Takes a licking

Takes a licking...., March 28, 2008
By Jennifer K. Bretsch - See all my reviews


There are already great reviews out about Canon's A590is. I'd like to add that I bought this camera just before a 2-week trip to China. Well, canon powershot sd780is performed like a charm and I couldn't be more happy with my purchase, especially for such an affordable camera that has so many features. On the second day of my trip I was fumbling with the camera and dropped canon powershot sd780is from a height of 4 feet onto concrete. My heart was in my throat. Everyone stared. For the remainder of the trip the camera was just fine; not even a crack or scratch. I'm amazed. And because I had almost no time to look through the camera manual before I started taking photos, I'll add that this camera is very user-friendly and easy to figure out right out of the box. I especially like the image stabilization and video capture features. I was also pleasantly surprised by the long battery life. I took about 700 pictures on one set of batteries. Overall, a great camera. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
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Nice features but way too much noise, April 4, 2008
By the engineer-historian - See all my reviews

I bought the A590 as a camera to keep with me in the book bag/briefcase that I carry around most every weekday. You may recall the old saying that the camera you have with you (when you see a photo op) is your best camera. The A590 fills that role by virtue of its small size combined with full exposure control. The big problem is that the noise generated by putting 8 mpix on a tiny (1/2.5) sensor chip can overwhelm the image and render detail moot.

I use Imagenomic NoiseWare combined with Photoshop Elements to reduce noise and sharpen the image as best I can. If possible I shoot at the lowest ISO setting, 80, which lowers the noise. I never go over ISO 100 if I can help it, and usually at -2/3 on the exposure control. It's much better to have the photo-editing software brighten up the image than the amplifier boosting the signal (and noise) from the sensor. When you play back the image on the camera's LCD, canon powershot sd780is should look a little dark -- never overly bright (which can also blow out details).

Here are two other items about the Canon A-series cameras. My 15 year old son uses a Canon A720 for what are essentially snapshots and is very happy with it. If you don't crop substantially and aren't too picky about sharpness and noise, the camera is quite capable. From what I can tell, the A720 uses the same electronics (including the sensor and image stabilization) as the A590. The A720 has greater zoom capabilities (and hence a different lens system) and is a little bit larger and heavier. If I were going to get just one of these, I would go for the A720 because of the zoom.

The second point is that the other camera I frequently use is a Canon A650, and canon powershot sd780is is far more capable than either the A590 or A720. The A650 has 12 mpix on a larger sensor (1/1.7). Comparing sensor sizes (available at www.dpreview.com/learn/?/key=sensor+sizes) and mpix shows that the A650's sensor has 1.75 times the area as those of the A590 and A720 with only 1.5 times the pix -- hence pix density is lower and the noise generated by the A650 is much better controlled. And because there are more pix, the noise gets smoothed over as a result of more little points covering the same area in the image. (FYI: Greater pix density on a sensor chip creates more noise.)

I did a noise and sharpness test with all three of these cameras plus my Nikon D40 DSLR. I set two shoes, one black and one brown (the latter with lots of texture) on a rug, just beside a sunlit spot inside my house. The shoes were well lit but not in direct sun. I shot all of the cameras at 200 ISO (because that is as low as the Nikon would go) and f/5.6, with the exposure control at -2/3 of an f/stop.

The results surprised me. For whatever reason, and despite several tries, I could not get the Nikon to focus adequately on the shoes -- this from a distance of about four feet. I know from experience that the Nikon D40, with 6 mpix on a 2/3 sensor (2/3 the size of a standard 35mm film frame) has extremely well controlled noise and excellent sharpness, but the inability to focus here took canon powershot sd780is out of the comparison.

The superiority of the A650 to the A590 and A720 was startling. Keep in mind that I "zoomed" in on the images in Photoshop after I had transferred them to my 24" iMac (a great computer for photo editing). This made different sections of the shoes appear much larger (the laces were really telling), and the 12 mpix A650 (vs. 8 mpix of the others) had more pixes to work with for any particular area I looked at. Nonetheless, the other two cameras had so much noise that the details were overwhelmed and no amount of noise reduction and sharpening could change that. The A650's image was far sharper and clearer.

The A650 has one other big advantage so far as I'm concerned and one drawback. The advantage is the articulating LCD, which I find extremely useful for many shots. Yesterday, I had to lay down on the cold, damp ground to get a shot with the A590, but with the A650 I would have put the camera at foot level and looked down into the cocked LCD. That is really nice, almost addicting. However, the A650's drawback is that it's bulky and surprisingly heavy, which is why I don't carry canon powershot sd780is along all the time.

So you pay your money and take your choice -- or, like me, pay your money twice and have canon powershot sd780is both ways. Remember, the camera that you have with you is the best camera you own -- so think about what size and type of camera you want to carry plus when and how you will use it. For some people, that means owning more than one camera.