OS and button placement:
The entire camera set-up is great. All of the buttons are in just the right places and make perfect sense. Same goes for the menus in the camera. I can always find what I am looking for and what I want to change. The Mode Dial on the top gives me quick control over how I want to shoot and unlike many other cameras in its class, it is easy to get to a full manual mode.

Lens:
I love the lens. I have not yet invested in a wide angle lens for my DSLR, so I will still often use my Powershot when I want a wide angle shot. It also has amazing macro abilities. I can get about 2" from a subject and still keep it in focus. It is perfect for drops of water or flower petals.

Body:
The grip perfectly matches my hand allowing me to get clean, steady shots. The body is light yet strong. Mine has survived many injuries and still preforms like new.

Shutter Button:
Like almost all digital cameras now, the Powershot's shutter focuses when pressed 1/2 way and shoots when pressed all the way. I was quite amazed at how quickly it shot after it got a focus. It's almost instantaneous.

Non-Manuel Modes:
AUTO (full automatic), Av, and Tv, modes work with great accuracy and precision. The exposure, white balance, and focus is almost always right and only rarely does it require much post-production editing.

Direct Print button. What a waste of a button. No one I know uses it from point-and-shoots to DSLRs, this is the most pointless button on all Canon models.

Otherwise, no complains.


What I expect from a camera that the Powershot A590 does not provide:
-Does not defend against ninjas. In our modern day of technology, one would expect Canon to develop an anti-ninja mechanism.
-Cannot withstand fire. I've always wanted a picture of the middle of a bonfire, this camera will not allow me to get that.

This camera is amazing. This camera is for everyone. Whether you are a pro photographer who spends hours setting up a single shot or you need something to slip into your purse when you hit the town, this camera does everything.

This is perfect for those quick shots where you don't want to take out a big DSLR or a DSLR is too big and intimidating to your subject. Photography is all about capturing the moment and the best camera is the one that you use. Unlike many other point-and-shoot cameras, this one makes it very easy to access your Av (aperture priority), Tv (shutter speed priority), and M (full manuel) modes. When I go mountain biking, backpacking, or skiing, I'll often have my DSLR (Canon 40D) in my backpack, but keep the Powershot either strapped to my backpack straps or in a pocket of my jacket. If I see something happening quickly, I can grab the powershot, change the settings quickly and easily, and get the right picture at the right time.

I have not run the CHDK for very long, but so far, I have enjoyed the fact that it allows me to shoot in raw and do other alterations very easily.

Customer Service

No experience.

I did buy it from Target with the extended warranty. When the camera got dropped in the sand, kicked around, and the lens got scratched, they replaced it with no questions asked.











~~~~~Canon 40D 28-135 IS, 50mm~~~~~~Canon Powershot A590 IS~~~~~
www.flickr.com/42d

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Nikon Coolpix S560

Lightweight

Fragile LCD screen, small control buttons

Camera is convenient and works well for as long it lasts. It's light weight makes it easy to carry, but the fragile LCD screen is prone to failure.

Customer Service

poor,: Canon refused to honor its warranty

NONE All in the past!!!

#$^%&*())softwear

Not sure how the camera works, but the softwear sucks....I had to down size my screen to load the softwear, and was told that was the only way i could use it...
The Canon tech Rep....Told i could go find other softwear if i didn't like it....Well, instead i took the camera back to Best Buy....

Customer Service

Best Buy said they could fix the problem for another $39.00....

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Sony

Light weight. AA bateries. Small size. Flexible manual settings. Optical view finder.

Battery compartment lid is light duty.

Wide range of modes plus manual operation. Feels good in the hand for a small camera. Easy to use AUTO mode, for those quick shots. I would buy it all over again.

The camera is loaded with features. It has full manual, aperture priority, shutter priority, various scene modes (fireworks, night, portrait), face detection, histogram review, superimposed grid lines, continuous/shooting image stabilization, evaluative white balance, macro (as close as 2 inches), and sharpness/contrast/saturation settings.

Taking pictures with this camera is fun and easy. The camera's menus are quick to access, and doesn't interrupt the flow of taking pictures. There is a dedicated exposure compensation button, and also a custom button which I assign for ISO. This makes adjustments on the fly a breeze. The A590IS has a very quick autofocus and it locks focus correctly most of the time. Shutter delay is very minimal and almost undetectable. I'm impressed with the speed of this camera. I switch back and forth between shooting and display modes regularly and there's hardly any delay. Camera processing is fast, and shooting night pictures and long exposures (where I'm sure there's some noise reduction filtering being applied in camera) it takes about a 1 second delay to write to the card. The Digic III processor in the camera seems to be doing a good job.

Flash recycling is about 2-4 seconds on fresh batteries, but might be longer as the battery gets depleted. Unless you take lots of flash photography or want increased range, the built in flash is fine for most uses. Pictures taken with flash is well exposed and skin tones are natural. You can fiddle with the flash compensation if you choose to fine tune the output.

The A590IS has various accessories like the wide angle and telephoto lens conversion kit which you can add to increase the zoom range in both directions. Most people won't buy these since they are pricey, but it's good to know that you have this option available for those who want it.

Tripod mount is placed in a weird location to the edge of the camera. They did that to accommodate the manufacturer's label which occupies the center.

The LCD is somewhat low resolution at 115,000 pixels. I would have liked something more detailed so when I zoom in at max to check pictures, I can easily tell whether images are crisp and clear.

The zoom lever is the only plastic part that feels light and cheap. I would have liked a more solid feeling lever, or at least have it metal.

Video recording has been crippled so that instead of taking 640x480 @30fps like its predecessor the A570IS, it now takes the same resolution but at more choppy 20fps. I can't understand the reasoning behind this except to say it's Canon's attempt to differentiate this model with the more pricier A720IS. I hope that Canon fixes this with a firmware update, or at least a future CHDK build can be made to unlock this feature.

I had the difficult choice of selecting between the Canon A720IS and the A590IS for a compact camera that I can take everywhere. I also looked at other cameras from Nikon, Olympus, Panasonic, but I felt these two cameras matched my criteria which included under a price tag $200, uses AA, has manual modes (AV, TV, M), 4x optical zoom or more, and an optical viewfinder. I selected the A 590IS over the A720IS because it handled better (in my hands at least), nice dark metallic color, more compact body, cheaper price, and buttons feel better when pressed. The A720IS was priced $50 more and included 640x480 video @ 30fps (opposed to 20fps of the A590IS) and 6x zoom, but for that price difference I felt it wasn't justified. I was content with a 4x zoom, and I didn't feel I would use the video mode often.

I've used the A590IS for a week and have been very impressed with the camera. The camera is compact enough for me to put into my jacket or cargo pant pocket. I can take it to places where my other bigger camera Olympus C-8080 can't go. Also, people tend to feel more at ease around compact cameras and it helps to "blend in" and not scream "I'm a photographer" when you want to take candid pictures.

The build quality is solid. The A590IS is all plastic, but it's doesn't feel cheap. Holding the camera in your hand it feels solid and comfortable. The pronounced grip really helps with ergonomics unlike the smaller subcompact cameras. All the buttons are well placed and I picked up using the functionalities right off the bat. There's really no need to read the manual it's fairly intuitive. The LCD screen looks like it can resist scratches. The mode dial has a nice solid click when you turn it.

I think this is a great travel camera. Using AA batteries is a bonus when traveling. I recommend that you use rechargeable NiMH batteries because you'll get twice the battery life compared to standard alkalines. You'll most likely only get about 150 shots with alkalines, whereas you'll get 300 or more shots with rechargeable NiMH batteries. The 590IS packs a lot of functionality and gives a wealth of manual control for the advanced beginner to intermediate photographer. You'll find that often you'll leave behind your bigger cameras in favor of this one because it is a very capable performer.

Customer Service

Haven't used it yet.

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Looked at other cameras from Canon, Nikon, Sony, Panasonic, and Olympus.