Canon PowerShot A80 Review
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Review
Date: Nov 1, 2003 |
Image Quality
The
Canon PowerShot A80 is a digital camera
targeted to beginner and serious amateur photographers
and its image quality is comparable to other 4
megapixels resolution digital cameras.
For this review, I used the following settings
as my preferred settings:
-
Shooting Mode: Program AE
-
Metering Mode: Evaluative
- ISO:
50
- Image
Size: 2272x1704 (Large)
- Image
Quality: Superfine
- White
Balance: Auto
All the pictures on this and the other pages (including
the navigation pictures at the top of each page)
have been taken by the PowerShot A80 for this
review. The pictures on this page provide a good
sample of what the PowerShot A80 is capable of
and I have provided the 800x600 version. Remember
that this version is of slightly lesser quality
than the original 2272x1704 version. Please open
and download only once to your hard drive -- and
save me some precious bandwidth. Thanks!
|
Clicking on a picture version will display
the 800x600 version image in a separate window.
Leave that separate window up for all the
other images will also display in that same
separate window. |
 Cineplex
Odeon, located inside the Square
One Mall in Mississauga (currently Ontario's
largest mall). This shot is to demonstrate how
the PowerShot A80 fares indoors. I use flash to
illuminate the foliage in the foreground. The
stores and signs provide their own lighting. The
image is a bit on the dark side and could do with
some positive exposure compensation, which is
easily accomplished in the A80 through the FUNC
button. Focal Length 5.4mm, Program AE, shutter
speed 1/60 sec., aperture F2.8 and ISO 50, with
Flash. [File size: 1.6 MB]
 Believe
it or not this is an "indoors" shot.
I am underground at the Dupont Subway Station
on the Northbound platform. The platform is too
narrow for me to take a picture of the wall art
on my side, so I aim at the wall art of the Southbound
platform. The light reflections at the top of
the wall come from lights on the ceiling of the
subway. The shutter speed is so slow that I have
to take a number of hand held shots to get one
that is not blurred. Eventually the "classic
pose" to prevent camera shake wins out: arms
tight against the body, camera against the face
(switching to using the viewfinder for this shot),
back against the wall, breathe in, release half,
hold, and gently squeeze the shutter release.
If you decide to attempt to reproduce this shot,
let me just warn you of the strange stares you
can expect from the other people waiting on the
platform ;o). A tripod is definitely recommended
here. Focal length 13.6 mm, Program AE, Evaluative,
shutter speed 0.4 sec, aperture F3.5, +2/3EV and
ISO 50. [File size: 1.7 MB]
 Setting
up mannequins display in a store window. Another
indoors shot, this time to demonstrate the Auto
White Balance. AWB does a pretty good job here
under the strong yellow glare of tungsten lighting:
the chair and table, white; the mannequin's trouser,
black; the straw hat; and, blond hair all around.
The mannequin on the left seems to be thinking,
Is that a way to hold a mannequin? Focal
length 9.6mm, Program AE, Evaluative, shutter
speed 1/60 sec., aperture F3.2, +2/3EV, ISO 50,
with Flash. [File size: 1.5 MB]
 These
mums come out in the Fall, and grace my neighbour's
garden plot. Macro on the A80 is as close as 5
cm (2 in.). I believe this shot is about 10cm
away. I can get away taking it handheld because
the fast shutter speed negates any camera shake.
Focal length 7.8mm, Program AE, Evaluative, Macro,
shutter speed 1/250 sec., aperture F2.8, ISO 50.
[File size: 1.8 MB]
 I
took a shot of my hydro meter in July on my first
review of a digital camera, and it's back! Looks
like I have barely used any electricity during
the past 3 months, but that's only because these
counters roll over when they reach 99999. Yeah,
the meter looks a bit dirtier. Focal length 7.8
mm, Program AE, Center-weighted averaging, Macro,
shutter speed 1/100 sec., aperture F2.8, ISO 50.
[File size: 1.3 MB]
 Most
of the petals on these perennial daisies have
already fallen off, leaving only the fuzzy bases.
I try to take this at a smaller aperture for greater
depth of field but the shutter speed is too slow
for hand holding the camera. The blurred background
achieved in Macro mode is quite nice. Focal length
7.8mm, Program AE, Center-weighted averaging,
Macro, shutter speed 1/40 sec., aperture F2.8,
and ISO 50. [File size: 1.4 MB]
 Pine
Needles against a backdrop of Fall colours. Again
I try to use F8 for increased depth of field so
as to get most of the needles in sharp focus,
but there's not enough light for a high enough
shutter speed. It's a cloudy day, so the sky is
washed out light gray. This is a tough shot, especially
since I am standing bent in half under the thick
canopy of the fir tree, and there are poison ivy
plants all around me! Focal length 7.8 mm, Program
AE, Spot, Macro, shutter speed 1/30 sec, aperture
F2.8 and ISO 50. [File size: 1.8 MB]
 Letters
of the alphabets are etched haphazardly in the
floor. The PowerShot A80 picks up the concrete
details as well as the fine veins of the leaf.
The shutter speed is fast and I could -- should
-- have used a smaller aperture here to increase
depth of field. Focal length 7.8 mm, Program AE,
Evaluative, Macro, shutter speed 1/200 sec, aperture
F2.8, +1/3EV and ISO 50. [File size: 2.3 MB]
 On
my way to High Park, this rider noisily zooms
past me on his fiery red motorcycle and eventually
stops for a red light. As I catch up and stop
beside him, on the spur of the moment I lower
my window and snap this shot. This is a good shot
to judge how faithfully the PowerShot A80 captures
colour since we all know how a faded blue jeans,
black sweater, bright red chassis, and silver
tailpipe should look like. Focal length 13.6 mm,
Program AE, Center-weighted averaging, shutter
speed 1/400 sec., aperture F3.5 and ISO 50. [File
size: 1.6 MB]
 Grenadier
Pond at High Park. Aperture-priority mode is perfect
for landscape shots since you can fix the aperture
to F5.6 or F8 for maximum depth of field. However,
it's cloudy and the light intensity is quite low,
necessitating the use of a slow shutter speed.
Therefore, I leave the camera on Program AE and
settle for the maximum aperture at the focal length.
Sky is cloudy and gray all over. Focal length
16.2 mm, Program AE, Evaluative, shutter speed
1/60 sec, aperture F4.0, +1EV, Flash ON, and ISO
50. [File size: 2.0 MB]
 Garden
Path at High Park. Rolling hills and curved garden
paths lead from one clump of autumn foliage to
another. There are lots of space for kids to run
around, for the elderly to sit and admire the
view. Stressed out? Give your soul a rest and
visit a garden. Research shows we feel less stressed
out when we drive along a scenic route than if
we drive along buildings and advertisement boards,
but then everybody already knows that, no? Focal
length 16.2 mm, Program AE, Evaluative, shutter
speed 1/50 sec, aperture F2.8 and ISO 50. [File
size: 2.7 MB]
 Hikers
trekking home under the protective cover of a
canopy provided by (Japanese Cherry?) trees. [This
would look fabulous in Spring.] After a day of
walking up and down hilly landscapes, I need
1/60 sec. for camera shake-free shots. So, I switch
to Shutter-Priority mode and fix the shutter speed
to 1/60 sec. and let the camera light meter decide
on the aperture. Focal length 16.2 mm, Shutter-Priority,
Evaluative, shutter speed 1/60 sec, aperture F4.0
and ISO 50. [File size: 2.6 MB]
Here
is our obligatory panorama shot. The Stitch Assist
(panorama) function of the PowerShot A80 is very
helpful for beginners, helping them to easily
overlay part of one shot over another to ensure
proper alignment. The A80 also locks the exposure
and white balance settings for the rest of the
shots to ensure consistent exposure. Up to 26
images can be taken in a horizontal direction
only. Since I want more precise control over where
and how much of the previous image to overlay,
I do it manually for this panorama shot of Kiriya
Park. I first take an exposure measurement, switch
to manual and dial in the exposure settings. PhotoStitch
does a good job stitching the 4 landscape shots.
Focal length 7.8mm, Stitch Assist, Evaluative,
shutter speed 1/80 sec., aperture F8 and ISO 50.
[File size: 2.0 MB]
Need
a place to upload your photos? Free photo sharing
and photo hosting web site at cassepoze.
A
Personal Word
The
Canon PowerShot A80 is very easy to use and produces
quality 4MP pictures in Program AE mode. Canon
has improved on the popular A70 by providing higher
resolution (and, more importantly, in a larger
size 1/1.8 in. image sensor) and a very useful
swivel LCD monitor.
In Playback mode, you can press the DISP button
to display detailed info about your captured images,
including a histogram. All you really need to
know about using the histogram is on Page 41 of
the User Guide: by reviewing the histogram you
get instant feedback on whether your image is
too dark or too bright. If it is too dark, retake
the picture again and give it a positive exposure
compensation (say, of +1/3EV); if the histogram
says the image is too bright, give it a negative
exposure compensation (say, of -1/3EV).
The
Canon PowerShot A80 is a beginner or serious amateur
photographer's dream camera; an advanced amateur
looking for a compact digital camera will appreciate
the exposure flexibility and image quality it
provides.
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