control, but you're not rich enough or ready to go for the high-end digi SLRs, give a long look at the Canon A70.
Two other things I should mention. One, it does take 4 AA batteries, but this is a good thing IMO, since it means longer operational time for the camera. Pick up a couple sets of NiMH batteries and a charger. I took the A70 on a four hour hike and one set of fully charged NiMH cells. Never lost operation of the camera. (I didn't keep it on the whole time, but I've used digital cameras in the past that would have petered out an hour in, even with limited operation.) Two, get at least one (preferably two) 128MB or larger Compact Flash cards. The camera will fit 76 large format, super high quality images on one 128MB card.