Canon PowerShot A520 Digital Camera Review | Photography

By DanFeildman
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Boasting a brand name in cameras, the 4- megapixel Canon PowerShot A520 is a nice little camera from all points of view. The new generation to descend from the PowerShot A85, the Canon A520 is smaller and lighter than its predecessor with a longer zoom lens and the addition of a few more scene modes.

Those both experienced and new to photography will be pleased with what the Canon PowerShot A520 has to offer. What's even tougher to beat than this camera's features is its great value-for-money appeal making it a camera to consider if in the market for a camera purchase.

In terms of design, the Canon PowerShot A520's body resembles a compressed version of the A85, mostly because Canon opted to make this model run on two double-A batteries instead of four.

Outside of size, the only other obvious differences are that the AF assist lamp on the front has been relocated to the opposite side of the optical viewfinder and if you look close, you will notice the microphone is slightly shifted.

The LCD remains at 1.8 inches diagonally, but the lens has been modified to a f/2.6 to f/5.5, 5.8- to 23.2 mm (35- to 140-mm, 35-mm equivalent), 4X optical zoom lens.

Quality photos come easy due to the well thought out optical system of the Canon PowerShot A520. Along with the 4x optical zoom, there is a 4.2 megapixel resolution with this camera. It also boasts an impressive ISO range of 50 to 400 and a shutter speed range of 15 -1/2000 sec.

The Canon PowerShot A520 maintains the first-rate level of manual control of earlier A-series models, including Program, Shutter priority, Aperture priority, and Manual modes, accessible via the top-mounted mode dial. The dial provides five common shooting modes (Portrait, Landscape, Night Scene, Slow Shutter, and Fast Shutter), as well as Stitch Assist and Movie mode.

The menu system is also unchanged and still provides good ease of use balanced by abundant options, though we'd like to see the scene modes illustrated with some on-screen help and sample images, as in Casio's excellent menus on the Casio Exilim Zoom EX-Z55, for example

The Canon PowerShot A520's battery life using the two included alkaline double-A batteries is admirable and the camera is rated for up to 300 shots according to the CIPA standard (using NiMH double-A batteries).

The Canon PowerShot A520 allows your pictures to be stored in SD memory cards. These days, its pretty standard practice to have at least a 512 MB memory card in your digital camera (or even a 1 GB card). You can also easily transfer the pictures from the camera to the PC via the USB 2.0 interface.

The only negative aspect of the Canon PowerShot A520 is in it's slower than others speed. The controls have been reported to not responsive enough with the user often having to press a button more than once to perform the chosen operation.

Hopefully, this review of the Canon PowerShot A520 has been of help to you. If you're looking for a decent digital camera to start your photography adventures, the Canon A520 might be tough to beat. Of course, do your own research first before shelling out your cash.

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