Canon PowerShot A430 4MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Zoom

by Canon

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 2 x 1.6 inches ; 5.6 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000EMPPBS
• Item model number: 0933B001
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (47 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,662 in Camera & Photo (See Top 100 in Camera & Photo)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: February 21, 2006

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

The PowerShot A430 puts high-performance specs and a wide array of advanced capabilities at your command. With 4.0 megapixels of resolution, 4x optical zoom and a variety of shooting modes, the A430 offers better image quality than any other introductory-level digital camera.

Power up your images
With 4.0 megapixels, your images will resonate with rich depth and detail, and even enlargements will be clear and sharp. The PowerShot A430 is equipped with a 4x optical zoom lens to let you capture everything from landscapes to snapshots with the brightness and clarity genuine Canon optics are famous for. The camera's 1.8-inch LCD screen gives you an excellent view, both for shooting and reviewing your images.

Advanced imaging technology improves every photo

DIGIC II Image Processor
Canon's DIGIC II Image Processor is designed to improve processing speed and image quality, so DIGIC II provides markedly faster startup, autofocus, and playback, plus it assures that every image is more colorfully vibrant.

iSAPS Technology
iSAPS Technology is an entirely original scene-recognition technology developed for digital cameras by Canon. Using an internal database of thousands of different photos, iSAPS works with the fast DIGIC II Image Processor to improve focus speed and accuracy, as well as exposure and white balance.

Capture every detail
Super Macro Mode puts you as close as an eye-opening 0.4 inches from your subject. Advanced engineering ensures that your extreme close-ups will maintain the same high level of sharpness, detail and color fidelity that you see in your standard shots. You also have other shooting modes to choose from, including Special Scene mode, which gives you breathtaking pictures even when shooting conditions are tough.

Shooting Modes
Advanced presets for the best possible photos under certain conditions.

Auto: The camera chooses all the settings so you can concentrate on your subject.

Manual: The ultimate in creative control, you set ISO speed, exposure compensation and white balance.

Portrait: The camera sets a large aperture, focusing the subject and artistically blurring the background to make your subject "pop."

Foliage: Capture brilliant shots of autumn foliage, greenery and blossoms.

Snow: Shoot clear snow scenes without darkened subjects or an unatural bluish tint.

Beach: Get clear shots of people at a sunny beach without darkened faces.

Fireworks: Grab brilliant images of skyrocketing fireworks.

Indoor: Reduce blur and improve color accuracy when shooting handheld indoors.

Kids and Pets: Reduced focusing time freezes fast-moving subjects, so you won't miss those special shots.

Night Snapshot: Get natural-looking pictures with brighter backgrounds and subjects lit by flash.

Super Macro: Trims the image center and digitally zooms to create beautiful enlarged close-ups.

Color Accent: Choose to retain a single color in your image while other colors turn monochrome.

Color Swap: Select a color and replace it with a color you specify for special effects.

Stitch Assist: Build awe-inspiring panoramas by neatly aligning sequential images.

Movie: Shoot in VGA (10 frames per second [fps]), QVGA (30 fps), or QQVGA (15 fps for up to 3 minutes).

My Colors
     Vivid: Yield vibrant shots with dramatic high-contrast.

Neutral: Produce images of subtle, elegant tonality.

Sepia: Recreate the look of vintage photographs.

Black and White: Deliver enhanced clarity--especially useful when shooting text.

Positive Film: Combine "Vivid Blue," "Vivid Green," and "Vivid Red" to achieve a positive film effect.

Lighter Skin Tone: Make your subjects' skin tones lighter.

Darker Skin Tone: Darken skin tones a shade.

Custom Color: Finely adjust brightness and vividness, and set your preferred balance of blue, green, red, and skin colors.

Record the moment, readily
The PowerShot A430 lets you shoot in VGA Movie Mode (640 x 480) at 10 frames per second (fps) or QVGA Movie Mode (320 x 240) at 30 fps with sound. You can also select the Compact Movie Mode (160 x 120) and record at 15 fps for up to 3 minutes.

Get new batteries anywhere
Don't need to worry about running out or recharging batteries. Since AA-size batteries can be purchased at any store, simply get new ones locally.

Advanced capabilities add value
The PowerShot A430 is equipped with many of the same advanced features found on Canon's higher-end models. The camera has an ISO range of 64 to 400, ensuring high-quality images in a variety of lighting situations. The A430 also features a Widescreen resolution option, creating images and movies that are ideal for viewing on widescreen TVs and computer monitors.

The complete print solution
The PowerShot A430's Print/Share button makes direct printing easier than ever. Simply connect the A430 to a Canon CP, SELPHY, or PIXMA Photo Printer or any PictBridge compatible photo printer, press the lighted Print/Share button and print! Also use the Print/Share button to transfer images to a computer (Windows and Macintosh). (Printers not included--must be purchased separately.)

What's in the Box
PowerShot A430 body, AA-size alkaline battery x 2, MultiMediaCard MMC-16M, wrist strap WS-800, Digital Camera Solution CD-ROM, USB interface cable IFC-400PCU, AV cable AVC-DC300

Product Description

4 megapixel resolution in the palm of your hand with a 4X Optical Zoom and 1.8 LCD screen DIGIC II Image Processor and iSAPS Technology for superior image quality, faster operation and lower power consumption Get super close with 0.4 inch Super Macro mode Record your movies in VGA (640 x 480) Movie Mode with sound Power on the go with two AA-size batteries ISO range 64-400, and 16:9 Widescreen for full-screen viewing on widescreen TVs and computer monitors Print/Share Button for easy direct printing and downloading, plus ID Photo Print and Movie Print with Canon CP and SELPHY Compact Photo Printers Included: PowerShot A430 Body Two AA-size Alkaline Batteries MultiMediaCard MMC-16M Wrist Strap WS-800 Digital Camera Solution CD-ROM USB Interface Cable IFC-400PCU AV Cable AVC-DC300

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

291 of 297 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great entry level camera. Affordable not cheap., April 21, 2006

By 

mcenut (North Salt Lake, UT) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Canon PowerShot A430 4MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Zoom (Electronics)

The Canon Photoshot A430 is the replacement for their entry level digital camera the A410. Canon upped the megapixels to 4.0 from 3.2, enlarged the LCD to 1.8" from 1.5" and added more zoom (now is 4X optical and 14X combined.) Even though this is the lowest priced Canon digital camera you can buy it is in no way cheap. The camera feels solid when you use it and yet the plastic body keeps the overall weight down.

Like all the A series digitals from Canon this model still uses standard AA batteries (2 to be exact.) So when you are at the amusement park with the family and your batteries go dead, stop off at the gift shop and pickup a couple of alkalines to get you through the day. I highly recommend investing in a set of good quality NiMH rechargeable AA batteries though; they last about 4 times longer than their alkaline counterparts.

Like the A410 the A430 also has the DiG!C II processor. This fabulous processor allows the camera to power up and shoot its first picture in less than 2 seconds and keeps shooting the next pictures approximately 1 second each. There is a burst mode too but I haven't had time to play with that feature yet. The DiG!C II processor also uses less battery power than older digital cameras so your are able to shoot more photos, and view them on the LCD, before you need to swap them for a fresh pair. I took about 150 pictures, with the LCD on, on a set of alkaline AA batteries before they needed a change. That was a "WOW" for sure.

Having owned two previous digital point and shoot cameras and one digital SLR model, I can say that I am most impressed with the A430. Some online reviewers have noted that the camera lacks independent zoom buttons. What Canon did on this camera was make one set of buttons do multiple things. The same toggle button you use to move up and down in the menus is the zoom in and out control when taking photos. I applaud Canon on this design. Why include more buttons that you need. You aren't using the menu buttons when taking photos, so why not use them for the zoom control. They aren't confusing to use and actually simplifies the design of the camera.

This camera is great for grandparents, young kids and someone on the go. It's is simple to use and takes great photos. I'd recommend it for anyone who wants a digital camera that plain and simple just works. I may just buy two of them so I don't have to share this one with my wife.

Warning: Personal rant follows! Before I bought this camera I read several online reviews. The most deceiving was one from a noted electronics review website. Their resident computer geek stated that there was nothing special about this camera and it was larger than most. Having owned and used this camera I suggest their reviewer stop playing online video games and get out in the sun more, because there is something wrong with his head. True, this camera isn't the smallest model around, but it is very small. And to buy a camera that is smaller you must pay two to three times the cost of this model. "Nothing special?" gamer boy? I'd really like him to qualify that statement. The A430 comes loaded with over 14 shooting modes, an impressive 0.4" Macro mode and the best photo quality in its class. If that is nothing special I'd like to know what is special. I don't expect a sub $200 camera to out perform my $1400 digital SLR. Perhaps gamer boy needs to RTFM.

82 of 84 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great mix of value and quality, May 14, 2006

By 

Jon "Jon" (IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Canon PowerShot A430 4MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Zoom (Electronics)

I bought this camera a few months ago - my first digital camera and as a college student it has been great. The pictures come out great, the videos are high quality, and the various modes let you choose how complicated you want to make it. The software is simple to use if you can work a computer at all. The zoom is powerful and plenty for most people. I like the shape of the camera because it is easy to put into pockets than more square cameras and if you want a better size be prepared to pay up.
Make sure you get rechargable NiMH high power batteries - I bought sony models and they have amazingly long life - I have only had to change them once! I got the canon soft case for the a430 too - it is pretty compact so it still fits in my pocket. Overall its a great value camera that I am glad I bought. As a college student, I wanted cheap but I didn't want to get the cheapest camera I could find, so this seemed like a good balance of quality and price and will last for a long time. Enjoy.

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Value, June 16, 2006

By 

G. Clarkson (Hartsdale, New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Canon PowerShot A430 4MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Zoom (Electronics)

I bought this camera to replace my old Canon A40 2 megapixel model, which served me very well. I think the Canons are a cut above the rest of the competition in terms of both quality and value.

This camera is quite a bit smaller and lighter than my A40 and uses two batteries instead of four. But it is not too small. The smaller S series can be a bit too small for large hands, as another reviewer has already pointed out

The Digic II processor is very capable and much faster than my older model. Image quality is really superb, especially for a camera this inexpensive. I have made excellent 8x10 prints from this camera. 4 megapixels is fine when you have a good lens and processor. The image quality beats my friend's 6 megapixel Sony hands down. The only negatives I can see are that the resolution of the LCD is merely O.K. when compared to more expensive models and that the flash takes a good 5-6 seconds to recharge between shots.

In sum, this camera is an outstanding value for an entry level shooter who wants to take great digital photos without too much cost or fuss.