| The Good |
|---|
| Image Stabilization, 3.3x Built-in Zoom, Cheap, Easy to Carry, Easy to Use, ISO Speeds up to 1600. |
| The Bad |
| 10 Megapixel Sensor, 2.5” LCD, Super Compact, Lack of Features. |
| Yay or Nay |
| If you’re in the market for a cheap and easy to use point and shoot camera, this is the one to get. It will generally run you less than $135 after tax, and can produce reasonable pictures for what it is. |
Overview
This little Canon is for those who don’t want to jump into the high-end digital camera pool, but aren’t expecting a miracle for less than $150. For a point and shoot camera that’s smaller than many cell phones, the A480 offers reasonable quality photographs and a great design that allows it to go anywhere. Nevertheless, this isn’t even to be considered a hobbyists camera, and an almost complete lack of features makes that very apparent when you pick it up.
Snapshots
Canon didn’t skimp much on the design of this camera. Instead of using lower quality parts, they have decided to include a DIGIC3 image processor with a ten megapixel sensor. When you factor in the ISO speeds (up to 1600), it’s easy to see why this camera does so well, even though it’s small and lacks many features. Unfortunately, there is absolutely no continuous shooting ability, which results in a 0.8 frame per second result.
Video
Despite its size, the A480 even includes standard recording capabilities. There is a limit on the 640×480 and 320×240 recording resolution of one hour or 4GB. However, this shouldn’t be a problem for most people using this camera. If the photo quality is anything to go by, the video should be more than what most would expect from it. Because you’re running at thirty frames per second when recording with this camera, there are certain software programs you can use to freeze frame and pull images out if needed.
Photo Quality and Extras
As almost anyone who owns this little camera will tell you, it will surely exceed your expectations. That doesn’t mean you can expect to get poster quality photos from it, but it will certainly meet the needs of the younger and on the go market that it is targeted towards. All of the internals seem to work really well with each other, and work together to create a very reliable camera that can go anywhere with you.
Unfortunately, there aren’t very many extras with this camera. There are a few onboard editing tools and some control over the picture that you’re taking, but for the most part, it’s just an automatic point and shoot. Nevertheless, the options that are included are better than some of the larger cameras in the same class, and most of them will cost exponentially more than this great little device.
Downside
Obviously, a lack of options means that you don’t have as much control over the camera. It is also very small, which makes it much less ergonomic for a normal sized adult man. The zoom is only 3.3x, which really limits its capabilities, but it is also more than enough to allow head shots within about six feet of the subject. Some people have complained that because it’s so light, the camera has a flimsy feeling. This may be true for some, but for others, it will create an ease of carrying that wasn’t expected.
Conclusion
As a whole, this is a great little camera that delivers on what it was designed for. The price is right for something with these features and the limited capabilities, but it doesn’t sacrifice image quality simply because it isn’t a high end model. Nevertheless, if you’re looking for something other than just a fun camera that can take pictures for MySpace or 5×7’s to decorate your walls, then you need to look at something a bit more high end than the A480.
