...A THOUSAND WORDS...

Author's Rating:

Pros: small, lightweight, easy to hold, easy to use, takes awesome photos

Cons: no CONS at all.

The Bottom Line: 

GREAT and easy for those who find digital cameras intimadating. easy and fun to use. takes great photos and offers many options.

Author's Review
My husband says I volunteer too much. Maybe he’s right. He says that people have begun to expect me to always jump up and say, “I’ll take care of that!” Again, maybe he’s right. But I enjoy what I do and do only what I enjoy.

Take my fishing club, for instance. While I am the current Membership Director (after giving up Social Events Director after 8 long years), I also help out our newsletter editor by taking pictures of our general meetings and various yearly functions.

Before you ask, yes he has a camera but grew weary of hoping around the room taking various shots of people getting awards, etc. I volunteered to help since I’m at every meeting anyway.

For that, I needed a reliable camera. I did have one but it was my first digital and how I loved that Kodak! But like all things, it came to its end and needed a proper burial. But that left me with no choice but to buy a new one.

I did check out several cameras; researched several cameras and sought the advice of our very own Howard Creech. When it comes to knowing cameras, the man is an expert and I do value his opinion.

After checking out the ones he suggested, I made my decision. I purchased the 8.0 mega pixels, 4X optical zoom Canon PowerShot A590 with Image Stabilizer. It’s easy to hold and easy to use.

This camera is designed in a way so the area where to place your two AA batteries, juts out slightly in a rounded position to fit in the curve of your fingers. For me, it’s a very comfortable fit and I’m able to hold the camera securely with one hand. This area is also where you affix the wrist strap.

The door for the batteries is located on the bottom of the camera. Just open the door and you’ll also find the slot for your SD memory card.

If you check the bottom, you’ll see a small round hole – well, it looks like a hole but what it actually is, is a threaded area in which you can screw a small tripod. How convenient is that!!

Let’s move up to the front of the camera. Naturally, there is the viewfinder,
flash, microphone openings and retractable lens.

What I like about this lens is that just to the bottom-right of the lens area is a small button. By pushing that bottom when the lens is in the open position, you can remove the lens and insert a larger telephoto lens (which does note come with the camera).

Moving on to the side of the camera opposite of the battery compartment, you’ll notice a rubber cover. Using your fingernail, flip it open and you’ll find a USB port, digital terminal (used to plug your camera directly to your computer) and a round jack to plug your camera directly into your TV.

Now we’ll travel to the top of the camera. Here we will find the main controls. The first is the small on/off button. Next to that is a larger round button that controls your settings such as:
Portrait (produces a soft effect)
Night Shots (allows you to take photos of people against soft back lighting)
Indoor (maintains subject’s true color under fluorescent lighting)
Landscapes (optimizes best results for near and far subjects)
Kids & Pets (because the fidget constantly)

Put the dial on SCN and a whole new world opens:
Night Scene
Foliage
Beach
Aquarium
Sunset
Snow
Fireworks

Other options are:
P         -    program AE
Tv        -    setting the shutter speed
Av        -    setting the Aperture
M         -    manually setting the shutter speed and aperture

And of course, MOVIES!! You can record about 25 minutes using a 2 gb card. And the sound that records with it is very clear.

This little camera does it all.

But wait, there’s more!!

Around the shutter button, is the zoom lever. Clever place to put it, right at your finger tip – literally!

Looking at the back of the camera – that’s where the fun begins.

First we have the large view finder – gives you a great image of what your photo will look like once you snap that treasured picture.

You’ll also notice, off to the right, what looks like a plus sign. This is another control mechanism. While reviewing your photos, you can depress the little button under the garbage and delete that photo. Adjust your flash, print (when you have your camera hooked up to your printer), go to your menu to change settings, hit the MF button to change your focus mode, or depress your function button to use other functions like your repeat-photo, timer, drive mode.

These are what the average person would use.

But there are more things in this camera that would interest the most advanced photographer. Here are a few:
Changing the recording pixels
Changing the compression
Adjusting the ISO speed
Selecting an AF Frame mode
Focus Lock
Setting the Display Overlays
Auto Category
Viewing Magnified Images
Red-Eye Correction Function
Attaching Sound to Images


These are just a few – many I’ve used and some I have not – only because I have not yet found the need. My subjects are my family, friends and the fish I catch so there is no need for expertise with what I do – I only need a good little camera that would never fail me – and this one has never failed me once.

There is one thing that might confuse people but once you get used to it, there is no problem. This camera has NO internal memory. You absolutely need to use a memory card in order to take pictures. This might annoy some people but it’s just fine for me since I always carry extra cards.

Other than that, I can’t find a thing wrong with this camera.

So, while this camera seems so awesome, what comes with it??

The camera
Two AA batteries
One 32MB memory card
One Interface cable
One AV cable
One Wrist strap
The Canon Digital Camera Solution Disk
The warranty card
And The User Guide manual

Really what more could you ask for? Simple, easy and FUN!! I just LOVE my Canon PowerShot A590.

I was asked to list the specs for the camera. Sorry I forgot this before, so here they are:

Resolution: 8.0-megapixel
Zoom: 4x optical image-stabilized
LCD: 2.5" with Face Detection Technology
Battery Format: AA
Media Card Compatibility: SD/SDHC
Sensor: 8.0 Megapixel
Size: 1/2.5-inch
Image Resolution: 3264 x 2448
Movie Resolution: 640 x 480
Memory Included: 32MB Internal Memory
Storage Media: MultiMediaCard
Storage Media: HC MMC Plus Card
Storage Media: SD/SDHC Memory Card
Storage Media: MMC Plus Card
Compressed Format: DPOF 1.1
Compressed Format: JPG (EXIF 2.2)
Movie File Format: AVI motion JPEG
Optical Zoom: 4X
Digital Zoom: 4X
Combined Zoom: x16
Focal Length: 5.8-23.2mm
Focus Mode: Manual focus
Focus Mode: TTL - AF
Dimensions: 3.7 x 1.6 x 2.5 inches
Weight: 6.2 ounces