Canon PowerShot A720 IS

The Canon PowerShot A710 IS was the first budget digital camera to offer image stabilization along with 6x optical zoom. The camera recently underwent a face-lift to include an updated image processor and a few feature tweaks. The outcome is the much more capable Canon A720 IS. So what’s new?
Features: The most notable addition in the A720 IS is the new DIGIC III processor which adds multiple face detection to its already-lengthy list of features. So you can now get well-focused faces in group photos and portraits. The resolution of the image sensor has also been bumped from 7.1 MP to 8 MP along with the ISO range extending to 1600.
Belonging to the PowerShot A series of cameras, the A720 IS offers an excellent feature set with a good blend of automatic and manual controls. Those who aren’t familiar with exposure controls can use the automatic mode and shooting modes such as portrait, landscape, night snapshot, kids and pets, and indoor—the camera automatically adjusts the aperture, shutter speed, ISO speed and flash intensity depending on the environment. In addition to this there are seven scene modes including snow, beach, and fireworks. It was quite surprising to find the most creative scenes, color swap and color accent, deducted from the list.
Those who are familiar with exposure controls can use the shutter priority, aperture priority, and manual modes in combination with ISO speeds, white balance settings and flash levels for precise exposure and detail production. The camera draws power from two AA batteries and offers support for SD, SDHC and MMC cards for storage—there is no internal storage.
Build quality and ergonomics: The build quality of the camera is better than that of others belonging to the PowerShot A series. Yet, the quality of the shell and buttons need improvement. Like most of the digital cameras by Canon, this one too offers good ergonomics. The control panels features four buttons (display, menu, print and delete) and 5-way navigation control. There’s a switch on the top right corner of the back panel to switch between capture and playback modes.
The user interface is quite intuitive with all the functions displayed in a column on the left of the 2.5-inch LCD display. The options are displayed in a row on the bottom—typically Canon! The camera sports a boxy design offering a good right-handed grip with fingers curling around the battery compartment. The controls can be accessed using your thumb.
Performance: The camera excels in performance with good reproduction of colors and details. With a 6x optical zoom, this camera has an edge over other cameras in its category when it comes to capturing distant objects. The optical image stabilization works wonders with low shutter speeds and high zoom. The ISO speed is usable up to 200 after which you will notice significant noise. So avoid using ISO speeds greater than 200 unless you’re in a poorly lit environment. The biggest drawback is the lengthy flash recycle time—it takes around 12 seconds for the flash to charge up for the next shot. No doubt you can miss a great shot in that much time, but overall this camera is worth a buy if you’re looking for a budget digital camera with plenty of features and excellent performance.