Canon PowerShot A720 IS 8 Megapixel Compact Camera

a lot of camera for the price

Strengths: picture quality is terrific,6x zoom is a bonus,the lcd is very good.

Weakness: the switch to view photos and go back to picture taking is still awkward.

after trying a few smaller compacts and being dissapointed at the quality of the photos i did more research and all the research i found pointed back to the a720.it is a little bigger than what i was wanting but in retrospect it's not really very big at all.so far i love this camera.it surpasses my expectations!

By matythemod - Jan 27, 2008

Excellent Features For Its Size

Strengths: 6x optical zoom, manual focus, high-quality movies, uses AA batteries

Weakness: flash is slow to recharge, image stabilization (see comments), white balance is not as adjustable

I bought this camera and its companion waterproof housing (WP-DC16) for a diving trip in Mexico. As a photography hobbyist (i.e. not a professional, but one who likes to explore a lot of the settings on the camera), I was quite happy. The camera's auto focus algorithms are definitely a plus. The photos came out excellent. There are several areas were I feel this camera may come up lacking: 1) In...
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I bought this camera and its companion waterproof housing (WP-DC16) for a diving trip in Mexico. As a photography hobbyist (i.e. not a professional, but one who likes to explore a lot of the settings on the camera), I was quite happy. The camera's auto focus algorithms are definitely a plus. The photos came out excellent.

There are several areas were I feel this camera may come up lacking:
1) In several cases where I had to override the default settings of the camera. For example, in the Underwater Mode, the white balance setting does not adequately remove the blue hue. I would recommend the "Cloudy" setting for underwater photos instead, or use a photo editing program to help bring to balance the colors (Google's Picasa program can help with this task).
2) The flash takes several seconds to recharge. Keep this in mind if you're planning on taking successive shots.
3) Batteries run out very quickly if LCD is on (this is a problem in all cameras that use only 2 AA batteries).

In all, I would say this camera is an excellent buy for the camera "hobbyist." It's very light, packed with features, and the non-proprietary AA batteries make it a must for the traveler.

By reuv - Jan 19, 2008

Great camera for amateurs

Strengths: Uses only 2 AA batteries,6X optical zoom, large LCD with optical viewfinder, easy to grip, & great pictures in low light situations.

Weakness: A little slow from shot to shot when using flash.

I bought this camera for my 40th class reunion after reading the great reviews for it. The lighting was poor in the restaurant, but the pictures turned out great! The guy putting together our class album said my pictures were far better than anyone elses pictures. He even asked me for the name/model # of my camera so he could buy one. I can't say enough good things about the ease of use, quality...
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I bought this camera for my 40th class reunion after reading the great reviews for it. The lighting was poor in the restaurant, but the pictures turned out great! The guy putting together our class album said my pictures were far better than anyone elses pictures. He even asked me for the name/model # of my camera so he could buy one. I can't say enough good things about the ease of use, quality of pictures, and reasonable price. It seemed a little slow between flash pictures, but well worth it for the quality of the pictures.

By Carlislecarol - Jan 18, 2008

Nice camera - the basics are covered, plus some

Strengths: Large 2.5 inch display, 6X optical zoom, nice pictures

Weakness: When using the flash, you have to wait 4 seconds between shots.

I purchased this camera looking to replace my aging 2.1 MP HP Photosmart. Using Consumer Reports and PriceGrabber for advice, I chose the Powershot A720 IS. Wow - what a difference 8.0 MP makes! The pictures this camera takes have great detail and clarity. The zoom function works well, and the camera can even record video. The menu system and accessing of functions is decent - I haven\\\'t played...
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I purchased this camera looking to replace my aging 2.1 MP HP Photosmart. Using Consumer Reports and PriceGrabber for advice, I chose the Powershot A720 IS. Wow - what a difference 8.0 MP makes! The pictures this camera takes have great detail and clarity. The zoom function works well, and the camera can even record video. The menu system and accessing of functions is decent - I haven\\\'t played much with the manual settings yet, but there are quite a few. The camera has lots of preset modes for various situations, e.g. Portrait, Landscape, Kids and Pets, etc., which is probably what I will use. My only complaint is that the flash apparently takes 4 seconds or so to recharge, so you have to wait before being able to take that next shot. Otherwise, it is a nice camera, and I am pleased with the purchase.

By twbutler - Dec 10, 2007

Nice camera!

Strengths: good pictures, mode settings generally work well, easy to use, camera provides indications of when you are zooming too far for photo quality.

Weakness: Eats batteries, Kids and Pets mode isn't good,

This is a good camera for a wide variety of people. It has an auto setting which works very well, making this an excellent cameras for novice photographers who still want excellent photos. It also has manual mode to make the more skilled photographers happy. Either way, it produces excellent images. This is my first digital camera, so please forgive me if I rave about features that are common to...
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This is a good camera for a wide variety of people. It has an auto setting which works very well, making this an excellent cameras for novice photographers who still want excellent photos. It also has manual mode to make the more skilled photographers happy. Either way, it produces excellent images.

This is my first digital camera, so please forgive me if I rave about features that are common to all digital cameras. I am impressed that the various modes (portrait, landscape, etc.) seem to work well. The camera knows what to do to make a photo look good, which is helpful when the operator does not. The exception would be the Kids and Pets mode. I have read other reviews indicating that this mode produces blurry shots, and that certainly is true for me as well. Also, I am not able to get macro to work to my satisfaction. This may be operator error, however. I need to study the manual more.

This camera has a zoom indicator which turns colors to indicate when you are zooming too far to get a clear picture. This will be at different points, depending on what camera settings you are using. I find this zoom indicator extremely helpful. The zoom indicator also shows when you are using optical zoom, and when you have passed over into digital zoom. Very helpful.

I'll repeat some of the other points that I have read: it eats batteries, and it can be rather slow. Those are inconveniences, but overall I am very pleased with this camera. I would buy it again. In fact, I already have. I just bought one for my mother.

By omohundrocrater - Dec 7, 2007