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

Other products by Canon

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 4 x 2.5 x 1.8 inches ; 12.8 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B000AYKV4G
• Item model number: A610
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (131 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #797 in Camera & Photo (See Bestsellers in Camera & Photo)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: May 6, 2006

Product Description

From the Manufacturer
With 5.0 megapixels, the A610 incorporates a host of high-end features normally reserved for G-series PowerShots. The DIGIC II processor drives a fast, responsive performance, and--in combination with the camera's 4x optical zoom lenses--delivers superior image quality. A wide range of manual, automatic, and special scene modes offer flexibility, creative control, and simplicity when required.

The camera also features a 2.0-inch vari-angle LCD, My Colors, and a macro mode that allows photographers to get as close as 1 centimeter. VGA movies at 30 frames per second can be created. A complete range of optional accessories, including wide and tele-converters and waterproof case, extends shooting flexibility. (Accessories not included--must be purchased separately.) A comprehensive software suite is provided as standard. The A610 is equipped with a Print/Share button, PictBridge printing, as well as ID Photo Print and Movie Print. USB 2.0 Hi-Speed connections provide for high-speed transfer of image data.

Improved resolution, zoom, and image quality
Replacing the popular PowerShot A95, the new camera has been given a serious performance boost. The A610 features a 5.0-megapixel CCD sensor, delivering image quality suitable for detailed photo-quality prints up to 13 x 17 inches and allowing substantial cropping without loss of print quality.

The precision Canon zoom lens in this new camera follows the design and construction of G-series lenses, with eight elements in seven groups, and incorporating two aspherical elements. The upgrade to a 4x optical zoom provides a 35-140mm focal length (35mm equivalent). With a maximum aperture range of f2.8 (W) to f4.1 (T), the lens is impressively bright at the telephoto end. In addition, focusing performance in low light has improved by up to 2 stops, resulting in greater freedom when shooting in dim conditions.

The lenses' spectral characteristics have been optimized specifically for the configuration of the lens and sensor, providing accurate colors and significantly reducing the chromatic aberrations (such as purple fringing) often found with lower quality lenses.

Advanced processing and focusing
The addition of Canon's advanced DIGIC II image processor results in a faster and more responsive camera that delivers improved image quality. Focusing time has been cut by around 60%, and shutter lag is negligible at no more than 0.1 seconds. Smooth continuous shooting is now available at approximately 2.4 frames per second. With DIGIC II's superior assessment of white balance, color rendition accuracy is increased.

The new PowerShot still features Canon's 9-point AiAF for fast, accurate focusing even when subjects are not centerd. FlexiZone AF/AE allows free scrolling anywhere within the frame's auto focus area to select the desired subject, for which exposure is weighted accordingly. Manual focus selection is also available.

Increased versatility
A larger 2.0-inch vari-angle LCD offers users great versatility in composing shots from awkward angles, such as from ground or waist level, above the head, and when shooting self portraits. The selectable grid line display helps with composition and levelling horizons.

The A610 incorporates a total of 20 shooting modes, including full Manual mode, a Custom mode for allocating preferred shooting settings, and a shutter speed priority mode, with shutter speeds ranging from 15 seconds to 1/2500 second. Eight scene modes--such as Night Snapshot, Snow, and Underwater--maximize results in a variety of shooting situations. The Stitch Assist mode facilitates shooting pictures for panoramas, which can be joined together easily with the supplied PhotoStitch software. My Colors--located on the mode dial--allows the expansion of creativity in digital photography. Special effects, such as Color Swap or Custom Color, which allows users to select their preferred color balance for any given shot, can be performed in-camera and viewed on the LCD while shooting stills and movies. These effects could previously only be achieved using PC software after shooting.

High-quality movies are selectable from VGA (30/15 frames per second), QVGA (30/15 frames per second), Fast Frame Rate (for slow motion replays in camera), and Compact Mode (for clips that are ideal for e-mailing).

Advanced printing
When used in combination with Canon's new Compact Photo Printer Selphy CP510 and Canon's Ink and Paper Set (KP-108IP), prints can be produced very inexpensively. Printing via Selphy CP Compact Photo Printers also allows the user to print handy ID photo prints and movie prints.

When connected to the latest range of PictBridge compatible PIXMA printers, image enhancement is possible with functions such as Noise Reduction and Vivid Photo, as well as the new Face Brightener feature. Also new is Captured Info print, which prints shooting data such as shutter speed, aperture and shooting mode within the photo border.

Printing images without having to connect to a PC is kept simple with the Print/Share button, which also acts as an easy upload button for Windows XP and Mac OS X.

Comprehensive software
The new cameras come bundled with a comprehensive software suite, including Canon's browsing and printing software ZoomBrowser EX 5.5 (Windows) and ImageBrowser 5.5 (Mac), easy printing software PhotoRecord 2.2 and PhotoStitch 3.1 for creating stunning panoramas. Also included is the photo manipulation software, ArcSoft PhotoStudio.

Purchasers of the cameras are eligible for membership of Canon iMAGE Gateway , which offers 100 MB of online space for uploading and sharing images, and supports My Camera, which allows users to further customise their camera settings.

Supported operating systems are Windows 98 (SE), Me, 2000 (SP4), XP (SP1/2) and Mac OS X v10.2-v10.3. The cameras support PTP for driverless transfer to supported Windows XP or Mac OS X.

What's in the box
PowerShot A610 body, four AA-size Alkaline batteries, 16 MB SD memory card SDC-16M, wrist strap WS-200, Digital Camera Solution CD-ROM, USB interface cable IFC-400PCU, audio-video cable AVC-DC300

Product Description
The surprising PowerShot A610 offers many features you'd expect to find only on higher end models. For example, there's a 5.0 Megapixel CCD that lets you print large, richly detailed prints. Just as importantly, this camera is equipped with a complete range of advanced functions that make shooting relaxed and simple - whether you're a novice or a pro.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

226 of 231 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stellar camera at a great price!, October 10, 2005

By	R. Scott Broadway (Florida, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

118 of 121 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very pleased!, October 4, 2005

By	Jerry98 (Ohio) - See all my reviews

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!

44 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great camera!, October 29, 2005

By	Nature Nut - See all my reviews

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!