Canon PowerShot A590

If you're a budding photography enthusiast, the A590 is just the right camera to get you started with manual controls. Like the A550, this one too scores some serious points, but more than that it's shown a marked improvement over other cameras in the same series. From passing off a well-built camera to producing something as feature-rich as the A590, Canon has made sure there's a lot you will like about this model... especially the price tag.

The camera is not for style junkies interested in investing copious amounts of cash on svelte designs. If you compare the A550 with the A590, there’s little change in the way it looks and feels. The A590 has a comfortable L-shaped design that makes one-handed operation easier. The bulk may keep you from carrying it in your pocket, but it does compensate by being lightweight.

A selection of buttons sort of clutters the rear of the A590. The screen is a 2.5-inch LCD capable of displaying 115,000 pixels, while the viewfinder placed right above is optical.

The A590 features 4x optical zoom while the megapixel count is 8.0. The optical image stabilizer makes shooting in full zoom fun; it also minimizes any blur caused by shaky hands.


One USP of this camera is that it allows full manual control, right down to manual focus (which is digital, but that’s okay). Apart from the usual scene mode, the A590 has included something called the 'easy' mode, where you need only worry about the flash.

The scene modes are a wonder to use, though we will concentrate on some of the manual traits of the camera. For starters, if you don’t want to get bogged down by all the manual controls, you have separate modes to control exposure compensation settings as well as the aperture priority mode. In each case, you get to control one while the other is accordingly calculated by the camera itself.

The scene modes on offer include Fireworks, Aquarium, Night Scene, Sunset, Foliage, Snow, Beach, Indoor, Kids and Pets, Night Snapshot, Landscape, and Portrait.

The lens offers a zoom range equivalent of 35-140mm, while the aperture ranges from f/2.6-f/5.5. White balance issues were noticeable, although not so much in auto mode. While tungsten imbued photos with some unneeded blue, the daylight mode had a touch of extra warmth. I would recommend using the auto mode, especially when indoors or under false lighting.


The camera is a fast performer. The time taken between shots was much lower than expected. Startup time is less than a second, but you'll need to look sharp while operating the camera in flash mode. While using the flash, the A590 does tend to take some time to recharge the flash.


The pictures came out quite detailed and sharp, but I strongly recommend experimenting with the manual settings as much as you can. The difference is that you can create the right mood while clicking the subject, and having a good amount of control while doing so is always nice. Here are some ways you can experiment:


The pictures were crisp, even if the detailing was a bit awry, with smudges in shots of foliage. General symmetry of lines was maintained, while purple fringing was absent in 90 percent of the shots.

The camera couldn’t manage to focus on furry objects (like this pup) at close range, but there were no issues with plain surfaces.


The camera takes two AA batteries. We used two alkaline batteries, which offered over 130 pictures (after which I lost count). This is brilliant, considering the camera costs only Rs 10,500. It comes with a 3-year warranty, and a free 1GB card.


All things considered, the A590 is your best buy under 11K. You may find the gray market prices even lower. What makes the camera an absolute steal is the full manual control, with easily understandable modes. I'd go as far as to say it doesn’t get better than this. Indeed, nothing negative about the camera comes to mind!

Specs

Dimensions	94 x 65 x 41 mm
Weight	225 g
Type	Compact
Connectivity	USB 2.0
Storage	SD/MMC/SDHC card
Battery Type	AA (2) batteries (NiMH recommended)
LCD Type	2.5-inch, 115,000 pixels
View Finder	Optical
Sensor	CCD
Effective Pixels	8 Megapixel
ISO Sensitivity	Auto, Hi Auto (incorporating Motion Detection Technology), 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600
Optical Zoom	4x
Aperture	f/2.6-f/5.5
Format	JPEG (EXIF 2.2)
Scene Modes	Fireworks, Aquarium, Night Scene, Sunset, Foliage, Snow, Beach, Indoor, Kids and Pets, Night Snapshot, Landscape, Portrait and Easy.
White Balance	5 positions plus manual
Flash	Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye reduction, Slow Sync
Self Timer	2 or 10 sec, custom
Sound	Yes
Street Price	Rs 10,500