Canon Fires Great Shots (Canon Powershot A40)

Member Name: Regeant

Product:	Canon Powershot A40
Date:	28/08/02 (2686 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Price, Software, Documentation

Disadvantages: 2 Megapixels, No supplied charger, Supplied memory too small

The Canon Powershot A40 is getting old in digital camera terms, but this only turns it into a bargain as prices fall. At only £184 (ex VAT) this camera is excellent value for money. The camera comes in a box containing the camera, a driver CD, "Arcsoft Camera Suite 1.1" CD, wrist strap, 4 AA alkaline batteries, a USB cable, AV cable for plugging the camera into a TV, 8MB CompactFlash card and various pieces of paper. Supplied literature is a 'Software Starter Guide', manual, 'System Map', warranty, a leaflet for Canon's internet printing service ("Fotango") and a leaflet for Canon's "Direct Printing Device".

The 'System Map' indicates all the different accessories that may be attached to the camera. These include various lenses, photo printer and waterproof case (all sold separately).

The manual for both the software and hardware are surprisingly and reassuringly thick. In these days of "Online Help" (i.e. providing the manual on CD) this is a refreshing change. Furthermore, the thickness of these books is not because thirty-odd languages have been crammed into it, but because they are well detailed, explaining how to operate all aspects of both the camera and the various supplied software. To cap it all, the camera manual is just about pocket-sized, meaning that you can always carry it with you, for example on holiday, as you learn to use it.

Learning to use it is an average learning curve; neither too steep nor particularly easy. Previous users of digital cameras will soon be snapping merrily away as most functions and symbols are very similar to other digicams. The beginner will be content just to use the factory defaults and "Auto" mode at first, but once comfortable and having referenced the manual, will soon be able to progress away from complete automation. That's not to say that the fully automatic settings are bad - indeed they will pro


vide great pictures most of the time - but as the user becomes more proficient he/she will want to override the defaults to produce more controlled images. One particular strength of the camera is the ease of focusing on subjects, with three focus boxes placed on the LED screen indicating which parts of the image have been focused upon.

The A40 has all the standard digicam features of Auto and manual shooting modes, as well as rapid fire, photo-stitch and movie modes. The photo-stitch mode is quite fun, with the camera helping the user take a series of images that can be joined together on a PC using the supplied "Photostitch" software to create long chains of photos - for example a scenic panorama. The software is fairly automated and if the photos are correctly taken, the images should merge together pretty well. Movie mode is fairly limited and the camera only produces clips around 10 seconds; certainly not for anyone wanting to make the next Hollywood blockbuster although entertaining nonetheless.

Supplied software is the standard digicam fare: album software, transfer software, twain/wia driver and image editing. In addition to that, Canon provides the aforementioned photo stitching software and a remote capture utility. The remote capture utility can control most of the camera's settings and be used to perform timed interval photography. Unfortunately the A40 does not allow the viewfinder to be seen on-screen. Connecting the camera up is standard USB fare. Plug it in and Windows should prompt for the drivers CD. It's not necessary to install all the software and for users who already possess a photo-editing app. only the TWAIN/WIA driver is necessary, although the Photostitch and Remote Capture are pretty useful too.

Image quality from the A40 is never going to be outstanding, since the camera is only a 2 megapixel unit. But for most purposes it will produce some richly coloured and fairly-s
harp
image
s that can be printed either on an inkjet or processed professionally. The main criticism here is that the images aren't always as sharp as would be liked, but most of the time they are good. However, at 1600x1200 the images are more than large enough for any online purposes, although users will certainly want to upgrade the memory card. 128MB CompactFlash cards can be found at around £32, allowing for 200 images at maximum quality.

Eagle-eyed readers who read through the box inventory will have noticed that there is no method for recharging the batteries provided. Furthermore, the provided standard AA's don't last particularly long. However, sling in the rechargeable batteries with charger supplied separately from the camera and it'll be a long time between battery charges provided that judicious use is made of the flash. Users may find themselves turning the flash off more often than with other cameras anyway. If you already have a digital camera with rechargeable Ni-MH batteries, (e.g. Olympus) that charger will function fine as the Canon model is just a rebadged generic Ni-MH charger.

Overall the A40 is a great buy for those who have some basic experience of photography and are looking to enjoy the additional benefits afforded by digital technology. Just don't forget to buy the charger and a bigger CompactFlash card. The low price makes it a bargain.

Footnote: Dabs.com is displaying a notice indicating that the A40 is temporarily out of stock. This may mean that it's the end of the line for this camera. Nonetheless, some superb bargains may be available.

Added 20 September 2002: Personal Computer World (PCW) magazine announced in its November 2002 issue that the Canon Powershot A40 is the winner of Best Digital Camera in its "Awards 2002". July's PCW had the original review in a "Camera Group Test".

Added 27 October 2002: PC Pro magazine
have added the Canon Powershot A40 to their A-list of best products in the November issue following a digicam supertest. The product was originally reviewed in the July 2002 issue and is rereviewed in this issue. They say "just go and buy it". Find the original July review here: http://www.pcpro.co.uk/labs/labs_story.php?issue=9 8&id=33812

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