Canon, a strong contender in the digital camera market along with Nikon, Olympus, Fuji, and Sony has introduced the Canon Powershot A590 IS. Canon has previously taken out some inspiring models in the Powershot range but the Canon Powershot A590 IS is an achievement. In making this camera, it seems like Canon has focused more on substance rather than style and thus they have ended up making a great product.

The 8-megapixel Canon Powershot A590 IS has everything you can possibly want in a digital camera and more. The looks blend in smoothly with the ultra-slim features and it can definitely shoot great pictures for $200.

Styling and Build Quality

The Powershot A590 IS has rounded edges, which give the camera a retro flair and add to the aesthetics of the camera. The switches and buttons of the Powershot A590 IS look and feel solid; although some of the buttons like mode dial zoom toggle, and the shooting/playback mode, offer some resistance.

Display/Viewfinder

Like most of the PowerShot cameras in Canon’s catalogue, the A590 has retained the Canon optical viewfinder. Although, you will wonder what to do with a viewfinder when you have an LCD screen, the truth is that it is better to have a small viewfinder than not to have any viewfinder at all. The Powershot A590 IS has 115,000-pixel LCD, which is, typically, a carryover from Canon’s previous models. There is more room left for the overall display to be sharper but even then the display is quite fluid and clear.

Timing and Shutter Lag

While experimenting with the camera, I found that the shutter lag timings of the Powershot A590 IS averaged around 0.1 seconds when the camera was pre-focused and there was a slight delay when I moved from press to capture. Once the LCD is turned off, the speed tends to automatically increase. The shutter lag timings from press-to-capture without using a pre-focus averaged around 0.5 seconds, which is very good.

Lens and Zoom

The Powershot A590 IS has a 4x Canon optical zoom lens, which is equivalent to 35-140mm.

Battery Life

The Powershot A590 IS requires a pair of AA alkaline batteries that will hold steady for approximately 170 shots. If you use 2300 mAh NiMH batteries then you can get approximately 450 shots.

Image Quality

The Canon Powershot A590 IS can shoot at ISO 80 to ISO 1600 but the grains begin to appear only from ISO 800. Overall, the image quality is strong and lighter colors in the image stay sharp and strong. One of the good things about this camera is that the colors across the spectrum remain quite consistent even when the sensitivity is increased. In fact, the Powershot A590 IS can be considered the best digital camera in its range based on the high image quality even at ISO 800.

Positives:

1. Good overall image quality

2. Good speed

3. Decent ISO performance

4. Simple interface

5. Fast shutter speed

Negatives:

1. Not many new features

2. Battery door is not strong

3. The time for Flash recycling is long

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