Reviews of the Canon PowerShot A540
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CNET Review
The Good: Manual and automated exposure and focus controls; solid image quality; robust burst mode; usable ISO 800 shots.
The Bad: Long flash-recycle time; LCD washes out in direct sunlight.
The Bottom Line: Solid image quality plus manual and automated exposure controls make the Canon PowerShot A540 a nice low-cost option for snapshooters and photo enthusiasts.
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alaTest.com
Review Summary: Experts rate this product 77/100 and users 85/100. Comparing these reviews to 487279 other Digital Compact Cameras reviews gives this product an overall alaScore™ 89/100 = Very Good.
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No Rating
dcresource.com
Review Summary: If you've been around here long enough then you know that I'm a big fan of cameras that use AA batteries. Why? Two reasons. For one, NiMH rechargeables are cheaper than their lithium-ion equivalents. Second, if your rechargeables run out of juice in ...
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goodgearguide.com.au
Review Summary: Another great Canon advanced camera, the PowerShot A540 is a great choice for those looking to move up to more manual photography as it combines a strong feature set with great pictures.
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No Rating
photoaxe.com
Review Summary: Canon Powershot A540 adds Shutter and Aperture Priority Modes to the old Canon A530 as well as 6MP instead of 5MP, and continues featuring the 4x optical zoom. Also, it enlarges the LCD screen and a 16:9 widescreen resolution option. Not only that I'm ...
Manufacturer: Canon USA
Part number: 1118B001
General
- Product Type Digital camera
- Point-and-shoot highlights Video capture ability adds convenience for the user.
- Width 3.5 in
- Depth 1.7 in
- Height 2.5 in
- Weight 6.3 oz
Main Features
- Resolution 6 megapixels
- Color Support Color
- Optical Sensor Type CCD
- Total Pixels 6,200,000 pixels
- Effective Sensor Resolution 6,000,000 pixels
- Light Sensitivity ISO 80, ISO 100, ISO 200, ISO 400, ISO 800, ISO auto
- Digital Zoom 4 x
- Shooting Modes Frame movie mode
- Shooting Programs Snow, Beach, Indoor, Foliage, Fireworks, Landscape, Underwater, Kids & pets, Night scene, Portrait mode, Stitch assist, Night snapshot
- Special Effects Sepia, Vivid, Neutral, My Colors, Color Swap, Color Accent, Black & White, Positive Film, Darker Skin Tone, Lighter Skin Tone
- Max Shutter Speed 1/2000 sec
- Min Shutter Speed 15 sec
- Exposure Metering Spot, Evaluative, Center-weighted
- Exposure Modes Manual, Program, Automatic, Shutter-priority, Aperture-priority
- Exposure Compensation ?2 EV range, in 1/3 EV steps
- White Balance Custom, Presets, Automatic
- White Balance Presets Cloudy, Daylight, Fluorescent, Tungsten light, Fluorescent light (daylight)
- Digital Video Format AVI
- Still Image Format JPEG
- TV Tuner None
- Video Capture AVI - 640 x 480 - 7 sec - With 16MB card, AVI - 640 x 480 - 15 sec - With 16MB card, AVI - 320 x 240 - 22 sec - With 16MB card, AVI - 320 x 240 - 43 sec - With 16MB card, AVI - 320 x 240 - 11 sec - With 16MB card, AVI - 160 x 120 - 107 sec - With 16MB card
Memory / Storage
- Flash Memory 16 MB Flash - MultiMediaCard
- Supported Flash Memory MultiMediaCard, SD Memory Card
- Floppy Drive None
- Image Storage Super-fine JPEG 2816 x 2112 : 5 - With 16MB card, Fine JPEG 2816 x 2112 : 8 - With 16MB card, Normal JPEG 2816 x 2112 : 19 - With 16MB card, Super-fine JPEG 2272 x 1704 : 7 - With 16MB card, Fine JPEG 2272 x 1704 : 13 - With 16MB card, Normal JPEG 2272 x 1704 : 26 - With 16MB card, Super-fine JPEG 1600 x 1200 : 14 - With 16MB card, Fine JPEG 1600 x 1200 : 26 - With 16MB card, Normal JPEG 1600 x 1200 : 50 - With 16MB card, Super-fine JPEG 640 x 480 : 56 - With 16MB card, Fine JPEG 640 x 480 : 88 - With 16MB card, Normal JPEG 640 x 480 : 138 - With 16MB card, Super-fine JPEG 2816 x 1584 : 7 - With 16MB card, Fine JPEG 2816 x 1584 : 12 - With 16MB card, Normal JPEG 2816 x 1584 : 25 - With 16MB card
Camera Flash
- Camera Flash Built-in flash
- Flash Modes Auto mode, Fill-in mode, Flash OFF mode, Red-eye reduction
- Red Eye Reduction Yes
- Effective Flash Range 1 ft - 11.5 ft
- Features AF illuminator, Flash +/- compensation
Lens System
- Type Zoom lens - 5.8 mm - 23.2 mm - F/2.6-5.5
- Focal Length 5.8 mm - 23.2 mm
- Focal Length Equivalent to 35mm Camera 35 - 140 mm
- Focus Adjustment Manual, Automatic
- Auto Focus TTL contrast detection
- Auto Focus Points (Zones) 9
- Min Focus Range 17.7 in
- Macro Focus Range 5-45cm
- Lens Aperture F/2.6-5.5
- Optical Zoom 4 x
- Zoom Adjustment Motorized drive
- Lens Construction 5 group(s) / 7 element(s)
- Features Aspherical lens, Built-in lens shield
Additional Features
- Self Timer Yes
- Self Timer Delay 2 sec, 10 sec
- Additional Features AE lock, AF lock, DPOF support, Direct print, MOTION PRINT, Audio recording, Auto power save, Date/time stamp, Built-in speaker, Histogram display, PictBridge support, USB 2.0 compatibility, Digital image rotation, Digital noise reduction, RGB primary color filter, Display brightness control, Camera orientation detection
Viewfinder
- Viewfinder Type Optical - Real-image zoom
Display
- Type LCD display - TFT active matrix - 2.5 in - Color
- Display Form Factor Built-in
- Display Format 85,000 pixels
Digital Player (Recorder)
- Type None
Microphone
- Type Microphone - Built-in
Connections
- Connector Type 1 x USB, 1 x Composite video/audio output, 1 x DC power input
- Expansion Slot(s) 1 x SD Memory Card
Software
- Software Canon PhotoRecord, Canon PhotoStitch, Canon ImageBrowser, ArcSoft PhotoStudio, Drivers & Utilities, Canon ZoomBrowser EX
System Requirements for PC Connection
- Operating System Support MS Windows ME, MS Windows XP, MS Windows 2000, MS Windows 98 SE, Apple Mac OS X 10.2 - 10.4
- Peripheral Devices USB port, CD-ROM drive, SVGA monitor
Miscellaneous
- Carrying Case None
- Included Accessories Wrist strap
- Cables Included A/V cable, USB cable
Power
- Power Device None
Battery
- Supported Battery AA
- Supported Battery 2 x AA Alkaline battery ( Included )
Environmental Parameters
- Min Operating Temperature 32 ?F
- Max Operating Temperature 104 ?F
CNET Labs' Benchmarks
- Labs information All values are expressed in seconds. Please visit our labs information page for information on how digital cameras are tested.
- CNET Labs Flash shot to shot time 3.9
- CNET Labs Shot to shot time typical 2.0
- CNET Labs Shutter lag bright 0.7
- CNET Labs Shutter lag dim 1.1
- CNET Labs Typical burst speed 2.3
- CNET Labs Wake up time 1.9
Product Video
Product Photos
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