Canon PowerShot A580

Opinion: I have this camera since Oct-2008.
Good images, and very practical to use.

Opinion: I purchased the A580 as a 2nd camera that I could take with me in my bicycle saddle bag. (My primary camera is an SX-10 IS).

Surprisingly enough I find that I use this camera more than I do the SX-10! No, it's not as feature-rich as the larger camera is, however the shots it takes are excellent. In many situations I can not, quite honestly, tell the difference between the two. The 580 is 8MP as opposed to the 10MP on the larger unit but it's difficult to tell the difference at first glance.

Sometimes I think the reviewers of these units are critical about things that are not noticable to the end user. One (ZDNet) said the 580 was built "cheap". The case is made of high-impact plastic (with metal bezel around the lens opening) but after using the thing for a year I would not have described it as "cheap" feeling.

The videos this little guy takes are also excellent. The sound is crisp, the image clear. With a couple GB of memory in it why would you even consider a Camcorder? (At least for short videos).

The camera is reasonably responsive, time between shots can get a little long sometimes if the scene is very complex but overall that's not a problem.

This unit is probably "out of print" by now but if you can still find one you won't be disappointed with it.

Opinion: Best of the price. i have bought this model 2 years back. i puchesed it for Rs.8000 (Indian Rupee)..it is a splendid experience using this model..it is totaly user friendly. even i had wildlife clicks from this 'little master'
once accidentaly it fall down on its lens, but luckily it the service center on canon made it possible to use it again. n still it is working fine

Opinion: I bought this little gem just because I wasn´t able to afford a G7 or (better) G9. The reason why I choose this one among some other same priced options was that this one still has an optical viewfinder, like my favourite cameras (Zeiss Ikon Contax II and Kiev). The zoom range equals what I can get from my film cameras with prime lenses plus has the added benefits of being smaller as well as somewhat easier to use than my old and trustable Zeiss bodies.

Opinion: Just used it a little while, but it is amazingly easy to set up (works OK right out of the box), and there is even a button you can set as you want (I use it to turn off the display, when I don't need it).

Simpler to use than all my other digitals (C-8080, Finepix 9500, et cetera). Fairly rigid built.

Got mine for less than 100 Euro!

Opinion: Hi everyone, I bought the PS A580 to have a compact and unexpensive camera to
bring along while hiking or riding my mtb in summer and while skying in winter.
The camera is an average compact 8MP,it rapidly switches on and shoots such well.
Focus engine and zoom are such slow but this can be acceptable when the whole
camera can be kept in a fist.
There's not much manual control but I didn't expect it to be possible,so I'm not
disappointed.
The lens aperture goes from 2.6 to 5.5,not bad !
There's the good old macro Canon always provided on its compact cameras,there's
an LCD display such bright,not much defined but reliable and wide enough.
Rechargeable AA accus are welcome, SD cards too.
I paid it 140€,really cheap !
matt