Canon Powershot A75 Digital Camera

Canon PowerShot A75

Powershot A75 Digital Camera Review, by Paul Jasper June 28, 2004

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• Reviewed by: ca4niagrl

  Strengths: For the first year, the camera worked great, easy to use

  Weaknesses: Multiple problems with shutter sticking to black lines across LCD that never resolved

  Overall: Less than a year after receiving this camera for my birthday, the shutter began sticking, so I sent it in to Canon for repair. When I received it back, that problem was fixed but it had a new problem. There were black lines that would appear across the LCD when I would try to take a picture. When this happened, the picture would be distorted. I sent it in for repairs a second time and when I got it back from Canon it worked for a short period of time but then the same problen reappeared. I sent it in a third time for repair and again it worked for a short period of time and the same exact problem reappeared again. After having sent it in three times and the same problem coming back, I was so frustrated I gave up. I spent more time and money sending it in for repairs and hardly got to use the camera. What was most frustrating is that they couldn't get it fixed right. I recently bought a Canon SD450 with a four year performance warranty through the store so that I don't have to deal with Canon directly. Their service dept is inept!

• Reviewed by: galli62

  Strengths: Ease of use. Ergonomics. Small size. Uses AA batteries. Great photos.

  Weaknesses: Battery door and CF door a bit flimsy. Make sure you slide out the Compact Flash door straight out, or it' can turn strangely to the side and have a danger of breaking. I'm careful.

  Overall: I decided to take the plunge and finally get a digital camera. I'm taking pictures again. My bulky old Pentax K100, with it's many lenses, is a pain if you want to shoot casually. I mostly get print 4x6 prints, so I figured a 3.2 megapixel would be just fine. I have yet to test out larger size prints. But, I'm sure the 3.2 would hold up well as an 8x10, if shot at the largest resolution and in the best compression mode. This camera is larger than the ultra compact models, but it's still small enough to take with me everywhere with the little case I bought for it. I'd highly recommend buying rechargeable batteries since it eats regular alkalines in a matter of hours. I got a Rayovac 15 -minute charger and additional batteries. They last quite a while. I keep additional 4 rechargeables at the ready in my camera bag. This camera also has some manual controls which I appreciate since I like to experiment. Auto mode would probably suit most people. You get quite a few additional modes...I like using the panoramic one and then stitch the photos together with the included software. This camera has many great features for its low price. I've only used the mini movie mode once, it's fun, I don't expect to use that very often. I love how this camera fits in my hands. I also bought an additional 256 cf card. The 32 mg that comes with the camera isn't adequate, especially when you're snapping away like crazy. To reviewers who complain about shutter lag time, just do this little trick: Press the shutter until the focus locks and then press completely when you 'really' want to take the picture. The shutter trips almost instantaneously then. Most of the lag is caused by the camera's auto focus. I tried many cameras in this pixel and price range before deciding on the A75. I have little to complain about with this camera. I LOVE it!

• Reviewed by: OregonPhotog

  Strengths: Excellent picture quality; easy to use; flexibility; solid weight, feels good in the hand; fun to use and experiment with; excellent value.

  Weaknesses: Red eye, but can use without flash in many instances.

  Overall: I did the research in fall 2004 as I wanted my first digital camera in time for the Holidays. Based on online reviews and an up close look at the local Circuit City, I decided on the A75. I got a fantasic price($179)using Pricegrabber on the web. I also purchased a 512mb SanDisk Ultra II CF card, a SanDisk ImageMate CF card reader(SDDR-91), a Maha powerex(MH-C204W) battery charger and two sets of 2300mAh powerex NiMH batteries, plus a well-padded Case Logic universal camera case. I have been very happy with the total package. Plenty of memory, lightning fast transfers to the desktop, long battery life, and the camera is easily accessible and safely protected in the case. I have taken hundreds and hundreds of pics since getting this little gem. The camera and accessories have performed flawlessly. All of the manual modes on this camera are a blast to explore and experiment with as there is no film to buy and develop -- you get instant results and feedback. Keep what you want, delete the rest. Invest a little extra in the above accessories and you will be very pleased with the performance of this camera. I was buying the A75 as an entry level camera to see if digital was for me, but the excellent performance and flexibility of the A75 has convinced me to keep it for the foreseeable future.

• Reviewed by: knowseverything

  Strengths: lots of modes, uses normal-priced memory cards, has a print/share button, normal sized LCD, alot to offer for the little money that it costs

  Weaknesses: takes a long time to turn on camera and take a picture, pictures are not so sharp at times, a bit bulky

  Overall: I was looking for not so expensive, 3.2 megapixel cameras. I checked on websites for ratings on the cameras, and the rating on this one seemed to be quite good for the little money that it costs. I was extremely happy when I got it. It has lots of nice modes and good quality lenses ,yet I was not impressed with the time the camera took to go on, and take a picture. It is alsoa bit bulky, so if you want to get a small Canon, I advise you to get their digital elph. For starters, I think this camera would be very adviseable, for it is easy to use, and extremely good quality for a camera so cheap You get the feel of it, and it really has alot to offer.

• Reviewed by: myck

  Strengths: relatively fast in performance and with awesome array of features for a camera in this price range. Lot of hooting mode choices, full manual and usage AA battery.

  Weaknesses: high noise level at auto ISO which degrades quality of pictures produced. Only ISO 50 is usable on Manual ISO control,higher than ISO 50 produced high level of noise.

  Overall: Timing and performance was impressive, it's obvious that Canon's new DIGIC processor does its job well. It takes about three seconds to power up and be ready to take the first shot. In the Large SuperFine mode it takes about three to four seconds to process and store an image. And going from Record to Play or vice-versa takes about two to three seconds. The all-important shutter lag (delay from pressing shutter until picture is actually captured) is about 0.5 to 0.7 seconds, a little faster than average thanks to its robust autofocus system. Sequential shooting wasn't quite as fast as the specs, we achieved about 2 frames per second as the camera captured eight frames in just a fraction over four seconds.I was happy to see the continued use of standard AA type batteries to power the A75. Many of Canon's other cameras use a proprietary lithium-ion battery pack. It's nice to be able to use rechargeable or "off the shelf" batteries. There's a multitude of high-capacity NiMH rechargeable batteries to choose from as well as rapid and portable chargers. You can use alkalines in this camera but they only yield about 1/3 the number of pictures that you can get with high-capacity NiMH. The battery life (when using NiMH) was very good even when using the color LCD all the time and frequently reviewing the pictures and making menu changes.