Dr Gadget - Gadget Shop - Canon - PowerShot A720 IS

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Batteries Included: 1 Binding: Electronics Display Size: 2.5 EAN: 8714574505534 Feature: 8.0 Megapixels 1/2.5" CCD Image sensor ; 6x optical zoom; 4xDigital Zoom Is Fragile: 0 Maximum Resolution: 8 Model: 2092B008 Optical Zoom: 6
Features 8.0 Megapixels 1/2.5" CCD Image sensor ; 6x optical zoom; 4xDigital Zoom Optical Image Stabilizer and High ISO Auto to combat image blur DIGIC III with Face Detection AF/AE/FE and Red-Eye Correction in playback ; 19 shooting modes including full manual control and Long Play VGA movies 2.5" LCD with real-image zoom optical viewfinder 16MB Internal Memory and expansion slot for SD/SDHC cards
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Spotlight customer reviews: Customer Rating: Summary: Outstanding Comment: Am I allowed to say this? I didn't buy this on Amazon, I bought it in town for £140. In fairness to Amazon (who should have 10 stars, they are by far the most honest company I have ever bought from) I won't say the name of the shop. And I'm reviewing here because I looked at the cameras on Amazon first, and have subsequently bought all the extras from Amazon, i.e. SD card, etc. And because Jessops don't care what I think anyway. Ooops. And they've sold out now anyway, serves them right for selling at £25 under the market and hoping to recoup the loss by selling you a) extended insurance and b) the SD card for £30 more than Amazon. And you will definitely need a fast 4GB SDHC card given the size of the stills and the incredible video resolution, 640x480 at 30fps. So what makes this camera so good? The picture and video quality really are outstanding. It has a huge range of program modes, including full manual everything, and best of all for me a mode where you can leave it to control the difficult bits like focus, aperture and speed, and then adjust everything else yourself (ISO, white balance, flash, etc). It works just fine on automatic everything if you're in a point-and-shoot holiday mood. It uses AA batteries that you can buy anywhere, or recharge in the hotel instead of having to leave the camera charging there for the day. It connects drag-and-drop via USB with no software needed (on XP SP3 and Vista anyway), and uses bog-standard jpg and avi formats instead of inferior proprietary formats. Its best tricks? Image stabilisation, Red-eye correction, and Face recognition. I tried this one with the missus: hand over mouth and it doesn't see her face, hand away and it immediately sees her and locks the focus on. Her hand I mean, not mine, I was 6 feet away holding the camera... Its drawbacks? I doubt I'll ever use the optical view-finder, but some people might I suppose. Other than that I can't think of any. So don't even think about the A580 or A590, spend the extra £40 and get this one. And get some rechargeable AA's. Maybe it'll take 140 pictures per battery like Canon say and maybe it won't. Actually I think it does if you're quick about it and don't spend too much time playing around with it, but mostly it doesn't because people keep wanting to see the videos and the amazing zoom-able picture previews. And the 4GB card holds 1000 pictures anyway. So a definite 5 stars from me, I love it. Customer Rating: Summary: Disappointing for a Canon Camera.. Comment: I bought this camera on the strength of the reviews written about it and on my previous experience of Canon cameras (my last model was an IXUS 50 - probably the best thing I have ever purchased!) Why do none of the other reviewers mention how long the camera takes to recycle between shots?!?!?! I used this camera for the first time at the wknd to capture my mates wedding - I got one shot of the procession down the isle and by the time the camera was done sorting itself for the next round, the happy couple were out the door!! The image quality is awesome (hence 2 stars and not 1) - which is fine if your subject is stationary - but if you're thinking of taking 'in action' photographs - forget it!! Just for the record - the SD card I was using was a 4GB San Disk Extreme III. I only add this info, as I am told that the quality of card can affect the cycle time - if anyone knows of a more effective card, for sensible money - let me know! I wont say 'don't buy this camera'. I will say 'please, please try it out at Jessops or A.N.Other camera shop first' to make sure that you can live with the cycle time... Customer Rating: Summary: An excellent little camera that can deliver first-class results Comment: I bought this camera as a replacement for a much-loved A610, which got damaged in a nasty fall. The A720, which has the added bonus of image stabilization, is the better of the two cameras. True, it doesn't have a swivelling LCD screen, but I didn't find that such a useful feature of the A610 anyway, and the 2.5 inch screen on the A720 is both bigger and brighter. The lens is excellent for macro photography, and zooming as it does to an equivalent of 210 mm, it is also useful for telephoto work. Pictures are sharp and the colours accurate at the lower ISO values, and the 8MP capability makes it possible to obtain excellent prints on A4-sized paper. Where I live, the bright summer light often makes LCD screens difficult to see properly, and I am a spectacles wearer anyway. So the old-fashioned viewfinder is a most welcome feature, even though it's small and not quite as accurate as the LCD screen. The drawbacks? Flash recycling times are considerably slower on the A720 than they were on the A610, and the two batteries run out faster. Noise creeps in at the higher ISO values, as it does on most small digital cameras in this category (even so, you can get quite acceptable results at ISO 400). The 16 MB memory card that's sold with the camera is next to useless and needs to be replaced straight away with something bigger. But that's about all. The A720 is a really excellent little camera, versatile, well-designed, and capable of delivering first-class photographs. Highly recommended. Customer Rating: Summary: Awesome Camera ! Comment: If you're like me and you just want to be able to point and shoot - but have excellent quality photos as a result - then this is the camera for you. Simple and easy to use, brilliant zoom and takes great photos both indoors and out. I don't do the technical detail stuff - life's too short ! Recommend highly to everyone. Customer Rating: Summary: Everything I could ask for, and then more! Comment: I started looking last year (2007) for a digital camera. I had "minimum requirements": must take SD card, must run on AA/AAA batteries, face detection, and anti-shake. I'll quickly say why, as this might also impact on someone else's choice. SD cards are THE cheapest cards you can get - especially if you shop around. I got a 4Gb card for £10!! AA/AAA batteries because then you can carry spares and/or buy new batteries easy. Lithium batteries may make a camera smaller, but you can't easily whip it out to charge later and put another one in while you're out and about now can you? Face detection: well, I just wanted it. :-) Anti-shake: my partner is left-handed. All cameras that I've seen have the shutter button on the right-hand side, which is fine if that's your dominant hand. But whenever she took photos with the old camera there was always a blur. Not only does the A720 have anti-shake, but it's OPTICAL; i.e. it's not being done by some software in the camera, but it's ACTUALLY adjusting to what you're doing. The zoom on this camera is just fantasic - 6x OPTICAL. I don't think there's another camera (currently) out there [in this price-range] that can touch it. The screen size is really good, and incredibly clear. The camera has a built-in function (easy to use) to let you shoot a really panoramic shot; i.e. to take lots of pictures next to each other then stitch them in to one huge photo. I've read some bad things about lag after using the flash, but I've not noticed it. I put the camera into continuous shoot mode in an environment where the flash was needed and fired off about 50 shots in a row, and when you went from photo to photo you could hardly see the change between them. I could have made a flip-book it was that fast. More Reviews
Editorial Reviews: Canon presents the worthy successor to its famous A710 IS: the PowerShot A720 IS! Ideal for both novice and professional photographers, the PowerShot A720 IS has everything you need to capture and hold onto special memories. This elegant camera is fully-equipped, with an 8 megapixel CCD sensor and an impressive optical zoom. Meanwhile, its optical image stabiliser reduces blur and keeps your images clear and sharp. Its sensitivity has been raised to 1600 ISO for fabulous results, even in low lighting conditions, and you can also enlarge your photos without losing in quality. Among its other features, you?ll find a large 2.5? TFT screen, an amazing 1 cm macro mode, a range of creative functions (such as the My Colours settings and different shooting modes) and a face detection mode that will improve the quality of your group photos. Combining user friendliness and irreproachable performances, the PowerShot A720 IS is the perfect addition to Canon?s range of compact digital cameras