Customer Reviews

Canon PowerShot A200 2MP Digital Camera

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This camera is faster than most digital cameras out there; from opening it to it turning on and being ready to shoot it takes about three seconds; from pressing the shutter button down to it taking a picture it takes almost one second (even faster if you've already pressed the shutter down half-way to focus and meter); from it taking a full-size, best-quality 2 mega pixel shot to it being ready to take another it takes about three seconds (even faster with less quality or smaller sized pictures). The camera controls on the back allow you to easily change to close-up mode or change white balance or add exposure compensation or turn off the flash or use the stitch-assist mode or the self-timer with from one button push for close-up mode to around four to six button pushes for the more complicated added features. The lens is the equivalent of a 39mm f2.8 lens on a film-slr camera and it focuses very fast with an auto-focus mechanism that chooses the most likely subject among three focus squares in the middle of the viewfinder/lcd screen to focus on and it has an auto-focus assist beam that aids in focusing; speeding it up especially in scenes with slightly lower light levels.

This camera is cheaper than many cameras out there. It costs around [$$$]right now which is cheaper than most 2 megapixel cameras right now. The material it's made out of is a sticky plastic which feels grimy if you hold it too long while you're out in the sun because the sweat on your hands tends to smear all over it and generally yucks it up (just wipe it off with your shirt; it's no big deal). This camera takes compact flash type 1 cards which are very easy to find and fairly reasonably priced for a good-sized card (if you already have a more expensive Digital camera that uses compact flash cards then obviously; you're in luck!). The batteries that it uses are two double A's; rechargeable or alkalines (very-very easy to find; just go down to your local [store]to find the nickel metal hydride rechargeable kinds). If you don't have a compact flash card reader but you do have a usb port then you can transfer the images right off of the camera and straight into your computer (Mac or PC). If you don't have a computer then you can still use the camera; just buy one of Canon's two available dye-sublimation printers and you can print pictures from 6X4inches to smaller than a postage stamp and almost every size in between to your heart's content.

Is this camera better than most cameras out there? One argument against it is it doesn't have an optical zoom; but truthfully having a zoom lens doesn't necessarily mean your pictures are automatically going to be better; for example instead of zooming in and taking a "stalker" picture of that cutey down the hall why don't you just walk up to that cutey and say smile! and take that cutey's picture from up close and then engage that cutey in an actual conversation; believe me your picture quality will improve dramatically! Another argument against this camera is that it only has two megapixels; but truthfully for snap-shot sized pictures or smaller including pictures that you're going to be using on the web you don't need that extra one or two megapixels over the first two megapixels; it's just pixel overkill for a picture of your uncle holding up that trout he just wrestled into his net or extreme close-ups of your baby doing everything from sleeping peacefully in the crib to crying red-faced while you're giving her another bath or changing her diaper for like the hundreth time. A third argument against it is that compared to a comparable camera such as the[$$$]it is made of cheaper materials and it's much bulkier; but truthfully many people find those smaller elf-like cameras clunkier; they're slower to turn on they're slower to extend their lens; they're heavier; they're more expensive; they're less responsive to the user when their shutter buttons are pushed; they use more expensive proprietary batteries; they give people with bigger hands or arthritis carpal tunnel syndrome and the list goes on...

Is this camera better than any other camera out there I ask again? Well obviously the simple truth answer is no; you can always buy a more expensive camera and get more pixels or longer lenses or interchangeble lenses and flash-shoes and doodads to your heart's content so a more appropriate question to ask would be is this camera better than any other camera out there for the intended task that I seek it to do as a prospective camera buyer on the market? Well; we'll leave that question up to you!

I recommend buying the Canon A40 instead. In fact, I just returned my A200 in order to do just that. Here's why:
* The A40 has a more solid feel in your hand. Instead of "perching" in your hand, it "fits" your hand. (Look at the nice curve that fits into your right hand as you hold the camera.)
* The A40 has an optical zoom, as well as the digital zoom that most digital cameras have. The A200 only has a digital zoom; you lose some quality.
* The controls on the A40 are easier to understand and better layed out. The A40 has what you call a thumb wheel. To switch between picture taking modes, or into photo review mode, you just spin the wheel. No pressing the same button over-and-over.
* Finally, it's easier to change the batteries on the A40!! Why did Canon make the battery compartment so hard to open on a piece of equipment that needs its batteries changed daily or weekly??

If you just need a bare-bones camera that takes great pictures, buy the A200. I was very impressed with the quality of the photos.
If you want a more comfortable and intuitive camera, get the A40.

THis is a very good camera for its price, however, on lithium batteries it will last only 4-5 exposures. make sure u get a set of good NiMH batteries with charger.. one charge lasts about 300 exposures or more, and u don't have to use expernal power source while camera is connected to PC - those batteries handle 'em all.

The A200 by Canon is definately a great camera. Movies - The movies it records are very clear and smooth. I am using a 64mb CompactFlash disk so I can get tons of video on it.

Photos - By using the Medium resolution (1024x768) with medium compression and using a 64mb CompactFlash card I can get 204 photos on it. That's 66 more than I got with the HP. The photos are very clear and crisp with this cam as well. And I love the ability to change the photo type (normal, vivid, sepia, etc...). I use the vivid so it makes the photo more rich and deep.

Definately worth the price.

I bought it as a first digital camera, checking out the terrain before making a big investment. My friends are ohing and ahing over the pictures I took in Rio with this thing (of course, you don't need a great camera to get great pictures in Rio!). It travels well, eats batteries more than I expected, is easy to use, takes a little while to warm up when first switched on, and lives up to the positive reviews I've read here and on the web...Buy a 128M memory card and rechargable batteries, and enjoy. There's a waterproof case available, something I'll buy if I can find a discount as I'm an avid SCUBA diver and snow-skier (the kind of skier who would need a waterproof case). I was disappointed with my order - Amazon listed a coupon for a reduced-price memory card but the web site wouldn't let me apply it to my order - but I'm not disappointed with the camera. Enjoy!

Alright, let me first start off by saying that I got an awesome deal on this camera. The price is incredible for what you are getting, plus its cheap enough for a starter to get into digital photography without making a dent in the pocket book.

Let me just summarize my pros and cons for this camera:

Pros:
- awesome price (I think this is a HUGE factor)
- takes compact flash (these are typically cheaper than other types of memory)
- takes 2 AA batteries (don't need special batteries)
- 2 megapixels offers good quality photos
- USB connection (you don't need a CF reader/writer)
- lightweight
- awesome effects such as b/w, moasic, vivid, movie mode

Overall, its a great **starter** camera. However, once you get comfortable you will probably want a better camera due to the limitations I will discuss now.

Cons:
- only digital zoom (the quality of the zoom is so terrible that its not worth using, specially indoors since the flash isn't strong enough to get you a picture)
- battery door is flimsy (the battery door is very flimsy and it broke when I dropped the camera once)
- exteremely vulnerable to impact (dropped the camera a total of about 2 ft and it stopped focusing properly... be very careful NOT to drop the camera)
- automatic settings not good enough (I had to use the manual settings to get better quality pictures when indoors)
- takes a while to encode image (specially when you have the file size set smaller.. it takes between 5 - 10 seconds to encode the image. I'm thinking it compresses the image on the fly and that slows it down)

Well, thats about it honestly. One addition... invest in rechargable batteries and a charger, a pair of batteries lasts only a few hours specially when used indoors with the flash.

Like I said, its a great starter camera but you will grow past it within 6 months.

Hope this helps... please vote YES if it did I appreciate it.

Khosrof

Thicker than I expected, the specs said 1.3 in but I measured it and came to be close to 1.45 so feel bulky in hand and pocket. Image quality is top notch in the sub 200 market, there are better 2mp cameras but they all have zoom and are more expensive. The software is a pain to use, and that's the worst thing about this camera, ... However with the A200 you have to install driver and software and you can't just drag and drop. ...

I have a "grown up digital camera", a Minolta Dimage 7 with all the bells and whistles. It is a camera to use when you are being very serious about the pictures you are taking.

It is big though and I carry a lot of stuff in my bag to support it. I needed something small to take pictures when lugging around a Dimage 7 is sort of a waste of energy.

This is a very good little camera, which takes pictures comparable to my old Nikon CoolPix 800. The Nikon cost a lot more, too.

There is no optical zoom, however and that is what keeps me from giving this camera a 5 star rating. But I can pop it into my pocket and know that it is there when the unexpected photo opportunity comes along.

It has an available underwater housing and I would have no hestitation using it properly fitted (even if they had it for the Minolta I would never risk it). I also think it would be acceptable for use on the slopes.

Great value, easy to use, not too small but manageable.
Eats regular AA's but lasts well when you use 1600 or
1800 mAmp/hr NiMH

One of the major pluses for a digital camera is being able to instantly share with others what you have captured. In fact, this is the main reason I went with digital when I bought the S10 when it first came out. I remember everyone being surprised when the pictures just taken were displayed on the 32" screen in living color. They asked me what it was and I said its DIGITAL. To this day, I am still amazed by the fact that the picture can be displayed instantly on your TV screen. That said, I bought the A200 for a relative. When I received the camera I found the camera is built solid and very slick with nice features. We took some pictures and wanted to see how it turned out. I looked for a video cable and none was to be found. Then it had dawned on me that this camera does not have video-out. I thought to myself the price was too good to be true. Never did I imagine Canon would cut corners and leave out the most important feature. Needless to say we were very disappointed. Without a video out you are limited to downloading the pictures to the computer and have everyone gather around the computer monitor to see the pictures. Even if you have a tv-out on the pc you have to hook up the cable, mess with settings, run the slideshow prog, etc.etc.. Just a big hassle either way. We ended up also buying the Sony DSC-P31 which is a very comparable camera for about few bucks more. I was really torn between the two but had initially gone for the A200 only because I've had good experiences with Canon. The Sony includes the video-out as well as the NIMH batteries plus the charger. By the time you get the charger and batteries for the Canon, it ends up being the same price. Video-out is not a lot to ask on a digital camera especially in this price range. I say this because the price on digicams have dropped dramatically since the days of the S10 and there is no excuse for a manufacturer to omit this very basic feature. I would not be surprised if Canon realizes their mistake and includes this feature on a later model in the same price range. That said, if you never intend to display your picturs on TV, this is a great little camera. Otherwise, pass on this one.