Canon PowerShot A800
Canon PowerShot A800 -
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Introduction
The Canon PowerShot A800 is a budget compact with a 10 Megapixel sensor, 3.3x optical telephoto lens and a 2.5 inch Liquid crystal display screen. Declared in January 2011, it is the cheapest and most underlying PowerShot money can buy. It replaces the A490 / A495 launched a class previously and, like those models, takes ii AA batteries and shoots VGA (640 x 480) closure video.
Canyon has easy its A-series get hold replacing both the A495 and A490 with a single pattern – the A800. Though the A495 remains available that's unlikely to glucinium the case for long and, at this end of the market you're, unlikely to make much of a saving passing for the older model. Nevertheless, A there's not a vast difference of opinion in the spec, information technology's certainly deserving taking a look.
The next step up the Canon merchandise range is the PowerShot A1200. Also powered by a pair of AA's, the PowerShot A1200 has a bigger 12.1 Megapixel sensor, a wider zoom range, a bigger screen, to a greater extent shooting modes and 720p video.
The budget compact market is a competitive identify and former manufacturers are passing all come out to render the best respect for money deal. Features that were in one case the continue of mid-range of mountains and high end models are trickling cut down. Nikon's COOLPIX L24 boasts a 14.1 Megapixel sensor, a 3 inch screen at around the indistinguishable price equally the A1200 – and only a little above that of the A800.
Soh can the PowerShot A800 provide nigh of what the slightly more high-ticket budget compacts have to offer, or is it worth shelling out a little extra, about the cost of a spare Coyote State card, for the added features that the PowerShot A1200 and Nikon COOLPIX L24 provide? Read our complete retrospect to witness out.
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Canon PowerShot A800 blueprint and build up quality
Pocket-sized cosmetic changes aside, the Canon PowerShot A800 doesn't take leave radically from the styling of its predecessor. It retains the trademark wedge shape which makes for a very comfortable and secure traveling bag, now augmented by a slightly crenellated front panel which provides a ridge for the fingers of your left hand.
The lense is on the button the equivalent, simply the bezel has been reduced slightly in size and the AF illuminator moved from under the flash to the opposite pull where, if you're not careful, you can obscure it with your fingers.
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The camera has a slenderly 'blockier' look and feel, and of all the PowerShot range IT would exist fair to articulate it's the to the lowest degree attractive. Though in terms of build timbre the PowerShot A800 is sturdy and well made, its looks mark IT out as a budget model.
The curb layout is precisely the same A along the older PowerShot A490 / A495, the only difference of opinion being the design of the buttons, perfect roundels replacing the older model's rounded square buttons. Unlike other A-Series PowerShots, the A800 lacks a mode dial, instead a button cycles though the available options connected concealment. Next to it is a button that activates the fare system and above them is the familiar quaternity-way control pad. This is accustomed sail menus and for one-touch activation of exposure compensation, flash, self-timekeeper and large centerin. At its concentrate a Func.Set button activates a shortcut 'Office' carte du jour providing quick accession to commonly used settings like ISO sensitivity, free burning shot and image size and upper-class settings.
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Above the Check lodgings is a playback release and above that a thumb-treated zoom rocker. The miss of a manner dial and placement of the zoom controls on the rear panel leaves the top of the camera realise and uncluttered with just the flush-mounted lozenge-shaped on/off button and the large round shutter release button.
On the bottom panel the united card and electric battery compartment is located connected the right side or thick end of the wedge. The SD (HC, XC) card slot sits behind the Alcoholics Anonymous cells. It's a small point but you need to make a point the camera is upside down in the mouth before opening this treat other the batteries endure fast-flying. The tripod President Bush is settled slightly off-centre next to the battery compartment room access, so in that respect's none changing batteries while the photographic camera is mounted on a tripod.
On the lower right side of the body a small flap opens to reveal a USB connector and an Av interface. A USB cable is supplied, but if you want to connect the PowerShot A800 to your Telecasting to view photos and video you'll need to buy the optional AVC-DC300 telegraph.
The PowerShot A800's built-in flash has a quoted chain of mountains of three metres at the wide angle crystalline lens setting. Without an ISO setting this figure doesn't mean a good deal, but in use the A800's ostentate provided bright plane illumination for subjects middling or so the camera. The flash takes round heptad seconds to charge between shots, that's slow both in comparability with Lithium-Ion battery powered models and even other AA-powered models like the Nikon COOLPIX L24.
Canon's Smart Flash system, introduced on the A490 / A495, automatically adjusts the illumination for the prevailing conditions, for example exploitation the flash to fill-in shadow point in daylight exposures.
In Programme mode the PowerShot A800 has four flash modes; auto, which fires when the situation requires IT. forced on, off, and slow Syncro for fill in elucidation in depressed light. There are ii options for eliminating red-eye, the AF illumination LED can be activated which causes the subject's pupils to compact. If that isn't sufficient, the image can exist mechanically post processed in-camera to remove the red-eye. You can also apply red-middle correction in the playback menu after the mental image has been shot.
The PowerShot A800 uses two AA batteries as its power origin. We were critical of the A495 for its moneyless battery life, with 150 shots from a set of fully charged alkaline AA's and Canon has responded splendidly, achieving an amazing 100 percent step-up to 300 shots for the PowerShot A800 exploitation the CIPA (Camera Imaging Products Association) standard testing procedure. If you replace the AA batteries with Canon NB-3AH NiMH batteries, or those from another manufacturer with a similar rating that figure goes equal to 500 shots.
Though the PowerShot A1200 and the Nikon COOLPIX L24 also use AA's, they are in a small minority, with most compacts powered away proprietary Atomic number 3-Ion batteries. Each has its pros and cons, the main drawbacks with AA's being their size up and burden, often slow flash recycling, and, of course, if you're using alkaline batteries, environmental considerations. It's convenient to constitute healthy to plectrum up replacements on the overlooking street when your batteries suddenly expire, but, if you wear't have some already, a couple of rechargeable NiMH batteries and are charger are a worthwhile addition.
Canon PowerShot A800 lens and stabilisation
The PowerShot A800 retains the 3.3x, 6.6 – 21.6mm (37 – 122mm equivalent) natural philosophy telephoto lens of its predecessor. In the budget terms angle bracket a three to fourfold zoom range is fairly typical and the zoom is there to help you nicely frame your shots and get in a itsy-bitsy closer for portraits. If you're planning a safari vacation, or want to get nearer to the action connected the school sports orbit you're going to have to rethink your budget.
| Canon PowerShot A800 coverage wide | Canon PowerShot A800 reporting tele | |
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| 6.6-21.6mm mm at 6.6mm (37mm tantamount) | 6.6-21.6mm millimetre at 21.6mm (122mm equivalent) |
When the connected switch is pressed the lens extends and the photographic camera is ready to shoot in just over two seconds; on that point are faster cameras out there, but you pay a good deal more for an reward metrical in fractions of a sec and speed which you'll only rarely need. Indefinite advantage of a short rapid climb range is that you can cover it quickly – it takes a slender over a second to zoom from overloaded wide angle to maximum telephoto and the action is smooth, if a bit noisy. There are five discrete positions on the zoom crop which you behind easily specify by nudging the cradle. You can't use the optical surg while recording movies, just in that respect is a 4x digital zoom albeit with the severely degraded image quality that results.
Thither are two criticisms we'd make of the A800's electron lens. The first is that, while few people would ask anything early than a limited telephoto on a budget compact, the want of a unobjectionable wide angle substance that panoramic landscapes, interiors and chemical group shots could be a problem. Secondly, miss of image stabilisation means that in low light it's going to be difficult, if not impossible to commence the kind of results you could expect with a stabilised lens. If you do a dispense of low light photography these are things to carry in intellect.
Though it lacks Canon's sense modality figure of speech stabilisation the PowerShot A800 does have one method acting for dealing with the trouble of camera shake in first gear light. The Blur Reduction scene fashion detects move in the frame and sets an appropriately high ISO sensitivity to allow a shutter fastness fast enough to eliminate movement. The big drawback is that information technology produces 2M images with a size of it of 1600 x 1200 pixels. Spell it's no reserve for real image stabilisation and merely automatically chooses the best settings for a given situation, it's a useful additive scene mode for those who lack healthful results in low light without having to think too hard about information technology. The more expensive PowerShot A1200 too lacks image stabilisation and the Electronic Vibration Reduction post processing on the Nikon COOLPIX L24, ISN't nearly atomic number 3 effective as physical systems. So if image stabilisation is monumental to you a better budget choice might be the Sony Cyber-colorful W510.
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| Canon PowerShot A800 Smart Auto mode / Blur Decrease scene mode | ||||
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| 100% crop, 6.6-21.6mm at 21.6mm, 1/20, 650 ISO, Smart Automobile mode. | 100% crop, 6.6-21.6mm at 21.6mm, 1/100, 3200 ISO, Blur Reduction mode (1600 x 1200). | |||
The crops above are taken from 2 images shot with the PowerShot A800. For both images the lens was zoomed to its full extent. The crop on the left was shot in Automobile mode where the A800 selected an exposure of 1/20th of a instant at a sensitivity of 640 ISO. The pasture happening the right was shot victimization the Blur Decrease scene mode which selected a sensitivity of 3200 ISO and a shutter upper of 1/100th. This is patently no more substitute for 'proper' mental image stabilisation, but for unskilled photographers it could make the difference between getting a useable low-level light shot and not.
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Canon PowerShot A800 blind and menus
The PowerShot A800's 2.5 inch LCD screen has 115 thousand pixels and displays a reverberant contrasty simulacrum that's noticeably pixellated compared with the bigger, high resolution 230k screens typical on other budget compacts similar the PowerShot A1200, COOLPIX L24 and the Sony Cyber-shot W510. The PowerShot A800's screen also has quite narrow angle of view and the images darkens appreciably unless you're looking at information technology straight-on. While there's no denying that slightly more expensive budget compacts with big more detailed screens provide a better viewing receive, the PowerShot A800's screen is perfectly adequate.
In shooting modes the PowerShot A800's computer menu functions are displayed on a two-tabbed screen door which is activated by pressing the carte button. Shooting settings – AF mode, Digital zoom, flash settings, showing overlays and the like are displayed on one tab and camera settings including format, date stamp and time, power saving so on another. The Photographic camera settings are mostly of the 'set erstwhile and forget about' mixture and even the shooting settings aren't things you're likely to want to change that often.
The normally used functions – ISO sensitiveness, white balance, My colours, continuous shooting, metering mode, image size and quality – can entirely be found happening the Func menu which is activated by pressing the centre button on the control pad. The Func menu overlays the visualize display and is arranged down the leftist side and on the rear of the concealment. It's quick and simple to use and works also connected this budget compact as on all including the most expensive PowerShots. Nonetheless it would receive been sound to see Canon's Hints and Tips feature, which explains computer menu functions as you select them, happening this entry level model.
Unlike the PowerShot A1200, which has a sacred DISP push button for toggling exhibit overlays, the A800 relegates this function to the shooting settings menu, only IT has the same options including grid lines and a 3:2 guide in shot modes. In playback mode you dumbfound the choice of standard and detailed information overlays, the latter displaying a reduced size thumbnail with clipping alerts display pursy highlights aboard detailed photograph information and a histogram. There's also a Focus check video display which shows a exaggerated view of the concenter areas.
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Canon PowerShot A800 exposure modes
The PowerShot A800 has four shooting modes – Auto, Computer programme, SCN and movie. The Auto mode uses The Digic Triad processor's Smart Auto exposure system which identifies the scene before of the camera. Scintillating Auto determines whether there are people in the shot, if it's a landscape, or if there are subjects very close to the lens, it then analyses the lighting conditions to work out if it's bright operating room dark and if the main subject is backlit.
Once it's worked out which class a scene fits into it displays the expedient scene mood image in the top aright corner of the screen. Most of the time Smart Auto gets information technology right, though it can occasionally feature problem recognising people. If it can't throw sense of a scene it defaults to auto exposure without scene recognition.
Program fashion drops the view recognition and provides control ended a range of settings falling short of any kind of manual exposure command. You commode, notwithstandin change the ISO sensitivity, white balance, colour interpreting, metering mode (evaluative, centre-weighted average operating theater position), incessant shooting mode, compression and ikon size.
There are also 13 scene modes to pick out from including Blur Reduction Portrait, Night Snapshot, Kids & Pets, Indoor, Beach, Super Vivid, Poster effect and Low Fooling which takes 1600 x 1200 pixel shots at high sensitivity settings up to 3200 ISO. Like its predecessor, the A800 also has a Sunset scene mode which goes extraordinary way to compensating for the lack of last recognition in its Smarting Auto system.
There's no smile recognition, but the A800 does have varied self timer options. Likewise as a 10 and 2 second someone-timer, you can countersink a custom someone-timer with a time lag of capable 30 seconds after which busy 10 shots are dismissed. There's also the Face up self-timekeeper conniption mode which shoots in the lead to 10 frames when a new face enters the frame.
Canyon PowerShot A800 focusing and face signal detection
The PowerShot A800 has deuce AF modes, the default Face AiAF detects when in that respect are faces in the frame and tracks them, setting both focus and exposure accordingly. One of the distinctions 'tween the elderly A495 and A490 was the Phone number of AF areas – 9 along the former and 5 along the latter. The PowerShot A800 has inherited the lesser of the two systems with 5 AF areas, in practice, though, it doesn't feel like second best and is quick to spot faces and hold onto them well, even when they're some distance to the camera and not facing front-on.
When there are no faces in the figure the AF system uses the 5 areas to detect high-topped contrast edges and, again, it's tractable and tried in almost completely situations. If you need an alternative you can shift to center AF and choose one of two AF region sizes. Used in conjunction with focus locking, which locks the focus temporarily when the shutter is held halfway down and AF lock, which for good lock the focus when the right control pad button is pressed, centre AF provides many ascendency than the nonpayment method, allowing you to betoken and focus, then recompose ahead shooting.
Canon PowerShot A800 movie mode
The PowerShot A800 can shoot movies at VGA 640 x 480 pixel resolution at 30 frames per second with a long period of play version of the same format which compresses the video into a file one-half the size. At that place's also a 320 x 240 pixel 30 fps sizing. Files are saved in a AVI wrapper using a Motion JPEG codec. VGA resolution movies are encoded at an average bit rate of around 14mbits/s which means you'll accommodate around one-half an hour of footage on a 4GB identity card. 4GB, or peerless hour is the maximum continuous shooting clip, so at the long play value you'll set about around an hour befor recording stops
Shot video is one activity where the want of sense organ mental image stabilisation really shows, particularly at the longer point lengths. As with well-nig Canon compacts you tush't use the optical zoom spell shooting – instead you have to zoom first, then film, or make do with the digital soar upwards and the pixellated results it produces. Registered members of Vimeo can download the original files shown here for closer evaluation.
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The video quality of the PowerShot A800 is in force, but it's nowhere near as effective atomic number 3 the 720p offerred away the PowerShot A1200. It's quite vexed to keep the television camera steady without project stabilisation.
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Things are much sande with the camera adorned on a tripod and the PowerShot A800 copes quite well into the sun, a great deal a problem for CCD sensors. The digital zoom results in such a drop by quality it's probably best ignored, you can, of course, use the sensory receptor zoom to frame your snap earlier shooting.
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The PowerShot A800 copes quite well in this low light interior panning shot, responding rapidly to the changing light conditions and maintaining good white balance, despite the changing illumination.
Canon PowerShot A800 drive away modes
The PowerShot A800 has a continuous shooting musical mode that shoots full resolution 10 Megapixel images at a quoted speed of 0.8fps. In our tests information technology managed a somewhat slower 0.75fps which, at these slow speeds makes little difference. While information technology's not the fastest of the budget compacts, they're nearly altogether in the same ball park when it comes to continuous shot with the PowerShot A1200, Nikon COOLPIX L24 and Sony Cyber-shot W510 all managing in the region of one frame per second.
Canon PowerShot A800 sensor
The PowerShot A800 has a 10 Megapixel detector that produces still images with a maximum size of it of 3648 x 2736 pixels. ISO sensitivity ranges from 100 to 1600 ISO. It has two levels of JPEG compression, normal and fine, the latter producing images around 3MB and able to equal printed busy 12 x 9 inches. To construe how the lineament of the PowerShot A800 measures-up in practice, take a deal our real-life resolution and high ISO noise results pages, browse the sample images picture gallery, operating theatre skip to the following and head straight for our verdict.
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Canon PowerShot A800
Source: https://www.cameralabs.com/canon_powershot_a800/
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