Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 11-15 of 536
 HIt or miss? July 21, 2007
D. Bruno (California, USA)
28 out of 41 found this review helpful
I researched cameras like everyone else using the internet, talking to friend/family, and going into a few brick and mortar stores. I read several online reviews, both professionally done and from amateur photographers. First off, this camera is highly rated by several places. Obviously there is something to be said for that. However, in my hands this camera was a complete disapointment. I don't know if I just got a bad one or what, but I tried several settings, under several conditions, even had other people take photos, yet this camera produced a blurry image everytime. I never could achieve a very crisp image. I read the entire manual, used all the tweaks and everything. Most of the time the face recognition focus feature of the DIGIC III never even identified the faces in the shot. Typically it would focus on anything BUT the subject! Some people told me that Canon cameras tend to give a softened more "studio portrait" image. I don't know about that, but my old digital camera (although it is lower megapixel) produced a crisper image. This might be a good thing if that is what you are looking for.
This camera really left me baffled. It's pack with numerous features, too many almost. I mean do you really need that many functions in a point and shoot? I expected it to snap great photos right out of the box, but instead it took some tweaking to get decent photos. Either this camer is highly overrated, or I got a complete dud. In either case it either says something about people who are biased toward reviewing canon cameras ( I mean what manufacturers has 80%+ of their products get positive reviews?) or it says something about how fragile the mechanics in this camera are. I really wanted this to be the great camera everyone says it is, but it just wasn't for me.
BEST ADVICE: Buy from a retailer with a good return policy. Theres no single digital camera meant for everyone despite what anyone else says regarding it's performance, usefulness and fit to your needs. In more recent times, buying a camera seems to be on par with trying to find a pair of shoes that fit. (sigh) This one went back to Amazon.com. I hope they don't resell it to you!
 Chock full of features, won't disappoint - eats batteries August 29, 2007
Charlie (USA)
27 out of 29 found this review helpful
I had been searching for a small/compact digital camera capable of aperture and shutter speed priority with the option of full manual control, but one that offered decent optical zoom capabilities and used AA batteries. Sounds like a tall order, but this Canon A570 IS delivered it and then some. The image stabilization works fantastic for indoor shots even down to 1/8th second shutter speeds. The macro quality is also remarkable. However, the LCD viewfinder resolution is sub-par. The optical viewfinder actually zooms when you zoom in versus a traditional optical viewfinder that remains static.
The small size and light weight of the camera are major advantages, but it does not sacrifice any of the features. Armed with a 2GB Ultimate SD card, I can take 646 photographs in the max resolution or almost 30 minutes of video footage.
I wish the quality of the photographs were better, and that the settings dial had more resistance to prevent accidental switching when removing/inserting the camera into the Canon PSC-65 case.
A co-worker had a Canon SD630 that I got to use. She purchased it because of its small size and I guess she had money to burn. I was amazed at its small size, but was disappointed at the lack of features. While it offered 6 MP resolution, it did not have aperture or shutter priority nor did it allow full manual control. I was impressed with the menu interface though. Her camera got me looking at Canons and I eventually settled on the A570IS because of the bang for the buck, features, image stabilization, and the use of AA batteries. I cannot stress the importance of using AA batteries. Modern NiMH AA batteries can have capacities of 2.5 Ah or greater, available in large quantities for little money, and are easily replaceable. Built-in proprietary Li-Ion battery packs will die within 5 years due to the nature of the Ion chemistry and are quite expensive and difficult to replace depending on how it is integrated. As my web-savvy friends would say, "NiMH AA batteries for the win!"
Short-term use update for 10-24-07:
After using the camera for several months I have found a few quirks that would reduce my 4 star rating to about a 2-3 star rating.
1). Battery life - almost non-existant. I am using 2.6 Ah NiMH AA's that will last less than 1 week with infrequent use of the camera. My FujiFilm FinePix S5100 uses 4-AA batteries and will easily get about 1 month of infrequent use without a recharge.
2). Optical quality - the photos are huge but very grainy and blurred even in outdoor shots. The optics are sub-par and they are just selling the camera based on Megapixels alone.
3). Audio recording quality - again, mediocre. It won't record low-frequency sounds that almost any cheap made in Asia micrphone can record, and tends to make everything sound like it is played out of a tin can.
Bottom line: Don't let all the features fool you into thinking it is an outstanding camera. At best I would say it is mediocre, but not great.
Update:
By poor optical quality, I meant that while it is a 7.1 Megapixel camera, don't expect SLR quality photographs. My 4 Megapixel FujiFilm Finepix S5100 produces the same quality image as the A570 IS.
Regarding battery life, I found out that the A570IS is VERY sensitive to the type of NiMH cells used in the camera. Do not use low capacity AA cells or else it will flash the low battery icon frequently even with fresh batteries. Energizer 2500 mAh NiMH cells seemed to do the trick as it could handle the high current demand. While a positive aspect of having 2 batteries is reduced weight, the negative aspect is that the cells have to handle a higher current demand. My FujiFilm S5100 runs fine on any type of AA NiMH battery and uses 4 of these cells.
1 year later and my A570IS is still kicking strong, but just be aware of the battery issue.
It's A Great eBay Camera September 8, 2007
HJW
27 out of 29 found this review helpful
I am an eBay seller - & this camera is my *Work Horse*... I got it to replace a $1K Sony Mavica FD95 SLR camera I'd used to get the job done for 6 years. And this Canon rose to the challenge. It not only takes stunningly beautiful pictures outdoors in nature (see my customer pictures) with crisp color & sharp focus - it also takes excellent, intricately focused, color true close-ups of sales merchandise in Program / Macro Mode. The Image Stabilizer feature holds things down nicely so that I can really nail a shot. The Mavica paid for itself in eBay sales & this camera is well on it's way to doing the same. To post merchandise I take 100-200 pictures at any one time, every few days with this camera - & it's performance is outstanding. It's easy to tell from the previews when I've taken a great picture. I don't open up what look like super shots in Windows & get a bad surprise, as my Samsung S730 is prone to deliver.
My first major complaint is, after I take a large handful of pictures where I have to repeatedly adjust the depth of the Zoom -- the camera tends to get confused, loses its ability to focus, & starts taking blurry pictures one after another. This happens both indoors & outdoors. Whenever I find its lost its grip on its focus - I turn it off, then turn it back on again, reset my settings, & all is well - until next time. Restarting it in this way is the only thing that works. That's frustrating, but it's easy to tell when it's gone off track, & it's a simple fix to get it back in line again.
My second major complaint is most of it's outdoor videos run from poor to fair, at best. My .AVI clips shot across the Lake look like rippling streams of colorful confetti... Absolutely awful. The movies lack a certain sharp definitive crispness, both indoors & out. Breezy days sound like a hurricane. Voice is muffled. All of my videos are full of distracting clicks & clacks, because the camera case creaks & groans with every little movement & breeze - *and* - you cannot turn the Sound OFF. It has better video than similarly priced Kodak cameras I checked out. But my Samsung S730 wins out over this camera in Video Mode, hands down--so I use the Samsung for my "cam corder". And the Canon for my eBay camera.
I would really like to have seen at least SOME emphasis on in-camera picture & video processing - & less technology dedicated to paper photo printing. I also wish Canon included more unique color settings in the My Colors Menu. It's not a camera geared toward the creative mind. I am a webmaster, & an eBay seller... & I'm not into printing piles of paper pictures to store away in boxes & books that take up space... at all. My photo albums & "brag books" are stored on SD Cards. But, when it comes to taking attractive, sharply detailed, accurate pictures to get REAL work done & score sales - this camera is second to none.
 My second Canon Powershot - easy to use, great value September 1, 2007
A. Sussell (OH)
24 out of 24 found this review helpful
As a former professional photographer (back in the old days) I did not rush out to buy a digital point-and-shoot when they first came out, as the quality was poor compared to film. Also, they become obsolete very quickly. My first digicam was a Powershot A510 - a solid little camera - and I took several award-winning photos with it. I've used Sony and Panasonic digicams, and have looked at all the other common makes. At this price point, I haven't seen anything that I like better than the 570IS for features and ease of use. A real plus is that the Canon controls are well-designed and quite intuitive. I have one at work and one at home. It's a great travel camera, or for documenting field work on the job. Not as tiny as some, so not the best "party" camera, but it will easily fit into my front pants pocket, or goes on my belt with the Canon soft case. I'm much, much more likely to carry this camera with me on family or business trips than an SLR - and I find picture quality to be very good.
I am happy!!!! July 26, 2007
ANSSO (Seabrook, TX USA)
23 out of 23 found this review helpful
Reading the previous review I have to say that I could not understand how it is possible that this person had such an experience but bad products happen once in a while.
This camera has left me extremely satisfied. To start with, the screen is much bigger than my previous camera (Canon Powershot A530). The pictures come out great. I have tried most of the settings and they work. (It is going to be a while to try snow because we do not have snow in this part of Texas very often) I live in Galveston Bay.
It is also the same weight as my previous camera so it is very easy to carry and transport. The movie flicks feature seems to make bettermovies (I will have to talk to my friends in Hollywood about this) (Just kidding, people)
I got it with the "free" 2GB card and it is fantastic!!!! Now I can store more pictures in a trip, for example.
I think I am going to keep this camera for a while........
I have been taking lots of pictures with this camera and they come out great!!!
After a few months with this camera, I still give it 5 stars. It takes great pictures inside and outside. I am teaching science at a Nature Center and the pictures of the reptiles came out fantastic. The pictures we took outside of an alligator in the pond shows great details. For example, I had not noticed there was a turtle taking a ride on top of the alligator's back, but it came out very well in the picture.
Shots of my students doing activities are also very good. Like I said before, this is a keeper!!!
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