Canon PowerShot A590 IS
Manufacturer: Canon Part number: 2462B001
- More product information:
- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Manufacturer info
- Bottom Line:
- The Canon PowerShot A590 IS's manual exposure controls and surprisingly sharp pictures make it a great choice for almost anyone looking for a sub-$200 shooter.
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CNET editors' review
Canon PowerShot A590 IS price range: $395.99
- Reviewed by: Will Greenwald
- Reviewed on: 03/03/2008
The good: Great picture quality; fast shutter speed; broad manual feature set.
The bad: Chunky appearance; slow shot-to-shot time with the onboard flash enabled.
The bottom line: The Canon PowerShot A590 IS's manual exposure controls and surprisingly sharp pictures make it a great choice for almost anyone looking for a sub-$200 shooter.
Canon put substance over style when it designed the PowerShot A590 IS, and in doing so it made a great camera. While the clunky-looking 8-megapixel shooter looks bland when compared with colorful, ultraslim, style-minded cameras, its impressive insides help produce some of the nicest photos you'll shoot for less than $200.
The chunky, practical design gives the A590 IS a functional and easy-to-handle feel at the expense of aesthetics. A large protrusion houses the camera's two AA batteries on the right side of the body and also provides a steady grip. The 2.5-inch LCD screen leaves enough room for an optical viewfinder, a convenient sliding mode switch, and several large, responsive buttons. While it won't slip as easily into a pocket as an ultracompact camera, and won't elicit any impressed gasps from your friends, the A590 IS simply feels comfortable to use.
As with previous PowerShot A-cameras, Canon built the A590 IS around a large, bright, flexible lens. The 35-to-140mm-equivalent, f/2.6-to-f/5.5 lens offers a slightly longer reach and wider aperture than the 3x, f/2.8 lenses found in most compact cameras. It incorporates Canon's Optical Image Stabilization system, which shifts lens elements to help reduce image shake. The camera can also accept conversion lenses with an optional adapter that fits over the base of the original lens. Unfortunately, the adapter retails for about $25, and conversion lenses retail for $100 or more, so outfitting your A590 IS with wide and/or telephoto conversion lenses can cost almost as much as the camera itself.
Skilled photographers will appreciate the camera's myriad controls and options. Like other PowerShot A-series cameras, it offers program, aperture priority, shutter priority, and full-manual exposure control modes. Of course, if you don't want to use any of those features, you can still shoot in the automatic mode, or with the camera's several scene presets. Finally, the camera adds a new "Easy" mode, which further simplifies and automates the interface.
Slow shot-to-shot speed hindered the A590 IS's otherwise very quick performance. After a 1.8-second wait from power-on to first shot, the camera could capture a new picture once every 2.3 seconds with the flash disabled. With the flash turned on, that wait more than doubled to an anguishing 5.2 seconds. Burst mode further disappointed, capturing 9 full-resolution shots in 11.2 seconds for a rate of 0.8 frames per second. On the other hand, its shutter performed admirably, lagging a scant 0.45 seconds with our high-contrast target and an even more impressive 0.7 seconds with our low-contrast target. Whether you shoot in low light or outside on a sunny day, you can expect the camera to grab the shot quickly, and then leave you waiting a few seconds before you can shoot again.
Last year, the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T100 wowed us with its remarkably crisp picture quality. Though the A590 IS retails for far less than that camera, it manages to produce photos that are nearly on a par with those from the T100. While the A590 IS's automatic white balance does a great job for a camera in its price range, it's not quite as good as the automatic white balance in the T100. The A590 IS does a good job of neutralizing colors shot under incandescent light, but leaves a hint of warmth. It also leaves more of a green cast than we'd like to see on a camera like this when shooting under fluorescent lighting. Its tungsten setting did a wonderful job of neutralizing our very yellow tungsten hot lights. While noise remains extremely low from ISO 80 to 200, we did see some noise even at the camera's lowest sensitivity setting. Still, at these lower ISOs pictures look very good for a camera of this price, and fine textures such as fabric and fur appear consistently crisp. Noise becomes prominent at ISO 400, though details still come through clearly. Like most compact cameras, the A590 IS produces significant grain at ISO 800 and its maximum of ISO 1,600, covering the picture and damaging details with a fuzzy sheen. Overall, the A590 IS produces very nice images and can even yield usable small prints at ISO 800, which is impressive for a camera of its class.
Whether you're just looking for an inexpensive, flexible camera or a secondary shooter for when you're not schlepping around your SLR, the Canon PowerShot A590 IS is a great choice. Its high image quality, broad feature set, and fast shutter help ensure that you'll get the shots you want, and that they'll look good. It's not the prettiest or slimmest camera on the market and it takes far too long to recycle the onboard flash, but this sub-$200 shooter will still generally serve you well. You'd be hard pressed to find better pictures for the price.
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)
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Typical shot-to-shot time | |
Time to first shot | |
Shutter lag (low-contrast) | |
Shutter lag (high-contrast) |
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
Find out more about how we test digital cameras.
User reviews
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Feature-packed, affordable, small camera
by epbrink on May 3, 2008
Pros: Full manual capability, lots of extras mean you can do a lot with this camera. Easy mode too for beginners.
Cons: AA batteries can be a negative; slow flash recycling; plastic body
Summary: I love this camera so far - it is easy for a beginner to take great pictures right out of the box, but it has full-manual capability and tons of ...
Summary: I love this camera so far - it is easy for a beginner to take great pictures right out of the box, but it has full-manual capability and tons of features to give you full creative control. I purchased this camera to take to Africa, so the AA batteries were important since there won't be reliable electricity to recharge. I'm a former professional photographer, so I want the creative freedom this camera provides. The image stabilization makes up for the slow flash recycling in some ways, since in many low-light situations you won't necessarily need a flash for sharp images. I would recommend picking up a 4GB SD card so that you have adequate image storage. If you are familiar with Canon's user interface, it's pretty easy to learn how to use the A590's features. However, if you are only looking for a quick and simple snapshot camera, the Kodak interface is probably easier. Seems like this is Canon's typical high-quality camera in an affordable (if maybe a little less stylish) package.
12 out of 12 users found this user opinion helpful.
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I can't believe it's not butter of cameras!
by wolfbreath on May 23, 2008
Pros: SUPER affordable price, plethora of features, excellent picture quality, CUSTOMIZATION, AA batteries
Cons: little bulky, little heavy, AA batteries, plasticky build
Summary: I have never been so wowed by a camera of this price for the features and quality it has. It's the same great taste with out the fattening price!...
Summary: I have never been so wowed by a camera of this price for the features and quality it has. It's the same great taste with out the fattening price!
seriously though, this camera kicks major arsses.
I like that it takes AA batteries because I will be traveling abroad much, and don't want to deal with blowing out chargers, and at the same time I hate having to buy and change out AA batteries.
I am concerned that it's not that tough, it feels plasticky, and the shape makes it hard to carry around with ease. However, it is neat to have that little bulge for a little extra grip.
It's certainly a pretty camera loaded with features you usually find in more expensive cameras, and I have not had any picture quality issues at all. Definitely worth having for occasions, vacations, or if you're interested in photography!Updated
I've been using this throughout my trip in China and have been amazed at the quality of pictures I can get even from the auto settings. If you're more of a die hard photographer, check out the manual mode. I've gotten some seriously impressive images out of this little guy. The price is not just right, it's cheap for a great camera! Just make sure you use rechargable AA or lithium AA batteries.7 out of 7 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Really clear photos for the buck
by dungeondragon85 on August 2, 2008
Pros: Lots of features, easy to use, uses AA batteries and SD flash memory
Cons: Plastic connector for tripods, uses too much memory in camcorder mode
Summary: This is the first time I bought a point and shoot digital camera. For an 8.0 MP digital camera, it really blew my mind away. The pictures I took ...
Summary: This is the first time I bought a point and shoot digital camera. For an 8.0 MP digital camera, it really blew my mind away. The pictures I took are extremely clear and detailed compared to my Aiptek MPVR. The colors match up pretty well and doesn't need to be adjusted.
The flash doesn't wash away the subject in dark settings and the camera's autofocus is a life saver.
With the ability to change ISO settings, the camera is able to shoot fast moving subjects (i.e. pets running around the living room).
The two things that bug me about the A590 is that it has a plastic connector rather than a brass or steel nut for tripods. I generally use tripods and in my experience, plastic connectors strip faster than the metal ones.
The other thing that bugs me is the fact that the camera's camcorder mode records at a very high bitrate. I shot a six minute video and it took over 400MB. Rather than using this camera for its camcorder function, it's better to stick to a dedicated camcorder.
Overall the quality of the Canon Powershot A590 IS is brilliant. Its cost is great for anyone on a sub $200 budget.6 out of 6 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Big battery problem!!! Needs to be recalled
by gregka on December 19, 2008
Pros: Quality of pictures is average. Do not see why is so highly rated especially when it needs to be recalled due to such a battery problem.
Cons: Canon PowerShot A590 IS has a serious battery problem. After only 6 pictures it shows that battery is empty and it wil not work. This camera is a joke and I cannot believe how highly is rated. Please do not buy this product.
Summary: Serious problem with battery that appeared 6 months after I purchased it makes this camera a VERY BAD CANON PRODUCT. Please mention this issue at cnet.com on your review ...
Summary: Serious problem with battery that appeared 6 months after I purchased it makes this camera a VERY BAD CANON PRODUCT. Please mention this issue at cnet.com on your review and feel free to contact me if you would like more info on this product.
4 out of 4 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Complete features & superb picture for budget user
by trans09 on April 29, 2008
Pros: Nice & easy to hold and capture. Various function can apply. MF is simply bonus features
Cons: Old design but who cares
Summary: With that price, this camera is simply better than Sony cybershot quality picture with great add on features. MF & IS working good and white balance is still reasonable. Very ...
Summary: With that price, this camera is simply better than Sony cybershot quality picture with great add on features. MF & IS working good and white balance is still reasonable. Very worth item to buy
4 out of 4 users found this user opinion helpful.
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The View Finder!
by Deacon_Dave on September 9, 2008
Pros: Canon is the only sub-$200 brand that still has a view finder. Looking at the monitor in sunlight is impossible on most cameras. Don't they know that?
Seperate lenses available for this camera!Cons: A bit of a wait to take the next picture.
Summary: I like the seperate lens ability and the view finder. They are both a plus for a camera in the $150.00 price range.
Summary: I like the seperate lens ability and the view finder. They are both a plus for a camera in the $150.00 price range.
3 out of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Date and Time Stamp Glitch
by rgolga on September 30, 2008
Pros: Excellent pictures!
Cons: I am on my second A590 IS. I exchanged my first one for another one because I had to keep resetting the date and time stamp when I turned the camera on. Now it is happening again with the second camera. It is going back tomorrow.
Summary: Again, this camera takes great pictures, but on the two cameras I have owned, I eventually have to reset the date and time stamp before I can take a picture. ...
Summary: Again, this camera takes great pictures, but on the two cameras I have owned, I eventually have to reset the date and time stamp before I can take a picture. Very irritating.
3 out of 4 users found this user opinion helpful.
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" Affordable with Lots of Features"
by adolton on November 8, 2008
Pros: Very nice camera, I really Love it, it take clean sharp photos. My friends are planning to buy also.
Cons: When taking video clips, when you zoom the sound that it make capture in your project.
Summary: If the sound when zooming in Recording Mode can be eliminated this product will be a real work of art. Everything else is fine. Great job thos far, keep improving.
Summary: If the sound when zooming in Recording Mode can be eliminated this product will be a real work of art. Everything else is fine. Great job thos far, keep improving.
2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
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A great little camera with lots of bells and whistles!
by BABCI of 7 on July 28, 2008
Pros: Can use a 8mb SD card for clear avi shots
Cons: None that I can find thus far.
Summary: Bought this camera cause it can fit in my jeans pocket. I already own 2 other larger Digital cameras (Olympus sp550uz & Canon Powershot S5IS) and with a 52mm adapter ...
Summary: Bought this camera cause it can fit in my jeans pocket. I already own 2 other larger Digital cameras (Olympus sp550uz & Canon Powershot S5IS) and with a 52mm adapter will be able to use the converter lenses I already have for those cameras with the converter barrel I bought for this one. All in all I have shot pool avi shots of my grandkids capturing their splashes and shouts with amazing clarity. All my pictures shot with this little gem were very clear. It only uses 2 double A batteries (I use the 2900 rechargeables, they last longer) with my 8mb SD cards. I would highly recommend this gem of a camera to everyone who wants a little camera with lots of bells and whistles.
2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Excellent budget camera!
by freedom58 on June 18, 2008
Pros: Both manual and auto settings
Cons: Slow flash recycle time
Summary: I have owned this camera about a month now, and have taken numerous picture's and all picture's have turned out so clear and sharp with very good color....
Summary: I have owned this camera about a month now, and have taken numerous picture's and all picture's have turned out so clear and sharp with very good color.
If you are looking for a good budget camera with both manual and auto features, I definitely recommend this camera.
You can't beat the price or the quality of the pictures that this camera takes. I am very pleased with my Canon 590 and can't say enough good about it, for it truely is a wonderful camera!2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
Specifications
- Manufacturer: Canon
- Part number: 2462B001
- Description: The PowerShot A590 IS will astound you with its power-packed performance and impressive value. It's got 8.0-megapixels, a 4x optical zoom, an Optical Image Stabilizer and a large 2.5-inch LCD. A range of shooting modes - from manual to automatic including Canon's new Easy Mode - make picture-taking carefree. A DIGIC III Image Processor with Enhanced Canon Face Detection assures natural-looking results, while Motion Detection Technology reduces blur. For added creativity, attach wide or telephoto converter lenses.
General
- Product Type Digital camera - Compact
- Resolution 8 megapixels
- Optical Sensor Type CCD
- Total Pixels 8,300,000 pixels
- Effective Sensor Resolution 8,000,000 pixels
- Optical Sensor Size 1/2.5"
- Digital Zoom 4 x
- Image Processor DIGIC III
- Image Stabilizer Optical
- Auto Focus TTL contrast detection
- Auto Focus Points (Zones) Qty 9
- Digital Video Format AVI
- Image Recording Format JPEG
- AV Interfaces Composite video/audio
Exposure & White Balance
- Light Sensitivity ISO 1600,
ISO 800,
ISO 100,
ISO 200,
ISO 80,
ISO 400,
ISO auto - Exposure Metering Evaluative,
Center-weighted,
Spot - Exposure Modes Program ,
Automatic ,
Shutter-priority ,
Aperture-priority - Shooting Programs Snow,
Night snapshot,
Beach,
Sunset,
Aquarium,
Indoor,
Foliage,
Kids & pets,
Night scene,
Fireworks,
Portrait mode,
Landscape - Special Effects Vivid,
Black & White,
Sepia,
Neutral,
Custom Effect - White Balance Automatic,
Presets,
Custom - White Balance Presets Daylight,
Tungsten light,
Cloudy,
Fluorescent light (warm white),
Fluorescent light (cool white) - Max Shutter Speed 1/2000 sec
- Min Shutter Speed 15 sec
- Exposure Compensation ±2 EV range, in 1/3 EV steps
Lens System
- Type Canon,
4 x x Zoom lens - 5.8 mm - 23.2 mm - F/2.6-5.5 - Focal Length Equivalent to 35mm Camera 35 - 140 mm
- Focus Adjustment Manual,
Automatic - Min Focus Range 17.7 in
- Macro Focus Range 2 in - 17.7 in
- Zoom Adjustment Motorized drive
- Lens Construction 5 groups / 7 elements
- Features Aspherical lens,
Built-in lens shield Camera Flash
- Camera Flash Built-in flash
- Flash Modes Fill-in mode,
Slow synchro,
Auto mode,
Flash OFF mode,
Red-eye reduction - Features Flash +/- compensation,
AF illuminator - Effective Flash Range 1 ft - 11.5 ft
Additional Features
- Continuous Shooting Speed 1.4 frames per second
- Self Timer Delay 2 sec,
10 sec - Additional Features Digital image rotation,
In-camera red-eye removal,
Audio recording,
Resizing an image,
AF lock,
DPOF support,
RGB primary color filter,
Safety zoom,
Digital tele-converter,
Built-in speaker,
Motion Detection Technology,
Histogram display,
Camera orientation detection,
PictBridge support,
USB 2.0 compatibility,
Direct print Display
- Type 2.5 in LCD display
- Resolution 115,000 pixels
- Display Features Built-in
Microphone
- Microphone Operation Mode Mono
Connections
- Connector Type 1 x USB,
1 x Composite video/audio output,
1 x DC power input - Memory Card Slot SD card
Viewfinder
- Viewfinder Type Optical - Real-image zoom
- Viewfinder Color Support Color
System Requirements for PC Connection
- Operating System Support MS Windows XP,
MS Windows 2000,
Apple Mac OS X 10.3 - 10.4,
MS Windows Vista - Peripheral Devices USB port,
CD-ROM drive Miscellaneous
- Microsoft Certifications Certified for Windows Vista
- Included Accessories USB cable,
Wrist strap,
Audio / video cable Software
- Software Canon ZoomBrowser EX,
Canon PhotoStitch,
Drivers & Utilities,
Canon ImageBrowser Battery
- Supported Battery AA
- Supported Battery 2 x AA Alkaline battery ( Included ),
2 x AA NiMH rechargeable battery ( Optional ) Memory / Storage
- Supported Memory Cards SDHC Memory Card ,
MultiMediaCard ,
SD Memory Card ,
MultiMediaCardplus - Internal Storage None
- Included Memory Card 32 MB MultiMediaCardplus
- Image Storage Super-fine JPEG 3264 x 2448 : 8 VA - With 32MB card - 3.4 MB,
Fine JPEG 3264 x 2448 : 14 VA - With 32MB card - 2.1 MB,
Normal JPEG 3264 x 2448 : 30 VA - With 32MB card - 980 KB,
Super-fine JPEG 2592 x 1944 : 11 VA - With 32MB card - 2.5 MB,
Fine JPEG 2592 x 1944 : 21 VA - With 32MB card - 1.4 MB,
Normal JPEG 2592 x 1944 : 42 VA - With 32MB card - 695 KB,
Super-fine JPEG 2048 x 1536 : 18 VA - With 32MB card - 1.6 MB,
Fine JPEG 2048 x 1536 : 33 VA - With 32MB card - 893 KB,
Normal JPEG 2048 x 1536 : 66 VA - With 32MB card - 445 KB,
Super-fine JPEG 1600 x 1200 : 30 VA - With 32MB card - 1 MB,
Fine JPEG 1600 x 1200 : 53 VA - With 32MB card - 558 KB,
Normal JPEG 1600 x 1200 : 102 VA - With 32MB card - 278 KB,
Super-fine JPEG 640 x 480 : 114 VA - With 32MB card - 249 KB,
Fine JPEG 640 x 480 : 177 VA - With 32MB card - 150 KB,
Normal JPEG 640 x 480 : 278 VA - With 32MB card - 84 KB,
Super-fine JPEG 3264 x 1832 : 11 VA - With 32MB card - 2.6 MB,
Fine JPEG 3264 x 1832 : 19 VA - With 32MB card - 1.5 MB,
Normal JPEG 3264 x 1832 : 41 VA - With 32MB card - 736 KB - Video Capture AVI - 640 x 480 - 23 sec - With 32MB card,
AVI - 640 x 480 - 47 sec - With 32MB card,
AVI - 320 x 240 - 44 sec - With 32MB card,
AVI - 160 x 120 - 216 sec - With 32MB card Dimensions & Weight
- Width 3.7 in
- Depth 1.6 in
- Height 2.6 in
- Weight 6.2 oz
Environmental Parameters
- Min Operating Temperature 32 °F
- Max Operating Temperature 104 °F
Main Features
- Image stabilizer feature Optical stabilization helps prevent blurry pictures, especially for handheld cameras at slow shutter speeds or when using high optical zoom.
Manufacturer info
- Manufacturer profile
- Browse Canon products on Shopper.com
-
- Manufacturer:Canon
- Address:
One Canon Plaza, Lake Success, NY 11042 - Phone: 516-328-5000
- Email: mediacontact@cusa.canon.com
