The A540 features a 4X (35-140mm in the 35mm format) f/2.6-5.5 all-glass aspherical zoom lens. When the camera is powered down the lens is retracted inside of the body and a built in shutter closes to completely protect the lens.

An advanced TTL AiAF 9-point autofocus system permits the camera to automatically select the primary subject even when off-center. The focusing range is:

• Normal AF - 1.5 ft. (45cm) to infinity
• Macro - 2.0 in. (5cm) to 1.5 ft. (45cm) in wide angle and 11.8 in. (30cm) to 1.5 ft. (45cm) in telephoto.
• Manual - 2.0 in. (5cm) to infinity in wide angle and 11.8 in. (30cm) to infinity in telephoto.

In low light conditions the focus-assist lamp helps to illuminate the subject for accurate focusing.

To attach auxiliary Canon lenses just press the button and remove the dress ring, attach the optional LA-DC52F Conversion Lens Adapter and then the Canon WC-DC52C 0.7x Wide Converter lens, TC-DC52A 1.75x Tele-converter lens or the 250D 52mm Close-up Lens.

The LA-DC52F adapter also allows the use of any 52mm filters or lenses.

The built in flash offers Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye Reduction On or Auto. Flash range is 1.5 ft. (45cm) - 11.5 ft. (3.5m) in wide angle, 1.5 ft. - 7.2 ft. (2.2m) in telephoto or 11.8 in. (30cm) - 1.5 (45cm) ft. in macro mode.

This is a new Light-guide zoom flash that changes its angle according to the lens' focal length. The AF-assist lamp also serves as a red-eye reduction lamp.

Compact and elegantly designed, the optional High-Power Flash HF-DC1 complements your PowerShot perfectly and requires no accessory shoe. With a strong light output (guide number 59 ft.) and wide angular field (28mm), it delivers proper illumination up to approximately 30 feet and in all zoom positions. The flash fires in synchronization with the main flash, and output is adjusted accurately and automatically. A “Manual” mode prevents others from firing your flash.

You can frame your pictures with the color LCD or to save precious battery power you can use the optical finder. This is a coupled viewfinder with approx. 80% to 85% coverage. It has no dioptric adjustment. Next to the finder are two LEDs that indicate the flash and focus status.

On the top you'll find the On/Off button, the shutter release with the zoom lens control mounted around it. In playback mode the zoom lever functions as the index and magnified image control. The Mode Dial with positions for: Manual, Aperture priority, Shutter-speed priority, Program AE, Auto, Portrait, Landscape, Night Scene, Movie, Stitch Assist, Special Scene.

See the next page for more information about the various Record modes.

The A540 features a 2.5-inch LCD for framing, review and menu operations.

Controls on the back: in the upper right is the Play / Record switch. The +/- button lets you change exposure compensation in P mode and change the settings when in Tv, Av and Manual modes, it also functions as the image delete button in playback mode. The Print/Share button speeds and simplifies printing to Direct Print and PictBridge compliant printers, as well as transferring images. The 4-way controller lets you navigate menus and select images during playback, the SET button accepts menu selections, In record mode you press "Up" to change flash modes and press "Down" to change the focus mode. The FUNCtion/SET button gives you access to many settings (white balance, ISO, Color effects, image quality and image size.) The DISPlay button turns the color LCD on/off and controls the amount of data displayed on it. The MENU button calls up and dismisses the menu screens.

The I/O ports: AV Out handles monaural audio and video to connect to a TV set with the supplied cable.

The DIGITAL port connects USB 2.0 to the computer for download and camera control with the RemoteCapture software. It also allows for Direct printing to any PictBridge compatible printer, Canon Card Photo Printer or Bubblejet Direct photo printers.

DC INput jack for an optional AC power supply.

The Powershot A540 is equipped with a Secure Digital card slot and comes with a Canon 16MB MMC card. It can handle any capacity SD or MMC card up to 2GB. Shown here is the fast and spacious SanDisk Ultra II SD Plus 1GB card with a built-in USB 2.0 high speed interface.

16MB Storage Capacity approx.

128MB/512MB Storage Capacity approx.

The A540 can be powered by two standard AA-type batteries, alkaline, NiMH (nickel metal hydride), or lithium cells. Canon claims with AA Alkaline batteries you can capture approx. 90 shots (LCD on), 240 shots (LCD off), and 180 minutes of continuous playback time. With NiMH cells Canon claims approx. 360 shots (LCD on), 800 shots (LCD off), and 300 minutes of continuous playback time. Check out our NiMH rechargeable battery page for more info on NiMH battery types.

A user-replaceable lithium "coin" battery retains time, date and camera settings during main battery changes.

Canon also offers a battery and charger kit CBK4-200 that includes both a charger unit and four rechargeable AA-size NiMH batteries. The A540 can also be powered by the AC Adapter Kit ACK800 for unlimited runtime from your wall outlet.

December 2006: Canon USA has issued a safety notice on some PowerShot A530 and A540 digital cameras. Portions of that safety notice follow: "We have discovered that, in a very small number of PowerShot A530 and PowerShot A540 digital cameras, the area around the battery cover on the bottom of the camera may become hot. We would like to convey the details of this phenomenon and our service policy. We have discovered that in cameras where the opening/closing spring on the inside of the battery cover (see link below for photos) sticks out beyond its regular position, if a battery is put into these cameras and the battery cover is closed, it causes a short-circuit and the following phenomena occur: The bottom of the camera becomes extremely hot near the battery cover. Batteries that are loaded are depleted quickly. The number of shots that can be taken becomes extremely small. Please check the first two numbers from the left in the serial number listed on the bottom of the camera. The serial number: Cameras with "21", "22", "23", "24", as the first two numbers from the left. If your camera has a serial number as listed above, please see the full Canon Safety Notice for more information.

The optional WP-DC2 waterproof housing with a depth rating of 40m/130 feet is available for the PowerShot A540, making it a natural for underwater photo enthusiasts, SCUBA divers and even snorkelers. (Note: A similar housing is shown above for purposes of illustration only.)