Great camera for those on a tight budget (Canon Powershot A470)

Member Name: candyfloss89

Product:	Canon Powershot A470
Date:	04/07/09 (43 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: cheap. value for money, easy to use

Disadvantages: bulky design, poor quailty memory card and batteries included

I dont have much luck with Digital cameras. I can only afford budget cameras and they all seem to break on me fairly quickly. True to form, I brought this camera from Argos for my birthday in March and a day later it broke, the lens was jammed. Luckily, Argos were happy to exchange it and I've had no problems with the replacement camera since then.

Here are the specifications of the camera:

7.1m pixels.
3.4 x optical zoom.
4 x digital zoom.
Large 2.5in LCD screen for easy viewing and sharing.
High ISO auto anti-blur solution.
Face detection - 9 faces.
Continuous shooting, 1.9 fps.
Red eye reduction.
Memory card supplied SD.
Move capture with sound.
15 scene modes.
Weight 165 grams.
Size (H)10.48, (W)5.51, (W)4.07cm.

It was priced at £49.98 on the Argos website but prices vary and I've seen the camera priced from anything between £50 to £120 so look around before you decide where to buy.

ADVANTAGES
This is definetley a good budget digital camera. It has all the basic features which a digital camera should have and is relativley easy to use although it did take me a while to work out how to delete photos!
It is quite chunky compared to other models of camera I've had in the past. This is an obvious disadvantage in some ways (which I will go into later) but can also be seen as an advantage because this makes it easy hold and so your not likely to drop it easily. Also the fact that is so bulky and wide mean that the buttons are big and easy to press. In keeping with this, the screen is also large and therefore it's easy to view the pictures you hace taken and show them to friends.

One feature I particulary like is the face-detecting autofocus and autoexposure. I've never had this feature on digital cameras I've used in the past, mainly because it seems to be a feature you often see on more expensive models. So to find this feature on a budget camera was a welcome bonus. My friend who borrowed my camera was also impressed with this feature and commented on who useful it was when taking photos.

There is also settings to control white balance and exposure settings even in the macro mode. I personally don't adjust these settings as I only use my camera for basic photo taking. However, it is an impressive and useful for feature for those who need it.

DISADAVANTAGES
The coloured panels on the front of the camera do not hide the fact the camera design is quite bulky and unattractive. I often take it on nights out with me and struggle to fit the camera in my clutch bag due to it's size. There are far sleeker camera models out there and if style and design is an issue for you, this probably isn't the best camera to buy.

The picture quality is generaly impressive but in low light it can be noticeably poor. However, this isn't a problem exclusive to this camera, it's a common problem amongst the cheaper cameras.

The memory card supplied is awful. I'd only taken about 6 photos before it began to get full. I found it irritating that they advertise the fact that the camera comes with an SD memory card but it's so poor that it may as well not come with one at all as your going to have to buy a replacement memory card yorself anyway. I had to replace the memory card and batteries supplied, which were also poor, before I could even use the camera.

SUMMARY
Great value for money. There are better cameras out there but this is one of the best in it's price range and has some excellent bonus features.

Summary: Great for those on a budget!

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