Canon Powershot A590 IS 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 252 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) were 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.

Auto FUNC. Menu:

ISO - Auto, HI
Drive Mode - Single, 10 sec, 2 sec, custom delay
Quality - Superfine, Fine, Normal
Image Size - L (3264x2448), M1 (2592x1944), M2 (2048x1536), M3 (1600x1200),

S (640x480), 2M Date Stamp, Widescreen (3264x1832)

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.

Program FUNC. Menu

ISO - Auto, HI, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600
White Balance - Auto, Day Light, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H, Custom
Drive Mode - Single, Continuous, 10 sec, 2 sec, custom timer
My Colors - Off, Vivid, Neutral, Sepia, B&W, Custom Color
Flash Intensity - ±2 in 1/3 intervals
AF Mode - Evaluative, Center, Spot
Quality - Superfine, Fine, Normal
Image Size - L (3264x2448), M1 (2592x1944), M2 (2048x1536), M3 (1600x1200),

S (640x480), 2M Date Stamp, Widescreen (3264x1832)

To manually control both the shutter speed and the aperture 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.

Manual FUNC. Menu

ISO - 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600
White Balance - Auto, Day Light, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H, Custom
Drive Mode - Single, Continuous, 10 sec, 2 sec, custom timer
My Colors - Off, Vivid, Neutral, Sepia, B&W, Custom Color
Flash Output - Adjust level of flash output
AF Mode - Evaluative, Center, Spot
Quality - Superfine, Fine, Normal
Image Size - L (3264x2448), M1 (2592x1944), M2 (2048x1536), M3 (1600x1200),

S (640x480), 2M Date Stamp, Widescreen (3264x1832)

On the Mode Dial are positions for Portrait (Shown above), Landscape, Night Shot, Kids&Pets and Indoor. Options for the SCN (Special Scene) position are: Night Scene, Sunset, Foliage, Snow, Beach, Fireworks and Aquarium. 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 20fps (or LP) or 320x240 30fps. There's also Compact (160x120), mode that is great for saving space or if you plan on sending the videos via email. 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 FUNC. Menu:

White Balance - Auto, Day Light, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H, Custom
Drive Mode - Off, 10 second, 2 second
My Colors - Off, Vivid, Neutral, Sepia, B&W, Custom
Video Size - 640x480 20fps, 640x480 20fps LP, 320x240 30fps

Record Menu:

AF Frame - Center, Face Detect, AiAF
AF-Point Zoom - On or Off
Digital Zoom - Standard, Off, 1.6x, 2x
Flash Settings - Output, Red Eye Correction, Red Eye Lamp
MF-Point Zoom - On or Off
Safety MF - On or Off
AF-Assist Beam - On or Off
Review - Off, 2-10 second, Hold
Review Info - Off, Detailed, Focus Check
Auto Category - On or Off
Display Overlay - Off, Grid Lines, 3:2 guide, Both
IS Mode - Continuous, Shoot Only, Panning, Off
Converter - None, WC-DC52, TC-DC52A, 250D
Set Print Button - Set button to shortcut of your choosing