The Canon A700 PowerShot: A quick Overview…..
The Canon A700, though priced fairly steep, seems like a good contender, even at the price. Featuring a 6x optical zoom lens, it is priced in a similar range to others offering 10x zoom lenses. However, the compact design and high quality makes up for it, making it a good buy, even at the price.
The 6x optical zoom, double the length of a standard zoom, is aimed at people who want more than just a “point and shoot” model. It boasts a number of advanced features, including manual exposure setting. As you would expect, it may take a while to become accustomed to everything it has to offer, being somewhat more complex than a “point and shoot” camera. Canon has its own unique menu layout, which some people find a bit harder to fathom (than those of other brand names).
The Canon A700 Powershot range was built to uphold Canon’s reputation of quality pictures. Producing sharp, clear images, it’s a good all rounder, also taking good quality pictures inside, and in conditions offering little light. In this regard it seems to be a touch ahead of the rest. The colors are natural and full, yet well balanced. This “natural coloring” makes for good portrait shots, natural scenes, and everyday shots.
Besides a fairly large (2.5″) LCD screen for composing and menu functions, you also have a viewfinder for those who still prefer it that way. Not many cameras include them nowadays. Despite the use of plastic as body material, it still feels quite solid. Being a little too large to carry in your pocket, the slightly larger size actually makes it easier to steady while shooting.
Standard movie mode allows TV quality movies, with an advanced mode also available. Recording up to a minute of “fast frames”, it comes in handy when trying to analyze a fast motion by recording it at a higher speed, and playing it back at a slower speed.
In conclusion, the Canon A700 is a camera built for the enthusiast. Offering an above average picture quality, as well as advanced manual control, it is quite impressive.
