CNET Editor's rating: 7.8 out of 10
Reviewed by
Will Greenwald
Review date: 9/12/07
The good: Great image quality at lower ISOs; manual exposure controls; quick nonflash performance.
The bad: Long flash recycle time; highest ISO settings very noisy.
The bottom line: Unless you plan to shoot primarily in low light, the Canon PowerShot A720 IS makes a solid, affordable camera that produces great-looking pictures.
Description:
The Canon PowerShot A720 is an 8-megapixel, enthusiast's camera.
Compared to other enthusiast's digital cameras on the market, it is very inexpensive at around $210.
Pros:
Has a 6x optical zoom, which is somewhat more powerful than some similarly priced digital cameras.
In fact, the typical cost of a product with this high an optical zoom is $255.
Also, this digital camera has an 8-megapixel resolution.
Weighing only 7.1 ounces without battery and media, this digital camera is rather light relative to its competitors.
This camera also offers control over numerous exposure modes including aperture-priority, program, shutter-priority, and manual mode.
Cons:
Has a 1.7 in thickness, which is somewhat thicker than some similarly priced digital cameras.
Suitability:
An enthusiast's digital camera, suited for advanced amateur photographers.
A recommended use, based on key features, is framed photos for the home.
The largest recommended print size, estimated from the camera's resolution, is 12x16 or larger.
Value:
Overall, this digital camera's features are as expected for this price.
However, you would typically pay about 40% more to get a enthusiast's camera with comparable resolution.
45 out of 55 users found this user opinion helpful.
9 out of 10 - Spectacular
Great Deal!
This unit rocks! I just had one for Christmas and the Photo and Video Quality is amazing. New tech... Read more
by bubbleshrek (see profile) -
December 27, 2007
31 out of 31 users found this user opinion helpful.
21 out of 21 users found this user opinion helpful.
8 out of 10 - Excellent
Great Value
After looking at the actual sample pictures at dpreview.com and seeing pictures looking almost as... Read more
by Surjnarine (see profile) -
January 25, 2008
15 out of 15 users found this user opinion helpful.
9 out of 10 - Spectacular
great portraits
i used this camera in my media class at school. for haloween we had to go out and take photos... Read more
by ojad10 (see profile) -
November 1, 2007
15 out of 20 users found this user opinion helpful.
JPEG 3264 x 2448,
JPEG 2592 x 1944,
JPEG 2048 x 1536,
JPEG 1600 x 1200,
JPEG 640 x 480,
JPEG 3264 x 1832
Flash memory
16 MB
Supported Flash Memory
MultiMediaCard,
SD Memory Card
Lens System
Type
Zoom lens - 5.8 mm - 34.8 mm - F/2.8-4.8
Focal Length
5.8 mm - 34.8 mm
Lens Construction
7 group(s) / 9 element(s)
Additional Features
Self Timer
Yes
Self Timer Delay
2 sec,
10 sec
Additional Features
AE lock,
AF lock,
FE lock,
Safety zoom,
DPOF support,
Direct print,
Face detection,
Audio recording,
Auto power save,
Histogram display,
Resizing an image,
PictBridge support,
In-camera red-eye fix,
USB 2.0 compatibility,
Digital image rotation,
Digital tele-converter,
Digital noise reduction,
RGB primary color filter,
Display brightness control,
Camera orientation detection
Camera Flash
Effective Flash Range
1 ft - 11.5 ft
Type
Built-in flash
Flash Modes
Auto mode,
Fill-in mode,
Slow synchro,
Flash OFF mode,
Rear curtain sync,
Red-eye reduction
Red Eye Reduction
Yes
Effective flash range
1 ft - 11.5 ft
Features
AF illuminator,
Flash +/- compensation
Viewfinder
Viewfinder Type
Optical - Real-image zoom
Display
Type
LCD display - TFT active matrix - 2.5 in - Color
Mounting
Built-in
Resolution
115,000 pixels
Digital Player (Recorder)
Type
None
Microphone
Type
Microphone - Built-in
Technology
Electret condenser
Mode
Mono
Connections
Connector Type
1 x USB,
1 x Composite video/audio output
Expansion Slot(s)
1 x SD Memory Card
Lens Systems
Auto Focus
TTL contrast detection
Type
Zoom lens
Focal length
5.8 mm - 34.8 mm
Focal Length Equivalent to 35mm Camera
35 - 210 mm
Focus adjustment
Manual,
Automatic
Auto Focus Points (Zones)
9
Min Focus Range
21.7 in
Macro Focus Range
1-55cm
Lens Aperture
F/2.8-4.8
Optical Zoom
6 x
Zoom Adjustment
Motorized drive
Lens construction
7 : 9
Features
Aspherical lens,
Built-in lens shield
Miscellaneous
Carrying Case
None
Cables Included
USB cable,
A/V cable
Included Accessories
Wrist strap
Min Operating Temperature
32 °F
Max Operating Temperature
104 °F
Power
Power Device
None
System Requirements for PC Connection
Operating system
MS Windows Vista,
MS Windows XP SP2,
Apple Mac OS X 10.3 - 10.4,
MS Windows 2000 SP4 or later
Peripherals
USB port,
CD-ROM drive,
SVGA monitor
Battery
Supported Battery
2 x AA Alkaline battery ( Included )
Software
Type
Canon PhotoStitch,
Canon ImageBrowser,
Drivers & Utilities,
Canon ZoomBrowser EX
CNET Labs' Benchmarks
Labs information
All values are expressed in seconds. Please visit our labs information page for information on how digital cameras are tested.
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