Canon PowerShot A580 - Expert Reviews

Review summary: canon powershot a580 review: Like its more expensive sibling, the PowerShot A590 IS, the A580 comes equipped with an 8-megapixel sensor, 4x optical zoom and face detect. It misses out on optical image stabilisation, though.

Pros: Accessible controls, Decent images, Lacks panache, Vanilla feature set, No optical image stabilisation

Cons: Lacks panache, Vanilla feature set, No optical image stabilisation

Review summary: This budget digicam feels anything but cheap and offers solid performance.

Pros: Optical viewfinder, Fast 4X zoom lens, Good ergonomics

Cons: Settings can be confusing, Low-resolution LCD viewfinder, No built-in memory

Verdict: Canon has assembled a good mix of ergonomics, features, and image quality, at an affordable price with the A580. And it looks, feels, and shoots like a camera that costs more than $149.

Review summary: The front of the PowerShot A580 is dominated by the protruding 4x zoom lens, which is apparently inherited from earlier A series models. The zoom is motorised and spans focal lengths ranging from 5.8mm to 23.2mm. Given that the length of the ...

Verdict: The Canon PowerShot A580 is a worthy successor to an entire line of moderately priced, yet capable compact cameras marketed by Canon over the past couple of years. In two weeks of use, I have found basic operation to be highly intuitive, with the ...

Review summary: A combination of good picture quality and value for money is always likely to be a winner. The Canon Powershot A580 offers both. This is a 7 megapixel starter camera with a 4x optical zoom lens.

Pros: Picture quality - value for money

Cons: Shutter lag times with flash

Verdict: The Powershot A580 offers both picture quality and value for money. If you are looking for a relatively inexpensive digital camera and looks and style are not everything to you then this could be the camera you are looking for.

Review summary: Canon's A-series entry-level point-and-shoot cameras are high-quality, easy-to-use, and very affordable-in short, they're a terrific value. Case in point: We were impressed with the PowerShot A590 IS's advanced features and sweet sub-$200 price. The ...

Pros: Inexpensive, even for an entry-level camera. Face detection.

Cons: Fewer features than the $179.99 PowerShot A590 IS. Bulky, boring design.

Verdict: The Canon PowerShot A580 is a fine entry-level point-and-shooter, but for $30 more you can get the nearly identical A590 IS, which adds image stabilization and manual controls.