Canon PowerShot A530 5-Megapixel Digital Camera - Compact and Inexpensive

I am not a big fan of cameras that use 4 AA batteries, which is one of the reasons I consider cameras like Canon A610/A620 and S2 IS less than ideal. But I like cameras that use two AA batteries. Previously, you could only get up to 4MP resolution in this format from Canon (Canon PowerShot A520). Now, you can get a Canon 5-Megapixel resolution compact camera, powered by 2 AA batteries with many advanced features for less than $200. The camera in question is Canon PowerShot A530.

What is Canon PowerShot A530?

The Canon PowerShot A530 is a 5.3-Megapixel compact digital camera with a 4x optical zoom, 1.8-inch LCD screen, zooming optical viewfinder, acclaimed Canon DiG!C II Image Processor, 9-point AiAF auto focus, 1-point auto focus and manual focus, 22 shooting modes including Full Auto, Program and Manual Mode, Scene modes. It stores pictures on SD (Secure Digital) or MultiMedia memory cards (16 MB card supplied) and features USB 2.0 high-speed connection to PC and Mac computers. It also supports direct printing (without computer) with PictBridge compatible printers. The camera is powered by 2 AA batteries (alkaline batteries included, rechargeable NiMH recommended) .

Features

The A530 is an update to the popular 4-Megapixel Canon PowerShot A520. It is very similar to the A520, but features 5.3-Megapixel resolution and faster, more power-efficient Digic 2 processor. The optics features sharp 4x optical zoom (35-140 mm in 35mm equivalent) with maximum apertures f/2.6-f/5.5 and minimum aperture of f/8.0 at both wide angle and telephoto.

The camera uses 2 AA batteries. Canon claims that rechargeable NiMH batteries can provide 360 shots on one charge (90 shots with disposable alkaline batteries).

The camera has a low-light focus assist illuminator that helps it focus in low light. The orientation sensor detects if the camera is held horizontally or vertically and saves the pictures appropriately.

The camera features selectable Evaluative, Center-Weighted and Spot metering modes. The camera has a built-in flash that zooms with the camera's lens. The A530 has a shutter speed range of 15-1/2,000 sec and selectable ISO of 80-800.

The available movie mode records movies with sound at 640x480 10 fps, 320x240 20 fps or 160x120 15 fps. The frame rates are quite low.

The camera also has a Macro mode where it can focus as close as 2 inches (5 cm) at wide angle or 11.8 inches (30 cm) at telephoto. Most features described above are the same as the 4-Megapixel A520.

Getting Started

Once the camera arrived, I inserted my NiMH batteries, an SD card and was ready to shoot. The Canon PoweShot A530 has a nice looking and durable metal/polycarbonate body that is compact and convenient to hold. The camera has a retractable lens that extends and has a lens cover that opens when the camera is powered on. When the camera is powered off, the lens retracts and the lens cover closes.

The camera has an on/off button on the top deck as well as a zoom rocker, large shutter release button and a large rotating mode dial. The mode dial can be set to Auto mode, Program mode, multiple scene modes as well as, more advanced, Manual.

The bottom of the camera has an offset threaded tripod mount made of plastic and a memory card/battery compartment lid. The rear houses a 1.8-inch LCD monitor, an optical zooming viewfinder, a review/shoot switch and control buttons. The side has a cover, underneath which you can find a USB jack, A/V jack and a DC power input.

Usage

The camera takes about 2 seconds to power on and can capture images at about two-second intervals without flash (using Kingston Elite Pro SD memory card) or 4-7 seconds with flash. The focusing takes less than a second and the shutter lag, when pre-focused, is almost unnoticeable. The zooming from wide angle to telephoto (or back) takes about two seconds and is smooth and responsive.

The camera can take more than 350 pictures on one charge of high-capacity NiMH batteries. I was able to take 110 photos using my old 1600 mAh batteries and the low battery warning has not appeared yet. Obviously, using disposable alkaline batteries is bad for the environment and your pocket.

The camera can be used in full auto mode (by rotating the mode dial to Auto position), where it is extremely easy to use. In this mode the camera sets all parameters automatically and you only have to point and shoot.

You press the shutter release button halfway to make camera focus and the camera shows you (on the LCD screen) where it focused by displaying one or more green rectangles. Then you take the picture by pressing the shutter release button all the way.

You can go one step further and select an appropriate scene mode (e.g. Portrait, Landscape, Snow, Beach, Fireworks, Kids & Pets, etc.) to let camera know what effect you want. For example, in the Portrait mode the camera will try to keep the subject sharp while keeping the background blurry, but will try to keep both foreground and background sharp in the Landscape mode.

And if or when you are ready to take control, you can use the Manual mode to control both the Aperture and Shutter Speed.

In most modes you can use Exposure Compensation to make pictures the camera takes brighter or darker.

The flash has an effective red-eye reduction mode and is sufficient at up to 10-12 feet away. It has a recycle time of about 4-7 seconds (depending on the subject distance and battery charge). It zooms (or rather varies the coverage) with the lens. If you need faster flash recycling, you might need to upgrade to a 4-AA battery model like Canon A610.

LCD and Viewfinder

The camera has a 1.8-inch non-articulated (fixed) LCD screen and an optical zooming viewfinder. The LCD coverage as about 100% - you can see exactly what will be recorded. The viewfinder, however, cover only about 80% of what will be recorded. The LCD has decent resolution for its size.

Computer Connectivity

The camera uses USB 2.0 high-speed connection to transfer pictures to a computer. You can also remove the SD memory card and use a memory card reader (if you have one), which I did. Since I have not tried the USB transfer of this camera, I cannot comment on the real speed.


Build Quality and Ergonomics

The camera features good build quality, but the battery compartment/memory card door is slightly flimsy. The camera is convenient to hold and its compact size lets you put it in a jacket pocket or a purse easily. The major controls are within easy reach and the tactile response is good. I don’t find the relatively small size of the LCD to be the problem.

Digic 2

The camera is fast in operation and is a pleasure to use, due to the use of Canon’s Digic 2. It is the same imaging processor used in other cameras by Canon, including its expensive digital SLR cameras. The Digic II is noticeably faster than the original Digic.

Focusing

You can let camera focus using its AiAF 9-area focusing system and the camera will show you green rectangles over the areas where it focused so that you can confirm the focus areas. You can also switch to the 1-point focusing or use the manual focus.

The arrow down button switches the camera to Macro mode when pushed once, and to the manual mode when pushed again. The camera shows you a scale in your chosen units (cm or inches) and magnifies the central portion of the screen to let you confirm the focus. Cumbersome but it works, aside from the fact that the camera makes weird sounds while focusing (scraping/scratching sounds).

Manual Mode

You can adjust both the aperture and shutter speed in the Manual mode, but you can adjust them one at a time, unlike my Panasonic FZ5, where you can adjust them simultaneously without having to jump from one to another. The A530 shows you the under/overexposure as evaluated by the camera once the shutter button is half-pressed (e.g. -1EV means 1EV of underexposure).

You can also adjust the flash output in the manual mode.

Image Quality Settings

The camera lets you select between SuperFine, Fine and Normal compression levels (regardless of resolution). In the Normal compression mode, some fine detail is lost. I would use SuperFine mode for high-resolution pictures intended for printing or post processing. But for web/email or conserving space on the memory card, other modes are viable options.

The camera lets you select between full 5MP resolution, widescreen version of thereof, Medium 1 mode (3MP), Medium 2 mode (2MP) and Small mode (640x480).

White Balance

The A530's automatic white balance usually works well, especially outdoors.

Picture Quality

I usually take photos that contain all primary colors at different focal lengths, apertures and compression ratios. Some photos are taken outdoors, some indoors with and without flash.

Oftentimes, I take a bunch of photos from my balcony. Those photos features all colors: blue sky, green foliage, red curbs, yellow fire hydrant and cars of different colors.

Taking photos at different focal lengths and apertures reveals the camera's optical quality: corner sharpness, chromatic aberrations, overall sharpness.

Taking photos at different ISO settings shows how well a given camera can keep noise levels low in dim light. I mostly evaluate the image quality using my computer monitor, but I also print some photos at different sizes using either my printer or online services like Shutterfly, Snapfish and Sam's Club's online photo center.

The camera produces excellent photos that are well-exposed, sharp, contrasty and richly-colored. The skin colors are true to life and pleasing. Unlike some other cameras (including Canon SD Digital Elph series) that have noticeably softer edges of the frame, the photos taken with the A530 are sharp at the edges of the frame as well as at the center.

The lens of the A530 is very good, despite its compact dimensions and the 4x optical zoom. The lens of the Canon PowerShot A530 exhibits slight barrel distortion at wide angle (straight lines bow out at the edges of the frame) that is virtually unnoticeable and can only be detected if you take pictures of buildings and really pay attention.

There is virtually no chromatic aberration (purple fringing) in the areas of high contrast. The image noise is virtually absent at ISO 80, appears (slightly) at the ISO 100 in the shadows, gets more pronounced at ISO 200, gets worse at ISO 400 and gets pretty bad at ISO 800. Still, if you are printing 6x4 or 5x7 pictures, the noise should not be visible up to (and including) ISO 200 and barely visible at ISO 400-800. And with camera’s 5-megapixel resolution, you can print your photos at up to 11x14 inches or even 13x19 with good detail (ISO up to 200).

The flash works rather well and is pretty good at preventing red-eye.

Macro

The camera can take good macro pictures. It can capture (with no flash) a minimum area of about 2x1.5-inch and features a sharp image with only slight blurring in corners of the frame. A very good macro performance, considering the size and price of the camera.

You need light to illuminate the shooting area and/or a tripod, however: the flash when engaged at such a close distance can overexpose the upper left portion of the image.

How Does It Compare to Canon PowerShot A520?

The A530 has higher resolution and faster Digic II processor. The difference in price is currently only $25-35.

How Does It Compare to Canon PowerShot A610?

The Canon PowerShot A610 5-Megapixel Digital Camera has higher a 2-inch articulated (rotating) LCD screen and uses 4 AA batteries. The A610 is faster in operation (power-up, shot to shot delay and especially flash recycle time). The A610 uses physically larger CCD sensor resulting in slightly less noise.

Bottom Line

I highly recommend the Canon PowerShot A530 if you need a compact and inexpensive yet capable camera that produces excellent photos with print sizes of up 11x14 inches, has 4x optical zoom and uses two AA batteries. Weather you want point-and-shoot simplicity or full manual control, the A530 delivers. But if you want fast flash recycle times or articulated LCD, the 4-AA battery-equipped Canon PowerShot A610 5-Megapixel Digital Camera may be the way to go for only $15-20 more.