Canon Powershot A310 Review

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By: Steve's Digicams

Review posted 7/23/2004

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)

The PowerShot A310 is available now, with a street price of around $199.

Physical Views

The PowerShot A310 and a standard CD for size comparison.

Continue on to
Features & Controls

PowerShot A310 Specifications

Image sensor:

1/ 2.7 in. CCD (Total number of pixels: approx. 3.3 million)

Effective Pixels:

Approx. 3.2 million

Lens:

5 mm (35 mm film equivalent: 33 mm), F3.6

Digital Zoom:

Maximum Approx. 5.1x

Optical Viewfinder:

Inverted Galilean viewfinder

LCD monitor:

1.5 inch TFT color LCD, approx. 78,000 pixels

Autofocus:

TTL 5-point AiAF / 1-point AF (Fixed to center), Focus lock available

Focusing Range:

Normal: 20 cm (7.9 in.) - infinity

Macro: AF: 5 - 20 cm (2 - 7.9 in.)

Shutter:

Mechanical + electronic

Shutter Speed:

1 - 1 / 2000 sec.
* 1 - 1 / 6 sec. in manual mode with the flash off or in slow synchro mode.
* Noise reduction processing on speeds between 1 - 1 / 6 sec.

Light Metering Method:

Evaluative metering / Center-weighted average metering / Spot metering

Exposure Control:

Program AE

Exposure Compensation:

+/-2 stops in 1/3-stop increments

Sensitivity :

AUTO / ISO 50 / 100 / 200 / 400 equivalent

White Balance:

TTL auto / preset (daylight, cloudy, tungsten, fluorescent, fluorescent H) or Custom white balance

Flash :

Red-eye reduction auto / auto / on / off / slow-syncro

Flash Range:

20 cm - 2.0 m (0.67 - 6.7 ft.) (When sensitivity is set to AUTO)

Shooting Modes:

Auto / manual / Stitch assist / movie

Continuous Shooting:

Approx. 2.2 images / sec. (Large / Fine mode, LCD monitor off)

Self-Timer :

Shoots after approx. 2 sec. or approx. 10 sec.

PC Connected Shooting:

Available (USB connection only. Exclusive software program
"RemoteCapture" is included in the camera kit.)

Recording Media:

CompactFlash card (Type I)

File Format:

Design rule for Camera File system, DPOF compliant

Image Recording Format:

Still images: JPEG (Exif 2.2)*,
Movies: AVI (Image data: Motion JPEG, Audio data: WAVE [monaural])

Compression :

Superfine/ fine/ normal

Resolutions :

Still Images:

Large: 2048 x 1536 pixels

Medium1: 1600 x 1200 pixels

Medium2: 1024 x 768 pixels

Small: 640 x 480 pixels

Movies:

640 x 480 pixels (Approx. 30 sec.)**
320 x 240 pixels (Approx. 3 min.)**
160 x 120 pixels (Approx. 3 min.)**
Approx 15 frames/ sec.

** The data in parentheses refer to the maximum movie per clip.

Replay Modes:

Single image replay / index replay (9 thumbnails) / zoomed view (LCD monitor zooms images up to maximum of approx. 10x) / auto play / sound memos (up to 60 sec.)

My Camera Settings
(customizing)

The Start-up image, Start-up Sound, Shutter Sound, Operation Sound and Selftimer Sound can be customized using the following methods.
1. Using the images and sounds recorded on the camera.
2. Using downloaded data from your computer using the supplied software.

Interface:

Universal Serial Bus (mini-B, PTP [Picture Transfer Protocol])

Power Source:

Two AA-size alkaline batteries (included)

Two AA rechargeable NiMH batteries (optional)

AC adapter kit ACK800 (optional)

Operating Temperatures :

0 - 40 °C (32 - 104 °F)

Operating Humidity :

10 - 90 %

Dimensions
(W x H x D):

110 x 58 x 36.6 mm (4.3 x 2.3 x 1.4 in.) (excluding protrusions)

Weight:

Approx. 175 g (6.2 oz.) (excluding batteries and CF Card)

Specifications are as represented by the manufacturer.

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Features & Controls

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