Canon PowerShot A720IS 8MP Digital Camera with 6x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom
by Canon
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Canon PowerShot A720IS 8MP Digital Camera with 6x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom
Customer Review: Last of the "A" series with manual controls
Summary: 5 Stars
The Canon "A" series have always been rather unique. They are cameras that are economically priced, yet offer capabilities and features that you usually only see on more expensive cameras. Unfortunately, it looks like the A-720is might be the last of the Canon "A" models with full manual control; the newer A-1000 and A-2000 have only Program AE and Auto (plus some scene modes). The A-720is has three exposure modes that the A-1000 and A-2000 don't offer: Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, and full Manual, plus the A-720 has Manual Focus control, which has been dropped on the newer "A" series models. Some people might ask, are these manual modes necessary in a compact? I say "yes", because every so often, anyone can get into a photographic situation where you won't be able to "get the shot" with the full-automatic modes. These situations usually involve low-light or poor contrast conditions, for example shooting landscapes at dusk or dawn, or on foggy days. Cameras like the Canon "A" series use "contrast detection" to decide when focus is properly set, and if the scene doesn't have much contrast, the camera's auto-focus will "hunt" excessively and may be unable to find the proper focus at all. When this happens, you can set the camera to manual focus and get the shot, assuming your camera has this capability. As for manual exposure modes, you need Aperture Priority to set specific depth-of-field. For example, in shots where the foreground subject is 4 feet away, and the background is at infinity, you want to use the smallest aperture possible (f8 on most Canon "A" models), so that everything in the frame will be sharply focused. In situations where your subject is in motion, you will often want to control shutter speed - fast for sports and action shots, or perhaps a deliberately slow shutter speed to capture the look of flowing water with motion blur. The Canon A-720is lets you handle any of these situations; the new A-1000 and A-2000 have only some scene modes with no actual manual control.
What's good about the A-720is:
1. Very good value at it's price point. I paid $190 for mine. For this price you get an 8 megapixel sensor, 6x zoom lens, optical image stabilization, full manual controls, 2.5" LCD screen (115,000 pixels), and an optical viewfinder. This last is handy for when your batteries are getting low - you can turn off the LCD and still take pictures with the viewfinder.
2. Excellent image quality. Images are sharp, exposure is generally pretty accurate, and color saturation very nice. Of course this isn't a digital SLR, so don't expect miracles, but for a camera small enough to stick in a shirt pocket, the photos are remarkably good.
3. Optical Image Stabilization. Most cameras have this now, so it's not really remarkable.
4. Uses "AA" batteries instead of a lithium pack. This is actually the defining feature of the Canon "A" series - they all are "AA" battery powered. I prefer this as you can get "AA"'s anywhere. Unfortunately, the A-700 series began the current Canon trend of downsizing from four batteries (in the A-600 cameras), to only two. This has caused a noticeable increase in flash recharge time, plus of course the A-720is itself needs battery changes more often than it would if it used four batteries. However, I don't mean to imply that the A-720is is "slow". It's power-up speed, shutter-lag time, and time to first shot are all pretty good, and are at least equal to the average for other cameras of this class and price point.
5. Very simple, yet powerful, control layout and menus. This camera has only a few buttons on it, and the menu is as simple and user friendly as it could be. This camera would not intimidate an older person unfamiliar with modern electronic gadgets. Even with it's paucity of buttons, it still manages to have full manual controls. A really nice feature is the ability to program the direct print button to another function, most useful is probably to change ISO speed.
6. 640 x 480 x 30 frames-per-second video. This is pretty much standard on cameras in this class, so not really a special feature. Like all compact still cameras, the quality of the sound captured during video shooting is horrible - if you want good sound, get a real video camera - but the video image quality is pretty good. Video is stored in the standard MJPEG format.
7. Uses standard, cheap, easy to find SD and SDHC memory cards. You can put an 8 gig SDHC card in this camera for about $20 and it will capture 2888 stills at max image size and best quality, or about 70 minutes of video clips.
What's bad about the A-720is: There's not much to dislike here. There are a few features that it doesn't have:
1. No flash mounting shoe, although this is such a small camera that sticking a flash gun on top of it would make it so top-heavy it would be hard to control.
2. No RAW capture capability. This has always been one feature that Canon uses to separates the "A" series from the more expensive "G" series. I guess if you are a serious photographer, shooting subjects that would benefit from using RAW format, you're probably going to use a digital SLR rather than a sub-$200 compact.
3. Occasional exposure and auto-focusing errors. However, this A-720is seems to perform rather better than my old A-620 did, making fewer mistakes. Again, you shouldn't expect DSLR performance from a $200 compact, but that said, I'd guess that at least 95% of all shots that you might take in average lighting conditions, will be error-free. In poor lighting, if the camera can't manage in full Auto pr Program mode, go to manual control and you can probably get a useable shot.
4. Unrealistic ISO speeds. I have never yet seen a $200 digital camera that can get nice looking photos at ISO speeds above 200, maybe 400 in a pinch. The A-720is offers ISO 800 and even ISO 1600. At these settings, the CCD gain has been boosted so much that electronic noise in the image gets really noticeable. The only time I would use these speeds is in a really dark indoor shooting situation where you can't get close enough to the subject for the camera's flash to light it sufficiently. For example at a birthday party where you have only this one opportunity to "get the shot" of your kid blowing out the candles on the cake, using high ISO speeds will get you that once-in-a-lifetime shot, but don't expect to be able to make larger than a 4" x 6" print. High ISO shots from these compact cameras will probably be too "noisy" to make decent 8 x 10 enlargements. If you often need to shoot subjects like this, get a DSLR with a CMOS sensor - some of those cameras can shoot at ISO 1600 with no more noise than at ISO 100.
5. The tripod socket is plastic, and is placed way over on the outside edge of the camera's bottom plate - about the worst placement of a tripod socket I've ever seen, but the camera is so small and light that this shouldn't be too much of a problem in most tripod situations. If you needed to orient the camera on a tripod looking vertically downward, the offset tripod socket could potentially be a real problem. In that case, I'd probably try to secure the side of the camera opposite to the tripod socket to the tripod plate with a large rubber band, rather than clamping down really tight on those plastic threads. A big rubber band would be somewhat inelegant, but better that than risk dropping the camera or stripping the tripod socket threads by tightening down too much.
In my opinion, there are two primary reasons to buy a Canon "A" or "SD" series camera:
1) You absolutely have to have a shirt-pocket size camera and nothing larger will do. And you want a camera that has reasonably good image quality at an economy price.
2) You are buying an "expendable" camera that can be used in an waterproof housing for scuba diving or snorkeling. The Canon "WP-DC" underwater housings are economically priced, and you can generally get maybe 100 dives out of one before the o-rings are shot and the housing fails. Any underwater photographer will tell you that NO camera housing is 100% fail-safe. All scuba divers that carry cameras will sooner or later suffer a housing failure, which of course is the end of that camera. The Canon "A" and "SD" cameras with a "WP-DC" housing offer scuba photography up to 130' depth for as little as $350, compared to the thousands of dollars you would risk on a DSLR camera body and lens in an underwater housing. And the image quality from these little cameras is amazing, especially if you use an underwater flash gun like the SeaLife SL-960D.
If your photographic needs don't fall into either of the two categories stated above, but you are not quite ready to step up to a full DSLR, I'd suggest you look at one of the newer generation of Ultra-Zoom "performance compact" cameras from Canon, Sony, Panasonic, Nikon, and Olympus. Canon's version is the SX10is. Panasonic's is the DMC-FZ28, a camera that is being very highly rated for performance and value, and that has WAY more capability than any compact like the A-720is, for only about $50 more.
CONCLUSION: If you can still find a new one, I'd recommend this camera over an A-2000 or any of the Canon "SD" models (none of the SD's have manual controls, and all of them use proprietary lithium batteries). If you can't find a new A-720is at a reasonable price ($200 or less), and you can live without manual controls, the A-2000is would be my second choice. It's primary image sensor has two-megapixels more resolution than the A-720is (10 vs 8), and a much better LCD screen with double the resolution. The A-2000 has the same 6x lens and is nearly identical in size and weight to the A-720is, and probably has about equal image quality. NOTE: Canon does not currently offer a WP-DC underwater housing for either the A-1000 or A-2000, but they might in the near future. Canon's web page for underwater housings is at: http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=StandardDisplayAct&fcategoryid=113&keycode=underwater_photo
I give the A-720is a "highly recommended" rating for quality and value. I just wish Canon was still making it, or that the A-2000is had all of the A-720is's features and controls.
Customer Review: Just as Good as I Hoped and Incredibly Easy to Use
Summary: 5 Stars
***
Summary: It is very easy to use and delivers great quality photos in a variety of situations with an absolute minimum of skill and zero talent.
***
Update: It's now April 2010, and with my two babies, living on the coast and going to the beach, and moving twice, it still works a charm.
About me: I bought this camera to take pictures of my daughter and my family. I am a very poor photographer with a good appreciation of photography, which is a painful situation to be in. In the past I have used a 3 mega-pixel camera phone, a Kodak camera in about the same price range, and then some Sony digital mini-cameras. I use this camera mainly indoors in medium light (energy-saving bulbs, late afternoon, overcast or raining). My approach is to take pictures early and often and hope for the best. I was looking for a camera that had great potential and that even I (read: one of the worst picture-takers you'll ever meet) could get some decent pictures with. I have never taken a photography course and never will, because if I have the time and money I will spend it on something I can hope to actually get good at. I think I am a pretty typical camera-buyer.
About the camera: This camera met all of my expectations. It is very easy to use and delivers great quality photos in a variety of situations with an absolute minimum of skill and zero talent, which is what I wanted from a point-and-shoot.
When the other reviewers say it doesn't work well in low-light, they mean, very low light, like this is not a camera for amateurs that want to do some good photography at night or in a room with only a 20-watt bulb. The flash works fine for the rest of us! I certainly have not had any light issues and we do not live in the brightest of houses or climates. I used the night mode for quiet times and the auto-with-flash for active night pictures and they turned out fine.
This camera is nice because it has two functions that help poor photographers in particular (in addition to other modes that probably help everyone equally): the kids and pets function, which allows you to take picture after picture in quick succession so you don't miss any action, and the auto function which provides a higher-quality picture. If I use these according to the recommendations in the user's manual, I can usually get 25 - 50% of my pictures of a moderate to good quality, as compared to an (imaginary) amateur photographer who actually knows what she is doing. That is compared to 1 - 5% of pictures using a camera phone or another cheap camera without these easy-to-use modes.
This camera is not so small that I lose it in my purse, which is a danger with tiny cameras, if your purse is anything like mine.
The stabilizer is also great since I take pictures while running after my toddler. I had considered buying the very cute Nikon in the same price range (the one that looks like a Brownie camera), but they did not have stabilizers, so I finally went for this one and I am very glad. The function works great.
One thing that they don't mention in the descriptions is that you do not have to switch between the viewfinder and the LCD display, like on some cameras. What I mean is that you can look through the little window like on regular cameras, OR at the big screen, like on digital cameras, all the time, without switching view mode. So you can switch from person to person without having to switch the view mode. This is great because my mother likes the viewfinder and I like the LCD. I also like to switch between them.
Another nice thing that I like is the ease with which you can switch from taking pictures to review mode to look at the pictures you took. It is a separate switch that you could find in the dark if you needed to. That is nice because I have deleted many a batch of photos trying to figure out how to get into the mode where I can review the pictures I have just taken.
The pictures I have taken with this camera are located at [...] (this is an ad-free, non-commercial set of our family pictures). You can see which ones were taken with the Canon A720IS by clicking on the photo and looking in the right-hand column, and compare them with other pictures I have taken. As I have mentioned I have no skills or talent in this area so if you are someone who really wants decent pictures but are also a photo dunce who just wants a picture of your kid or grandkid, this would give you a good idea of what to expect.
(If you are an amateur or pro photographer, this review and those samples are not for you because you could probably do better with a camera obscura.)
I would certainly buy this camera again.
Customer Review: Canon 720IS--So far so good
Summary: 5 Stars
I was looking for a "mom" camera to replace the not-cutting-it 7YO HP. Before I purchased, I did major research and my price cap was $200. I narrowed down to the Sony DSC80 and this Canon. I got both for comparison at a store with generous return policy (FYI Best Buy charges a fee for open box returns and Sony puts Sony tamper-proof tape on boxes).
Aside from sales and special deals, Amazon did have the best price on most of the cameras I looked at.
I wanted to like the Sony, it was smaller, very cute, and came in pink. The Canon was boxy silver boring. However when I took the comparison pictures (auto settings on both cameras), there was no comparison. The image quality was sooo much better in the Canon, at least with my limited skills and HP computer/printer.
It does seem slow between shots, but I don't remember how fast the Sony was. The old HP camera is my only point of reference and this Canon is still way faster than that. With my 5YO son, dog and cat, it seems that they are either still/posed and you have plenty of time for a second chance, or they are in motion and the fastest camera in the world won't get you a second chance. Speed was not a top priority for me, I knew at my price range, some things would be compromised.
I like having a viewfinder, but I don't trust myself with that yet. Turning off the display might speed up shots? I like that it uses a regular SD card and AA batteries have their advantages. I was worried about the battery life because the old camera ate AA batteries--the main reason I was ditching it. Thus far, battery life on the Canon has not been an issue at all, newer cameras must be better about this.
Nice surprise #1: I wasn't expecting to care about zoom, but I am glad now that I have the 6X optical. I use it a lot more than I thought I would and it looks good.
Nice surprise #2: Didn't expect to ever use the video setting, but it is very good for a few minutes of "kid in a Christmas program" footage. The quality was a very pleasant surprise.
Negative thing--I don't know if this would be different on any camera in this class. Distant still shots of my son't class in a poorly lit gym with flash, zoom and red-eye reduction resulted in strange white cataract-looking spots on many but not all of the kids' eyes. I will try turning off the Red eye reduction next time, maybe that did it. Red eye is easy to get rid of with photo software, but these white spots are a pain. I opened the photos in a paint program and zoomed in to pixel-level to get rid of them (with no idea what I am doing--takes forever), and the pictures are now acceptable. **The video footage of the same event on this camera looks just fine, so I'm glad I had it!
Overall, I'm glad I bought this camera and would recommend it. It seems like the most bang you can get for your $200. So far, I haven't messed with any of the settings (and there are plenty to keep you busy), just the Auto mode.
Customer Review: Canon A720IS digital camera
Summary: 5 Stars
I was a professional photographer for over 25 years using many different film camera formats. I no longer work as a photographer, but still like taking pictures. Especially on holiday or when flying my paraglider. About 4 years ago I bought my first digital camera. It was the Canon A70. I bought it because it did everything including most importantly shooting in manual mode and being able to have good control over the flash output. I also liked the shape of the camera as it had a good grip making it easy to shoot one handed. That was especially important to me when taking photos while flying.
Over the last couple years I was starting to think that I wanted a more far reaching lens and higher resolution. I didn't want to go over 10mp though as cameras of that or higher resolution caused colour fringeing. I looked at many cameras. But none except the Canon had all my requirements. I thought 8mp was perfect. Also the 6x optical zoom was exactly what I wanted along with full manual control. Also the movie mode is great. In essence I wanted a camera just like the A70 but better!
Having used the A70, the A720 was very easy to get to grips with. And with the auto mode anyone could start shooting pretty quickly. With a little time spent with the camera and reading the manual you will soon be using the camera intuitively.
I think the lens is very good and that's the most important part of any camera. But I find most of the shots will benefit from a very minor tweek in PhotoShop curves. This will allow a greater degree of contrast and colour saturation. I also like to sharpen them up just slightly with the unsharp mask. I try to set the camera up to do as little of the latter as possible as I like to have that control.
The movie mode is really fun. When I go out shooting I like to take a combination of stills and clips. Then instead of making prints to put in a box under the bed; I like to make little movies of say my flying holiday in the Alps by combining the stills and clips, adding music, fades and titles all done in imovie on my Mac. I then burn them to CD and mail them to family and friends. Much more impressive than a few prints I think. The fact that the A720 can shoot at 30fps over the 15fps of the A70 is a great bonus. I can see I'll need to get a DVD burner soon.
The other nice thing about this camera over the A70 is that it is a little lighter due mostly to the fact that it requires 2 batteries instead of four. I'd recommend the 2gb SD memory cards. I bought two of them. I think this will allow two weeks of holiday shooting stills and clips. For the A70 I had two 256mb cards and I generally used one per week. The A720's higher resolution I think will require the 2gb cards.
Hats off to Canon for supplying a very picky shopper with a small, light and highly specced digital camera.
Customer Review: Great point-and-shoot
Summary: 5 Stars
If you want a point-and-shoot, and want some more advanced configurations, this is your camera! I've compared it to my friends' cameras of same category, and the pictures are really better (compared to a sony w-55 and a hp r937).
When in auto mode the daylight pictures are nice, but if you don't have a strong sun, I recommend you to adjust manually the white balance in order to avoid blueish tones.
The wide variety of ISO modes (ranging from 80 to 1600) is almost useless, as above ISO400 the noise becomes unacceptable. Instead of this, I recommend the aperture/shutter time priority modes in order to get a good picture with low light conditions. Of course the results will be quite different from the dSLRs, but the pictures remain pretty good for a point-and-shoot.
The wide selection of drive modes (multiple shots, 1~10, 15, 20 or 30 seconds of delay combined with 1~10 shots) and the white balance pre-defined options are nice features.
The face detection works very well too, and the stitch assist is a plus (but you'll need to merge pictures on a computer, using software supplied... hp r937 and kodak fz812 do this automatically on the camera.. I think this is not a big problem, as probably you will take just some panoramic pictures).
The zoom controls are great, and the 6x lenses are sufficient to regular pictures where you want to highlight main subjects. The movie mode is good (but if this is very important to you, consider looking canon S5 with stereo sound)..
The battery life is awesome... if you buy 4 AA rechargeable so you'll have no problems with this... I suggest buy the duracell 2650mAh ones. I took almost 2000 thousand pictures in 1 month and I am very satisfied as I didn't recharge the batteries a lot (I think I recharged them only 5 times).
Pros:
- good manual controls for a point-and-shoot;
- great zoom and zoom controls;
- good relation between pocket-size and sensor size (1/2.5") (for me this was very important when deciding between S5 and A720)
- Nice playback and video controls .. you can jump 1, 10, 100 photos, jump to next date, or just jump to the next video...
- you can change many configurations while shooting, this is nice when you are trying to get the best exposure through minor adjustments
- good focus options
Cons:
- you can just erase one photo per time or all in one touch (sonys allow you to select 3, 4, 5... how many pictures you want and erase them with one click - without 3, 4, 5 confirmations)
- sometimes you must adjust manually the white balance when in auto mode in order to avoid blueish pictures
- flash takes much time to recharge (4~6 seconds)
thank you and sorry for my english!