Canon PowerShot A510

Reviewed June 2005

Characteristics

For this camera, and its 4-megapixel version the A520, Canon is using a 4X zoom lens with a focal length range of 5.8 to 23.2 mm, the equivalent of a 35 to 140 mm lens. The zoom has a maximum aperture of f2.6 at the wide angle end which becomes f5.5 at maximum telephoto, and closing down to f8 for both.

A button at the lower left of the lens barrel serves to remove the rounded plastic trim at the base of the lens so that an optional adapter (LA-DC52F) can be mounted. Once mounted the adapter can be used to mount filters, or a wide converter (WC-DC52), or a teleconverter (TC-DC52A).

The A510's aperture range is combined with shutter speeds that vary with the shooting modes, but which have a range of 1/2000 second to 15 seconds overall. A noise reduction system is also used, and automatically applied to all exposures longer than 1.3 seconds.

Four different image sizes are available to record photos:

• Large = 2048 x 1536 pixels.
• Medium 1 = 1600 x 1200 pixels.
• Medium 2 = 1024 x 768 pixels.
• Small = 640 x 480 pixels.

The A510, like other mid-range Canon digital cameras, is neither equipped with an uncompressed mode, nor Canon's RAW image format, but it does offer three separate levels of JPEG compression:

	Super fine	the highest image quality.
	Fine	an average quality which balances quality and storage.
	Normal	the strongest compression which allows storing more images.

Compression and image size are both selected in the Function menu which is where most of the commonly needed settings are located. The menu is displayed on the monitor by pressing the right side button () below the screen.

The Function menu is available in all modes but the options that can be accessed are tied to the mode in use. For example, with the camera set to the Auto shooting mode, the only 3 options that can be set are the Drive mode (see further) and the image size and quality. With the A510 set to P, Tv, Av or M modes however, all are accessible:

• Exposure Compensation: has a range of ±2EV in 1/3 EV increments. When the camera is set to the Manual mode, which by its nature cannot provide exposure compensation as these parameters are set by the user, the option is replaced by Flash Output, which allows controlling the power of the flash over three steps.
• White Balance: Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten (incandescent), Fluorescent (warm white or cool white), Fluorescent H (daylight), and Custom (user set under ambient light by pointing the camera at a white surface and using it to establish white).

• Continuous:
  • Single.
  • Continuous Shooting (2.3 fps) using Large/Fine.
  • 10-second Self-timer.
  • 2-second Self-timer.
  • Custom Self-timer, which allows selecting the delay from 0 to 10 seconds, and the number of shots to take, from 1 to 10.
• ISO: Auto, 50, 100, 200, 400 ISO.
• Photo Effects: Effect Off, Vivid (augments contrast and saturation), Neutral (decreases contrast and saturation), Low Sharpening (softens outlines), Sepia, Black and White.

• Metering: Evaluative (), Centre-weighted () or Spot ().
• Resolution/Compression: offers Large, Medium 1, Medium 2, Small, and Post Card which records a 1600 x 1200 pixel image so it can be printed as a 4x6 print. When selected, and the shutter release is pressed halfway, the camera's monitor overlays a grey strip at the top and bottom of the screen to indicate where the image will get cropped when printed.
  
  In addition, pressing the button while on the image size option allows setting the image compression (see above).

• AiAF (On or Off) decides whether the camera will select one or more focus points from a set of 9 AF areas grouped in the centre of the frame, or whether the focus point will always be at the centre of the frame.
• Red-eye (On or Off) when On an orange LED lamp which serves for AF assistance and self-timer indicator is activated prior to the flash firing so as to reduce the red-eye effect.
• MF-Point Zoom (On or Off) decides if the centre portion of the image is magnified on the monitor when the camera is being focused manually.

• AF Assist Beam (On or Off) decides whether or not the AF assistance light is used as required.
• Digital Zoom (On or Off) controls whether or not the 3.2X digital zoom is active, which yields a field of view comparable to a 12X zoom when combined with the 3X optical zoom. The Digital zoom captures the central part of the image and interpolates it to the selected image size, causing a visible loss in the image quality. (The digital zoom is not available when the A510 is set to the Post Card format.)
• Review (Off, 2 or 10 seconds) controls if and for how long an image is displayed on the monitor immediately post capture.
• Date Stamp (Off, Date, Date and Time) this option is only available when the A510 is set to the Post Card format and permanently superimposes the date, or the date and time directly on the image.

The second tab is for the Setup options, and these are listed in the Interface and Software section of this review. The third tab is the access to options that make it possible to personalize the sounds and display of the A510.

Called the My Camera menu, it provides options to assign sounds for: the Start-up Sound, the Operation sound, the Self-timer sound and the shutter sound. In addition an option is provided to select the Start-up image the camera displays when it is turned on.

To simplify matters, Canon includes 3 pre-installed themes which not only provide an image but a set of sounds that fit the image. Moreover, over 40 other themes are included with the camera's software, and any 3 at a time can be loaded onto the camera when it is connected to the computer.

• Protect: allows selecting images so that they can be protected from any accidental erasure.
• Rotate: makes it possible to rotate an image by 90° or 270° clockwise.
• Sound Memo: allows recording a sound bite, up to 60 seconds long, which will be associated with the image.

• Erase All: erases all images with the exception of those that are protected.
• Auto Play: plays back all images, leaving each on screen for about 3 seconds.
• Print Order: serves to select which images will be printed using DPOF (Digital Print Order Format). The A510 supports Direct Print and Bubble Jet Print for use with Canon Printers, and PictBridge, for use with PictBridge compliant printers. The number of prints to make of each image, and whether or not the date should be printed superimposed on the image can be decided.

• Transfer Order: serves to select images, one at a time or all at once, that will be transferred automatically when the camera is connected to a computer running the software included with the A510.

As with the Recording menu, the other two tabs of the Playback menu are accesses to the Setup menu (see the Interface and Software section), and the My Camera menu (see above).

The PowerShot A510 is compatible with both SD (Secure Digital) and MMC (Multimedia) memory cards, and with the North American version of the camera includes a 16MB MMC card.

The memory card slot is underneath the camera, but covered by a door that straddles a portion of the lower back and the bottom, and which closes securely. The memory card is ejected by pressing on its edge. Using the 16MB card included, the A510 can capture:

Just 2 AA-size batteries are sufficient to run the A510. The batteries fit in the grip section of the camera, and the camera includes 2 alkaline batteries when purchased. Ni-MH (Nickel Metal Hydride) rechargeable batteries can also be used and are available as an option (NB4-200) as well as a charger (CBK4-200), or can be purchased from another source.

The middle jack is the USB port, and the cable is included with the camera.

At the top is the AV out jack, which can either produce an NTSC or PAL signal, as decided in the Setup Menu.

Lastly, a small plastic piece just below the DC connection can be pulled out to reveal the tiny lithium battery that powers the clock of the A510.