Review based on a production Canon PowerShot A720 IS
The PowerShot A720 IS is a minor update to the A710 IS and is the latest in Canon's popular 'A-series' of cameras offering a strong feature set and good degree of user control at a competitive price. It isn't the smallest or most powerful camera in the World, (or even in the Canon range), but it does a little bit of everything and gives a good degree of control over what the camera is doing, if you want it. This focus on making small cameras that do their job well has seen Canon dominate this sector of the market for some time so it will be interesting to see if the A720 IS does anything to upset this situation. The specification highlights are:
As mentioned above the A720 IS is an incredibly subtle revision of the A710 IS. The full extent of those changes reads something like:
| Street price | • $210 |
|---|---|
| Body Material | Plastic |
| Sensor | • 1/2.5 " Type CCD |
| Image sizes | • 3264 x 2448 |
| Movie clips | • 640 x 480 @ 30fps |
| File formats | • JPEG Exif 2.2 • DCF • DPOF 1.1 • AVI Motion JPEG with WAVE monaural |
| Lens | • 5.8-34.8mm (35-210mm equiv) |
| Image stabilization | Yes (lens shift-type) |
| Conversion lenses | None |
| Digital zoom | up to 4x |
| Focus | TTL |
| AF area modes | • AiAF (Face Detection / 9-point) • 1-point AF (fixed center/FlexiZone) |
| AF assist lamp | Yes |
| Focus distance | Closest 1cm |
| Metering | • Evaluative (linked to Face Detection AF frame) • Center-weighted average • Spot |
| ISO sensitivity | • Auto |
| Exposure compensation | • +/- 2EV • in 1/3 stop increments |
| Shutter speed | 15-1/2000 sec (With noise reduction for exposures over 1.3 seconds) |
| Aperture | F2.8-4.8 |
| Modes | • Auto • Manual • Stitch Assist • Movie • Special Scene |
| Scene modes | • Portrait |
| White balance | • Auto |
| Self timer | • 2 or 10secs • Custom |
| Continuous shooting | approx 1.3fps until card is full |
| Image parameters | My Colors (My Colors Off, Vivid, Neutral, Sepia, B&W, Positive Film, Lighter Skin Tone, Darker Skin Tone, Vivid Blue, Vivid Green, Vivid Red, Custom Color) |
| Flash | • Auto |
| Viewfinder | "Real-image" zoom viewfinder |
| LCD monitor | • 2.5-inch P-Si TFT • 115,000 pixels |
| Connectivity | • USB 2.0 Hi-Speed • AV out |
| Print compliance | • PictBridge • Canon SELPHY Compact Photo Printers and PIXMA Printers supporting PictBridge (ID Photo Print, Movie Print supported on SELPHY CP printers only) |
| Storage | • SD / SDHC / MMC card compatible • 32 MB card supplied |
| Power | • AA batteries • Optional AC adapter kit ACK800 |
| Other features | • Optional High Power Flash HF-DC1 |
| Weight (No batt) | 200 g (7.05 oz) |
| Dimensions | 97.3 x 67.0 x 41.9 mm (3.83 x 2.64 x 1.65 inch) |
If you're new to digital photography you may wish to read the Digital
Photography Glossary before diving into this article (it may help
you understand some of the terms used).
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Conclusion / Recommendation / Ratings are based on the opinion of the reviewer, you should read the ENTIRE review before coming to your own conclusions. Images which can be viewed at a larger size have a small magnifying glass icon in the bottom right corner of the image, clicking on the image will display a larger (typically VGA) image in a new window. To navigate the review simply use the next / previous page buttons, to jump to a particular section either pick the section from the drop down or select it from the navigation bar at the top. DPReview calibrate their monitors using Color Vision OptiCal at the (fairly well accepted) PC normal gamma 2.2, this means that on our monitors we can make out the difference between all of the (computer generated) grayscale blocks below. We recommend to make the most of this review you should be able to see the difference (at least) between X,Y and Z and ideally A,B and C. |
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This article is Copyright 2008 dpreview.com and the review in part or in whole may NOT be reproduced in any electronic or printed medium without prior permission from the author. For information on reproducing any part of this review (or any images) please contact: Phil Askey
Canon PowerShot A720IS 8MP Digital Camera with 6x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom | $539.99 |
Canon PowerShot A720IS 8MP Digital Camera with 6x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom | $539.99 |
Canon PowerShot SX170 IS 16.0 MP Digital Camera with 16x Optical Zoom and 720p HD Video (Black) | $179.00 |
Canon PowerShot A2600 IS 16.0 MP Digital Camera with 5x Optical Zoom and 720p Full HD Video Recording (Silver) | Too low to display |
Canon PowerShot A2600 IS 16.0 MP Digital Camera with 5x Optical Zoom and 720p Full HD Video Recording (Blue) | Too low to display |
Canon PowerShot SX160 IS 16.0 MP Digital Camera with 16x Wide-Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom with 3.0-Inch LCD (Black) | Too low to display |
Canon PowerShot ELPH 130 IS 16.0 MP Digital Camera with 8x Optical Zoom 28mm Wide-Angle Lens and 720p HD Video Recording (Gray) | Too low to display |
Canon PowerShot A2300 IS 16.0 MP Digital Camera with 5x Optical Zoom (Black) | $84.99 |
Canon PowerShot ELPH 130 IS 16.0 MP Digital Camera with 8x Optical Zoom 28mm Wide-Angle Lens and 720p HD Video Recording (Silver) Deluxe Bundle- Includes camera, 8GB Secure Digital SD Memory Card, Ultra-Compact Digital Camera Deluxe Carrying Case, 3pc. Le | $139.00 |
Canon PowerShot A2600 IS 16.0 MP Digital Camera with 5x Optical Zoom and 720p Full HD Video Recording (Red) | Too low to display |
Canon PowerShot A4000IS 16.0 MP Digital Camera with 8x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom 28mm Wide-Angle Lens with 720p HD Video Recording and 3.0-Inch LCD (Silver) | $89.99 |
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