First On TechTree: Review: Canon PowerShot A800

First On TechTree: Review: Canon PowerShot A800

Jayesh Limaye, Aug 17, 2011 2348 hrs IST

Amazing performance at an affordable price.

Excellent overall performance; Good Macro performance; Easy to use; Good ergonomics; Light and stylish; Good price.

Little customisation; No image stabilisation; LCD viewfinder is difficult to use outdoors; Chromatic aberrations can be bothersome at high zoom; Shutter button lacks focus lock half-press tactile feedback.

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Canon PowerShot A800
MRP: Rs 4495
Street Price: Rs 4360 with a Transcend 8 GB SD card, 4 GB SD card, carry case, and battery charger

Canon has sent us a camera which promises to deliver a never before seen price to performance ratio. The PowerShot A800 is a 10 MP camera with a 3.3x optical zoom with auto-focus. Sporting features such as Face Detection, low light sensitivity up to ISO 1600, Red-eye correction, and a 2.5" LCD, this camera packs in a lot for its price range. We will find out if it performs well enough too.

Review: Canon PowerShot A800

The Canon PowerShot A800.

Package Contents
Canon PowerShot A800
USB data cable
2xAA batteries
Wrist strap WS-800
Digital Camera Solution CD-ROM
Quick start guide

Design And Features
The A800 is a 10 MP camera with the DiGiC III image processor, but it lacks image stabilisation. It has a chunky body with rounded edges. The piece we received had a silver lustrous plastic body, while the model is also available in red, black, and grey. The camera is small in size with dimensions of 94.3 mm (W) x 61.6 mm (H) x 31.2 mm (D) and weighing just 186 grams with battery and memory card.

As mentioned earlier, the camera has a lens with an optical zoom of 3.3x and focal length of 6.6 mm (W) to 21.6 mm (Telephoto), which is 35 mm film equivalent of 37 mm to 122 mm respectively. It is capable of taking close-up shots of subjects placed as close as 10 mm from the camera lens. The flash is placed smartly away from the shutter button to avoid the fingers from accidentally covering it. A round shutter button and a lozenge-shaped power button are present on the top. These buttons are black, just like their surroundings, and it would have been better if they would have sported a contrasting colour. The shutter button has a small flaw - it is almost impossible to determine it being half-pressed for focus lock from the tactile feedback.

Review: Canon PowerShot A800

Front view of the Canon PowerShot A800.

The camera lacks an optical viewfinder, but it comes with a large 2.5" colour LCD screen on the left, which serves the purpose. Zoom in and out can be achieved by means of a rocker button present near the top. A D-pad provides access to various functions of the camera. Play, Menu, and Shooting mode buttons are also present. The latter allows you to choose between Auto, Program, Scene, and Movie modes. The UI is similar to other Canon cameras with little variation and is very easy to use.

Review: Canon PowerShot A800

Rear view of the Canon PowerShot A800.

A speaker grille is present on one side, while the other side has connectors for mini-USB and digital A/V out, protected by a flap. A threaded tripod mount is present at the bottom, but since it is made of plastic, care has to be taken to ensure its longevity. Though the camera is small in size, it has a battery compartment housing two AA batteries, making it slightly wider on this side and tapering on the other. The two AA batteries let you shoot up to 300 photos according to the official specifications. An SD memory card slot is present just besides the battery compartment protected by a flap.

Performance
The A800 has a noticeably slow performance. While starting up takes around a second, the image takes over two seconds to appear on the screen after you click. It takes some more time to get ready for the next shot, thus increasing the shot-to-shot timing to around 5 seconds. The shot-to-shot time increases to around 14 seconds when using flash. Obviously, the two AA batteries can be blamed for this.

The A800 features 3.3x optical zoom, which is nothing to write home about.

Review: Canon PowerShot A800