Lens

The A20's 3x zoom lens extends (and opens its automatic lens cover) in just over 1.2 seconds, just a smidgen slower than the IXUS 300.. BUT FAR quieter, indeed this has to be the quietest extending lens I've ever come across.

The lens is specified as equiv. 35 - 105 mm (as 35 mm focal length) and has a maximum aperture of F2.8 at full wide and F4.8 at full tele.


Optional Lens thread adapter / Wide angle lens

Surrounding the lens is a plastic bezel which unscrews to enable the (optional) LA-DC52 lens adapter to be fitted, this provides a 52 mm thread just clearing the furthest extent of the extended lens. Add to this the (optional) WC-DC52 (x0.7) and you now have an equivalent focal length range of 24.5 - 73.5 mm, a very useful wide angle.


Flash / AF assist lamp

The A20's internal flash is rated as being slightly more powerful than that found in the IXUS 300, it offers a maximum range of 4.2 m (13.8 ft) at wide angle and 2.5 m (8.2 ft) at full tele.

Note that the small bulge in the top left corner of the flash is the orange AF assist lamp which will automatically come on to assist the camera's auto focus system in low light situations. (Not as effective as the one found on the IXUS 300).


Tripod mount / camera base

Well, as we'd expect with an "entry level" digital camera the tripod mount is made of plastic. This probably won't go down too well with shutterbugs, but then it's not really aimed at them and this camera isn't that likely to find itself married to a tripod too often in its life.

No other comments about the base of the camera, a rubber pad / strip would have been useful for helping to steady the camera for low light shots.


Optional CBK-100 Battery Kit / Charger

The CBK-100 Battery Kit and Charger consists of four NiMH AA 1600 mAh batteries (NB-1AH) and a charger (CB-3AH). A full charge takes around 220 minutes (3.5 hours) and the powerful batteries should provide several hours of life in the A20.


Optional ACK-600 AC Adapter

The ACK-600 AC Adapter is rated with an output of 4.3 V @ 1.5 A, input of 100-240V AC (50/60Hz). It will provide the A20 with DC power without batteries.


Optional SC-PS600 Soft Case

The SC-PS600 soft case is made from a black suede-like material, has a small pocket on the inside to hold a spare Compact Flash card and a belt loop on the back.


Optional WP-DC200 Waterproof Case

The optional WP-DC200 waterproof case is compatible with either the PowerShot A10 or A20, it converts them into fully waterproof, fully operational digital cameras that can be used at depths of up to 30 m (100 ft). The case is (of course) fully air-tight and held closed with a tight, catch locked, claspe mechanism. Useful for diving, in the rain or for days at the beach! All buttons are repeated on the outside of the case and the lens window is made of coated glass. The case with the A20 weigh a total of 705 g (1.55 lb). (Note: case is supplied with a strap)

Kudos must go to Canon for this excellent case, it seems to work very well (though I've not been diving recently ;) is very well built and doesn't inhibit the cameras ability to take great shots.

WP-DC200 Waterproof Case Case open, A20 inserted Case closed, note the claspe mechanism
Front view with A20 inserted Rear view with A20 inserted Supplied anti-fogging cleaner and silicon grease.


Optional CP-10 Card Photo Printer

The PowerShot A20 is one of the new generation Canon digital cameras which can be connected directly to the CP-10 dye-sub card photo printer (which can produce 3.4 x 2.1 in photo quality prints), connection is made by the "digital" (USB) port with a single cable, this enables a new print-per-frame and "print" option in the DPOF menu.

For a full review of the CP-10 click here.


Supplied In the Box

  • Canon PowerShot A20
  • Wrist Strap
  • 8 MB Compact Flash Card and Case
  • 4 x AA Alkaline batteries
  • USB cable
  • Video cable
  • CD-ROM (Canon Solutions Disk)
  • Printed Manuals (Camera User Guide, Software Starter Guide)


Accessories

Optional accessories for the A10 and A20 include additional the above mentioned LA-DC52 52 mm lens adapter, the WC-DC52 x0.7 wide angle lens adapter (requires LA-DC52), CBK-100 batteries (AA NiMH) and charger kit, Soft Case SC-PS600, Waterproof case WP-DC200 and ACK-600 AC adapter.

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