DPReview.com is closing April 10th - Find out more

Canon A590 IS is a great buy and must have camera under budget

Started Dec 20, 2013 | User reviews
kalpesh5777
kalpesh5777 Regular Member • Posts: 143
Canon A590 IS is a great buy and must have camera under budget
3

Hi,I am a semi professional photographer and a great fan of camera's since childhood.

Currently I own Nikon D90, Canon 1000D with 18-135 IS lens, 50mm 1.8 prime, Canon SX210.

You read it correct..Canon Sx210!!!

I wanted a compact for travelling, so I purchased SX210 and I regretted! Its a worst model I ever had.Very bad results in terms of colour and noise.

I was searching a good used canon on ebay and found a deal about A590IS.I searched many reviews about A590 and was glad to read good things about it.I was very careful while purchasing but it was very cheap deal.I got my A590 today and i was surprised to see its image quality.Its far better than recent SX210.I think I would not use SX210 again while I have A590 IS.

A590 produces good images at day and night with limited noise and superb colour reproduction.

I compared both Sx210 and A590 same time and with all settings and I confirmed that A590 is far better than SX210.

I like its structure..it gives solid look to camera.Its Mode dial is a real wealth of this little wonder which describes the capabilities of any camera.Its colours are also nice.Big flash adds the beauty to the front portion.Zoom lever is canon's style...

Pros of A590 IS: Good image quality

All manual controls

Has viewfinder

Big LCD

Good looks and colour of body

Has Image stabilizer

Use AA batteries if someone likes..

Cons:Zoom limited to 4X only

Slightly thicker

its a 35mm lens against todays 28mm (or 25mm with panasonic) so can be a negative aspect

I would strongly recommend for anyone who want to keep this little wonder in their collection.

 kalpesh5777's gear list:kalpesh5777's gear list
Olympus XZ-1 Sony RX100 Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ200 Canon PowerShot SX50 HS 808 +5 more
Canon PowerShot A590 IS
8 megapixels • 2.5 screen • 35 – 140 mm (4×)
Announced: Jan 24, 2008
kalpesh5777's score
4.0
Average community score
4.4
bad for good for
Kids / pets
good
Action / sports
okay
Landscapes / scenery
okay
Portraits
great
Low light (without flash)
good
Flash photography (social)
great
Studio / still life
great
= community average
Canon PowerShot A590 IS Canon PowerShot SX210 IS
If you believe there are incorrect tags, please send us this post using our feedback form.
mauritsvw Senior Member • Posts: 1,042
Re: Canon A590 IS is a great buy and must have camera under budget

I've always been a fan of Canon's P&S A series which uses AA batteries. Excellent value, and you can get the batteries everywhere. Enjoy your A590!

 mauritsvw's gear list:mauritsvw's gear list
Pentax K-5
OpticGlass Contributing Member • Posts: 514
Re: Canon A590 IS is a great buy and must have camera under budget

The Canon A590is and the A650is are great cameras. Get a used one if you can...

I hope Canon brings them back with AA batteries, PASM, F2.7, filter adapter option and all goodies that came with them.You can even get raw/dng with chdk.

Here are some examples from flickr:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/742278@N21/

Sactojim Veteran Member • Posts: 9,104
Re: Canon A590 IS is a great buy and must have camera under budget

Wow, pretty darn impressive images from the older Power Shot!

stevenic Senior Member • Posts: 1,459
Re: Canon A590 IS is a great buy and must have camera under budget

We have the canon a2000 is and it takes good photos too

Peter Goldberger Junior Member • Posts: 48
Re: Canon A590 IS is a great buy and must have camera under budget
1

The A510 series were/are amazing cameras. They had many features not seen today on most low to mid priced compact cameras such as viewfinder, max aperture of f 2.6 and manual controls. As stated they lacked 28mm or wider wide angle. I had the A510 but after a few years I needed a longer zoom for wildlife. These were low resolution cameras that produced good IQ. Proves that for the average photographer high resolution sensors are not necessary. Glad to see that Canon have gone down to 12mps for many of their p&s cameras.

sueanne
sueanne Forum Pro • Posts: 21,078
Re: Canon A590 IS is a great buy and must have camera under budget

The A590 IS is a good camera, my daughter uses it from time to time.

The only con is the AA batteries(recycle) don't last long and I had to contact Canon which they sent me free Canon batteries and recharger which did better. I believe it was the contact between the batteries and in the camera that didn't give a good connection.

 sueanne's gear list:sueanne's gear list
Canon PowerShot A510 Canon PowerShot A650 IS Canon PowerShot SD880 IS Canon PowerShot S3 IS Canon PowerShot S110 +3 more
PhotoRaw Contributing Member • Posts: 521
Re: Canon A590 IS is a great buy and must have camera under budget

I agree, the Canon A590IS for the price is excellent and it shoots raw (chdk).

It is one of the best PowerShot at that price.

I would buy it again in a second if Canon brings it back.

Let's hope we can see it back again in January 2014, with an F2 or F1.8 lens.

adventurer69
adventurer69 Senior Member • Posts: 1,938
Re: Canon A590 IS is a great buy and must have camera under budget

I have the A590IS , this camera taught me to use the other modes other than auto .

Now tell me where in the menu can I find the option to shoot in raw ?

 adventurer69's gear list:adventurer69's gear list
Canon PowerShot A590 IS Canon PowerShot SD880 IS Canon PowerShot SX50 HS Canon EOS M Canon EOS M50 +11 more
OpticGlass Contributing Member • Posts: 514
Re: Canon A590 IS is a great buy and must have camera under budget
1
OpticGlass Contributing Member • Posts: 514
Re: Canon A590 IS is a great buy and must have camera under budget

To shoot raw with the Canon A590IS you need to install chdk.

Ask here: http://chdk.setepontos.com/index.php?topic=2361.940

PhotoRaw Contributing Member • Posts: 521
Re: Canon A590 IS is a great buy and must have camera under budget

Get some Eneloop, they work great with the Canon A590IS:

http://www.amazon.com/Sanyo-Eneloop-Pre-Charged-Rechargeable-Batteries/dp/B000LNI5VC

sueanne
sueanne Forum Pro • Posts: 21,078
Re: Canon A590 IS is a great buy and must have camera under budget
1

PhotoRaw wrote:

Get some Eneloop, they work great with the Canon A590IS:

http://www.amazon.com/Sanyo-Eneloop-Pre-Charged-Rechargeable-Batteries/dp/B000LNI5VC

After Canon sent me these batteries, I didn't have the low battery issue. But I did have to play around with the metal contacts at time.

http://www.ifixit.com/Answers/View/14396/Camera+indicates+low+battery+and+shuts+down.

I'm not the only one with the battery issue.

 sueanne's gear list:sueanne's gear list
Canon PowerShot A510 Canon PowerShot A650 IS Canon PowerShot SD880 IS Canon PowerShot S3 IS Canon PowerShot S110 +3 more
PhotoRaw Contributing Member • Posts: 521
Re: Canon A590 IS is a great buy and must have camera under budget
1

adventurer69,

Here is how to install chdk:

http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/Prepare_your_SD_card

Where to get chdk for the Canon A590IS:

http://mighty-hoernsche.de/

GeraldW Veteran Member • Posts: 8,872
Re: Canon A590 IS is a great buy and must have camera under budget
2

We have the similar A710IS.  My wife uses it and it's perfect for her.  On a trip to the Galapagos Islands in 2009 we both took shots of some sea lions on shore - my wife with the A710IS, and I with my G7.   Even at high magnification, the shots are indistinguishable.  No, that's not an exaggeration; the A710IS images are every bit as good as the G7 up through ISO 400, and are better at ISO 800.

Since she doesn't use the camera a lot; we use Energizer Lithium batteries.  They are not rechargeable; but a pair gives around 550 shots, they don't self discharge in the camera, and have a ten year shelf life - so the camera is always ready to go and she doesn't have to worry about keeping the charge up.  She has the camera in a small case with room for a spare pair of lithium AA's, a second memory card, and a microfiber cleaning cloth.  The small case easily fits in her purse or a jacket pocket.

Just bought a bargain second one for $25 to have a spare as the AA using A series is gone.  What a shame!

-- hide signature --

Jerry

 GeraldW's gear list:GeraldW's gear list
Canon EOS M5 Canon PowerShot S95 Canon PowerShot G15 Canon G7 X II Sony RX10 IV +1 more
PhotoRaw Contributing Member • Posts: 521
Re: Canon A590 IS is a great buy and must have camera under budget

Sue Anne,
Thanks for the link about the the metal contacts. I will also give the Canon batteries a try.

OpticGlass Contributing Member • Posts: 514
Re: Canon A590 IS is a great buy and must have camera under budget

As GeraldW said, Energizer Lithium batteries are good too, and they don't weigh much.

PORTRAIT
PORTRAIT Veteran Member • Posts: 3,197
Re: Canon A590 IS is a great buy and must have camera under budget
1

I don't own the A590IS, but you are absolutely right about the A710IS GeraldW. I'm taking some photographs during these Holidays, and I can tell you I had so much fun with my always Go-anywhere-everywhere A710IS. This little baby,it does not finish to amaze me. I paid it 1 cucumber and 1 Banana,from somebody who apparently, was trying to get rid of it because it wasn't taking good Pictures..

A710IS SOOC...

-- hide signature --

Photography= Art & Tech.
Marco Photography© All Rights Reserved.
Please do not use them without prior permission.
http://marcoimages.blogspot.com/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/96703470@N07/

 PORTRAIT's gear list:PORTRAIT's gear list
Canon SX220 HS Panasonic FZ1000 Nikon 1 V1 Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF6 Fujifilm X-A1 +8 more
OpticGlass Contributing Member • Posts: 514
Re: Canon A590 IS is a great buy and must have camera under budget

Marco, that's an excellent macro!
I wish I could find a new A590IS/A710IS/A750IS/A650IS, hopefully one for $25 like Jerry did

gloaming Veteran Member • Posts: 4,633
Re: Canon A590 IS is a great buy and must have camera under budget

I have the same camera.  It is simply astounding at times.  I have only ever printed in poster size one particular photo in my short seven year photographic career, and it was an early one taken with the A710is.

Keyboard shortcuts:
FForum MMy threads