Customer Reviews

Canon Powershot A610 5MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Zoom

5 star:		(72)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(34)

 

 

I had been looking forward to this purchase ever since I saw the press release about the A610. I ordered it from Amazon as soon as it was in stock, they shipped it immediately, one-day shipping got it to me exactly when I expected it.

I am not ordinarily one to make such broad, sweeping statements, but I am very, VERY impressed with this camera. Here are some initial impressions:

- Movie mode is great...it makes AVI files in 160, 320, or 640 resolution (4:3) with okay quality mono sound. It uses very low compression, so you get great quality but large file sizes. The way I calculate it, you can get a 640x480 30fps AVI encoded at 2MB/s. You can use the zoom before you hit the shutter, but you cannot zoom while filming. Bummer.

- The autofocus mechanism is spectacular. It seems to have 9 zones in the AiAF setup, and will make a best guess at where you are focusing and show you those zones before you pull the shutter release. You can also put it in "FlexiZone" which lets you move a single autofocus point around the frame, allowing you to ask the autofocus to aim wherever you'd like. Macro focus is great...it really does focus accurately at ranges as close as a centimeter from the lens when zoomed all the way out (1x). It does have a manual focus setting, but I can't yet beat the autofocus.

- The "My Colors" feature is cool...one of the modes allows you to replace one color for another (you select by aiming the center of the frame at the colors you select). You can also set it to select one hue, washing all others to grayscale. For the photoshoppers out there, it's also got a mode where it stores both the original shot and the color-altered shot on the card. No worries.

- The photos I take with auto-exposure and autofocus turn out beautiful, crisp, and with great color balance (the RGB histograms look very even). I can even get zoom shots of a close subject where the background appears blurred...very pretty.

- The camera's user interface is quick enough to learn if you read the booklet. On-screen menus are very informative without being over-designed.

Do yourself a favor and buy this camera or the A620. You will be investing in a very capable tool at an extraordinarily reasonable price. Buy a big SD card, too, so you don't have to worry about setting the camera on anything but the highest resolution and lowest compression.

I am very pleased with the camera, love the full manual settings, great movie mode (u can even zoom) and best of all it takes great pictures! This is the follow up camera to the A95, advantages include a bigger LCD, digic 2 processor (which means faster speed), high-speed 2.0 USB connection, better macro mode (less the half an inch!), 4 optical zoom. I think the biggest thing I noticed was the speed of the zoom lens and ability to focus. Macro shots is simply amazing! Personally I would get the Sandisk Ultra 2 SD memory card to go with this for top speed. Its a simply amazing camera you will love!

I am a first time buyer for this type of camera. I spent days on the computer researching and trying to get the best deal for my money. I'm one picky customer and I really hunt for bargains! Consumer Reports rated the A95 as being a best buy, so when I heard that the A610 was a step up, I bought it. I've also purchased the charger, batteries, and case to go with it. (It's cheaper to buy them as a kit). So far I've been thrilled with everything. It is a great camera for both beginning and advanced users. The menu is not too complicated, like many of the cameras out there. The quality is good also. It feels very sturdy and comfortable in my hand. The size is perfect: not too small and not too large. I have larger hands and the buttons and controls are easy to use. I love the zoom lens. This camera has 20 different settings for picture-taking which was important for my husband and I because we like to take close-ups of nature. It has other settings for taking action shots, portraits, snow, and beach pictures. It even gives you the option of taking multiple shots and later turning them into a panoramic photo! The screen is larger and swivels around to different positions so that I could even take a self-portrait if I wanted to. This camera offers many thoughtful details and is easy to use (after you read the directions, of course). I would not hesitate to recommend this fine camera! It is a real deal for the money.


UPDATE: I'm still lovin' my camera! It took a while to learn how to operate all the functions, but it's been fun! The pictures are clear! I can't imagine not having a camera that didn't have the swivel screen. I just purchased a tripod and can now swivel the screen around and set the timer to see exactly where I need to stand to be sure we're all in the shot! It's so nice that my husband wants one for himself!

I have my A610 a week now after having owned two digital cameras. The last camera was a Canon A10 so this camera is a vast improvement. I love this camera! The pictures are wonderfully clear and crisp. My only negative comment is that it is a little tricky getting a good focus and exposure at macro settings. This thing will focus down to 1 cm! I found it best not to use the flash on close up shots as it tends over expose. The manual tells you this and a good exposure is possible with just a minimal amount of light without the flash.
The menus are straight forward but complex. Canon has allowed settings for just about everything. I can't imagine a setting that was missed.
The camera is slightly on the large size and a little heavy since it has 4 batteries, but it runs forever on that power source. The extra space needed for the batteries gives the camera a nice grip since the front protrudes out allowing you to hold the camera very still for low light settings.
I like the finish on the camera contrary to previous complaints. It is a textured silver finish rather than gloss and, I guess, it all a matter of taste. I do not think it has a cheap finish. Besides, the fit or the various pieces are almost perfect. This should not discourage you from buying this camera. Actually, I would have preferred an all black camera anyway, but silver seems to be the rage these days.
It has wonderful low light capabilities which are better than my old 35mm SLR. I was really surprised about this. I have noticed no noise problems in really low light.
The mechanical mechanisms are quiet and sound very refined. My old camera was rough and noisy.
We looked at a lot of cameras an did a great deal of research. I am very satisfied with this purchase and highly recommend it.

The Cannon PowerShot A610 is a wonderful camera.

- 4 AA batteries mean that you don't have to charge a proprietary battery pack and you can refill at any store
- Long battery life, we use 2000mAh NiMH AAs and they last for weeks of casual shooting. At a friends wedding I took over 200 pictures, most with flash and did not need new batteries.
- Fast shutter response, not as fast as an SLR, but close.
- Large fold out screen, this opens up a huge range of picture taking that you never thought possible.
- Great pictures on the auto setting, just point and shoot for setting free pictures.
- Great range of settings, from "kids and pets" for fast shots to completely manual.
- Buy the fastest 1GB card you can find and you will never have to worry about changing cards again.
- Great movie mode, perfect for those moments that look better on film.
- Excellent display options for reviewing your photos.
- Additional timer function where you can have it take multiple shots after a delay so if people are blinking or being silly you have several to choose from without running back to the camera

- The only drawback is its size, if you want a "pocket" camera this is not for you, the large size does make it easy to hold and stable for using the timer.

I have owned many brands of Digiams from HP to Sony to Kodak and have found this to be the best of them all(with Sony as a close runner-up). This makes the third generation of Canon DigiCam that I have owned. An a60, and a75 and now this a610! All still function as new! For all those with the e18 errors, heres a solution.....DONT DROP YOUR CAMERA! Treat it gently and for the most part, it will last quite a while. The pictures you get from this are simply stunning. Perfectly saturated colors with VERY little noise(Even on high ISO's). Battery life is very good with nimh's, mainly due to utilizing 4 batteries. I routinely get 200-300 pictures on a set of fully charged NiMh AA's and around 100 pics on your run of the mill Alkaline AA's(NOT reccomended by the way). The interface is FULL of features, yet not too overwhelming. The new "My Colors" setting yields an absolutely stunning twist to your photos! For this year they have also increased the zoom to a 4x! Canon really did their homework on the A-series cameras!

I had owned the earlier Powershot A60 model and was very happy with that. The A610 is an improvement in every aspect.
* Video mode is great! You get full motion videos at 600x480 that look great when played back on a TV. I had just bought a digital video camcorder, JVC-GR270, and I'm returning the camcorder because the Canon simply put its videos to shame. I STRONGLY recommend the
1GB SD Card and get an "ultra fast" version.

* Very useful additional photo features. It allows you to try
a trial flash so that it can correct exposure, before the actual
flash shot to avoid wash out.

* In review mode you can see a histogram of color levels.

* I didn't think I would find a lot of use for the flexible LCD
display. But it comes in very handy in macro mode and also for
taking self portraits.

* It has full manual controls and Canon has improved the button controls on the back.

* VERY nice that you can use 4 double-A batteries of your choice. I was able to shoot hundreds of photos with the LCD on all the time on one set.

Just a great camera.

I bought this camera for my parents to replace their old Olympus 1.2 megapixel camera. My Mom was convinced she'd need at least 6 megapixels but I proved to them 5 mp gives you more than enough quality (unless of course you are a professional). Not to mention with the release of the A620, this camera has become quite the bargain. You won't see too many 5 megapixel cameras with all the features this has for much cheaper. The optical zoom is a must in the camera world. Sure, you think you won't use the zoom much but you'll discover later on you really needed it.

This camera is small, but not that small and despite being made of some kind of plastic has a very sturdy, metallic feel to it. It fits comfortable in even a man's large hands and let's you avoid that problem of shakiness many of the too small digital cameras have. The interface is easy to use, simple, and effective. There is a dial for most of the features an amateur photographer would need to use in a split second, and I love the LCD screen on the back. It's the right size and perfectly movable. The grip on the side of this camera is one of its best features. Not only does it let you take secure pictures if you are like me and have shakey hands, but it's also nice when maybe you are leaning out or in a moving vehicle trying to take a picture, you feel like you have a really good grip on your camera.

Another feature I like is that the lens is interchangeable and you can buy more advanced lenses to serve your particular needs. The package came with a USB cable adapter that lets you get all your pictures off the camera without ever having to touch the memory card.

All in all I think this is a perfect choice for the average consumer. It is a little pricey through Amazon, more affordable through some other retailers, but a good buy nonetheless. Things I'd like to see with it would be maybe a case or easy way to protect it, and it's also not the kind of camera you could easily slip into your pocket or anything. It's not that advanced in features, but consider what it's aiming for I think it does a good job.

Just used this for three weeks in Asia. It took hundreds of gorgeous shots without a hitch. Battery life was good and flexible resolution/detail options allowed me to save memory for the "big" shots. I love the detail and color in the pics; really didn't regret leaving my slide film behind. I also brought my 3MP Canon A400 to use as a "pocket" camera, but never took it out of the case because this one, though no Elph in size, is handy to carry and has addictive features. I was skeptical about the flip-around screen, but have found it very useful. Aside from the unobtrusiveness of looking away while shooting a subject, it basically saved me from lugging around a tripod because I could use any surface to stablize the camera in low light and simply move the screen to see the subject. This also helps the camera shake problem. I agree with those who find the "shake" icon appears too frequently, but it really does stop you from taking a pic that will only appear out of focus once you blow it up at home. If you're taking a lot of action shots in low light without a flash, you may need to go deeper into the software than I did to see if the settings will adapt to your purposes. The AV door is also flimsy, as others mentioned, not my favorite feature, but at least it's flexible so it doesn't break off. I looked at a lot of camera sites before choosing this model, and have been very happy with its ease of use, quality, and reliability. It was easy (and cheap) to transition to this from the smaller Canon, as the software, SD card, and batteries were the same. There are definitely sleeker models out there (HP ,Sony), but for me this was a great combination of ease of use, functionality, quality, and price.

I suffered through a few cheaper cameras, all with disappointing results, before paying for this one. Digital cameras still aren't as cheap as film cameras, so you really just need to pay more if you want a good one. Maybe some cheaper digital cameras are OK for some people, but this one zooms farther, shoots faster, and takes better pictures. Indoor pictures come out pretty good (cheaper cameras take terrible indoor pictures) and outdoors it is just amazing.

It has a variety of settings you can adjust, but I just leave it set to automatic mode and it works better than messing around with modes and settings on cheaper cameras. The only things you really need to touch are the macro option for really close pictures (within a few inches) and sometimes you might want to turn the flash off manually, although most of the time it will turn off automatically when not needed. Eventually I will try playing with different settings, but for now I am just thrilled with how well it works on auto.

The first one I got was defective, but with Amazon I didn't have to pay anything for return shipping either direction to get it replaced.