The interface used for the PowerShot
A620 is typical of Canon cameras. Information is superimposed
on the periphery of the monitor image so that it does not
intrude too much on the image while framing the shot. And,
in the case of the A620, the pivoting 2-inch LCD monitor offers
a sharp image that remains visible under most lighting, making
it rare to require the optical viewfinder.
The menus are also well organized, and using a mix of icons
and text descriptions for the options helps to make the options
understandable. The menu system, as with the rest of the interface,
quite common with Canon cameras. Whatever the camera mode,
the menus appear in three parts, the first part being specific
to the mode in use, either capture or playback. The use of
grey backgrounds helps make the text stand out, and the coloured
tabs representing each of the three sections are clearly identifiable.
Two of the three sections are common to both the capture
and playback modes: the Setup section explained below, and
the My Camera section whose functions are explained in the
Characteristics section of the review:
Mute: On or Off. Acts as the master control for
all sounds produced by the camera. In addition, holding
down the MENU button while powering up the A620 turns
off all sounds.
Volume: to adjust the volume of sounds over 5 steps
for:
Start-up,
Operation,
Self-Timer,
Shutter Release,
Playback.
Power Saving:
Auto Power Down: On or Off. Decides whether or not
the A620 automatically powers down when inactive.
Display Off: controls when the display turns off (10,
20, 30 seconds or 1, 2, 3 minutes).
Date/Time: serves to set the clock and calendar
of the A620.
Format: serves to format the memory card. Two types
of formatting are available, a quick format, and a low level
format that takes longer but which can improve the read
and write speed of a heavily used memory card.
File No. Reset: On or Off. By default the A620
automatically increments the file names it assigns to images
every time a photo is captured, irrespective of the memory
card used or of the fact that it may have been reformatted.
This option serves to reinitialize the numbering so that
images will once again start at 1 when a freshly formatted
card, or a new memory card is used.
Auto Rotate: On or Off. When On, images
captured vertically are presented vertically in playback.
Distance Units: decides whether distances will
be shown in metres and centimetres or feet and inches when
the camera is being manually focused.
Language selects the interface language: English,
German, French, Dutch, Danish, Finnish, Italian, Norwegian,
Swedish, Spanish, Simplified Chinese, Russian, Portuguese,
Greek, Polish, Czech, Hungarian, Turkish, Traditional Chinese,
Korean or Japanese.
Video System: NTSC or PAL.
Reset All: Cancel or OK. When the camera is set
to the C (Custom) mode, the settings are returned
to their defaults. In all other modes the option returns
the camera to its factory settings with the exception of
the Date and Time, the Language, and the Video System.
The PowerShot A620 is retailed with 2 printed manuals. One is
called the Basic Camera User's Guide, the other the Advanced
User's Guide. The basic guide is only 24 pages long and
is an introduction to the primary operation of the A620/A610.
The Advanced guide, on the other hand, goes into detail about
all of the camera's functions and explains how they relate to
one another. Regrettably, however, the Advanced Guide contains
references to the Basic Guide, requiring the user to go back
and forth between both. In our opinion, the Advanced Guide would
have been more practical if it also contained the introductory
information found in the Basic Guide.
Software
As sold in North America, the PowerShot A620 comes with
a single CD called Digital Camera Solution Disk (version
26.0) which contains the following software:
Macintosh:
Image Browser 5.5
PhotoStitch 3.1
ArcSoft PhotoStudio 4.3
Windows:
ZoomBrowser EX 5.5
PhotoRecord 2.2
PhotoStitch 3.1
Twain (6.6) and WIA (6.4) drivers
ArcSoft PhotoStudio 5.5
Apple QuickTime
ZoomBrowser is an image browser
that also serves as the access point to other programs, and
which also serves to download images from the camera, or upload
new themes so that they can be made available in the My Camera
section of the menu.
ZoomBrowser's primary role
is to simplify and streamline image organization and selection.
Image folders can be selected in the left window pane of the
program, while their contents are shown in the right window
pane, with, if desired, the shooting data and a histogram.
In addition, an image selected in the browser can be double-clicked
to open it in an editing widow where its colour, tone, saturation,
brightness and contrast can be adjusted.
ZoomBrowser can also be used to launch other applications
bundled with the A620. PhotoStitch, for instance, serves
to assemble series of images captured with the Stitch Assist
mode into panoramic images. Similarly, PhotoRecord,
a program intended for the creation of album pages, can also
directly be called up from ZoomBrowser.
RemoteCapture is another
utility that can be directly accessed from ZoomBrowser. It
serves to control the camera remotely while it is connected
to the computer through the USB connection, making it possible
to adjust and select any of the camera's parameters —
shooting mode, aperture, shutter speed, zoom position, white
balance, ISO speed, macro mode, flash mode etc. — and
take photos which are then immediately transferred to the
computer.
Still another independent program can be found on the A620's
CD: ArcSoft's PhotoStudio. PhotoStudio is a fairly
advanced image editor that contains tools similar to some
of the ones found in Adobe Photoshop, offering for example,
the possibility of editing an image in layers.
Compare Prices for Canon PowerShot A620 Digital Camera AC Adapter (AC-F18)
Interface & Software
