 |
 Average Rating: 4 out of 5 No. of Reviews: 2 Weight: 235g RRP: £N/A Year: from 2005 Description: A 7.1 megapixel compact camera with a 2.5 inch LCD and 4x optical/4x digital zoom taking SD and MMC memory cards
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 | | Posted: 09/03/06 |
| 'GOOD QUALITY COMPACT CAMERA' | | Strengths:
35 - 140mm zoom range
Low noise / purple fringing
Great close macro images | | Weaknesses:
Limited zoom stops
Uninspired styling
Focusing when near the end of the zoom range can be hit and miss | | Overall:
A perfect solution for anyone wanting to learn the art of photography, beyond simple point and shoot, but to reach a more professional level you'll have to spend a good deal more, which puts the A620 near the top of the entry-level wishlist. |
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| | | Design | | 20% | | Ease of Use | | 80% | | Features | | 100% | | Picture Quality | | 80% | | Battery Life | | 60% | | Value | | 100% |
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| | Posted: 23/02/06 |
| 'FEW OFFER SUCH CONTROL AND IMAGE QUALITY AT THIS PRICE POINT' | | Strengths:
-Competative price
-Image quality - great optics
-Very low noise for a 7MPx compact
-Manual controls - M/Tv(S)/Av(A) modes, manual focus, manual flash power (3 steps)
-VGA movie mode
-Battery life
-AF pretty quick and reliable in all but worst lighting
-Fairly quick and responsive
-Swivel screen
-Build quality very good in some areas
-Can use wide/tele adapters
-Can zoom in on last shot while still in record mode
-reasonable flash performance
-Takes AA batterries - cheap to buy extra sets
-playback histogram
-takes SD cards not some pricy propietary media. I'd prefer CF though, as I use them with my DSLR, PDA and my old compact | | Weaknesses:
-Metering blows highlights badly. This is especially a problem outdoors. I've only used it in winter, when the sky is bright and the landscape dark, so this has made this a real problem. I've had to resort to manual metering a lot
-Heavy noise reduction often obliterates low contrast detail. For example, distant wintery trees tend to become a flat grey blur, you can't see any branches or twigs. This looks very odd.
-The optical viewfinder is awful. Very poor coverage, and i'm not sure if mine is straight either. :(
-Lame styling - about as sexy as a bus. Check out that viewfinder and that thumb grip area! I wonder if this was designed by engineers? (i'm an engineer myself, but know the value of a product designer!)
-Zoom too "steppy" ie not continuous.
-MF enlargement box is a nice idea but too pixelated to be really useful.
-Can't optical zoom in movie mode. Digital zoom no use either for video as the camera only reads VGA quality direct from the sensor for videos, which is a real shame.
-Ergonomics poor in some areas, eg it is very easy to partially obscure the flash with your left hand when steadying the camera. This is due to the curved top surface. The grip is big but not as secure as a lot of cameras. The power button is slightly awkwardly placed, but you get used to it.
-Play/record switch means you aren't always read to shoot
-no TTL flash using manual exposure mode. This is a stupid omision in my opinion
-Can't take CRV3 lithium batteries like some AA cameras can
-Sometimes misses button presses when you're working in a hurry
-Only 3 steps of manual flash control and no info given on guide numbers for each.
-I'm not a fan of the standard 3/4 aspect ratio for compacts. I think 3/2 is much nicer.
-Shutter speeds slower than 1" are not available in P or Av modes
-Program-shift in P mode is fiddly and very awkward one-handed. It's good that it's there though!
-wide and tele adapter lenses are rather pricy
-no record histogram
-pointless direct print button is a waste of space. I'd rather have it perform other functions such as direct ISO adjustment | | Overall:
Great camera for the money. The problem is, it's such good value, it feels like a much more expensive camera, and so it kind of leaves you wanting more, even though you got more than you expected for the price.
The 4x zoom is a nice improvement over 3x, but |
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| | | Design | | 40% | | Ease of Use | | 60% | | Features | | 100% | | Picture Quality | | 80% | | Battery Life | | 80% | | Value | | 80% |
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