Canon PowerShot A590IS 8MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (OLD MODEL)

I had a Nokia digital camera for a couple of years. I don't have much knowledge and wanted a camera where I could easily use the auto mode. Well, the pictures always came out too dark even when a flash was used. Luckily I dropped the camera and broke the lens for it made me do in depth research before I purchased this little gem of a camera. I needed a workable camera for a New York City trip and I heard good things about Canon as well as this camera in particular. I am thrilled with my purchase. It is a small camera that is also very sturdy and an excellent piece of equipment. Many electronic items now come with cds to read the manual. This one actually came with many manuals and they were lenghthy and definitely user friendly. Everything is described in full detail from first set up of the camera to the great enhancement features this camera possesses. But luckily for me I was able to go to New York and use the camera in the auto mode and it took amazing puctures whether it be day or night, cloudy or sunny. The detail is amazing and color is crisp. Whem I the pictures to mt computer again there were easy to follow instructions provided. Everything about this camera is A+ and I can't wait to explore the more advanced enhacements it has. No item is perfect and people are complaining about the battery life with the camera. I have had no such problem. I own a 4 AA battery rechargeable kit and I put freshly charged batteries into the camera and went 5 days, taking over 200 pictures without the batteries needing to be changed. Now 2 more weeks have gone by and those same batteries are running strong. With so many oprtions out there with electronics it is very important to go by others experience using the item and really read their opinions to see what applies to you. For me this camera receives the highest grade. I can use the auto mode as I desire for perfect pictures and there are many great additional features to utilize as I progress as a photographer. I now also trust Canon and learned my lesson about Nokia. Canon is reliable and this product comes well packaged with all the instructions you need. Highly recommend this superb digital camera.

I have had this camera a little less than a month and have already taken 1200 pictures on it! 1089 of these were on on a trip to Alaska, while the rest were "practice" shots to become familiar with the camera. I am very impressed with the results as the beauty of our trip comes through perfectly in the photos. I bought this camera as a backup to my aging Canon S2IS with its 12X zoom, just in case it decided to quit during the trip. The S2 survived and was used almost as much as the 590 - just the opposite of what I expected. The size and convenience of the larger LCD screen on the 590 quickly made it a favorite of mine, and my wife's. Because the Canon controls were very similar on both cameras, it was easy to learn, and switch between cameras. The newer Zoom Browser software is better than the S2's, but similar and was easy to learn. I have not figured out how to disable the flash on the Auto setting, other than after I turn the camera on. The camera takes great shots inside with some light, and the flash washes some of these out, if used. I feel the default setting should be "Off" for the flash, even in the Auto setting, but can understand why it is "On". I just have to remember to turn the flash off whenever I turn the 590 on. The only complaint I had of the 590 was the slowness of taking a picture. However, I discovered in my haste to get a new memory card before the trip, I had picked up an SD card, rather than an SDHC card. I feel the new SDHC card I ordered will solve that problem. I used the Landscape setting for many shots of Mt. McKinley, Denali, glaciers, and others with great results. Thanks to Amazon and the reviews submitted by other 590 owners, I am really enjoying this PowerShot and the unbelievable beauty of Alaska that it captured!

I have owned this camera for about a year and a half. I have yet to explore all of the features, and perhaps some of the problems I have would be solved if I did (so if anyone has more experience with this camera and has any suggestions to my problems I would sure appreciate it!) It's been a pretty good camera - certainly good for the money, and though I have had some issues all in all I've been happy with it. I bought it almost exclusively to take pictures of my son - who was about 6 months old at the time of purchase - and while the quality of pictures is certainly better than the last camera I had (dinosaur), the shutter-speed is slow (typical of digital cameras) and the 'ready light' is so bright that most living subjects - especially a baby - have to look away. Likewise I find the flash to be SO bright that many of my pics are ruined by the severity of the light, but without it the quality is pretty bad. Therefore I frequently find myself taking 200 pictures in the hopes that maybe 20 will be decent enough to keep. My son is very photogenic, its just hard to get the pics I want with the speed, and honestly that light is just awful (in order to get a good close-up head-shot, that orange ready-light has to be right in your eyes... Ouch). But again this is all fairly typical of digital cameras in general, so I don't hold it against this particular cam too much (what I really need is a REAL camera, with REAL film, but that costs REAL money which sadly I just don't have. REALLY!). Its small and very comfortable to hold and use, which is great cuz I have small hands. The red-eye-remover function only works maybe half the time -and yes I've tried different settings-, but when it does work its super. And the zoom is decent, although the quality changes completely, becoming a bit fuzzy (I actually really like the effect, its super clear but at the same time fuzzy - hard to explain but zoomed pics look beautiful and vibrant to me) but its not good enough to take a picture of something very small, like a large spider, which is unfortunate for me cuz that's a hobby of mine. But I love the freedom of knowing I can get a better lens for it if I choose, and look forward to seeing how that affects the zoom and picture quality. Anyway some of my favorite features are the view-finder (so rare in a digi-cam) the PHENOMENAL night-shots (some of the BEST pictures I've taken with this camera have been in pitch-darkness, so at those times I praise the flash! It is UNREAL how good a pic you can take when you can't even SEE your subject!), as well as the video feature, which I use a lot (love being able to immortalize special moments in live-action with the ease of pressing a button on something smaller than my wallet)! Also love being able to preview pics -it automatically gives you a quick preview of the last pic you took, which is awesome- and of course you can look at and edit all of them in-camera quickly and easily. Whether I use the video or not though, the battery life is pretty bad. I can't use regular batteries AT ALL anymore, even to take ONE picture - they HAVE to be rechargeable. Frustrating, especially since it wasn't like that when I first got it. Meaning, I guess, that with frequent use something happens internally, which is worrisome. Regardless of the probs though, I give this camera 4 out of 5 stars, simply for value, simple features, ease of use and quality of some of the priceless pics I HAVE gotten out of it. And again there's a lot of features I've never even used yet! Certainly worth the money in my opinion.

I loveveveveve LOVEEE this camera, the pictures come out so beautifully, the camera is a tad big but its still easy to carry in your bag. This camera has a lot of settings, which im not completely sure how to use but its nice to have options. I personally love the low light performance with the flash in a dark setting. I would recommend to get a memory card with 2-4gb so the battery doesn’t die as quickly.

I just returned from vacation and I took along the Canon A590IS (purchased right before I left). I never really looked at the instruction book -- since this is my third digital camera (I have an older Sony and a much older Nikon). I originally wanted to buy another Nikon because I liked my older Nikon Coolpix, it was so easy to use and took great pictures -- but some poor reviews kept me from buying another Nikon this time. I was swayed into buying the Canon by the good reviews I read. With that said, I am very pleased with my Canon (so far). The photos I took of scenic landscapes came out great. But, this is not the true test of the camera, in my opinion -- since all the digital cameras I have owned did great on landscapes. What I was after was the elimination of those blurry shots I used to take with the older cameras. This is where the image stabilization comes into play. I am very pleased with this aspect of the new camera. I have very few fuzzy photos this time around. Also, I have a one year old grandson who is the target of lots of my photographs. He is part of the reason I decided to buy a new camera with the Image Stabilization feature. With the new Canon I am capturing him in motion with a lot less blur. Although, I do agree with other reviewers on the long delay between shots when the flash is used. To get around this problem, I try to go outdoors for photo sessions with him -- or at least stay near a window with natural light. I will often turn the flash off so it doesn't fire automatically. I took some great night shots in Bar Harbor with the camera while I was on vacation. Also, the macro setting produces wonderfully detailed and clear close-ups. Overall, I am pleased with this purchase. I know I should read more of the instruction book to get the best results and to use more of the camera's many features (I plan to do this). However, I did pretty well without the instructions -- that tells you that this is an "easy to use" camera. If you are looking for a low-priced, high quality little point and shoot camera -- you can't go wrong with this model.

Canon PowerShot A590IS 8MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom My one Daughter lost her camera, so I gave her my two year old Kodak point and shoot camera and hit the Internet to find me a replacement for that one. After spending several hours looking and reading reviews, I picked the Cannon A590IS. The things I liked about the camera when I first saw it, was the shape. I don't like those real small flat ones. They are great to stick in your shirt pocket, but are hard to hold steady and shoot. This one had a nice handle like grip where the batteries fit in and you can hold it and shoot with one hand if you want to. It's still small enough to fit into a coat pocket, purse and pants pocket. It had great reviews and the price was great.I sure wasn't disappointed when I got it and got a chance to use it. It was everything people were saying it was. Easy to figure out, took great pictures and had a good zoom. I wanted a camera that used AA batteries, which you can find anywhere if your batteries die on you. The Cannon had that too. But it had something my Kodak didn't have and that was a view finder. Not many cameras have a view finder anymore. It really comes in handy when the sun is bright and washes out your LCD screen.But I soon discovered another great use for it. The view finder can stretch the life of your batteries a long way. On many shots, I turn the screen off and shoot using the view finder. The screen will light up for a second or two and show me what I shot and turn off again. That really is a great battery saver if used and would take care of most of the complaints about this camera. There are so many features on this camera, both automatic and adjustable that it's hard to believe it sells for so little. It should satisfy the needs of about anyone, novice or skilled camera user. A good safety feature you can use, is when putting your camera away, put the switch in (review) mode and not in (shoot)mode. That way if it accidentally gets turned on, the lens won't open up and push against what ever you put it in with and mess up the lens. I liked this camera so much, I just ordered two more. One for my other Daughter and one for my Son. They should get them this week and I'm sure they will love it as much as I do. If your looking for a good point and shoot camera with most of the bells and whistles on it and small enough to put in your pocket, but big enough to get a good grip on it, you can't go wrong with this camera. You will love this Cannon.

I bought the A590 as a camera to keep with me in the book bag/briefcase that I carry around most every weekday. You may recall the old saying that the camera you have with you (when you see a photo op) is your best camera. The A590 fills that role by virtue of its small size combined with full exposure control. The big problem is that the noise generated by putting 8 mpix on a tiny (1/2.5) sensor chip can overwhelm the image and render detail moot. I use Imagenomic NoiseWare combined with Photoshop Elements to reduce noise and sharpen the image as best I can. If possible I shoot at the lowest ISO setting, 80, which lowers the noise. I never go over ISO 100 if I can help it, and usually at -2/3 on the exposure control. It's much better to have the photo-editing software brighten up the image than the amplifier boosting the signal (and noise) from the sensor. When you play back the image on the camera's LCD, it should look a little dark -- never overly bright (which can also blow out details). Here are two other items about the Canon A-series cameras. My 15 year old son uses a Canon A720 for what are essentially snapshots and is very happy with it. If you don't crop substantially and aren't too picky about sharpness and noise, the camera is quite capable. From what I can tell, the A720 uses the same electronics (including the sensor and image stabilization) as the A590. The A720 has greater zoom capabilities (and hence a different lens system) and is a little bit larger and heavier. If I were going to get just one of these, I would go for the A720 because of the zoom. The second point is that the other camera I frequently use is a Canon A650, and it is far more capable than either the A590 or A720. The A650 has 12 mpix on a larger sensor (1/1.7). Comparing sensor sizes (available at [...]) and mpix shows that the A650's sensor has 1.75 times the area as those of the A590 and A720 with only 1.5 times the pix -- hence pix density is lower and the noise generated by the A650 is much better controlled. And because there are more pix, the noise gets smoothed over as a result of more little points covering the same area in the image. (FYI: Greater pix density on a sensor chip creates more noise.) I did a noise and sharpness test with all three of these cameras plus my Nikon D40 DSLR. I set two shoes, one black and one brown (the latter with lots of texture) on a rug, just beside a sunlit spot inside my house. The shoes were well lit but not in direct sun. I shot all of the cameras at 200 ISO (because that is as low as the Nikon would go) and f/5.6, with the exposure control at -2/3 of an f/stop. The results surprised me. For whatever reason, and despite several tries, I could not get the Nikon to focus adequately on the shoes -- this from a distance of about four feet. I know from experience that the Nikon D40, with 6 mpix on a 2/3 sensor (2/3 the size of a standard 35mm film frame) has extremely well controlled noise and excellent sharpness, but the inability to focus here took it out of the comparison. The superiority of the A650 to the A590 and A720 was startling. Keep in mind that I "zoomed" in on the images in Photoshop after I had transferred them to my 24" iMac (a great computer for photo editing). This made different sections of the shoes appear much larger (the laces were really telling), and the 12 mpix A650 (vs. 8 mpix of the others) had more pixes to work with for any particular area I looked at. Nonetheless, the other two cameras had so much noise that the details were overwhelmed and no amount of noise reduction and sharpening could change that. The A650's image was far sharper and clearer. The A650 has one other big advantage so far as I'm concerned and one drawback. The advantage is the articulating LCD, which I find extremely useful for many shots. Yesterday, I had to lay down on the cold, damp ground to get a shot with the A590, but with the A650 I would have put the camera at foot level and looked down into the cocked LCD. That is really nice, almost addicting. However, the A650's drawback is that it's bulky and surprisingly heavy, which is why I don't carry it along all the time. So you pay your money and take your choice -- or, like me, pay your money twice and have it both ways. Remember, the camera that you have with you is the best camera you own -- so think about what size and type of camera you want to carry plus when and how you will use it. For some people, that means owning more than one camera.

These PowerShot "A" cameras are Canon's attempt to deliver the quality and features of its more expensive PowerShot "G" and PowerShot Pro "S" lines (such as full zoom lenses) at a budget price. The results are pretty good. (How do I know? Because I've actually gotten to use all of these cameras. I earn my living at Walt Disney World writing a travel guide, and nearly every day guests ask me to take photos of them with their own cameras, which most often are Canon PowerShots.) Here's my opinion of the top-selling "A" series cameras: A580. This 2008 model is an A590IS (see below) without image stabilization and with semi-automatic instead of manual controls. I'd spend the extra bucks for the A590IS, because those two features can make quite a difference. A650 IS. You can do a lot with this sweet little camera, though it may be more than you need. It has a flip-out LCD panel and the option of manual controls. The shots I've seen from this model look great. Keep your ISO under 800 and you won't get any noise. A720 IS. This fully-loaded 2007 model has all the toys, including a 6x zoom (35mm film equivalent of 35-210mm), image stabilization, adjustable flash power and optional second-curtain flash. This last feature means you can make the flash fire at the end of a long exposure, instead of the beginning, so moving subjects streak into focus instead of out. A470. This 2008 camera is great for kids or anyone just looking for a good basic camera. It includes Canon's face detection technology and has a zoom lens, 14 shooting modes and the ability to set exposure compensation, ISO and white balance manually. Plus it looks great, and is a good bargain. Finally, the A590IS (the camera on this page) is a 2008 upgrade to an older model, the A570IS . The face detection system works a little better than the one on its predecessor, and the new model is slightly rounder and easier to grip. I personally like that it has automatic and manual controls, though I haven't seen anyone using the manual set yet. Overall this camera is a fine performer, a great bargain and I think the best buy of the bunch. I bought one for myself.