Canon PowerShot A540 6MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Zoom

by Canon

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 3.6 x 2.5 x 1.7 inches ; 6.4 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000EMU4HS
• Item model number: 1118B001
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (259 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,923 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 A540 combines ease of use with creative flexibility. The PowerShot A540 delivers 6.0-megapixel resolution and a high-performance 4x optical zoom lens. It also features an extensive range of creative shooting modes and is compatible with optional converter lenses for extended versatility.

The PowerShot A540 packs a vast array of additional high-end features into a remarkably compact space, including:

Canon's DIGIC II image processor and iSAPS technology for fast, superb results

Accurate focusing with 9-point AiAF1

ISO 800 shooting

Widescreen (16:9) stills recording

30-frame-per-second VGA movie recording

2.5-inch LCD with Night Display and Grid Line Display

The versatile PowerShot A540 is the replacement to last year's popular PowerShot A520.

Optics
A 4x optical zoom lens (35mm equivalent: 35 to 140mm) delivers crisp, bright results that make the very most of the camera's 6.0-megapixel resolution.

The camera also has optional wide (0.7x) and telephoto (1.75x) converter lenses to extend the focal length range, for an effective 10x optical zoom. It is also compatible with optional close-up lenses for detailed macro photography. (Wide, telephoto, and close-up lenses are optional accessories and are not included; they must be purchased separately.)

Designed for creativity
With 20 shooting modes, the camera is superbly equipped for artistic photography. Creative Zone modes on each camera include full Manual mode, Aperture Priority, and Shutter Speed Priority. Special Scene modes--such as Night Snapshot and Snow--assist with tricky lighting conditions, while Color Accent and Color Swap modes enable dramatic color effects to be applied to both images and movies direct from the camera. Users can record smooth 30-frame-per-second VGA quality movies of up to 1 GB with sound or create 60-frame-per-second QVGA clips for sharp slow-motion playback. A handy Compact mode enables shooting of small format clips of up to 3 minutes for easy sharing via email. My Colors can also be applied to movies before shooting.

The PowerShot A540 features a new Widescreen mode (2816 x 1584 recording pixels) for capturing still images in 16:9 format--perfect for viewing on widescreen television or printing wide photos with a Selphy Compact Photo Printer.

Low-light shooting
The addition of ISO 800 gives photographers the flexibility to shoot without flash indoors and in other low-light environments. It also enables shooting at faster shutter speeds, increasing image stability at full zoom and reducing unwanted motion blur. The advanced DIGIC II processor also minimizes noise at higher ISO levels.

Instant photo prints
The PowerShot A540 is PictBridge compliant for instant direct printing to compatible printers, including all Canon Selphy CP Compact Photo Printers and most Canon PIXMA printers. You can also print ID photos and stills images from movies when connected to a Selphy CP Compact Photo Printer.

The handy Print/Share button on each camera allows one-touch printing and hassle-free uploads to Windows or Macintosh systems. A new Print menu makes it easier than ever to organize print jobs direct from the camera.

The menu system on this camera also features support for 23 languages, including Arabic.

What's in the Box
PowerShot A540 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

With a full 6.0 megapixels of imaging power and a high-quality 4x optical zoom lens, the super-intuitive PowerShot A540 is ready to produce impressive results right from the start. This camera is packed with value from its high-end specs to its high-performance capabilities, yet easy enough for beginners to use.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

679 of 684 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars fantastic balance of size, speed, photo quality, capabilities, April 3, 2006

By 

Paul Christensen "gadget geek" (West Chester, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Canon PowerShot A540 6MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Zoom (Electronics)

***NOTE: Canon has once again upgraded its A-series of compact digital cameras for 2007. I have upgraded to the outstanding A570IS, which adds optical image stabilization, lower noise, and a better LCD. Check out my review of the Canon A570IS***

After many years of fantastic pictures (as long as the subject was stationary!) my trusty Olympus D40-Zoom died - luckily at the end of a vacation. I spent about 30 hours researching a replacement that would satisfy my goals of (a) compact size, (b) standard AA batteries, (c) full manual controls, (d) outstanding image quality, (e) speed, (f) optical viewfinder.

In my opinion, the Canon A540 fits the bill almost perfectly. It's small enough to fit in a coat pocket or small belt case yet uses 2 AA batteries. Overall processing speed is blazingly fast unless you're taking flash pictures (and then you should expect about 4-5 seconds between flashes). Note that flash time is significantly better with rechargeable NiMh batteries than with standard AAs. And, unlike some other cameras I tried, the speed of the user interface (especially during playback) is very fast.

Picture quality in general is excellent, even in night situations. You have the option of ISO 80 - ISO 800 with the latter being noisy but usable. (Would you rather miss a shot completely or have a little noise? How about the ability to take a picture in low lighting without the flash?) And, you have full manual controls, in addition to the 21 predefined scene types. I'm not sold on the usefullness of the Color Swap and Color Accent modes, but the other modes are well thought out.

Perhaps the biggest surprise was the movie mode, which offers up to 30 fps VGA quality 640x480 continuous shooting up to 1GB per clip, to the maximum size of your SD card. This is still no substitute for a high-quality camcorder, but it's a nice option to have in those situations where you just have the camera. (And note that unlike this camera, most camcorders offer some form of image stabilization.) Note that the movie mode on the A540 is significantly more capable than the lower-megapixel twin A530 (which is limited to 2 minute clips at 15fps).

I was close to getting the Canon A700, which uses the same 6MP sensor and user interface but offers a 6x optical zoom instead of a 4x zoom. In the end, after trying both cameras in the store, I settled on the A540. Why? The A700 is ever-so-slightly larger (about 0.25 inches wider and slightly taller), and the more complicated lens takes longer to startup and to zoom. Maybe it was the lighting, but the noise quality on the A700 seemed higher than the A540, although they use the same sensor. Perhaps this has something to do with the different lenses? Finally, the A700 doesn't offer an underwater case which I'd like to have as an option some day.

In summary, Canon A540 Pros:
- very fast startup and shot-to-shot speed (flash not withstanding)
- excellent and speedy auto-focus even in low light (although the AF assist light can slow this down)
- extremely fast user interface and playback performance, even zooming in on photos
- outstanding photo quality, even in relatively low light (good color balance, noise levels at high ISO are acceptable, almost non-existent chromatic aberation)
- 6 megapixel sensor, 4x optical zoom
- ISO 80 to 800 (800 has noticeable noise but still usable)
- surprisingly usable movie mode (unlike the A530, can record up 30fps of continuous video at 1GB sections up to size of the SD card)
- outstanding user interface: options are well laid out and easy to locate, very well thought-out record and playback options
- full manual controls (shutter priority, appeture priority, full manual)
- custom white balance option in addition to presets
- flash adjusts angle based on wide-telephoto zoom
- well built case, very comfortable grip
- uses SD cards (and takes advantage of high-speed SD)
- uses 2 AA batteries
- unbelieveable battery life (approx 350 shots on 2 rechargeable NiMh AA, with the display on)
- supports optional conversion lenses and underwater case

Cons (to me, all very minor):
- screen while large isn't very high res (85k pixels)
- flash recharge time is acceptable but not great (4 - 5sec between pictures using NiMh batteries)
- preview display blanks while flash recharges
- it's possible to insert the SD card upside down and you don't realize until you try to close the cover (would be easy to break the cover if you force this)
- the markings for the battery orientation are difficult to read
- no RAW image support, but you can select from 3 different compression ratios for image quality
- dubious color accent and color swap modes

199 of 203 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The newest and best Powershot A in the series!, June 24, 2006

By 

D. Reinstein "marindavid" (Fairfax, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Canon PowerShot A540 6MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Zoom (Electronics)

I began, years back, with Canon's Powershot A20 2MP), then promoted myself up to the A70 (3.2MP) about two year ago. Three days ago, I received my newest self-indulgence: the new Powershot A540 (6MP). So far, I have used it to take 40=50 shots, indoors and out, day and night, using both the Automatic and Custom settings. In every instance, I have been more than simply pleased.
The 2 1/2 inch LCD display is a particularly welcome feature for me at nearly age 60 - everything is a LOT easier to see. I bought a 1GB Secure Digital card for it (Canon insists in shipping their cameras with a useless 16MB card) and a set of 2500s (NiMH batteries.)
Compared to the A70, this camera is easy to manage, quite light (requiring only two batteries, not the four needed by earlier models.) A simple delete button also simplifies the immediate dumping of bad shots. The 4X optical zoom is also a welcome change to the older format.
I am purely an amateur photographer.
Other criticisms I have seen re the poor definition on the LCD screen are, I feel, kind of 'nit picking' - looking for something to criticize about a really good camera.
I found this one online for $223. (Shipping included), sold the A70 used through Amazon for $160 in 24 hours - so the upgrade cost me about $60 net. Well worth every penny.
The pictures themselves are clear. The white balance is great and I leave the setting at 1600x1200 - unless I feel I will need a poster size print. This setting allows over 1700 images on the 1GB card!
I think it will do quite nicely.
Light, easy to handle and good quality images. What else could we realistically hope for at this kind of price?
I recommend it heartily.

90 of 90 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful point and shoot camera, July 12, 2006

By 

debrajrj (South Dakota, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Canon PowerShot A540 6MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Zoom (Electronics)

The short version:
This is a great camera for people who want an easily portable camera that is FAST and takes great pictures out of the box (but has some versatility for those who want to be able to do more).



The long version:
I'm a decidedly novice photographer, although it is something of a running joke in my family about just how many photos I take. I was looking to replace my previous digital camera, which took great pictures of stationary objects but wasn't fast enough to catch the shot I wanted if the subject wasn't holding still-- e.g. kids at play. I've now had this camera for a month and taken approximately 450 photos in various conditions. Some things I've noticed:

1) Battery life: not great, but frankly better than I expected. I'm on the third set of disposable batteries; the set that came with the camera lasted about 100 photos, and I switched out the second set a couple days ago before leaving on a trip-- they weren't "dead" but I figured they were close to the end of their usefulness. Partially charged batteries are most noticable when using the flash, when they can really delay getting that next shot. And it is GREAT to be able to use AA batteries.

2) Red eye: Wow!!! What a dramatic improvement from my old A95! Yes, I still occasionally have to correct red-eye, but far less often. I do have the built in red-eye reduction set to "on"

3) Speed: again, WOW!!! There is virtually no shutter lag-- I press the button, and get the picture I wanted. Ok, I've also learned to partially depress the button to focus the camera and wait for the shot I want-- but even when my subject is in motion and I don't want to pre-focus I can virtually always catch the moment I meant to catch. Assuming I either have fresh batteries or am not using the flash, I can take the next photo just a few heartbeats later-- and I understand that there is a "burst mode" I haven't used which takes 2 photos a second until terminated or out of memory.

4) Ergonomics: There are smaller cameras out there, but this will fit if awkwardly in my pants pocket. It is significantly lighter weight than my old camera. Controls are logical and easy to use; they don't get bumped accidentally but aren't hard to adjust on purpose.

5) Settings: There are a multitude of pre-determined settings on this camera; I've just scratched the surface and have been impressed so far. This lets those of us with skills best described as "push here dummy" get better shots under special circumstances-- on the beach, snow scenes, indoor shots, objects in motion. The manual settings are wasted on me, but I understand they are there, too.

6) Zoom: the 4x optical zoom means is more than you'll find most anywhere else (with a few notible exceptions). This camera also has a on-screen icon that will blink at you if there is camera motion that might compromize your shot. I have noticed that I just plain can't hold the camera still enough at maximal zoom to avoid having this warning flash at me. I haven't noticed that snapshot quality was affected, but I suspect that if you blew it up to 8x10 (or perhaps larger) that you might notice it. It does make me wonder if a 3x zoom would have been adequate for my needs, since the odds of me hauling around and using a tripod are virtually nil. I have the digital zoom turned off on the camera; I figure I can crop if I want to after the fact but am starting with a maximal resolution.

7) Memory: get another card. Period. I have a 1 GB card that I've never come close to filling despite setting photoquality at maximum resolution, but I download frequently and haven't used burst mode or video.

8) Photo quality: Great! I can see the individual water drops glisten in mid-air in the shots of my son splashing my husband, colors are rich and accurate. Some shots, especially if I'm using the "kidsnpets" setting, are a little "soft"-- not quite crisp images, but I only notice this when I really blow the image up on my computer screen and I doubt I'd appreciate it otherwise. I think if you are ordering an 8x10 or smaller you wouldn't recognize it at all.

The one thing I liked better about my old canon A95: The rotating LCD display, which was also a bit more visible in bright light (possibly because I could adjust the angle)