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Photograph: Rick Rizner
Canon PowerShot A510
- Spec Navigator
- Image Processor
- Storage
- LCD Screen
- Exposure Controls
- Dimensions
- Power
- Flash
- Lens Features
- Video
- Connectivity
- Other Features
- Warranty
- Tags
Image Processor
| Number of image sensor pixels | 3.3 megapixels |
| Image sensor | CCD |
| Maximum horizontal image resolution | 2048 |
| Maximum vertical image resolution | 1536 |
| Image sensor size | 0.4 inches |
| Image sensor quantity | 1 |
| Image format |
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| Number of resolution modes | 6 |
| White balance |
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Exposure Controls
| Bulb setting | No |
| ISO equivalencies |
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| Exposure settings |
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| Metering characteristics |
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Lens Features
| Optical zoom | 4 X |
| Maximum zoom | 13 |
| Digital zoom | 3.2 |
| Minimum focal length | 5.8 |
| Maximum focal length | 23.2 |
| Minimum aperture | 8 |
| Maximum aperture | 2.6 |
| Minimum focus distance | 2 |
| Lens mount | Fixed |
| Focus features |
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Connectivity
| Interface connection |
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Canon PowerShot A510
PowerShot A510 Review, by Tracey Capen March 25, 2005
The Canon PowerShot A510 won't win any best-of-breed honors, but at $200 this compact camera with good features is an exceptional bargain, so much so that we awarded it a Best Buy in the May 2005 issue.
An upgrade of Canon's PowerShot A75, the 3.2-megapixel A510 is a pleasant example of getting more for less. Its 4X optical zoom (almost unheard of in cameras in this price range) is a very nice step up from the A75's 3X. The A510 also shows that less can be more: It's about a half-inch shorter in width--a reduction Canon accomplished mostly by reducing the battery count from four AAs to two. Not surprisingly, it also cut the battery life by well over half, as the A510 lasted a paltry 130 shots in our test.
Functionally, the two cameras are very similar. A top-mounted mode dial lets you select full-automatic, programmed-auto, aperture-priority, shutter-priority, or full-manual exposure control. You can also select from five scene modes listed on the dial, or select SCN and choose from eight more. Also present is movie mode, which records at 640 by 480 and 15 frames per second. In addition, the A510 holds over another feature that is uncommon for inexpensive point-and-shoots: the capability to take accessory lenses. Pushing a button on the front of the A510 and removing a plastic ring around the lens reveals a bayonet mount for a $129 telephoto converter or a $99 wide-angle converter.
Canon kept the nicely organized menu system that was on the previous model (and that has become standard on the company's cameras). A Function button pops up a single screen of commonly used settings, such as exposure value compensation, resolution, ISO, and white balance. You access other, less-often-used settings through the separate Menu button. The arrangement generally works well and is quick to use. However, the A510 omits one useful feature that we'd expect to see in a camera with semiautomatic and manual exposure controls: automatic exposure bracketing.
The A510 is quick to start up and shut down, taking about 2 seconds for each. When shooting, we encountered noticeable shutter lag--enough to be a potential problem for fast-action shots. But the zoom worked smoothly, and the autofocus was generally speedy and accurate.
Except for image sharpness, the A510 scored fairly well in our photo tests. Its exposure accuracy was good, and the colors it reproduced of our still-life and outdoor scenes were generally pleasing. Our formal portrait shot looked a bit on the cool side. When we took indoor snapshots at a staff party, about half looked great, while the other half seemed a little too warm.
All of the shots had a slight softness to them--with many of the point-and-shoots we review moving to 4 and 5 megapixels, the limitations of 3-megapixel models are becoming more apparent. That said, you can certainly produce an attractive 8-by-10-inch print with the A510. If you want a bit more insurance for times when you crop and enlarge, you can move up to the 4-megapixel PowerShot A520 for $100 more.
As you might expect of a camera in the $200-and-under price range, Canon provides few extras with the A510; the 16MB SD Card is just enough to get you started. Canon's bundled Digital Camera Solution is a cut above the software that comes with most cameras. It's a fine starter package for downloading, editing, and printing images; it's also what you use to merge photos taken with the A510's stitch-assist mode into panoramas.
Upshot: With its small size and its fine selection of controls, the Canon PowerShot A510 is an attractive package. It would make a great starter model for nascent hobbyist photographers who want to keep their camera investment low.
Tracey Capen
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User Reviews
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User Reviews From Around the Web
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Reviewed by: markmed
Strengths: Great value, easy to use, nice size.
Weaknesses: Lens protector
Overall: Stopped carrying around my SLR digital because it was too large and I wanted a smaller digicam for basic snapshots. A510 was great for 5 months and then all of a sudden the lens would not open. Camera was not dropped or abused and kept in a padded case. After looking at other reviews noticed that many users are experiencing the same problem.I hope Canon sort this issue out.
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Reviewed by: PeezaJunk
Strengths: Great when it works right.
Weaknesses: Lense cover
Overall: I had 4 of these in a row that had a sticking lense cover problem. Obviously this is a defect in the camera that is not rare. I would recommend a different camera, but not this one.
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Reviewed by: bhmurphy
Overall: This is exactly what I expected. I still haven't used all the features available. I've sent images over the internet to Wal-Mart and had them printed, and I've printed images with my own printer on photo paper...image quality is as good as any camera (digital and non-digital) that I have ever seen.
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Reviewed by: archico01
Strengths: Full manual controls, good macro mode shooting, dedicated control for zooming, very clear image, buttons well assigned for quick access, clear LCD screen
Weaknesses: small 16mb SD card, rubber cover for plug ins easy to tear off, bad red eye,
Overall: This camera is a good buy for a very nice price... full manual controls, good battery life, dedicated control for zooming (unlike A410), and many more. But then the rubber cover wherein you plug the cables is easy to tear off. Also there's no battery indicator if the battery is wearing out. But overall this is a very good camera.... its a Canon no doubt... and above all of course very good picture quality!
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Reviewed by: tansut
Strengths: 4x zoom, photo quality, all manual photography, good battery life (NH-MH), good software (better than Kodak),
Weaknesses: Viewfinder not correct, video limited with 3m.
Overall: I owned a Kodak 6330 before. After I lost it, I researched about two weeks for the cameras and read nearly every review about 3-4 mbx range and realized that this camera offered the most with the least price. And I am pretty satisfied with my decision. I immediately started to use the manual options. Believe me, the pictures you take w/o flash using this features are far more better than w/ flash. Flash blocks the background and emphasizes the foreground. I even made some shows to my friends when I took pictures in totally dark environments w/o using flash. They were astonished since none of them understood photography. I also found he software of the camera better and realible than Kodak easyshare software. It's more userfriendly and you can sort the pictures according to date taken. Also Kodak sw was resetting the date taken to 1/1/1970 as time passed. You can review inside the folders in one page without browsing. If you want a great camera with a small price, this camera is for you.
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