Canon PowerShot A560 7.1MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Zoom - 1774B001

wonderful photo tool

9/1/2008

I selected this camera based on other reviews and it's advertised 'macro' ability. I'm really pleased with it's performance. Economical and user friendly for general photography and the macro ability lets me take photos of my craft work for display on websites and for emails easily.

Great budget camera!

8/25/2008

I bought this camera for my daughter. She loves it. It has some neat features such as scene settings to use at the beach, fireworks, aquarium etc. It is a feature packed camera that a kid can manage and it was a great price too! Thanks Amazon.

Excellent product

7/29/2008

I like this camera a lot. Some of the positives are:
1. it works with SDHC of 8 GB. I can take video clips of long durations,
2. the image stablizing feature is very good for shooting video,
3. it takes good video without the need of additional lighting even at night,
4. the 4X optical zoom comes in handy in many occasions.

Some improvements needed:
It would be nice if the camera could recharge the flash and write to memory card in less time.

I would recommend this product without reservations.

A+ Camera

7/11/2008

This is a fantastic camera. After a bad experience with an HP camera, I decided to go for a much nicer camera with the A560. I was certainly rewarded. The A560 is a very reasonably priced camera that takes stunning pictures. Rather than write an overall view, I have decided to break down the different settings (all 10 of them).

1) Manual Mode -- This setting doesn't do a ton, as the Canon still uses its autofocus, so you can play with the exposure, colors, and a few filters, but that's pretty much it. For a high quality manual focus camera, be prepared to spend something in the $300 and up range.

2) Auto Mode -- This is what I always used. Being a photographer who likes getting quick shots, I didn't switch settings unless I knew the specifics of what I was photographing. Auto mode proved to be very quick in getting shots as there was very little time lag. The fact that this Camera is a Powershot means you never get a bad shot.

3) Macro Mode -- This proved to be the most difficult setting, but in the end it always proved worth it. As the only setting which allows a little control over focus (lightly touch the shutter button to focus), this always took a little while to get a good shot as the auto focus would often kick in. Still, the end effect was that this tiny camera produced stunning shots of everything from nature to exotic cars.

4) Portrait Mode -- I never really found this setting too important. I always thought that the Auto setting took perfectly fine facial pictures. Still, always nice to know this setting was here.

5) Landscape Mode -- Again, I never really felt a need for this setting, but it's still a very nice feature.

6) Night Snapshot Mode -- This is great for quick shots, and the lighting is often much better when using this. Be careful not to shake the camera though, as this can be easily blurred.

7) Kids and Pets Mode -- Designed for shots of quickly moving people, animals, and everything else, I didn't use this much. Like I said before, the shots seem great even without it.

8) Indoor Mode -- Helpful setting for getting nice shots in preferably well lit rooms.

9) Night Scene Mode -- Fantastic for getting exquisite night shots, generally best when used to shoot a large amount of space. If you move the camera mid shot you get a stunning and very professional looking blur effect, great for vacation pictures, etc.

10) Video Mode -- Last but not least is video mode, one of my favorite features of the camera. This small camera produces decent videos (640x480), a helpful asset to have. For higher quality videos opt for the pricier A570. Still, I thought this setting was very reasonable.

That's pretty much everything. The no flash setting is a challenge (you need really steady hands) so let the camera decide about flash for you. The self timer is great and takes just as nice shots as when you're holding it. This is just a very good camera, that's it. One tip though, opt for pricey lithium batteries for this camera. On normal batteries this camera takes few shots. On lithium batteries you can use the same two for months. Those batteries will not only mean less "why won't it take the picture?" frustration, but also a happier wallet in the long run. For anybody who wants high quality shots on a hugh quality camera, here it is.

Canon Sureshot 560

7/6/2008

Great experience. Just what I ordered and arrived even earlier than expected. Thank you.