Canon PowerShot A540 6MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Zoom – Customer Reviews
its a good choice
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i think this Canon PowerShot A540 is a good choice for non-professional & low-budget photographers. When I opened the package, i was like "what!, It is very light." It is easy to carry and hold. Included software is good. Night shots are not so professional, but it's still ok. I think this is a reasonable machine.
10/29/2006 12:00 AM | Rating:
Too Much Corner Cutting
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I guess that this camera does the most important thing well. The images that it produces are very good. I wouldn't have expected less from Canon.
However, given how much digital technology supposedly has progressed over the past 3 years, I'm somewhat disappointed.
Let me explain. First off, the A540 is a replacement for a Canon A70 that finally died after 3 years. Unfortunately for me, I learned that Canon was replacing non-functioning LCD screens due to a known product defect. I only found this out after I tossed the A70 into the trash. I think that the least Canon should have done was to send an email notice to its registered A70 owners.
On the subject of LCD screens, the screen on the A540 is very low in resolution. Like most screens, it's hard to see in bright light. However, even under dimmer light the image is quite grainy. Fortunately, Canon is one of the few manufacturers that still provides an optical viewfinder on some of its cameras.
By far the worst problem with this camera is battery life. Compared to the A70 (with it's supposed older technolgy)battery life is very poor.
I use the same NIMH batteries that I used in the A70 but don't get anywhere near the performance. Granted, the A70 took 4 batteries while the A540 takes only 2, but I would gladly have put up with the weight of the two additional AA's to get the same performance that I got with the A70.
For what I intend to use it for, the A540 will serve the purpose, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. I'd instead suggest the slightly higher-priced A620 which takes 4 batteries and has a higher resolution LCD screen. It's what I would have bought if anyone had it in stock.10/27/2006 12:00 AM | Rating:
NOVICE LOVE'S THIS CAMERA!
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Based on all the wonderful reviews I read on the A540 I choose this as my first digital camera, and glad I did! Awesome camera for the money, and the most important factor to me was the big 2.5 LCD, I love it! Simple to read instruction manuel had me ready to start shooting in minutes! Believe me,if I can do this anyone can!The first week I took it with me to "Bobby Q's" birthday bash and it took fabulous pictures in a dimly lit restaurant. I passed the camera around for everyone to review photo's and they could't get over the quality of the pictures it took. I could use more zoom so I'm purchasing the Opteka 2.2 Telephoto lens, well worth the $30 extra dollars!
10/22/2006 12:00 AM | Rating:
This Camera is TERRIBLE in low light conditions
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I can't believe all the people raving about this camera.All I can figure is that these are the kind of people whose idea of photography is to line the family up from tallest to smallest in the driveway on holidays and flash away.
This camera appears to me to have been designed by an egghead who values pixels far above f-stops.
The camera's programming is guaranteed to give blurry pictures anytime you shoot without a flash in anything less than full sunlight.Let me give you an example:I just stepped outside at 4pm on an overcast day.It's daylight outside, but no direct sunlight.I turned the flash off and pointed the camera at grass, light colored wood fencing, and a white dog.You know what the camera used?f 5.6 & 1/12.In daylight conditions, it chose 1/12 sec exposure!!!
Canon, hire a photographer to advise your code monkeys.
Reader, do not buy this camera if you have any intention of ever turning the flash off.10/14/2006 12:00 AM | Rating:
Wonderful starter camera
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For the price of $200-$300 and the quality it provides, this is an excellent camera for a beginner as well as a professional.
I research online for a few months trying to find a decent camera. The main thing for me was mobility, and price. I wanted to buy a camera in the mid 200s but that still had a good quality picture. This camera more than delivers.
--- Pros ---
1. Small and light weight
2. Uses 2 AA batteries
3. Very good feature set in camera
4. SD memory
5. Amazing photos and videos
6. Very well packed box (with lots of manuals in case you want to read them)
--- Cons ---
1. Only comes with a 16MB SD card (not really a problem, but something to know)
2. Flap on side with USB and media plugs is covered by a soft rubber piece that doesn't feel all that secure (not bad, just that I wish it moved a little easier)
3. In automatic mode you can't take too close of photos, about 4 inches when zoomed all the way out and 12 inches zoomed all the way in (I am sure that if you play around the manual settings you can get better result)
4. A small thing about the optical viewfinder, seems to be a little zoomed in (this could be a feature though, just to make sure you don't miss the corners you were trying to line up with)9/12/2006 12:00 AM | Rating: