Canon Powershot A310 Review

Click to take a QTVR tour of the PowerShot A310

Canon's new entry-level PowerShot, the A310 features a 3.2 megapixel imager with an all-glass 33mm equivalent fixed focal length Canon lens and 5.1x digital zoom. This compact and affordable camera incorporates advanced features such as a 5-point AiAF focus system, close focusing capability of 1.2 inches in macro mode, direct-printing to any PictBridge compatible printer, and user selectable ISO speeds and light metering options.

Like its predecessor, the PowerShot A300, the new A310 has a shutter speed range from one second to 1/2000 of a second, offers a choice of evaluative, center-weighted and spot metering modes and the option of selecting the peak resolution of 2048 x 1536 or reduced resolutions of 1600 x 1200, 1024 x 768 and 640 x 480 (Medium1, Medium2 and Small, respectively). Movie resolution options are 640 x 480 (up to 30 seconds with sound) or reduced resolutions of 320 x 240 and 160 x 120 (up to 3 minutes with sound). Additionally, sound memos of up to 60 seconds can be appended to any still image file and played back in the camera or computer.

The A310 also incorporates a number of high-end features including the popular Photo Effects mode originally introduced in the highly advanced PowerShot G2 camera. A low sharpening mode has been added to the Vivid, Neutral, Sepia and Black-and-White modes for a total of five separate effects for greater creativity.

Like all other 2004 PowerShot cameras, the A310 features Canon's new Print/Share button for simplified, one-touch Direct Printing to Canon and PictBridge-compatible printers as well as one-touch downloading to Windows XP/Me/2000/98 computers. The PowerShot A310 also supports PTP (Picture Transfer Protocol), making it fully compatible with Mac OS X. It's powered by two AA-size batteries and is compatible with CompactFlash Type I removable media.

PowerShot A310 Features

• 3.2-Megapixel CCD for images up to 2048 x 1536 pixels.
• 33mm (equivalent) F3.6 optical lens, 5.1x digital zoom
• 1.5-inch TFT color LCD, approx. 78,000 pixels
• 5-point AiAF system with single-point center focus and focus lock
• Low-light focus assist illuminator
• Exposure modes: Auto/ manual/ stitch assist/ movie
• Motion video w/out audio, 640x480 up to 30 secs, 320x240 up to 3 min
• White balance options: Auto, daylight, cloudy, tungsten, fluorescent, fluorescent H, or custom
• Shutter speeds from 1 second to 1/2000 second
• Evaluative metering linked to the focus point
• ISO settings: 50, 100, 200, 400 and Auto (50-150)
• Photo Effects: Vivid, Neutral, Low Sharpening, Sepia, B&W
• Built-in flash with Auto, Red-eye reduction auto, Forced on, Red-eye on, forced off and slow-synchro
• 2x-10x enlarged playback function with scrolling
• Direct Print to PictBridge compliant printers
• CompactFlash Type I removable storage
• Canon's exclusive Print/Share button
• USB driverless downloads
• Powered by two AA type batteries
• Small (4.3 x 2.3 x 1.4 in.) and lightweight (6.2 oz)

Physical Views

The PowerShot A310 and a standard CD for size comparison.

PowerShot A310 Specifications