Canon PowerShot A590IS 8MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom: Customer Reviews & Product Details

This is a used camera. It seems to work well though I have not used it a lot and need to read the manuals included with the camera before I can fully utilize its features.

I bought this camera from Amazon a year ago to take along on my weekend hikes in the mountains. It takes great photos, although after a year I often get "lens error" messages and the camera freezes. In its defense it's taken several thousand photos of my travels.

I can take good micro shots of bugs and plants, take short (under three minute) videos and other creative features. I bought rechargable batteries for this to cut down on regular batteries.

But why the price hike to almost $300? I bought this same camera here for $99.95! What's up with this, Amazon? This is a year-old camera, the price should be dropping, not rising!

I have really enjoyed this camera. It takes very good pictures and is very easy to handle. As usual, the batteries just don't last very long but I got the accessory package with this and was pleased to find that the charger is easy to use and is not bulky so fits nicely in my camera bag as well. I would recommend this camera to anyone.

Canon A590IS Powershot: The A line of digital cameras in Canon's Powershot line is the entry level and cheapest generally of their digital cameras. They use plastic bodies and are not as nice a quality as the Digital Elph line they make. That said, if you are looking for a camera in the entry level, that also runs on AA batteries (Their Elph line uses a rechargeable Li-ion battery pack), these are the way to go. This particular model has all the features you would expect on much more advanced models at a cheap price. You get all the auto modes including various scene mode options (although no Sport mode) and full manual modes on the camera as well, which enable you to pretty much do whatever you want with the camera. That is a plus if you are a camera buyer looking for something to learn and grow into, or in my case an avid Digital SLR user who wants a small camera when lugging around your DSLR and gear is impractical.

The specs on the A590IS:
Canon 8MP sensor with Digic III image processor
Canon 4X optical zoom
2.5" LCD with viewfinder as well (a rare thing these days)
Face Detection
The lens is also Image Stabilized to reduce blur and camera shake.
Power source: 2 "AA" size batteries

Pros in my opinion:
A full line of manual features (for example the "M, P, Tv and Av modes)
"AA" batteries for power, although many out there don't like them. Its just my preference. If you are on a trip, and you forget your charger for your camera that uses one of those Li-ion batteries, you're screwed. With this camera, you can buy batteries anywhere. I use Duracell's rechargeable 2650mAh rated NIMH type and I seem able to get around 400 shots before putting new ones in. The camera is also easy to hold, because of the large grip. Most of the new A line have been shrunk and don't have the same grip anymore, which I don't like.

Cons: The lens mechanism is slow when you want to change your focal length. The noise in the images is pronounced, even at pretty low ISO's because of the fact that 8MP is packed onto such a tiny sensor. I don't know if that problem can ever be solved. But, I haven't really played with the newer A1000 or A1100, because maybe they do better now. Potential lens problem: the lens gears fail and the lens no longer retracts. This is pretty rare though, and newer cannon models seem to have that issue worked out better. No Sport Mode! You can forget trying to capture fast moving subjects very well.

Even after the cons, I would reccomend any of the A line of the Canon Powershot line if you want an inexpensive camera or you are looking for your first digital camera. They have better reliability than other brands in this class of camera (especially over Kodak and Olympus!). I make this statement based on my years of experience selling these products. I have rarely seen Canon cameras come back with problems. The only real problem I have seen on Canon is the lens mechanism failing.

So all in all, I recommend this camera or generally any Canon Powershot. They beat the competition for quality and features.

Also note, I recommend you use a type 4 or type 6 SDHC memory card, not the slow type 2 SDHC cards. The faster cards make the camera operate much better in terms of responsiveness. I use Sandisk's Ultra II line of card. They read and write up to 15mb /s and make a big difference over the slower regular line of cards from them or any other manufacturer for that matter.

I hope this review was helpful on deciding on this camera or any other of Canon's Powershot line. In my humble opinion, they are the best at this price point. :)

I like this camera a lot. Enjoy using it. You really have to hold the button down to get a picture and there are too many extras on it that I really don't use.