Ughhh.... digital camera turnover is getting ridiculous. About every 6-8 months, just about every camera company completely revamps its model lineup. Canon has pretty much revamped its entire lineup even though most of the cameras weren't even a year old! This is becoming like the graphics card market. The bigger, better, badder digital cameras are here... your older ones are one step from being obsolete... or so the camera companies want you to believe. It's hard enough keeping up with the digital camera market... heck, it's hard enough keeping up with one digital camera company.
Canon introduced three new models into its PowerShot A series lineup. The A630, A640, and A710 IS models would be released boasting specs that could put the SD and S models introduced in February to shame. The A710 IS is supposed to be the flagship model. The A640 boasts the most Megapixels at 10.1. The A710 IS boasts only 7.1 Megapixels but has a longer 6x optical zoom and Image Stabilization (found only in the SD700 IS and S3 IS a few month ago).
In truth, I didn't even realize the A710 IS was out now. I expected the camera to be released in October (heck, I still haven't received the Canon Digital Rebel XTi I preordered when my friend showed me this camera... and I started writing this review in the last week of September). That September weekend while meeting up with friends in NYC, one of them pulls out the A710 IS saying "I just got this a couple of days ago". I had my S3 and SD700 with me... so it was dumb luck I could get some comparison shots.
The A710 IS was impressive overall... although a bit expensive for the A series models. It compared quite favorably to the two Canon digicams I was carrying.
Short Take
Digital camera technology has evolved at a frightful pace... you can expect new camera technology every 6-8 months these days. In Canon's case, the evolution of their SD camera series is a good example of introducing at least one major new feature over the previous model. The new SD800 IS uses a more powerful processor, can utilize higher ISO settings (1600), and record longer movies. Now you're wondering what this has to do with the A series camera.
In the past, the A series models have been sold as value unit with flexibility. The A710 IS seems to be a cross between the SD700IS and the S3 IS models and uses most of the same technology incorporated into these two cameras. The odd part is that the A710 IS sells at the same price as those two cameras ($399) and in reality doesn't discount as heavily as the latter two cameras since the A710 IS is newer on the market and has a slight advantage of being a 7.1 MegaPixel camera.
Regardless, the A710 IS is a pocketable camera with a wide zoom range and a good amount of manual control. Picture are of above average to excellent quality and the user interface is friendly. The use of 2 AA batteries for power is a plus in my book. Although the camera boasts ISO speeds up to 800, there is a lot of noise at the ISO 800 setting like in the SD700 and the S3 but settings up to 400 were excellent. Having Image Stabilization is always a plus! The extent of manual control is pretty extensive for a point-and-shoot camera as well.
The only obvious disadvantages were high price, red eye, and limited movie file size. You don't get the positionable LCD screen like in the S3, A630, or A640 either. The overall build quality is good but does feel cheaper if you've handled Canon's SD, G, or S series cameras. Another problem is that you have to buy a larger memory card and rechargeable batteries in addition to the camera package.
In the end, the A710 IS offers reasonable value for the money in a fairly compact yet flexible photography package. It does well as an all purpose camera but faces a ton of competition at its price point.
Price
The A series used to be the value line while allowing a large amount of manual control. Urm... there went that philosophy. The A710 IS retails at a whopping $399. Then again, the A710 IS really isn't a bargain basement camera.
Unfortunately, the price puts the A710 IS in some fierce competition from cameras from all ranges and abilities. Even within the Canon lineup, the A640, SD800 IS, SD700 IS, and S3 IS have the same $399 retail price tag. If you expand the price range to +/- $50, you can add some of Canon's newest models to the mix. This is quite significant... as people who don't want extensive manual control over their photos would more likely look at the SD800IS which offers the same 7 Megapixels, an image stabilization platform, and a smaller package than the A710 IS.
You can read my epinion
The Art of Buying... Getting your money's worth! for some tips on saving a few bucks on electronics purchases.
Specs
The A710 IS has dimensions of 3.84 x 2.62 x 1.62 in. / 97.5 x 66.5 x 41.2mm and a weight of 7.41 oz./210 g without batteries. It is noteably bigger and heavier compared to the compact SD700 IS but weighs less than half of the S3 and less than 2/3 the size. The camera might be pant pocketable but this won't fit in your shirt pocket. It will easily travel in your coat pocket. The casing is mostly sturdy polycarbonate plastic and has a solid feel to it. The overall color looks like a silvery grey to me. Like most of the A series cameras, the A710 IS has a more traditional film point-and-shoot camera look with a right handed grip. Part of the grip is rubberized but the grip is still small overall. Luckily, the camera is fairly light so the small grip is not a big issue.
The A710 IS has a nice sized 2.5 inch LCD display... however, the LCD is rather low resolution compared to the competition. The LCD displays 115,000 pixels and automatically increases its brightness if the A710 detects that the surrounding ambient light to low. The display is fairly easy to see in most lighting conditions but not as sharp as the smaller screen on my S3. Note that the LCD is fixed and not articulated as in the A630 and A640 cameras.
Okay... time to get to the physical looks of the camera. In the front is the F2.8-4.8 6x optical zoom lens with a focal length of 5.8-34.8mm (35mm equivalent is 35-210mm) with a removable ring (by depressing the button to the lower right of the lens) that allows attachment of the optional conversion lenses. To the right left of the lens is the holes to the built-in mono microphone. The flash sits at the top right of the front of the camera and as you look left of the flash, you see the optical viewfinder and the AF-assist/self-timer lamp after that.
The top of the camera holds the power button, the mode dial, the shutter button, and the zoom controller around the shutter. You will also note the holes for the mono speaker.
On the left side of the camera (if you're looking at the back), you have a rubber cover over the I/O ports. These include A/V out, USB 2.0 mini port, and the DC-in port. The right side holds only the eyelet for the strap. The bottom of the camera is the plastic tripod mount (not centered to the lens) and the cover to the battery area and SD card slot.
The back of the camera holds the 2.5 inch color LCD screen, the optical viewfinder, a switch between capture mode and display mode, a 4-way controller with the function/set button in the middle of that, display button, menu button, direct print button, and exposure compensation/delete button.
The A710 still sports the slower DIGIC II processor unlike the newest batch of SD cameras and the upcoming G7.
Mode Dial
The mode dial gives you quick access to the more commonly used settings. These options include:
Auto Mode- The camera decides pretty much all the settings when taking the shot. Menu options mostly locked.
Program Mode- Like Auto but you have full access to menu options.
(Tv) Shutter priority mode- camera decides aperture and you decide shutter speed. This ranges from 15 to 1/2000 sec although this is further limited by the aperture the camera decides.
(Av) Aperture priority mode- camera decides shutter speed based on the aperture you determine. This ranges from F2.8 - F8.0
(M) Manual mode- You choose the shutter speed and aperture
Movie Mode- self explanatory
Stitch Assist- used to make panoramic shot from multiple photos
(SCN) Special Scene modes- Options here include Night snapshot, Kids and pets, Indoor, Foliage, Snow, Beach, Fireworks, Underwater, Color Accent, and Color Swap.
Night Scene- self-explanatory
Landscape- self-explanatory
Portrait- self-explanatory
Laundry List of Features
The Auto mode will likely be the most commonly used setting for the A710 IS. Like most of Canon's digital point-and-shoot cameras, the Auto mode does an above average job of taking photos in most conditions. However, like most of the A series models, Canon has included quite a bit of manual controls for those of you who want to tweak their photos further. The features include:
AutoFocus System: TTL autofocus
Metering: Evaluative, Center-weighted average, spot (center or linked to focus frame)
White Balance: Auto, Preset (Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H, Underwater), Custom
ISO sensitivity: Auto, High ISO Auto, ISO 80/100/200/400/800 equivalent
Exposure Control Method: Program AE, Shutter Speed-Priority AE, Aperture-Priority AE, Manual
Exposure Compensation: +/-2 stops in 1/3-stop increments
Built-in Flash Modes: Auto, Auto w/ Red-Eye Reduction, Auto w/Slow Syncro, Flash On, Flash On w/ Red-Eye Reduction, Flash On w/Slow Syncro, Flash Off
Flash Exposure Compensation: +/-2 stops in 1/3-stop increments
Maximum Aperture: f/2.8 (W) - f/4.8 (T)
Shooting Modes: As in the Mode Dial section
Photo Effects: Vivid, Vivid Blue, Vivid Green, Vivid Red, Neutral, Sepia, Black & White, Positive Film, Lighter Skin Tone, Darker Skin Tone, Custom Color
Self-Timer: Activates shutter after an approx. 2-sec./10-sec. delay, Custom
Continuous Shooting: approx. 1.7 fps
The A710 IS has almost the same amount of manual controls as the S3 IS.
On Image Stabilization(IS)
From my experiences with the SD700 IS and the S3 IS, the image stabilization makes the camera more functional and stable for a greater array of shot than that would be otherwise possible without a tripod. The Onboard Image Stabilization is a better feature than increasing the megapixels of a camera from 7 to 10. Canon's OIS acts by having internal sensors detect the movement of the camera and then compensating by shifting the lens element to stabilize the shot. The OIS allows you to use slower shutter speeds even up to three stops lower. It is extremely effective and a feature that you would definitely yearn for if you switched it off or used a camera without image stabilization.
The camera has 4 modes for the IS: Off, Continuous, Shoot Only, and Panning. There is a marked difference when the IS is on versus the IS being turned off. You will notice the difference in your zoom shots and even night shots with blurred images and a lack of detail in your photos with IS off and especially without use of a tripod.
Continuous mode has the IS on all the time. This puts a bigger drain on your batteries but tends to give you the most stable shots for most conditions. Shoot only activates the IS when the photo is taken. This saves a bit of battery power but I found it best if you have a fairly steady hand or have the camera on a tripod already. Panning mode is used mostly for making those large stitch panorama shots. It basically has the IS stabilize the vertical field and not the horizontal field.
Turning the OIS off increases your battery life although not to the extent I noted in the S3 IS. Canon seemed to have tweaked the power consumption of the A710 OIS.
Day to Day Photos
Photos were taken in NYC around Central Park, the museums in the area, and the Cloister for one day from afternoon to evening. The next week photo were taken at night during Game 2 of the Yankees division playoff game (that didn't happen because it was postphoned for potential storms after everyone got into the stadium and waited for several hours).
Shots of the parks were sharp, detailed, and noise free at ISO 80, 100, and 200 during the sunny day. Mild noise at ISO 400 and notable noise at ISO 800. Shots compared favorably to my SD700 IS and the S3 IS with slightly more detail retention if you enlarged the photos quite bit. Colors were pretty accurate and well saturated maybe even slightly over saturated. Unlike my previous experiences with Canon digital point-and-shoots, the A710 IS seems to tend trend towards cool tones than warmer tones... blues and darker colors seemed to be slightly more emphasized than reds and yellows. There was good color contrast in all the daylight and medium light conditions. Similar to the SD700 and S3, images were sharp at ISO 80, 100, and 200. ISO 400 images may be considered a bit on the soft side. ISO 800 shots were good only for small prints and not much else. Image stabilization helped greatly at all ranges. Landscape photos from the top of the Cloisters museum overlooking the Hudson river into some of the more stately homes in NJ, were almost pristine although I preferred the slightly more warm color overtone of my S3. When enlarging the photos, the A710 IS may of had more purple fringing but that may be due to the increase to 7 MP over 6MP on the 1/25 size CCD sensor.
The A710 showed a bit of softness in the corners at the telephoto range of the zoom. I didn't detect any distortion in any of the shots.
Night Shots
Here, we encountered a couple of noise issues. ISO 80-200 were fine but noise was notable in ISO 400 and ISO 800. I thought ISO 400 displayed more noise than similar pictures at ISO 400 with the S3 or SD700. ISO 800 were nearly unusable without some editing and noise reduction software done on your PC. I thought the S3 and SD700 performed slightly better at ISO 800 with slightly less purple fringing. There is some softness to the images after ISO 200. Color reproduction and contrast was quite good and should please the average consumer. This may again be due to the increase to 7MP from 6MP on a small 1/25 CCD sensor. Both the SD700 and S3 use a 6 MP 1/25 sensor.
I did get some decent shots of Torre and Leyland with the S3... no players though. The A710 doesn't have the same zoom range but got some decent overall shots of Yankees Stadium and ponchos. Since Yankees Stadium was quite brightly lit... I guess you really can't call photos there night shots. Anyway, the lighting in Yankees Stadium allowed us to use the lower ISO settings for shots. The photos taken here were overall crisp and colorful.
I should note that it was much faster to compose night shots with the A710 instead of the S3 due to having an optical viewfinder. I would say the optical viewfinder gave 85-90% framing of your shots. There is no diopter adjustment for the A710 optical viewfinder.
The flash has decent range. Canon rates it as:
Normal: 1.8-11.0 ft./55cm-3.5m (W), 1.8-8.2 ft./55cm-2.5m (T)
Macro: 1-1.8 ft./30-55cm (W-M) (when sensitivity is set to ISO Auto)
This is probably about average for cameras in this category. It was best for portrait and group photos to be within 10 feet of your subjects. Range is greatly increased with the HF-DC1 slave flash unit. The A710 IS has rather severe red eye issues as well... almost as bad as the SD700 IS. Again, use of the HF-DC1 slave flash accessory reduced the red eye problems.
Movie Mode
The A710 IS has a decent movie capture mode that pretty much applies to all Canon digital point-and-shoots using the DIGIC II processor. The movie capture is fairly robust although it still will not replace a camcorder anytime soon. There are some rather harsh limits, like any movie you record cannot go over 1GB in size. To reach these limits, you must use a high speed SD card. You can stitch together 1GB files after the fact with the included Canon software to make longer movies. Note that the newer SD800, SD900, and G7 using the DIGIC III processor has a 4GB or 1 hour of video limit (whichever is hit first) per movie.
You can pick between 640x480 and 320x240 for movie image size and between 30 or 15 frames per second. You also can record at 60 fps at 320x240 pixels. At 640x480 at 30fps with a high speed SD card over 1GB in size, you can only record for about 7-8 minutes and create another file to records for another 7-8 minutes so on and so forth.
However, the movies have excellent quality (although playback through the A/V cable was rather fuzzy compared to transferring to your personal computer). The 2.5 inch screen is adequate for viewing your recorded movies. Audio is kind of tinny on playback with the A710 speaker though. You can use the zoom while recording the movie as well... and you don't pick up the sound of the zoom lens on the recording.
Battery Life
The A710 IS utilizes 2 AA batteries for power. With 2 AA NiMH 2500mA batteries, Canon claims about 360 shots based on the CIPA standard. Canon does not give you any rechargeable batteries in the package however... they do give you two AA alkaline batteries. These don't last long at all in the A710.
My friend got about 250 shots with about 25% of them using the flash on a fully charged set of 2500mA NiMH AA. The OIS was set to continuous and the LCD was always on. The uptime included reviewing all shot photos at least once and some movie recording and reviewing.
Best price for rechargeable batteries has been Costco as of late. They sell a 15-minute charger with car adapter and 6 2400mA AA NiMH batteries and 2 900mA AAA NiMH batteries for $29.99. Costco had sold Sanyo branded rechargeable batteries for $19.99 that included a quick charger (15 minutes if charging 2 AA NiMH batteries) and 6 2500mA AA batteries and 2 900mA AAA batteries.
Memory and Storage
The A710 IS uses SD (Secure Digital) and MMC (MultiMedia Card)cards for storage as most of Canon's current digital point-and-shoot camera lineup does. The SD card is the more ubiquitous standard and has larger storage capacities available as well as speed over MMC. Canon includes a pathetic 16MB card in the package so you need to add the price of a much larger SD card to your purchase price (I would suggest at least a 1GB high speed card).
My friend used a PQI 2GB 150xspeed SD card with the A710. You'll especially need the high speed SD card for capturing movies.. The camera takes advantage of the faster read and write speeds of a better SD card especially in continous shot modes and the movie modes.
For reference, a 1GB card should hold about 300 photos taken at 3072x2304 (i.e. 7.1MP images) at the highest quality setting (Super Fine). Each shot is approximately 3MB a pop. All shots are saved as JPGs. Movies are discussed in that section.
The A710 has 5 image file size options: large (3072x2304), widescreen (3072x1728), medium1 (2592x1944), medium2 (2048x1536), medium3 (1600x1200), and small (640x480).
Note that I still don't see why Canon added the Widescreen option. All this does is taken your standard 7.1MP image and crop the top on the bottom of it. I would rather do that on my own computer. However, it might be of use to those who print directly from their camera or put the SD memory card into a printer or photo developer.
In the Box
In the box are several printed manuals including the basic manual, an advanced manual, direct printing manual, and software manuals. You also get a crappy 16MB SD card, 2 AA alkaline batteries, wrist strap, short USB 2.0-to-miniUSB cable, stereo A/V output cable, and CD-ROM with Canon's Digital Camera Solutions software.
When buying the A710... don't forget to buy a high speed SD card (I would recommend 1GB cards... Sandisk Ultra II should be around $60-$80 on the web), 4 2300-2500mAh NiMH AA batteries with a charger (if you take alot of photos in a day, buy at least 2 sets of NiMH AA batteries. Don't buy NiCd AA batteries), and I would recommend a small camera pouch.
Accessories
Canon offers quite a few accessories for the A710. These include the Wide-Angle lens, Telephoto lens, Close-Up lens, Conversion lens adapter/lens hood (needed to connect any of the other lenses as well as 58mm lens filters), and the
external slave flash HF-DC1 (which I've reviewed on epinions). There is also an AC adapter and Canon's own NiMH battery kit (a rip off at $45... just buy these locally like from Target or Wal-Mart).
Out of these official Canon accessories, the External Slave Flash is the most useful since it greatly extends the flash range of the A710 and helps with the redeye problems I have been seeing with the built in flash. The A710 has no hot shoe to speak of. Also note that the HF-DC1 does not replace the built-in flash of the A710 but complements it (hence the slave flash designation)... it goes off as the main flash goes off.
In The End
The Canon A710 remains a versatile camera that should suit most people's needs although it faces a great deal of competition at it's price point. I would dare say that unless you have a specific need or purpose from your camera (like you need a superzoom camera of a ultra-compact or need a more versatile movie mode), the A710 should remain high on your lists since it covers so many bases and has relatively few weak points.
