Professional quality with the simplicity of a point and shoot (Canon Powershot A2000 IS)

Member Name: DaveChorlton

Product:	Canon Powershot A2000 IS
Date:	31/05/09 (27 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy to use, large zoom, auto face detection and red eye correction.

Disadvantages: Slightly bulkier than some competitors

Canon's Powershot range aims to encapsulate high quality photos through intelligent deisgn features. The Canon Powershot A2000 is no exception to this. The camera packs a punch of over 10 megapixels, with an optical zoom of 6x. The camera itself weighs little more than 230g inclusive of an SD card and two AA batteries.
The camera's greatest feature is certainly the 6x optical zoom. The zoom is responsive and works intelligently with the image stabilisation technology to ensure photos are sharp and clear. The zoom is operated via a zoom wheel. To operate the user slides clockwise to zoom in or anti clockwise to zoom out. This means that the zoom and shutter are all operated on the same dial.
Canon market the camera as affordable and simple due to its "easy mode." This effectively means the ISO (cameras sensitivity to light) and shutter speed are automatically regulated. This produces photos of the highest quality in all different settings irrespective of lighting. The canon also has a 9 point focus sensor. This sensor allows the camera up to nine points of focus in a shot, ensuring for example, that faces and people are always in focus.
The LCD screen is a large 3" and allows photos to be viewed live before taking and again after it has been taken. It is worth noting that intense sunlight can make viewing photos on the screen difficult. The screen also displays icons in the corners to illustrate exactly which modes are active on the camera.
As well as the so called "easy mode", the camera allows the more experienced photographer to manually change settings such as the ISO to create the desired shot. Other modes have been specifically set up for optimised portrait, night time and sunset photography.
In conclusion, battery life is good although it is worth while investing in some good rechargeable batteries. The camera is fully functional within two seconds of being turned on and takes around two seconds between shots. This camera is clearly very competitive for the price, boasting all the standard features along with many others, yet maintaining a sense of refined simplicity. Having owned other digital cameras, I highly recommend this Canon due to its great image quality at a really good price.

Summary: An affordable yet excellent choice of digital camera from Canon

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