I have to say this before anything else - this is a $100 camera. You get what you pay for.
The good:
It's 10M Pixels
It's $100.
Takes nice pictures (in good light).
AA batteries.
Fits in my hand very well.
The "Auto" mode makes it easy.
The bad:
Cheap construction (to the point of damaging Canon's reputation of quality products in my opinion).
No image stabilization (but.... it is a $100 camera...)
**"Charging the flash"... This is an approx 5-10 second delay every time you want to take a picture. It may not sound like that much time, but it gets real annoying real quick.
Bottom line:
It takes pictures. It takes nice pictures. They get a little grainy and colors get a little off at low light. But in good light, it makes good picts. But the delay between pictures, mostly from the "Charging the flash" message, is just too much of an annoyance for me. Which is a shame, because this is a decent little camera otherwise. But, it's annoying enough that I wouldn't recommend purchasing this camera (unless your patiences exceeds mine). Canon PowerShot A490 10.0 MP Digital Camera with 3.3x Optical Zoom and 2.5-Inch LCD
I wrote a review on the little brother model A480 - a good camera (if used with ample lighting). If you look at the specs carefully, there is really nothing to distinguish this camera (A490) from the A480 to a novice or beginner.
I had them both side-by-side and also reviewed their specs side-by-side.
Pros
o Truly a fit-in-the-pocket camera
o AA batteries and good battery life
o Good pictures in decent lighting
Cons
o Build quality not great. *VERY* light and cheap plastic. Cameras from just 2 years ago put this to shame.
o Somewhat price. Save the $10 and buy the A480 if you like this style. These camera often fluctuate $20 at a time
o The camera isn't as well made as prior Canon's in this price range - though it is up on features.
o Not so good in low-light conditions
There is no image stabilization in this camera so low-light photos will be blurry in some cases - be careful of lighting..
Overall a good beginners camera but be ready to upgrade - especially if you drop it hard.
There are a lot of minor cons listed here, but you get a lot for a $100 10MP beginners camera like this as long as you don't shoot in low-light.
I just read the 1 review for this camera and it isn't really a review. They complained that there was no memory card and then doesn't even describe the performance of this camera. I just bought this camera and it is so easy to use, it also has great picture quality. When you are not using it then it automatically powers off saving the life of the battery. This is a great deal and I haven't seen many cameras come with a memory card unless it is being sold in a bundle or an online special. You can't rate the quality of a product by what accessories it didn't come with.
I bought this camera several weeks ago after my six year old Pentax Optio 30 was accidentally damaged. I held off on writing a product review until I learned all the features and got comfortable with navigating the menus. I can confidently say this camera is a great value in a reasonable price range.
Pros:
- Good picture quality under most conditions in Auto mode.
- Great pictures under all conditions if you make use of the many features this camera has to offer.
- Uses AA batteries.
- Quality materials/build.
Useful features everyone should want:
- Auto, Scene-based and Program modes
- Program mode offers adjustable ISO speed (80 - 1600), white balance, color saturation, sepia tone or black and white, metering, single shot or continuous frames
- decent video with reasonably high definition
- Normal focus range, plus infinity and macro
- Exposure control +/- 2 stops
- Playback mode while camera is off and lens is retracted
- better than average flash includes slow synchro mode and has adjustable flash exposure
Cons (no fault with this particular camera - these are general observations):
- Short battery life if flash is used often with standard alakalines.
(No problem. Buy a four-pack of Powerex 2700 rechargeables. I've been using them for years. Each charge lasts the equivalent of 3-4 pairs of throw-aways! And in a pinch, where CAN'T you buy standard AAs?)
- Could benefit from better ergo design.
(Why do manufactures pay such minimal attention to grip-ability of small electronics? Of course, if they made things too grip-able, we'd rarely drop them, and they'd sell less replacements...)
Anyway, ignore negative reviews written by the impatient and the uninformed. This is a fine, feature-packed compact camera, and it's easy to recommend at under $100. - Digital Camera - Point And Shoot - Lightweight - Image Stabilization'
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