Customer Reviews
Amazing camera 
2008-10-02
I'm not a professional photographer... I'm a person who likes to take pictures of almost everything I see :). Most of the time I have my camera with me, and I like just to point-and-shoot in order to take pictures, without any complicated setups.
I have this camera for about two years now and I can recommend it highly, and here are the reasons why:
- With camera, I bought rechargeable batteries with a charger... Batteries are Nickel-Metal Hydride; 1.2V 2000mAh. I can take about 500 pictures with two batteries (without a flash; with flash it take less pictures). Camera takes two AA batteries, and I have 4 of them, so I always have backup in case I need one... but since they are only AA batteries, even if backup goes off - I just go to any store and buy some more.
- With this camera, I bought 1Gb of memory which is quite a lot of storage space, but since I'm taking a lot of pictures and videos, I have one more 1Gb memory (as a backup). It's very easy to replace memory card - almost the same as replacing batteries.
- Picture quality is very good. I take pictures from a moving car (my husband is driving), and the pictures are very sharp. I was taking pictures during rain, and on the pictures I can see rain drops! Also, there are no red eyes.
- Video quality is amazing! The microphone (located: small holes above lense, oposite from flash) picks up sound really great. When I play the video on my PC, video and sound quality are really amazing - considering that this is "only" Canon PowerShot Digital Camera...
- Size is great. Not very small so it's not easy to missplace it, and not big - easy to put in my bag or a jacket pocket. It's also not heavy, so it's easy to carry it around.
- Canon PowerShote A540 is a "point-and-shoot" camera. In order to take picture, you need to press "On" button, to point and press button to take picture... it's that simple, and quite fast. It slows down (you need to wait sometimes few seconds between pressing button to take picture and actually taking the picture) when batteries are low; I also noticed delay sometimes when Flash="Auto" and when light is not so bright, so I a have feeling that camera 'is thinking' if the flash should go off or not.
- I like that it has 4x zoom, however, when I use zoom, my hand needs to be really-really still in order to get a clear picture - slightest movement will make picture fuzzy.
One con from my side is that display is not protected... after two years in my pockets/purse, I can see light scratches on the display.
This camera has many modes/options... buy honestly, for my picture taking needs, I'm not even using them - I tried them out, but for every day use, I use modes: "Auto" (for pictures) and "Video" (for video)... and that's about it.
Overall, when I look at my previous 2 yrs experience, price, and all features provided, I must say that this is a great camera and I would recommend it to everyone who wants good quality photos with only Point-And-Shoot.
Great Quality 
2008-08-28
I've been using this camera for close to 2 years now and have been impressed with it's durability and image quality. I find it is not the best in low lighting situations but over all this camera has helped me capture some awesome images. I will be hanging on to it even though I'm upgrading to and SLR soon - a good point and shoot is invaluable.
Great scenic shots for a painter 2008-08-22
I have had the Canon Powershot A540 for about 2 years. I upgraded from a Nikon 3200 series. I am always on the lookout for things I can turn into a painting. This camera has served me well. I can take a picture through the front windshield while moving and get a great shot. I do however find that to view the pictures taken you have to move the mode switch down to do a review. If you forget to put it back in camera position nothing happens. I like the factor that it allows me so many different shooting modes. It has portrait, landscape (although I've never used it when filming landscape),night snapshots, kids & pets, indoor, foliage, snow, beach, fireworks and underwater. You can change the shooting mode using the button on top of the camera. Can't get any easier than that. Normally I've not had to change my setting to shoot a picture of an amazing color sky. It's response is quick, red eye is reduced but not totally eliminated as I have found out in some shots I've taken. It is lightweight and small enough that it fits in a small cosmetic case in my purse. Uses 2 AA batteries. I use the photo batteries and for me they last a long time. I've been amazed at how long they last. For me downloading is very convenient. I remove the SD memory card and put it in my computer. Then I can go in and crop, stitch, and do whatever I feel has to be done to make the picture better.
The zoom is great, brings what I want closer without losing any detail. In normal setting, I've taken indoor pictures of the grandchildren and my husband and they are perfect. Color is very good. The one thing I would really like to have on this camera is image stabilization.
Looking now to getting either the new Kodak Zi6 pocket camcorder or the RCA small wonder EZ201 so I can capture pix of my great grandchildren doing their thing.
good quality, slightly overpriced 2008-08-13
good quality, everything it said it would be, etc. but i went to staples the day after it arrived, and newer model was 20 dollars less. so i think it was overpriced.
A Winner all the way. 2008-06-24
This is a great point and shoot Camera:
Pros:
- Sturdy, literally unbreakable. My kid has thrown this camera around but no damage done.
- Takes sharp pictures for a 6mp Camera. I will upload some of the pictures I have shot with this camera.
- For manual control freaks, this camera has enough manual control to play around with.
- Uses 2 AA rechargeable batteries. Buy a 15 minute charger and you are all set. No need to buy li-ION batteries.
Cons:
- After handling the Elphs, this one looks a little bulky, however I have not complaints with it's size what so ever.
- Is an old camera so is definitely slower between two pictures, again I have had not complaints with that.
All in all, for the price this is a great great camera. I upgraded to an XTi and bought an ELPH, but this camera is staying with me. I also have a previous version of the A540, the A520 extremely happy with that one also.
Canon PowerShot A540 6MP Digital Camera 2008-04-20
With a full 6.0 megapixels of imaging power, widescreen capability and a high-quality 4x optical zoom lens, the super-intuitive PowerShot A540 is ready to produce impressive results right from the start. This camera is packed with value from its high-end specs to its high-performance capabilities, yet easy enough for beginners to use. Auto and Manual Exposure/White Balance settings ISO range 80-800 for shooting high-quality images in a variety of lighting situations Shoot pictures in the Widescreen resolution option (2816x1584) to view them full screen on your widescreen TV or computer monitor! Built-in Flash with Red-Eye Reduction 21 Shooting Modes for overcoming those tough shooting conditions & 9-point AiAF for focusing on your subject, no matter where they are in the frame! Self-Timer - 2-sec./10-sec., Custom Up to 2.3fps Continuous Shooting SD/MMC card slot A 16MB MMC Card is included, however we suggest purchasing an Optional 512MB memory card. It will allow you to store a lot more video and images, as well as take advantage of the camera's high Resolution abilities. Interfaces - USB2.0, A/V out (NTSC/PAL) Print directly to Canon CP/SELPHY Compact and PIXMA Photo Printers or any PictBridge compatible printer via included USB cable without a computer! Powered by 2x AA Alkaline or Rechargeable Ni-MH Batteries We suggest purchasing optional rechargeable NiMH batteries to be able to take approximately 3 times as many still pictures when compared to alkaline batteries Approximate Unit Dimensions - (WxHxD) 3.56 x 2.52 x 1.70; Unit Weight - 6.35 oz (Body only without memory card and batteries)
Good quality camera 2008-01-14
Bought this camera for my parents (70+ years old) about a year ago. It was fairly easy for them to learn and use. It takes good pictures. Batteries do not last long indoors using flash, so you definately need to get a good set of rechargable batteries for indoor use. Would recommend for anyone needing a medium to low end digital camera of good quality.
OK, I've had it for a year... 2008-01-09
I wanted to use this camera for a while before reviewing it because it is my first camera and I am rather new to photography. But I have been doing my homework...
First the good stuff:
--I have to say the battery usage, or lack thereof is incredible. I bought rechargeable NiMH batteries and I have managed to fill up a 2GB card two and a half times with photos and video (occasionally using flash, almost always with the LCD on) and I have only had to replace the batteries _one time_. On a typical day of shooting for 3-4 hours I may replace the batteries one time. This was an issue I was concerned about, but I have been incredibly surprised, impressed and overjoyed by this. With the regular alkaline batteries that came with the camera, I took only 200+ pictures with the LCD on, flash on part of the time.
--6MP and 4x optical zoom, thats pretty good for cameras today. For most consumers this is as much as you will ever need, perhaps more than you need. Of course, give it a year and all the cameras will have 8MP and 6x.
--The user interface is pretty intuitive and easy for the average user to figure out, especially if you have used Canon before. The only camera I have ever used was my mothers A70 and I was easily able to navigate through the controls to do what I needed.
--The pictures look very good, the colors are beautiful and generally they are very sharp. The pictures I took last fall were very good. I found some of the automatic "scene" settings to be helpful as well, the "foliage" setting worked great to put emphasis on outdoor colors.
--An advantage over the A530: The user can manually select things like shutter speed and aperture priority. There is also an auto setting. For someone who is trying to learn photography a little instead of simply take pictures, this has helped me to experiment. Often I find that at times I may want less exposure time and am willing to sacrifice some brightness for the resulting sharpness.
--The camera does feel light and rather small in the hand, but its comfortable to hold.
A Few cons:
--Probably the main problem that would affect most people is that 5-7 second delay when using the flash. I can see how this would be an issue for some people who have children or want to take a lot of pictures in darkly lit areas. I rarely do this but if you are wanting to take a lot of pictures with flash in succession, this could be a major issue.
--In low light settings the photos are not great, something I had read about ahead of time in reviews. Taking good pictures on a rainy or overcast day can be a challenge. I was surprised how good some pictures looked when I recently went out on a dark foggy morning and took pictures.
--In movie mode there is noticeable motor noise picked up by the microphone when the camera adjusts to light changes and when zooming in and out. A minor quibble for those mostly wanting to take photos, but may be an annoyance for others who occasionally want to shoot video with the camera (like me, although I am not overly concerned with high quality video as with high quality pictures). A side note, movie mode does tend to take up a lot of memory, but you have the option to take fewer frames per second (15fps/30fps) and you can decrease the resolution.
--The memory card included with the camera is pretty worthless. Canon has included 16MB cards with cameras ever since the A70 and before, and yet the number of megapixels has more than doubled. Is it not time to increase the size of the card included? I found a good deal on a 2GB card and with that on the highest resolution and quality compression rates it will hold around 750 pictures.
--There are two instruction manuals included, one is a basic manual and the other a "advanced." I have to say that the advanced one is not as detailed as I would like. It explains what things do without telling you exactly why you would like to use this or that setting or when.
--Another minor quibble, I have noticed some "barrel distortion" (if you don't know what that is you probably do not need to worry about it, or you can look it up online) on close up pictures, this inevitably happens with every camera though, and is probably no more exaggerated here than with others.
The value for the money with this camera is very good. I managed to get it for $168 in January 2007.
Balancing Compactness and Functionality 2007-12-18
I received this camera in 2006 as a Christmas gift and have been using it ever since. The great results that I get from this camera are comparable to most any other 6 megapixel compact digital camera. I have had a number of prints made, and pictures that were exposed properly (per the command of the photographer) produced an amazing amount of detail.
This camera boasts something that wasn't too common among non-DSLR digital cameras: manual functions. For those who are more hands-on and like to have a little more control over how the camera exposes the picture, this was great. I have been able to use this camera to my advantage to explore the effects of shutter speed, aperture, exposure compensation, etc. It has led me to seek the expanded capabilities of a digital SLR.
But the advanced user aside, the general person who needs a way to capture great shots in most situations will love the relatively small size and great picture quality of this 6MP camera.
I'll be using this as a companion/backup camera alongside a DSLR because the quality of the images is just too great to pass up right now.
Pros:
* Great image quality
* Good color reproduction
* Basic and advanced controls
* Uses AA batteries
* Comfortable to hold, seems well-built
* Can be used with optional adapters and filters
Cons:
* Generally poor flash performance indoors, not much help in daylight
* LCD has a somewhat low resolution; screen looks grainier than it should
* No image stabilization
* Flash recharges slowly on most batteries
Great Camera 2007-12-14
This is our first digital camera and has worked out great. There are many more options than I will ever use, but why complain about that? I have been very pleased with the picture quality, zoom capabilities, screen size, and ease of uploading the pictures to my computer. Our batteries seem to run out often, but I always carry an extra set and it isn't a great expense since it uses two AA batteries.
