Canon Powershot A60 Review

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By: Steve's Digicams

Review posted 8/13/03

Click to take a QTVR tour of the A60

The 2-megapixel PowerShot A60 (and the physically identical 3-megapixel Powershot A70) incorporates numerous high-end features including a 3x optical zoom lens, 5-point AiAF autofocus system, enhanced Movie Mode with Sound for clips up to 3-minutes, close focus to 2-inches and a full range of exposure modes including Program, Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority, Manual and several pre-programmed Scene modes. The A70 (and A60) is compatible with the optional WP-DC700 Waterproof Housing good to depths of 130 feet, as well as supplementary wide-angle, telephoto and macro converters for added flexibility. Connect the Powershot A70 (or A60) directly to a Canon Card Photo Printer CP-100, CP-200, CP-300 or letter-size S820D, S830D, and S530D photo printers and make prints without the need of a computer.

Canon's proprietary image processor, called DIGIC, was developed specifically for use with its line of digital cameras and combines the jobs of image processing and camera function control into one chip. It handles nearly every digital camera function including JPEG compression/expansion; memory card control; LCD/Video control and processing; gain control (control of CCD signal amplification); Auto Exposure; Auto Focus; Auto White Balance control and most other functions of the camera. The result is a camera that offers faster and more powerful AF, faster image processing, longer battery life, and the ability to record up to 30 seconds of VGA resolution or up to 3 minutes of 320x240 resolution full motion video with sound.

Over the past 68 years, Canon has accumulated a vast amount of photographic data and know-how and used it to create some of the most innovative camera products in the marketplace. Now, using that same data and know-how, Canon has developed an exclusive technology called iSAPS (Intelligent Scene Analysis based on Photographic Space) that can predict certain camera settings such as focusing distance, exposure and optimum white balance based on zoom focal length, overall light level and tonal distribution data. Canon refers to this collective data as "Photographic Space." By incorporating iSAPS technology into its PowerShot line, the cameras can analyze a scene just before the image is made and in doing so, increase the speed and precision of the camera's autofocus, auto exposure and auto white balance.

Powershot A60 Features

2 Megapixel CCD imager for up to 1600x1200 pixel images
3x optical 35-105mm f/2.8-4.8 zoom, 2.5x digital zoom
1.5" color LCD with up to 10x playback zoom
Compact and durable body with an aluminum clad front
Advanced TTL AiAF five-point autofocus system
Program AE, Shutter-speed priority, Aperture priority and Manual modes
Movie mode w/sound, 320x240 to 3 minutes
2.2fps Continuous exposure mode
Evaluative metering on focus point, Center-weighted or Spot
Stitch Assist mode for perfect panoramas
Exposure compensation: +/-2EV in 1/3-step increments
White Balance: Auto, 5 presets or Custom
Photo Effects: Low Sharpening, Vivid Color, Neutral, Sepia and B&W
Low-light focus assist illuminator
Shutter speeds of 15 seconds to 1/2000 second
Selectable ISO settings from 50 to 400
Voice memo (up to 60 secs) can be attached to images
Builtin microphone and speaker
Powered by standard AA type batteries
Direct print to Canon CP-100, S820D, S830D, and S530D photo printers
USB connectivity for PC and Mac
Optional WP-DC700 Waterproof Case

Physical Views

The A60 compared in size to an average CD disc.

The Powershot A70 and the super-compact S400 Digital ELPH

Continue on to
Page Two

Powershot A60 Specifications

Camera effective pixels :

Approx. 2.0 million

Image sensor :

1/2.7 in. CCD (Total number of pixels: approx. 2.1 million)

Lens :

5.4 (W) - 16.2 (T) mm (35 mm film equivalent: 35 - 105 mm)
F 2.8 (W) - 4.8 (T)

Digital tele-converter :

Maximum approx. 2.5x (Maximum approx. 7.5x with
optical zoom)

Optical viewfinder :

Real-image zoom viewfinder

LCD monitor :

1.5-inch, low-temperature polycrystalline silicon TFT color LCD, approx. 78,000 pixels, picture
coverage=100%

Autofocus method :

TTL Autofocus
5-point AiAF/1-point AF
1-point AF: center

Focusing Range :

Normal :	46 cm (1.5 ft.) - infinity
Macro :	5 - 46 cm (2.0 in. - 1.5 ft.) (W)/ 26 - 46 cm (10 in. - 1.5 ft.) (T)

Shutter :

Mechanical + electronic

Shutter speed :

15 - 1/2000 sec.
* 15 - 1.3 sec. in Shutter-priority AE mode or manual mode only
* Noise reduction processing on speeds slower than 1.3 sec.

Light metering system :

Evaluative metering (linked to focusing point)/ Center-weighted average metering/ Spot metering

Exposure control :

Program AE, Shutter-priority AE, Aperture-priority AE or Manual exposure

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 :

Auto, On, Off
Red-eye reduction On: Red-eye reduction auto/Redeye
reduction On/Flash Off
Red-eye reduction Off: On/Off

Flash range :

Normal :	46 cm - 4.2 m (1.5 - 14 ft.) (W), 46 cm - 2.5 m (1.5 - 8.2 ft.) (T)
Macro :	26 - 46cm (10 in. - 1.5 ft.) (W/T)

Shooting modes :

Auto

Creative zone: Program, Shutter Speed Priority,
Aperture Priority and Manual

Image zone: Portrait, Landscape, Night Scene, Fast
Shutter, Slow Shutter, Stitch Assist and 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 Type I card (16MB included)

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

Number of recording pixels :

Still images :

Large :	1600 x 1200 pixels
Medium :	1024 x 768 pixels
Small :	640 x 480 pixels

Movies** :

320 x 240 pixels (Approx. 3 min.)**

160 x 120 pixels (Approx. 3 min.)**

** Approx. 15 frames/second
** This is the maximum recording time per movie clip for the optional
Canon FC-256MH CF card (not sold in some regions).
** The data in parentheses refer to the maximum movie length per shooting

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.) / Image output to Card Photo Printer CP-100/CP-10 and Bubble Jet Printer with the direct print function

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.

Using the images and sounds recorded on the camera.
Using downloaded data from your computer using the supplied software.

Interface :

Universal Serial Bus (mini-B, PTP [Picture Transfer Protocol])
Audio/Video Output (NTSC or PAL selectable, monaural audio)

Power Source :

Four AA alkaline batteries (included)
Four AA rechargeable NiMH batteries (optional)
AC Adapter Kit ACK600 (optional)

Operating temperatures :

0 - 40 degrees C (32 - 104 degrees F)

Operating humidity :

10 - 90 %

Dimensions (w x h x d) :

101.0 x 64.0 x 31.5 mm (4.0 x 2.5 x 1.2 in.)
excluding protrusions

Weight :

Approx. 215 g (7.6 oz.)
(excluding batteries and CF card))

* This digital camera supports Exif 2.2 (also called "Exif Print"). Exif Print is a standard for enhancing the communication between digital cameras and printer. By connecting to an Exif Print-compliant printer, the camera's image data at the time of shooting is used and optimized, yielding extremely high quality prints.

Package Contents (U.S./N. America)

Digital Camera

Wrist Strap

4-AA alkaline batteries

CompactFlash Card FC-16M

Case for CompactFlash Card

AV Cable AVC-DC100

USB Interface Cable IFC-300PCU

Digital Camera Solution Disk

ArcSoft Camera Suite Disk

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