Canon A70: keeping 3.2 megapixels still relevant

Author's Rating:

Pros: compact, easy to use, good value for money, great photos for a great price

Cons: FOUR batteries add weight. Can't use zoom in movie mode. viewfinder has no diopter adjustment

The Bottom Line: 
A70 has the ideal mix of performance, price, quality and features - making it a good buy

Author's Review
Having tried a range of cameras from 5+ mega pixel monsters to ultra-compact cameras that could truly give you the slip, I have discovered that the A70 has a nice balance of price, performance, portability and usability. It is a camera that you can buy and use with peace of mind. You will never get the feeling that you made a mistake buying it. This, to me, is an important feeling.

OK! Coming to the technical stuff ....

The A70 is similar to the A60, except for the higher 3.2 megapixel CCD. The camera is compact, firm and convenient to hold. The bulged grip on the right hand side, if you ever wondered what it is there for, is actually part of the battery enclosure. This camera needs *FOUR* AA batteries. This is both an advantage and a disadvantage. A disadvantage because this drastically increases the weight of the camera, as well as the size. The advantage is that you can replace the supplied alkaline cells with high capacity NiMH rechargables, and still use off-the-shelf AA alkalines in case of emergencies. Because there are four batteries, they never seem to run out!

The back of the camera is simple and uncluttered. There is an 1.5" LCD screen that is crisp and viewable even in bright day light. It seems pretty hardy too. Then there are some buttons and knobs to change various settings.

The top of the camera has a selector knob, power button and shutter release, which is ringed by the zoom control thingy. The zoom control can double up and do some neat stuff when the camera is in "PLAY" mode.

The right of the camera has the battery compartment, as well as a CF slot. The cover for the CF slot does not come out right, and you may have to force it out. The left side of the camera has a flexible soft plastic cap that covers ports for USB, DC in and A/V out. A USB cable is supplied with the camera. So is a carry strap, 4 AA alkaline batteries, and a woefully inadequate 16MB CF card.

Having purchased a 512MB CF card and installing it into the camera, I started rolling the camera. Most of the results were as expected, and some exceeded expectations. The camera allows you to take photos in four different resolutions: The factory default and the highest resolution is 2048x1536 - this is perfect for A3 to A4 size prints. The other available resolutions are 1600x1200(4x6), 1024x 768(3X4) and 640x480 (email/web pages). You can also set image quality (JPEG compression) at each resolution to Superfine, Fine or Normal. Then, there is the movie mode that lets you take VGA quality 20fps clips with audio for about 30 seconds. Lower quality videos clips can be as long as 3 minutes. The results are surprisingly good. You can not use zoom controls in movie mode, which is BAD!

Coming to image quality, I have not noticed any of the purple fringing that many users talk about. This appears to be a problem with many cameras, even film based ones, and could have more to do with optics than the digital technology. Prints on my home inkject MFC were pretty good when taken on Inkjet photo paper. Test prints from WALMART (about 25 cents a print) were terrific. One advantage with this technology is that you can take prints of only the ones you want, and you can do it yourself at home, at self-help kiosks, or at online photo sites like ofoto, shutterfly, etc.

Coming to price, this camera can be purchased for $250 and lower if you look around for the right deals. Even a blind purchase from Circuit City, Best Buy and the likes is less than $300. This is good value for money. I know there are cheaper or better models, but if you look at the overall value and featureset, this comes out tops. I had compared the A70 with SONYs DSC-P8/10/72/92, and some compacts from Fuji, CASIO and Kodak. In its class, and price range, nothing comes close to this camera. It is a clear winner!

Other neat bonuses include a removable lens ring that allows you to add wide angle, zoom lens and various filters. This is unheard of in this class of cameras - digital or film. The usage of AA batteries is a relief, especially when you are on the road and the batteries die out. AA batteries can be purchased even in Alaska and Afghanisthan.