Canon PowerShot A620

Reviewed November 2005

Introduction

The new PowerShot A620 — and the A610, which has a similar body — are the latest additions to Canon's economical A-Series cameras. The A620 offers a 7.1 megapixel resolution — the A610 is equipped with a 5-megapixel CCD — a 2-inch hinged LCD monitor, and a 4X optical zoom.

The A620 has silver/champagne-coloured metallic areas on top of the body, part of the front, and on the back surface of the pivoting LCD monitor, while the rest of the body is composed of a matching colour plastic.

The top of the large grip that provides a good hold on the camera, supports the 2-stage Shutter Release with the Zoom Lever around it. In Playback the zoom control serves to display thumbnails when pressed towards /, presenting 9 images per screen, and can magnify any part of an image up to 10X when pressed towards the / side. In addition, when the SET button is pressed (see further), it is possible to go to the next image with the same level of magnification.

Behind these controls are two other controls: the Power Button on the left and the Mode Dial on the right. Power On is indicated by a green LED which also serves to indicate the Mode dial position, and the remaining space to the right of the Mode Dial is taken up by a speaker.

The Mode Dial has 13 positions, each related to a capture mode:

	The Auto Mode takes care of all settings, but leaves the selection of the image size and quality, the flash mode and the self-timer up to the user.
	Program AE allows the camera to choose the aperture and shutter speed but leaves all other capture parameters up to the user.
	Shutter Priority allows selecting the shutter speed from a range that covers from 1/2000 second to 15 seconds while the camera selects a corresponding aperture.
	Aperture Priority allows the user to select the aperture — which provides control over the depth of field — while the camera picks a matching shutter speed.
	Manual Mode provides complete control over all parameters and offers an exposure indicator to guide the user.
	Custom makes it possible to pre-set a complete set of preferred settings — including the shooting mode: P, Tv, Av or M — and recall them at any time by selecting the Custom mode.

The remaining modes are positioned on the other side of the Auto mode, starting with the Scene Modes:

	Portrait mode uses a wide aperture to shorten the depth of field and blur the background, emphasizing the subject, an effect that is more pronounced if the zoom is set to the telephoto end.
	Landscape mode forces a small aperture to maximize depth of field. The shutter speed can be quite slow so the use of a tripod is recommended.
	Night mode uses a slow shutter speed (1 second maximum) and the flash to capture both the foreground and the background. The flash mode can be changed or even set to Off, and the camera automatically adjusts the sensitivity.
	When the Mode Dial is set to this position, it is possible to choose any of 8 additional Scene modes using the 4-direction control: Night Snapshot is designed to capture people in front of twilight or night background and reduce the effect of camera shake even without the use of a tripod. Kids and Pets optimizes the shutter speed and sensitivity to allow capturing subjects that move around. Indoor adjusts the white balance so that images can be shot with accurate colour under either fluorescent or tungsten (incandescent) lighting. Foliage enhances colour saturation to capture subjects such as autumn leaves or blossoms. Snow compensates the exposure so that people are correctly exposed against a bright snow backdrop. Beach also compensates the exposure for a highly reflective environment such as water and sand. Fireworks sets the shutter speed to 2 seconds and the focus to infinity to capture a fireworks display (the use of a tripod is necessary). Underwater applies a colour correction so that the image shows natural colours when images are captured using the optional waterproof case (WP-DC90).
	My Colours mode makes it possible to alter the colours recorded by the camera using any one of a group of options: Positive Film intensifies the reds, greens and blues. Lighter Skin Tone makes skin tones lighter. Darker Skin Tone makes skin tones darker. Vivid Blue emphasizes blues. Vivid Green emphasizes greens. Vivid Red emphasizes reds. Colour Accent makes it possible to select one colour from all those showing on the monitor, and then capture the scene with all other colours except that one converted to black and white. Colour Swap makes it possible to select a colour, chosen from those showing on the monitor, and swap it for another also chosen from those showing on the monitor. Custom Colour makes it possible to adjust the colour balance freely between red, green, blue and skin tones to obtain subtle effects.
	Stitch Assist Mode serves to capture a series of frames that overlap slightly so that they can be assembled into a larger image later using the software included with the A620.
	The Movie Mode makes it possible to capture video clips in any one of four ways: Standard movie mode allows choosing the resolution (640 x 480 or 320 x 240 pixels) as well as the frame rate (30 fps or 15 fps). The mode allows the use of the 4X digital zoom and the length of the recording is only limited by the capacity of the memory card. Fast Frame Rate uses a 60 frame per second (60 fps) recording rate so that fast moving subjects can be recorded and played back at a slower frame rate. Only 1 frame size is available, 320 x 240 pixels, and the recording is limited to a maximum of 1 minute. Compact serves to capture a low resolution (160 x 120 pixels) movie at 15 fps for up to 3 minutes, making the movie suitable as an attachment to an e-mail. My Colours offers the same flexibility as the Standard mode, but adds the possibility of changing the image colours prior to shooting the movie. Whatever the movie type, the optical zoom position is locked at the first frame, the sound is recorded in mono, but the exposure and white balance are adjusted as needed as the recording progresses.

As noted at the outset, the PowerShot A620 is equipped with a 2-inch (5 cm) pivoting monitor that is composed of 115,000 pixels.

Starting with the monitor closed on the back of the camera, it is possible to open it towards the right 180°, then rotate it towards the front of the camera, and then swing it back onto the back of the A620. Alternatively, once fully opened to the left, it can also be rotated 90° downwards, making it possible to hold the camera overhead and still see the monitor.

The PowerShot A620 is also equipped with an optical viewfinder, but since the monitor's image remains visible under most circumstances, its use is primarily to conserve battery power when necessary.

The viewfinder is flanked by two LEDs. The upper one lights green and indicates that the camera is ready to capture a photo or a movie, and blinks while some type of camera activity is in progress. In addition, the upper LED lights orange when the flash is charged, and blinks orange while it is charging. The Lower LED is yellow and indicates auto focus, or blinks yellow when the camera is unable to acquire focus.

The Mode Switch is to the left of the viewfinder's exit pupil. It has two positions: Capture or Playback .

Two round buttons are immediately below the switch, each labelled with one or two coloured icons indicating capture (white) and playback (blue) functions:

Next is the 4-direction control which serves for navigation of the A620's menu sand to review images when the camera is set to the Playback mode. Moreover, the UP and DOWN arrows of the control also have secondary uses:

Set to a capture mode, the up arrow serves to select the flash mode: Auto, Auto with Red-eye Reduction, Forced On with Red-eye Reduction, Forced On, or Forced Off.

	In the Playback mode, the button makes it possible to speed through the saved images, the four directional arrow then serving to choose one of the 4 JUMP modes: Jump 10 Images: jumps 10 images at a time. Jump 100 Images: jumps 100 images at a time. Jump Shot Date: jumps to the first image of each shooting date. Jump to Movie: jumps to a movie.
	The down arrow serves to start the Macro mode, allowing the lens to focus on a subject positioned between 1 and 45 cm from the front of the lens (0.4 to 18 inches) when the zoom is at the wide angle end, and from 25 to 45 cm (9.8 to 18 inches) when set to the maximum telephoto end.
	The down arrow also serves, when pressed twice, to switch the camera to Manual Focus which requires the use of the monitor as the centre portion of the image is magnified to make focusing easier. Finally, the button can also be used to lock the focus (AF-Lock) if pressed while the shutter release is held at mid-course and the camera has focused.

The centre of the 4-direction control is occupied by the FUNC./SET button which is used to confirm selections made in the menu, and also serves to maintain the magnification of an image in playback and switch to the next image while maintaining the same magnification.

Furthermore, when used by itself while the camera is set to a capture mode, the button calls up the Function Menu which is used to adjust many of the most critical photographic settings (see the Characteristics section of the review for detailed information about the options contained in the Function Menu).

The last two external controls of the A620 are directly below the 4-direction control. On the right the MENU button displays the menu that corresponds to the current mode of the camera as determined by the position of the Mode Switch. (see the Characteristics and Interface and Software sections of the review for all the options of the different sections of the A620's menus.)

The button on the left side is the DISPLAY button, and it serves to control the quantity of information superimposed on the image.

By default, in the capture modes the monitor image is superimposed by detailed information about the camera's current settings: AF point, capture mode, continuous mode, ISO, metering pattern, compression and image resolution, flash mode and the current battery state.

Pressing the DISPLAY button once removes all information overlaid on the image with the exception of the AF brackets.

In either case, however, when the shutter release is pressed halfway the monitor still displays the aperture and shutter speed.

In the Playback mode, by default, the image is presented with superimposed on it its file name, it position with the images contained in the folder, and its resolution and compression and the date and time at which it was captured.

Pressing the DISPLAY button once reduces the image to a thumbnail, presenting it in the upper left corner and adds information about its capture parameters: capture mode, sensitivity, shutter speed and aperture, exposure compensation, flash compensation, white balance, metering mode, resolution and compression, the file size and displays a histogram showing the distribution of brightness in the image.

Pressing the DISPLAY button a second time simply presents the image by itself, free of any superimposed information.

The PowerShot A620 benefits from the excellent ergonomic design and finishing found in A-Series cameras.

Bringing to this economical camera series a 7.1 megapixel resolution, the A620 retains many of the well-thought out external controls and the performance that has been noted with its predecessors.