In summary
Canon’s new PowerShot A520 is smaller and roughly 70 grams lighter than the A85 model it replaces. Interestingly, it will sell for $499, the price at which the A85 was launched. Apart from some re-shuffling of control buttons on the back panel and two extra scene modes (Kids & Pets and Night Snapshot) their control suites are similar, although the A520 looks smarter and has better functionality. . . [more]
Full review
Quality rating (out of 10)
Build: 8.5
Ease of use: 8.5
Image quality: 8.5
Storage capacity with supplied card: 6.5
Value for money: 8.5
Canon’s new PowerShot A520 is smaller and roughly 70 grams lighter than the A85 model it replaces. Interestingly, it will sell for $499, the price at which the A85 was launched. Apart from some re-shuffling of control buttons on the back panel and two extra scene modes (Kids & Pets and Night Snapshot) their control suites are similar, although the A520 looks smarter and has better functionality.
The 3x zoom lens has been replaced with a 4x optical zoom and a new zoom flash matches the flash dispersion angle to the zoom setting. Autofocusing has been improved, power consumption is lower and the A520 requires only two AA batteries instead of four. The CCD sensor is also slightly larger, although its resolution is unchanged and an SD or MMC card replaces the A85’s CF card.
Self-timer functions have been significantly extended. Instead of having to choose between two and 10 second delays, you can now set the delay for any point between them and select the number of shots that will be taken (up to 10) when the shutter is released. Without flash, shot-to-shot intervals are determined by the resolution of the image and the battery status. Use of flash with this mode extends the interval between shots.
Playback capabilities have also been improved. You can ‘hold’ a shot on-screen indefinitely and you switch from one image to another in zoom playback mode without changing magnification – a great way to check focus accuracy in a sequence of shots. Images can be enlarged up to 10x with this setting. You can also rotate pictures through 90 or 270 degrees, allowing shots taken in portrait format to be re-orientated for display. Sound bites of up to 60 seconds can be added to captured images.
Fortunately, the A520 – and its 3.2-megapixel sister, the A510 – retain the best features of their predecessors. Users can display a histogram in both capture and playback modes and use the high-resolution 3:2 aspect ratio capture format for shots that will be printed on postcard sized or smaller paper. The date and time can also be embedded in the image data for printing on the picture. The A520’s movie resolutions and frame rates are unchanged, and it has the same Print/Share button for direct printing as its predecessor, although up to 63 movie frames can now be printed on a single sheet of paper with a Selphy CP printer.
Test shots taken in bright outdoor lighting were sharp edge-to-edge with minimal colour fringing and a slightly wider than average dynamic range for a compact digicam. Colours were accurately recorded and contrast and saturation were generally modest. The auto white balance setting failed to fully correct the colour casts of incandescent and fluorescent lighting but both the pre-sets and manual control performed impeccably. Noise was visible in long exposures at ISO 400 but negligible at lower ISO settings and you can easily use 15-second exposures at ISO 100 for night shots.
The test camera took less than two seconds to power up and shut down but shot-to-shot intervals were slow, ranging from 3.5 to more than five seconds. We measured an average capture lag of 0.95 seconds, which reduced to just under 0.2 seconds with pre-focusing. The burst mode captured images at intervals of 0.75 seconds, with the number of shots being determined by the resolution/quality setting. With M2 and S resolution settings, the available memory was the limiting factor. [22]
Specifications
Image sensor: 5.34 x 4.01 mm primary colour CCD with 4,200,000 photosites (4.0 megapixels effective)
Lens: 5.8 ““ 23.2mm f2.6-5.5 zoom lens (equivalent to 35-140mm in 35mm format)
Zoom ratio: 4x optical, up to 3.6x digital
Dimensions (wxhxd): 90.7 x 64.0 x 38.4 mm
Weight: Approx. 180 g (without batteries and card)
Image formats: Stills ““ JPEG (Exif 2.2); Movies ““ AVI/WAV (VGA @ 10 fps, QVGA and QQVGA @ 15 fps)
Shutter speed range: 15-1/2000 sec.
Focus system/range: TTL AF with 9-point AiAF/1-point AF (fixed to centre); range 45 cm to infinity; macro 5-45 cm.
Exposure metering/control: Evaluative, Centre-weighted average or Spot metering; P, A, S and M modes plus 13 scene modes, stitch assist and movie
Flash modes/range (ISO auto): Auto, on, off, red-eye reduction; range 45 cm to 3.5 m
ISO range: Auto, ISO 50, 100, 200, 400
Sequence shooting: 1.9 fps to card capacity
Storage Media: 16 MB MMC (SD compatible); holds 7 high-resolution images, up to 138 VGA shots or 22 seconds of VGA video.
Viewfinder: Real-image optical zoom
LCD monitor: 1.8-inch, low-temperature polycrystalline silicon TFT colour (approx. 115,000 pixels)
Power supply: 2x AA-size alkaline or NiMH batteries
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