Canon PowerShot A540 Digital Camera - 6.0 Megapixels - 16:9 Widescreen - 4x Optical Zoom - 4x Digital Zoom - 2.5 TFT Color LCD - 16MB MultiMediaCard (MMC) Incl
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The Canon PowerShot A540 is a midrange digital camera that offers a 6 Megapixel CCD, 4X optical zoom (instead of the usual 3X), large 2.5" LCD display, full manual controls, and a VGA movie mode. The A540, along with its 5 Megapixel sibling, the A530, replace Canon's extremely popular A510 and A520 models from last year. Both cameras use Canon's DIGIC II image...
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| Merchant | Description | Availability | Price | Shipping | Total Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Canon PowerShot A540 Digital Camera | Availability : no | $188.99 | N/A | $188.99 | Details |
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Consumer comments : Canon PowerShot A540 Digital Camera - 6.0 Megapixels - 16:9 Widescreen - 4x Optical Zoom - 4x Digital Zoom - 2.5 TFT Color LCD - 16MB MultiMediaCard (MMC) Incl
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Canon PowerShot A540
The Canon PowerShot A540 is a very good entry-level camera that has just a few flaws. The camera offers controls for both beginning and advanced users, it performs well, is expandable, and the photo quality is impressive for its class.
The A540 is a midsize camera that's too big for your jeans pocket, but it'll fit fine in a camera bag or in your jacket. While the body is made of plastic, it feels quite solid in the hand. The controls are well placed, and "button clutter" is kept to a minimum. The A540 features a 4X optical zoom lens, which is more than what you'll find on most cameras in this class. While the camera has a large 2.5" LCD display, the resolution is poor. On a more positive note, the screen was quite visible in low light situations. When you're ready to "add on" to the A540, Canon offers conversion lenses, an external slave flash, and an underwater case.
The camera has shooting modes for both beginners and advanced users. Those just starting out with digital will appreciate the auto and scene modes, and the fun (though not terribly useful) My Colors feature. When you're ready to learn more about manual controls, the A540 has a full suite of them, from exposure to white balance to focus. The A540 has a very good movie mode, though it reaches its 1GB file size limit in just eight minutes.
Camera performance was very good. The A540 starts up in just 1.3 seconds, it focuses fairly quickly, and shutter lag was not a problem. Low light focusing was very good, thanks to the A540's AF-assist lamp. One of the benefits of the camera's DIGIC II processor is a great continuous shooting mode: the camera can keep firing away at 2.3 frames/second until the memory card is full (as long as you're using a high speed card). Battery life is excellent on the PowerShot A540.
Photo quality was also very good. The A540 took well exposed, colorful photos with low noise and purple fringing levels. You should be able to make midsize prints up to ISO 200, and 4 x 6 prints still look good at the ISO 400 setting, especially if you clean them up a bit in something like NeatImage. Though not horrible, redeye was a bit of a problem.
I've mentioned most of the negatives in the previous paragraph. The only other complaints I have relate to the camera bundle: the memory card is too small, and there are no rechargeable batteries.
All-in-all, the PowerShot A540 is a great choice for those who want full manual controls, expandability, and great photo quality, but don't want to spend a bundle. It's not perfect, but the positives far outweigh the negatives, so the A540 gets an easy recommendation from me.
What I liked:
* Very good photo quality; ISO 200 and 400 settings are usable for small prints
* 4X optical zoom gives you a bit more telephoto power than most entry-level cameras
* Large 2.5" LCD display is usable in low light (though see issues below)
* Full manual controls, unusual for an entry-level camera
* Snappy performance
* AF-assist lamp, good low light focusing
* Very good movie and continuous shooting modes (though see issue below)
* Support for add-on lenses, external slave flash, underwater case
* Very good battery life
* USB 2.0 High Speed support
The A540 is a midsize camera that's too big for your jeans pocket, but it'll fit fine in a camera bag or in your jacket. While the body is made of plastic, it feels quite solid in the hand. The controls are well placed, and "button clutter" is kept to a minimum. The A540 features a 4X optical zoom lens, which is more than what you'll find on most cameras in this class. While the camera has a large 2.5" LCD display, the resolution is poor. On a more positive note, the screen was quite visible in low light situations. When you're ready to "add on" to the A540, Canon offers conversion lenses, an external slave flash, and an underwater case.
The camera has shooting modes for both beginners and advanced users. Those just starting out with digital will appreciate the auto and scene modes, and the fun (though not terribly useful) My Colors feature. When you're ready to learn more about manual controls, the A540 has a full suite of them, from exposure to white balance to focus. The A540 has a very good movie mode, though it reaches its 1GB file size limit in just eight minutes.
Camera performance was very good. The A540 starts up in just 1.3 seconds, it focuses fairly quickly, and shutter lag was not a problem. Low light focusing was very good, thanks to the A540's AF-assist lamp. One of the benefits of the camera's DIGIC II processor is a great continuous shooting mode: the camera can keep firing away at 2.3 frames/second until the memory card is full (as long as you're using a high speed card). Battery life is excellent on the PowerShot A540.
Photo quality was also very good. The A540 took well exposed, colorful photos with low noise and purple fringing levels. You should be able to make midsize prints up to ISO 200, and 4 x 6 prints still look good at the ISO 400 setting, especially if you clean them up a bit in something like NeatImage. Though not horrible, redeye was a bit of a problem.
I've mentioned most of the negatives in the previous paragraph. The only other complaints I have relate to the camera bundle: the memory card is too small, and there are no rechargeable batteries.
All-in-all, the PowerShot A540 is a great choice for those who want full manual controls, expandability, and great photo quality, but don't want to spend a bundle. It's not perfect, but the positives far outweigh the negatives, so the A540 gets an easy recommendation from me.
What I liked:
* Very good photo quality; ISO 200 and 400 settings are usable for small prints
* 4X optical zoom gives you a bit more telephoto power than most entry-level cameras
* Large 2.5" LCD display is usable in low light (though see issues below)
* Full manual controls, unusual for an entry-level camera
* Snappy performance
* AF-assist lamp, good low light focusing
* Very good movie and continuous shooting modes (though see issue below)
* Support for add-on lenses, external slave flash, underwater case
* Very good battery life
* USB 2.0 High Speed support
