Canon PowerShot A310 review

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http://community.webshots.com/user/mansoor78
(Note that the images have been automatically re-adjusted in quality by the hosting site to reduce the file size. The originals are even better in quality)

I bought A300's successor A310 which inherits most of its features from A300. I would say that this camera has a sound set of features and offers a very impressive picture quality at its price. If you are on a tight budget, I will recommend this camera otherwise A75 provides some additional good features at a little extra cost. Following are the pros and cons I observed in this camera:

Pros:
1. Very good picture quality: colors, sharpness, lighting control etc. are excellent. The camera does most of the work for you.
2. Automatic settings performance, including white balance is very good. Occasionally you may need to adjust exposure compensation factor.
3. Only two AA size batteries required whereas A75 requires four batteries.
4. Slow synchro (night scene) mode is a very nice feature. Since the flash range is not enough, you will frequently need to enable this feature while taking pictures indoors or at night. But it only works well with a tripod. Also the colors captured in slow synchro mode look more natural as compared to flash-only setting. However, the shutter speed in this mode is quite slow which might give a blurry look if the subject(s) move.

Cons:
1. I have also noticed the blurriness of images at the corners and edges
2. High noise at higher ISO settings. No visible noise at ISO 50; Hardly noticeable noise at ISO 100; the image quality is unacceptable at IS0 200 and above
3. Very short flash range: Just 2 meters! (A75 offers 4m flash range)
4. Occasionally unable to autofocus in dim light
5. Trouble seeing the LCD screen in bright environments such as sunlight
6. Discrepancy between the viewfinder view and the LCD screen. LCD always shows a larger image than what is visible in viewfinder
7. Very high battery consumption. Definitely requires use of NiMH batteries.
8. Startup time and initial flash charging time is long.
9. The automatic focusing system would not always point the AF frame to the desired subject, however, the pictures come out to be perfect.
10. The digital zoom performance is pathetic. I would recommend canon to take this feature off this camera as it is good for nothing.
11. The movie - pic mode toggle switch is very annoying as it sometimes gets accidentally turned on
12. Indoor pictures taken in flash are usually under-exposed even if the subject is within the 2m range.
13. No option to lock the exposure. The work-around is to take a shot in the stitch-assist mode to lock the exposure settings to the first shot.
14. Not suitable for night-photography, as the max shutter speed is only 1 sec and no manual control over aperture and shutter settings is given
15. The tripod slot is not in the center which inhibits the use of micro-tripods coz they are unable to balance the camera.

Conclusion:
If you are on a tight budget and / or you prefer using automatic settings, then this camera is ideal for you. If you want to have more manual control over settings like aperture, shutter speed, focus and if you require zoom then A75 is preferable, however at an extra cost. As far as the picture quality is concerned, I think this camera does not lag behind after all it’s a canon. If you intend to use this camera mostly indoors or at night, then I wont recommend this camera because its flash range is too small, which is a very important aspect that I overlooked before buying this camera.

Problems:

Not so far; the camera fulfills whats given in the specs.