Customer Rating: 
Summary: Great pictures, easy to use.
Comment: This is my first digital camera, so I had no idea which of the hundreds to buy. Consumer Reports listed this model as its "Best Buy" and that's why I purchased it. I am very happy with the quality of pictures, which are much sharper than I was getting with my 35mm film camera and I find it very easy to use, even for a digital beginner. The instruction book was a pleasant surprise as it was actually written by a native English speaker and was very step by step and easy to follow.
My computer would not accept the CD that came with the camera, and regardless of the dire warnings that you "must" download the CD before copying pictures from the camera to the computer, I took a chance and connected the camera to the computer and the pictures went to "My Pictures" in the computer without a hitch.
I seem to be getting about 50 shots, many with flash, with 2 AA batteries.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Canon Powershot A420IS
Comment: I have now had this camera for over 4 months. I use it primarily for nature photography. It is outstanding for so many reasons. My fellow photographers are so jealous that I can get within 1 cm for macro photography. I like that it has AA batteries; easily rechargeable. It's my first digital so I like that I can adjust the aperture and shutterspeed. I LOVE that I can underexpose and see it through the LCD. I often underexpose by a third of a stop for more contrast. For motion photography, I can see throught the view finder and accurately get the subject (Thunderbird planes!). The flash is quite weak but you can buy one as an accessory. You can also buy an accessory lens and even waterproofing to do underwater photography! I also like that with the digital and optimal zoom I can zoom in 24X Wow! That has helped a lot too! I feel I don't need to go to the DSLR because I get outstanding pictures with this. Well worth the price!
Customer Rating: 
Summary: A great little camera and a Consumer Reports "best buy"!
Comment: I got this camera for Christmas. It is great for most types of photos. Consumer Reports recently listed this camera as a "best buy". Its predecessor, the A710, had also been a best buy. Canon seems to update their cameras every year, so my guess is that this camera's successor is due to be released within the next few months.
If you just want a point-and-shoot that does all the work for you, then keep this camera in "auto" mode and forget about all the other settings. If you are an experienced SLR photographer, go ahead and put it in manual mode for a near-SLR experience.
I have noticed that the lens does tend to slightly, but noticeably, curve straight vertical lines. Also, as with most point-and-shoot cameras, while the LCD screen is WYSIWYG, the viewfinder is not--especially when zoomed in.
Remember that for ALL auto-focus cameras, you should press the shutter button down half way so the camera can focus on the subject. Then press the shutter button down all the way to take the shot. This is no different than other point-and-shoot digital cameras.
One reviewer complained about getting blurry photos with this camera. I have not had any problems with blurry photos. If you have a broadband Internet connection, I have posted 433 photos online that I took with this camera during a recent vacation to Japan. As you will see, there are no blurry photos. To see the quality of the pictures that this camera takes, go to http://picasaweb.google.com/jparsons.net/
Recommended supplies: I bought the Tamrac 5290 Camera Bag for it, which holds the camera snugly and does a good job of protecting it from rain. If you would like to improve your photography skills, I recommend the book Understanding Exposure.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Canon Powershot A720
Comment: I did a lot of research before buying this camera. I decided to get this particular camera because of the 6X optical zoom which has been a plus. The image is clear and it is easy to use. The camera is small and has all the basic features. I am very happy with the purchase.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A great casual camera for a pro
Comment: I've had mine for about six months and really like it. I usually shoot with a Nikon D70 DLSR and have a bunch of lenses for that, but this little Canon is great for casual shooting. I use it for 'snap shots' of the family when it is more important to get a candid shot of the people then to have the best technical shot. It is so much smaller then a DSLR so it is much easier to travel with. The manual controls are very good, they are easy to access and cover pretty much everything you need. I often shoot in either aperture priority (Av) or shutter priority (Tv), but also sometimes shoot in either full manual or full auto.
The eight megapixels is more then I need for this kind of camera and ends up just adding noise to the images that causes anything over ISO 400 to be unusable. I keep the ISO at or below 200 when possible and get the best results at ISO 80, but ISO 400 is still usable.
There are other Canon cameras that are much smaller like the SD850 IS, but I prefer the A720 IS because of the manual features and it has a nice grip that makes hanging onto the camera easy. But the SD850 IS is a better camera for novice shooters where simplicity and small size are more important.
Another important difference between the SD850 and the A720 is that the A720 uses two AA batteries, the SD850 uses a rechargeable lithium-ion. The lithium-ion battery is much better, it takes more shots on a charge and cycles the flash much faster. The AAs cause the length of time between shots with flash to be very long. Rechargeable AA batteries work better for this then non-rechargeables, but are still not as good as lithium-ion. The best way to use either camera is to have backup batteries with you so you never run out of power.
The things that keep this camera from being five stars:
- Noisy at ISO 400 and above (this is aggravated by the excessive 8MP count)
- The manual focus does not work in macro mode, where you need it most
- Uses AA instead of Lithium-Ion (for some, this is a plus)
If you are taking snap shots and want a little extra control, this is a great camera an a better choice then a DLSR.
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