Canon PowerShot A710 IS 7.1MP Digital Camera with 6x Image-Stabilized Optical Zoom

Other products by Canon

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 3.8 x 2.6 x 1.6 inches ; 7.4 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B000HATNH4
• Item model number: 1286B001
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (266 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,736 in Camera & Photo (See Bestsellers in Camera & Photo)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: September 27, 2006

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

Along with a 6x optical image stabilized zoom, the compact PowerShot A710 IS is packed with features that make it a worthy successor to the popular PowerShot A700 it replaces. Improvements include a 7.1-megapixel sensor and new photo effects that add to the already extensive creative possibilities.

The PowerShot A710 IS maintains many of the features that made its predecessor so successful, including an extensive range of shooting modes, full manual control, VGA quality movie recording, ISO 800 shooting, and a 2.5-inch LCD screen.

The PowerShot A710 IS features:

• 7.1 megapixels
• 6x optical zoom with optical image stabilizer
• DIGIC II, iSAPS, 9-Point AiAF, FlexiZone AF/AE
• Digital teleconverter and Safety Zoom
• 2.5-inch LCD with wide viewing angle and real-image optical viewfinder
• 20 shooting modes

Image quality
The 6x optical zoom lens achieves a focal length range of 35-210mm (35mm equivalent) while allowing the camera to maintain a small form factor. A real-image optical viewfinder enables framing without the LCD through the full focal range, significantly extending battery life.

The PowerShot A710 IS's optical IS has been specifically engineered for this compact format using the expertise Canon has gained since introducing the technology to its professional range of EF lenses. IS counteracts camera shake to reduce blur, enabling photographers to shoot at shutter speeds up to three stops slower. It also allows for steadier shots at full zoom and when using the camera's 1 centimeter (.4-inch) Macro mode. The digital IS control chip processes up to 4000 signals per second, driving precise shifts of the lens element to compensate for any unwanted hand movements. The PowerShot A710 IS's ISO 800 and High ISO Auto mode complement the optical IS by enabling high standards of flash-free shooting in low light or indoor environments.

Photographic flexibility
A new Safety Zoom takes advantage of the camera's large resolution to offer extra zoom magnification without affecting image quality. Users can capture images at up to 12x zoom with enough resolution for lab-quality postcard (10 x 15-centimeter; 4 x 6-inch) prints. Users can also select a new Digital Teleconverter to add extra telephoto reach on every shot--similar to adding a teleconverter lens to the camera.

The 20 shooting modes include Special Scene modes for help with tricky shooting environments, while Manual modes give the more experienced user complete control over exposure settings. Artistic photo effects can be applied in-camera during and after shooting with My Colors. The PowerShot A710 IS also offers a choice of five movie mode settings including VGA quality movies at 30 frames per second (fps) and QVGA at 60 fps.

LCD enhancements
The 2.5-inch LCD retains a selectable Grid Line display for help with framing and leveling. Further assistance is provided by a useful 3:2 ratio guide, which displays an overlay of the print area for standard photo prints. A new overexposure warning feature indicates areas of overexposure in captured images.

Full range of accessories
A complete range of optional lenses includes wide (0.7x) and telephoto (1.75x) converter lenses as well as a close-up lens for macro photography. The High Power Flash extends the camera's range on night shots and expands the possibilities for creative flash work. Constructed with anti-fog double glass and flash light diffusion plate, the optional waterproof case allows full control at depths down to 40 meters. (Accessories are not included and must be purchased separately.)

Technologies Explained
DIGIC II
Canon's purpose-built DIGIC II (DIGital Imaging Core) image processor links all primary camera functions for maximum efficiency. DIGIC II processes signals at high speeds, resulting in outstanding responsiveness, rapid autofocus, and extended continuous shooting ability. Advanced image processing algorithms deliver superb image detail and color reproduction with accurate white balance and minimal noise. DIGIC II operates efficiently to extend battery life, for longer shooting on a single charge.

iSAPS
iSAPS (Intelligent Scene Analysis based on Photographic Space) automatically optimizes key camera settings before every shot. Each scene is analyzed and cross-referenced against Photographic Space--a vast in-camera library of photographic data. This enables the camera to make optimal adjustments to autoexposure, autofocus, and auto white balance before image capture occurs.

9-Point AiAF
Canon's 9-point AiAF (Artificial Intelligence Autofocus) automatically scans and selects subjects from a set of nine focusing areas across the scene. This ensures accurately focused images even when subjects are not in the center of the frame.

FlexiZone AF/AE
FlexiZone AF/AE lets users manually select the focus point from almost any point in the frame by moving the autofocus window in the viewfinder. Exposure can be linked to the focus point to ensure that the chosen subject is both accurately focused and exposed.

Optical Image Stabilizer
The PowerShot A710 IS uses a lens shift-type Image Stabilizer (IS) system to detect and correct slight camera shakes that can cause image blur. Minute vibration gyros detect lens tilting caused by hand shake. These signals--up to 4,000 per second--are processed by a single-chip IS controller, which discriminates between hand shake and intentional camera movements. Shake signals are sent to the IS unit, which moves one of the lens elements accordingly to deflect the light rays and cancel out the effects of shake. For improved accuracy and responsiveness, the moving lens element is supported on tiny ceramic spheres. In addition to minimizing friction, ceramic spheres avoid some of the problems that can affect metal spheres, such as thermal expansion and magnetism. The PowerShot A710 IS's optical IS allows photographers to shoot at shutter speeds up to three stops slower with no perceptible increase in image blur.

Digital Teleconverter and Safety Zoom
Similar to placing an accessory lens on the front of the camera, Canon's Digital Teleconverter adds a constant zoom to every shot--1.5x or 1.9x, depending on the image size selected. While optical converter lenses cause a reduction in aperture and consequently require a slower shutter speed, the Digital Teleconverter maintains aperture size, reducing the risk of image blur.

Safety Zoom protects the image from interpolation at high levels of digital zoom, allowing users to extend zoom magnification without sacrificing image quality.

What's in the box
PowerShot A710 IS body, AA-size alkaline battery x 2, SD memory card SDC-16MB, wrist strap WS-200, Digital Camera Solution CD-ROM, USB interface cable IFC-400PCU, AV cable AVC-DC300

Product Description

The elegant A710 IS is fully equipped to help busy families capture and hold onto special memories. You'll get up on the stage and down on the field with a powerful 6x optical zoom, and Canon's Image Stabilizer Technology will keep your images clear and sharp at every point in the zoom - even in low light. Excellent 7.1 megapixel resolution, easy high-tech operability and a load of creative shooting modes will keep the fun - and great images - coming.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

372 of 382 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exactly what I wanted, November 4, 2006

By	Hoke (USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

First off I would like to say that I am just an average camera user with no special skills and I really do not understand what any of the jargon means when people talk about their cameras.

I was interested in this camera for several reasons:

1. It was highly rated in every review I read about it by people that know a whole lot more about such things than me.

2. It uses 2 AA batteries not 4 and not a rechargeable battery. I use rechargeable AA batteries on my own. I really do not like being forced to use the ones provided with the cameras. No matter what they say the batteries will run out and at the most inconvenient time. I can swap the batteries out in an instant or buy new ones. You can't do that with other rechargeable batteries. I travel a lot. I never know if I will have access to electricity to recharge my camera or if I will even have time. For this reason I absolutely insist on AA batteries. This may not be a concern for your standard user but it is to devoted travelers.

3. I am not that obsessed with photography. I wanted a camera that would work "out of the box" and let me learn about the features as I go.

4. It uses an SD disk. This allows me to use the same disks without buying new ones or buying an adapter for my computer. I can use the same SD discs with my mp3 player and my palm pilot. This is why I refuse to buy items using xd discs or anything by Sony and their insane use of their memory stick. Hey Sony the Beta was great but no one bought it. You are going down the same path with your memory stick. The deciding factor between a Sony computer and the Gateway I bought was the memory stick feature versus an SD drive. I did not buy cameras from Sony twice now because of the use of memory sticks. I have told many people about this and have steered them to other brands for the same reason. Compatabilty is very important in electronics.

5. It has lots of cool accessories that I may or may not eventually decide to buy. The main one being the waterproof case. I tried this out at the camera store and it was really cool. It allows divers full access to all of the features on the camera and seems like it is really easy to use. I will be buying it in a month or so for an upcoming diving trip. I will know better after that if it works in the water as well as in the camera store.

6. It has a separate watch battery to store the date and time information. That was a major issue I had with my last camera. Digital cameras go through batteries fast. Having to constantly enter this information gets annoying, especially if I am not wearing a watch.

These are my initial thoughts after purchase:

Setting up the camera was a snap. Everything seemed intuitive and I had no problems whatsoever.

I have taken a few test shots in the various modes and am really impressed. It has a lot of detail that my previous camera did not provide.

The camera seems to be the perfect size for me. This camera is big enough so that you can operate the buttons without getting a 4 year old to do it for you. And small enough that it can be used as a handheld camera, fitting nicely in a case around your shoulder.

My only complaint on this camera and with a lot of them is the wheel that switches the modes. I really wish they would make these things flush with the camera body. This one is better than my previous camera but the wheel still shifts modes when you pull it out of its case. Other than that one minor gripe I am very pleased with this purchase.

163 of 164 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Actually 4.5, but that wasn't an option, November 21, 2006

By	L. Perrault "RegencyLover" (WA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I researched digital cameras for over two weeks and finally decided on the Canon A710 IS for a couple reasons. One)it offered the 2nd largest optical zoom, only surpassed by Panasonic right now. Two) the sharpness and quality of the canon images. Three) the Image Stabalizer (IS), which is absolutely the best on the market right now. I shook my hand violently while I snapped a picture and it was crisp and clear. Warning: the IS does not work as spectacularly with flash, nor would any other IS system, because the camera sets the shutter speed lower to get enough light in and this effects the IS capability. Still works well, though. Four) This Canon camera is sleek, easy to hold, easy to use menu features, manual options, and lots of cool extras (I love the color accent feature). And five) because of all of the excellent reviews on this particular camera. Pros, cnet, customers, everyone had something positive to say and very few negatives.
I wanted a camera to capture our first child (Simba, a Shiba dog)and our future first child (hopefully in the next year) when they are active, indoor low-light shots of when we are hanging out with our friends, and have the instant on-hand video camera to catch exciting moments. This camera does all that and more! Very impressed with low-light pictures but was hoping for slighly less red eye (hard to get less red eye, though, with where such small cameras have to place the flash).

I was really torn between this one, the Fuji Finepix F30, the Panasonic Lumix TZ1, and the Canon SD800IS. We had a Fuji before that lasted forever and the F30 is said to take the best indoor, low-light photos available in a digital camera right now, but it was hard to find customer reviews on this camera and the optical zoom was only 3x. The Panasonic has the highest optical zoom at 10X, and customer reviews said it was very impressive but I saw quite a few reviews regarding problems in the first few months and a short warranty along with bad customer service. And nothing was said about low-light images, though Panasonic images just aren't as clear and crisp as Canon's.
In the end, I decided the extra megapixel was not worth the lower optical zoom, so I went with this one over the 800IS.
I have attached some pictures to view.
I am very very impressed with this camera. I viewed my pictures hooked up to a 64" TV and they were awesome. The video is also great quality; my stepdad is considering this digital camera with a large memory card instead of getting a new video camera, he was so impressed.
The camera is extremely easy to use and comfortable to grip. The only thing I have to complain about is that I am nervous about the error 08 that people have said causes the camera to stop working and the lens to not retract. However, this was not enough to stop me from purchasing it. This is something any camera could have happen if grain or dirt blocks the lens shutting and canon customer service assured me that if it did happen, they would repair it free of cost to me (I would have to pay shipping). Best way to avoid this, keep in a case.
I have had it for 4 months and have had zero problems.
It uses 2 AA batteries (great for me cause they can be found anywhere) and I played with the camera for almost 2 straight days before they died (lots of pics and video and viewing on screen).
Also, my stepmother has the Canon 600. She dropped it and it fell down about 20 feet, hitting multiple rocks along the way. When recovered, the LCD screen was broken so the menu cannot be viewed, but the camera still works and still takes great photos! Amazingly durable.
I would recommend checking out [...] for more info.

UPDATE: I don't know if it was summer and I just wasn't taking many indoor photos or if my "Auto" setting has changed itself, but I am not getting very clear pictures inside anym ore. Maybe my hand is shaking more but with the IS feature, this shouldn't be a big deal. I have added some pictures that aren't as sharp as before so you can see what I am talking about. I am still happy with my camera but now I will have to toy with all the setting features to see if I can get better inside people shots. Either my subjects have bad red eye, are slightly blurred, or just not clear when I zoom in on my computer (even when the pics were taken at highest resolution. I will update if I fix this problem.

262 of 281 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great camera but buy stock in a battery company, October 23, 2006

By	Richard D. Kaneen "montovanow" (Tucson, Az USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Canon has an excellent rep with its digital cameras and the A710 is one of the latest in that long line. It's a great camera...not too small to handle with but small enough to be slipped into a jacket pocket. The zoom works well and the stabilization keeps zoomed photos clear, although a bit grainy at full zoom. Syncing with the computer couldn't be easier...load the included software and you're ready to go. I couldn't believe how easy it was to do this. As stated by another reviewer, the included 16mb card is almost worthless, but I used it to practice and get the hang of the camera operation before loading up a 1 gb card. I took the camera on a week and a half vacation and loved it. At the touch of a button I can see how many shots I have left on the card and how many I'll have if I adjust the size and detail of the photos. This let me reduce photo quality just a bit to get the last few photos at the end of the vacation onto the card. Zoom is quick, but, as stated in another review, the flash recharge takes a few seconds. The large LCD screen is great, but, like most digitals, difficult to see in bright light. This makes the optical viewfinder a god-send, but be aware that the viewfinder shows you a tighter shot that what is really being captured in the photo(watch out for the trend from other camera manufacturers of dropping the optical viewfinder!). There are a multitude of optional settings that I'm still figuring out. One - the night shot setting - is questionable. I get better night time shots with the setting on 'automatic' that I do using the 'night shot' setting.

My only problem with the A710 is battery life. Even with the power save function on, I went through a set of batteries a day. Obviously, using the flash a lot reduces battery life and I took many photos inside buildings. I also took 50-60 photos a day, so I was working the batteries from sun-up to sun-down and sometimes after that (I took 600+ photos in 10 days of travel). Rechargables are probably a good idea, but traveling in Europe complicates that....you need to carry a Euro style plug in addition to the battery charging apparatus and lugging all that would be just about as bad as dragging around my big, old Pentax film SLR (the main point, for me, of going digital was to reduce the size and weight of taking the film camera on an extended vacation). The need for all the batteries is the only reason I don't give the A710 5 stars and that's probably not really fair considering the number of photos I'm taking and the conditions of flash use.

In conclusion - The A710 takes great photos, is easy to use, figure out, and connect to your computer, has all the features a non-professional photog could want has the megapixels to let you enlarge your photos to at least 8x10 and is reasonably priced. If you can live with replacing batteries frequently in heavy-use situations, I doubt you can do better in this price range than this camera.