Canon Powershot A570 Review

The screen display in Auto record mode. Icons along the top indicate that ISO is set to Auto, Auto flash, Auto exposure mode. Along the left you can see drive mode is single, metering is Evaluative, image size is Large, quality is Superfine and there's space left on the SD card to take 171 more pictures. The "wavy hand" symbol indicates that IS (image stabilization) is on.

When the color LCD is turned on and you half-press the shutter you will see which of the nine AF points (green rectangles) where used for the focus lock. You can also see whether the flash will be used as well as the shutter speed, aperture and ISO values that were selected for by the camera for this shot.

Program AE exposure mode is like Auto in that the camera selects both the shutter speed and aperture for a correct exposure but you now have access to a multitude of Function and Menu options and color effects. Icons on the left here indicate ISO speed is 80, Auto flash, single drive mode, metering is set to evaluative, etc.

In Tv (Shutter-speed priority AE) mode you select the shutter speed (from 1/2000 to 15 seconds) and the camera automatically selects the proper aperture value. Faster shutter speeds will "freeze" fast-moving subjects, slower speeds will let you pan with a fast-moving object and blur the background, or hold the camera steady and give moving objects that "motion blur" look. The "Change settings" message on the screen does disappear after a couple of seconds.

Av (Aperture priority AE) mode allows you to select the aperture value (from F2.6 to F8.0), the camera will automatically select the proper shutter speed based on your selection. Use of the various aperature settings allows you to control the depth of field (focus range), smaller numbers yield less depth of field, larger numbers yield more.

To manually control both the shutter speed and the aperature you will need to use Manual mode. Most of the menu options available in Manual, Program AE, Shutter-speed AE, and Aperture AE are the same, but in Manual mode, you control the flash output value. In P, Tv, and Av, you can adjust the output intensity.

Function options in Manual, Program, Tv and Av:

ISO - Auto, HI, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600
White Balance - Auto, Day Light, Cloudy, Tungsten, , Fluorescent, Fluorescent H, Underwater (when used with optional housing) and Custom one-push WB set
Drive - Single, Continuous, Self-timer (2/10 seconds or custom)
My Colors - Off, Vivid, Neutral, Sepia, Black&White, and Custom
Flash intensity - ±2 EV in 1/3EV steps (Manual mode differs)
Metering - Evaluative, Center Weighted Avg. and Spot
Image Compression - Normal, Fine, Superfine
Image resolution - 3072x2304, 2595x1944, 2048x1536, 1600x1200, 640x480, Postcard (1600x1200), and Widescreen (3072x1728)

MENU options in Program mode:

AiAF - Face Detect, On, Off
Digital Zoom - Standard, Off, 1.5x, or 1.9x
Red-eye - Red-eye reduction lamp: On or Off
Safety FE - On or Off
MF-Point Zoom - On or Off
Safety MF - On or Off
AF Assist Beam - On or Off
Review Time - Off, Hold or 2 - 10 secs
Display Overlay - Off, Grid lines, 3:2: Guide, or Both; helps aid in framing
IS Mode - Choose Continuous (default), Shoot Only, Panning, or Off
Converter - For use with optional Canon auxiliary lenses
Date Stamp - Off, date, or date&time (only works in 3:2 Postcard mode)
Set Print/Share button - Allows you to use the button in record mode to change various camera settings (ISO, White balance, Digital Tele-converter, Disp. Overlay, Display Off)

The camera has a very respectable macro focusing mode with coverage from 2 inches to 1.5 feet in wide angle and 1.0 to 1.5 feet in telephoto.

On the Mode Dial are positions for Portrait (Shown above), Landscape, Indoor, Kids&Pets, Night Snapshot, and Stitch Assist. Options for the SCN (Special Scene) position are: Night Scene, Foliage, Snow, Beach, Fireworks, Aquarium, and Underwater (when using the optional underwater housing). These modes are pre- programmed to give you the best possible pictures for the chosen shooting situation.

When using the Standard Movie mode, you can capture video clips at either 640x480 or 320x240. Audio is recorded and you may choose a frame rate of either 15 or 30fps. File sizes can not exceed 4GB. There's also Compact (160x120), and Fast Frame rate modes (320x240, 60fps.) These are great when wanting to be a bit more creative and the Compact mode is perfect for sending clips via email. When using the 160x120 mode you can record up to 3 minutes, while fast frame rate can record for a maximum of 1 minute. To switch between them, use "Left" and "Right" on the 4-way controller. The optical zoom may not be used during recording, but can be preset before hand. Movie clips are recorded in Motion JPEG format and saved as AVI files.

Both the video and audio portion of movies can be replayed on the camera thanks to the built-in speaker. Full audio-video playback is also possible when connected to a TV monitor or a compatible PC after downloading.

Movie mode recording options:
Rec menu

Digital Zoom - Standard, Off, 1.5x, or 1.9x
Safety MF - On or Off
AF Assist Beam - On or Off
Display Overlay - Off, Grid lines, 3:2: Guide, or Both; helps aid in framing
IS Mode - Choose Continuous (default), Shoot Only, Panning, or Off
Converter - For use with optional Canon auxiliary lenses
Set Print/Share button - Allows you to use the button in record mode to change various camera settings (ISO, White balance, Digital Tele-converter, Disp. Overlay, Display Off)

White Balance - Auto, Day Light, Cloudy, Tungsten, , Fluorescent, Fluorescent H, and Custom one-push WB set
Drive - Self-timer (2/10 seconds)
My Colors - Off, Vivid, Neutral, Sepia, Black&White and Custom
Frame Rate - Choose 30 of 15fps
Movie Size: 640x480 or 320x240

Movie Recording / SD Card Capacity