11 out of 11 people found this review helpful.
An Excellent Introduction to Digital Photography
Date of Review: Jun 27, 2006
The Bottom Line: A great camera for consumers who want a balance between ease of use and the option to make manual adjustments.
Well, there are certainly some glowing reviews of this model on the site, and I must add to them. My mother has an Olympus D (the exact model number escapes me) which is fine, but a bit grainy at its regular settings. After reading many reviews in trade publications, I settled on the Canon A620 and was surprised to hear of an on-line sale the very next day.
I have used the camera for several weeks and am impressed. At its default settings, it is possible to produce an 8 X 10 print of remarkable quality--and that's not using the full 7.1 megapixel capacity. As I am used to a film SLR, I wanted to move to a moderately-priced digital camera with some manual options; a digital SLR is beyond my budget.
The camera's manual is a bit daunting--there are so many possibilities and little explanation as to why you would choose a certain option that you may be discouraged to try them all. I would advise anyone interested in the camera's functions to visit Canon's website, download a copy of the manual, then search for a very technical review of this camera for an explanation of what it can do at its various settings. If you do not need a camera which does as much as this one can, you may wish to find a smaller model which will easily fit in your pocket; this one is a little thick and heavy. However, you need not read the manual to start taking snapshots. Leave the setting on "auto", insert your batteries and SD card, and you're ready to go.
Overall, the flash is quite powerful, the camera feels good in the hand, and the zoom and shutter buttons are logically placed. The flip-out LCD is wonderful for catching those weird angles. The screen itself is a little small at under 2 inches. The optical viewfinder seems pointless as it is tiny itself and more room for the LCD could have been made if the viewfinder were eliminated. One other thing that irritates me is the flimsy cover for the A/V and DC jacks. Sometimes, the door flaps open and gets in the way of the camera's grip. However, if you position the camera strap properly, it will help keep the door closed.
Although the camera comes with a set of AA alkalines (your camera will need four), you may wish to switch to rechargeables. You will also need to upgrade your SD card as Canon only supplies 32 Mb (good for a dozen photos at the default setting.) I wish Canon supplied a case, but I know that's rare for most cameras.
That said, I love this camera. I have neither tried making videos nor using the A/V out option (to view videos and photos on a TV screen), but these are nice options to have.
A lot of large retailers carry this model in Canada, so be sure to comparison shop in person and on-line and make use of any price matching guarantees. I was able to knock off $50 by printing a price from an on-line sale and bringing it to a local store (so I could take my camera home the very same day.)
