Canon Powershot A710 IS Review

Review Date: October 28th 2006

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Conclusion

Ratings (out of 5)
Design	4
Features	4
Ease-of-Use	4.5
Image Quality	4.5
Value for Money	4.5

The Canon Powershot A710 IS is one of the most well-rounded compact digital cameras that we have reviewed recently, offering a great combination of portability, creative control and features. The 7 megapixel sensor may not grab the headlines, but it does offer a good compromise between image size and quality. There's hardly any chromatic aberrations, an effective ISO range of 80-400, powerful built-in flash and a remarkable 1cm macro mode. Not to mention the very effective image stabilisation system which allows you to hand-hold the A710 IS in low-lighting conditions without your pictures suffering from camera-shake, an essential addition given the 6x zoom lens, which in turn covers most photographic situations that you will encounter. The large 2.5 inch LCD screen does have a relatively small pixel count, but there is also a true optical viewfinder, which many cameras have dispensed with altogether. Even better is the full manual control over aperture and shutter speeds, making the Canon Powershot A710 IS suitable for everyone from the casual weekend snapper to the more experienced photographer looking for a carry-everywhere alternative to their DSLR. There are few real weak points - an almost unusable tripod socket and slow flash recycle time are the main concerns. In summary, the Canon Powershot A710 IS is at first glance an unspectacular camera, which steadily grows on you as you spend more time using it. Despite "only" having 7 megapixels and no flip-out screen, the A710 IS thoroughly deserves its place at the top of Canon's A-series range, and is also a great digital camera in its own right.

PhotographyBLOG is a member of the DIWA organisation. Our test results for the Canon Powershot A710 IS have been submitted to DIWA for comparison with test results for different samples of the same camera model supplied by other DIWA member sites.

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