Canon PowerShot A590IS

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Canon PowerShot A590IS

Sudeep Naik, Jun 06, 2008 1049 hrs IST

For those looking for a feature-rich camera under 10K, this one should click

Optical Image Stabilisation, Good feature set, Ease of use, Image quality, Well-priced.

Plasticky build, noticeable barrel distortion in almost all images, Average battery life.

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Performance

Handling the Canon A590 IS is like handling any other Canon camera, nice and easy. But what I absolutely didn't like here was the overall finish of the camera. It feels too plasticky.

The overall usage and handling is pretty easy and simple. Even first time camera users will find the menus, modes and shooting options easy to select and use.

Overall, the handling, operation, and usage is easy but the modes are job-specific and will take some time to master.

On the image quality front, the A590 IS benefits largely from DIGIC III that produces good quality crisp pictures. The camera performs well right from the moment you press the power button. It springs to life and is ready to shoot in just under 2 seconds. Shot-to-shot times are average but increase a lot when you are using the flash on depleted batteries. At times, the delay can be more than 5 to 6 seconds between flashes, but that's the case with all cameras that are powered by AA batteries.

Focus times are average with a little shutter lag. Low-light focusing works well too, thanks to the AF-assist beam.

What I didn't like here was the 2.5-inch LCD screen. If you plan to venture outdoors on bright sunny days, don't forget to get your cap as well. Yeah saving yourself from going crazy in the heat is one reason but you'd also need to create some kind of shade to view what's on the LCD. Outdoor visibility was below average, while in low-light situations, the screen was easy to see, since it "gains up" automatically in those situations.

The image quality of the A590 IS turned out to be better than most entry-level cameras. The digital zoom isn't of much help but the 4x optical zoom is a welcome addition, as most other entry level cameras have just a 3x optical zoom and, mostly, no Optical Image Stabilization as well. The photos we obtained were well-exposed with decent color reproduction and details. There was quite a noticeable amount of barrel distortion at the edges in all the pictures but that can be corrected by framing the object in the center as much as possible. OIS system works well to minimize camera shake to a great extent, especially when using the full 4x optical zoom.

Noise levels are manageable till ISO 400; beyond that image noise grows exponentially. But I'd suggest not going beyond the ISO 200 settings if you want clean images that don't require a lot of post processing. The video and voice recording quality is average. Videos are stored in AVI format and voice clips in WAV format.

Battery Life

As said, the Canon PowerShot A590 IS makes use of a pair of AA batteries for power. All tests on the A590IS were conducted using a pair of GP 2300 mAh rechargeable NiMH batteries. It was able to take about 165 images without using any flash while the numbers fell to about 135 pictures when flash was used fairly often.

Word of advice: It's better to carry around at least 2 extra pairs rechargeable NiMH batteries, preferably ones with a 2600 mAh rating, rather than using standard alkaline batteries that won't last too long and will turn out to be more expensive in the long run.

Conclusion

The Canon Powershot A590 IS is an entry level camera that seems to be aimed at those who want to enjoy the unadulterated joy of a point-and-shoot experience with the camera. It is available for a street price of around Rs. 9,990 with a one-year warranty. For that price, what you get is a simple and easy to use camera that shoots pictures better than most others in the same price range or category. A great buy; especially if you haven't been acquainted to digital cameras yet.