Canon PowerShot A710 IS Reviews and Buying Guide:

It seems that everyone owns a digital camera these days and Canon has always been near or at the top of the list in terms of brand names. We recently ventured out online and to our local Ritz Camera shop to research and find which digital cameras were the best. Consumer Reports also did an excellent review in their annual product guide book on digital cameras. Our only problem with Consumer Reports is that there technology product reviews are often outdated by the time the magazine or article hits your desk. CR has recommended a few models as their "best buys" and when we went to find them online they were either out of stock or no longer being carried by major stores. We turned our attention online to CNET and the Digital Camera Resource Page (Dcresource.com) to follow the most up to date reviews and comparisons on digital cameras. A few years back we had bought a Fuji FinePix 3 megapixel camera and it was getting outdated in a hurry. With the prices of digital cameras falling so quick and so fast, we decided it was time to retire the FinePix and buy something new.

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Canon is a reputable brand that has been in the production of cameras for decades. Our older FujiFilm Finepix was the upright digital camera that didn't sit in your hand like a traditional camera and we often found that getting steady pictures that turned out great was hard. We would take dozens of pictures to find out that many were blurred or not centered properly. After reading literally 100's of reviews online from experts and customers at sites like Amazon.com, we decided to go with the Canon PowerShot A710 IS. The 2 big features we were looking for came on the Canon - optical image stabilization and a higher resolution sensor. The other Powershot A series cameras didn't offer this (A530, A540, A630, A640), and although some of them offer higher megapixel resolution, we felt that the 7.1 MP on the A710 IS would be plenty. The 6X optical zoom was a bonus as well for getting better closeups. The A710 also features a 2.5" LCD display along with manual controls, and a VGA movie mode. You can even get conversion lenses and the camera supports underwater pictures with the proper case. We were tempted to hear of newer models with 10 megapixels and the ability to print out crystal clear images at the highest resolution possible, but when it comes down to it, most people never need that type of photo accuracy. The A710 will allow us to get excellent quality 8 X 10 photos if we wish and 4 X 6's are perfect since we can still crop out areas of the picture we don't want and be left with a stunning, colorful picture. We bought out Canon A710 IS for under $320 in early 2007 and I'm sure they have since dropped in price, but we feel we still got a good deal. Online reviews for any type of camera are a great way to start your search and most sites will list the most popular and best selling digital cameras available. Our main reason for buying a new digital camera was for our trip to Italy in March, 2007 that would take us through cities like Venice, Florence and Rome. The results were exactly what we had been hoping for. The picture quality was perfect on almost all 650 pictures we took. The weather made a huge difference as the sun and blue sky turned mediocre photos into near masterpieces. Needless to say we were very happy with the Canon camera and would recommend it to almost everyone. Down below we have written up some of the advantages and disadvantages to the A710 digital camera. We bought ours through Amazon.com online since they seemed to offer the lowest prices on the Internet. Our local camera shop wanted almost $100 more (to cover their overhead I guess) and they refused to compete on price with Internet stores. Even Costco was priced higher than Amazon.

Canon A710 Advantages:

If you are in the market for a new digital camera and you are looking for good quality prints (nothing too professional), then the A710 does the trick with 7.1 megapixels and 6X optical zoom. The image stabilization is another advantage that the Canon camera has over the A series cameras. You'll get better quality images without the blur that can occur with even the slightest movement while taking pictures. The accessories for this camera are many - wide angle lens, telephoto lens, close-up lens, waterproof case, external slave flash, and more. It's a very versatile camera and we say it's easier to use than previous models we had tried. Overall, if you are currently taking pictures with any camera that has less than 6 megapixels, you should upgrade to a better digital camera since they are pretty cheap. You will see an increase in color depth and clear photos that previous cameras couldn't do. The A710 IS for less than $300 is a bargain.

Canon A710 IS Disadvantages:

Now for the drawbacks on this camera. We read many reviews with people saying the time waiting for the flash to reset was too long and we must agree this can be irritating. You will have to wait a good 3 to 4 seconds in most cases to snap another shot. The picture quality you do get will soon make you realize the flash issue is not that big a deal (we don't think). The A710 IS does take 2 AA batteries and you should get 360 shots for the battery life. Some people prefer lithium batteries instead of having to buy new AA's all the time, but I have found it's easier to purchase a four pack of NiMH rechargeables plus a fast charger and then you never have to worry about battery life. Even in Italy, we ran out of batteries but just bought 2 new AA's at a store (which you couldn't do with a lithium battery). I also prefer the docking station that my older FujiFilm FinePix offered, but the Canon did not come with one. Instead you have to use a USB cable to attach the camera to your computer. The software and image editor that comes with the camera are 2nd rate as well, but what do you expect. I use ThumbsPlus or Adobe Photoshop to edit my images and resize them anyways.

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