Canon Powershot A570 IS
- 4.0 out of 5
- 4.0 out of 5
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Research the Canon Powershot A570 IS
Editors' Comments
The second camera in Canon's Powershot A-series to feature optical image stabilization, the A570 IS follows on the heels of last year's very successful A710 IS. Autocorrecting for hand movement, this image stabilization system greatly reduces jitter and blur in long zoom photos. In addition, the A570 IS brings a couple of Canon's innovations to the A-series for the first time. First, face detection technology, which allows the camera's autofocus system to latch onto a subject's face and keep it in focus no matter where the subject moves. Second is ISO 1600 shooting, greatly helped by the new DIGIC III processor. Though these are significant advances in technology, overall the A570 isn't much of a leap over the A710. For instance, while it features the same great 7.1 megapixel sensor, its lens manages only an average-for-its-class 4x optical zoom compared to the A710's above average 6x optical. It does add some interesting new movie modes and a scene mode or two, but this isn't really enough to push it into truly new territory. While it turns out impressive photos, the A570 IS is ultimately a minor upgrade to a great camera.
Specifications
- 7.1 megapixels
- 4x optical zoom / 4x digital zoom
- Optical Image Stabilization
- Auto focus, auto and manual exposure
- ISO 80-1600
- Movie mode, with sound
- 2.5" LCD display (115,000px)
- Secure Digital Card Storage (16mb SD card included)
- JPEG file format
- 2 AA Batteries
Comments on the Canon A570 IS
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Canon Powershot A570 IS Reviews
- 4.11652593486128 out of 5
Canon Powershot A570 IS Reviews by Digital Camera-HQ Users
- 1.0 out of 5
We have had this for two years; the battery life is terrible as everyone else notes also. We have tried rechargeable as well as most every brand of alkalines. After a few, 20-30 photos the low battery blinks or shuts down the camera. It also has about a 4-5 second lag between photos to charge the flash for the next one. I too am about ready to throw it.
- 2.0 out of 5
I have had my a570 for almost 3 years now. I love the pictures I get from it. However I'm just about to throw it in the trash. I have used just about evey type recharable battery I can find and the camera seems to eat them up after the first use. They rarely ever hold a proper charge after the first time. Nothing more frustrating then to fully charge your batteries before a trip and to have every single one of them fail when you go to use them. I see in this forum that all types have been tried and all recieve a fail at one point or another. It's obvious to me that the a570 is ruining recharable batteries. Thats the only reason I can figure out why every brand of batteries recieved a fail after the first use. Everyone here for the mostpart say whatever batteries are great...but I haven't heard what happens after they try to recharge them. Whatcha think?
- 1.0 out of 5
I have had two Canon now an both worked great for the first year took lots of good pictures but now the len won't come out when you turn it on. Took it to the repair shop same price to fix it as to buy a new one. I will not be buying a Canon again.
- 3.0 out of 5
Worked wonderfully in all situations needed until all of a sudden it quit at a crucial moment. Subject showed up on screen but the camera would not take the picture. At top of the screen the message read that there was a memory error. I tried a new card w/ the same results. Both cards worked fine in an older A540 of ours. I notice the same happened w/ a user of the A590. Gotta be something in the genetics of that family. I'll spend more for a Canon from another family. But I really don't see why I need to fork over the price for a camera so soon.
- 1.0 out of 5
Takes good pictures, but battery life is abysmal. Camera shuts down after 30-40 pic with AA alkalines, 10 or less will fully charged MiMhs (which NMhs are still > 1.3V/cell.)
- 2.0 out of 5
I have purchased A 570 IS camera, Battery low indication was showing in the beginning, i have purchased Sanyo 2700, then it was working fine, but that was only for 2 months, again same prob started, just to check whether it a camera fault or not, i have used durocell batteries, that was working fine, so it is confirm that there is no camera fault. But we cant keep on purchasing the durocell batteries, if we purchase rechargable batteries, they are not working more than 2 months.
Even though camera is good, but there is a battery problem, for the whole life we have to keep on purchasing the batteries.
Now i shifted to sony camera, they are giving rechargable battery along with the camera, like a mobile we can charge, and it is working fine since 8 months.
I personally recommend not to buy canon camera, it is not one time investement, we have to keep on buying the batteries, highly expensive even after purchase of the camera.
Paul
- 4.0 out of 5
The camera is very good with a terrible battery life ,but now the problem is solved, use uniross 2500 mah batteries to solve your problem,switch off urs camera lcd and use viewfinder instead.battery usuage is strongly recomended.
- 5.0 out of 5
I had a less talented compact digital camera for about a year and stepped up to this Canon last year. I,ve gotten to travel a bit in this part of the country (So.Cal) as well as Parts of Nevada and Arizona and have taken some excellent outdoor pictures that have made it onto TV 4 times as the best weather pics of the day, a great camera!
- 5.0 out of 5
I have bought this camera from Smartbuy-Jordan for 205 JD's (300 $), (price too high! I know but the prices here in Jordan are three times those in the western world while our yearly income is less than 7000$, that's how it has always been!) However, once I used the Panasonic batteries that came with it, it showed the battery indicator after 9 shots and it shut down, I used other alkaline batteries and the same problem came up after 25 shots and 2 minutes of video, initially I thought the camera was faulty until I bought Energizer rechargeables 2500mAH and I have so far used it for capturing 200 shots and still no battery indicator issue. I think the problem is fixed. Besides this, everything is marvelous, the high picture quality, natural colours, easy to use, compact, IS and manual mode are of a great advantage. I recommend buying it and using rechargeables, you won't be wasting your money.
- 5.0 out of 5
I have to say this is one of the best digital cameras that I have ever used. I love the night shots from it. Was really surprised with them. Now for battery issue that I have heard about. I am using the first two batteries that I purchased which are "Energizer Lithium" and I have taken over a 100 pictures and they are still strong. Or I just got lucky and got a good set of batteries. I have rechargable ones too but I have not gotten to them as of yet. It is an easy camera to use and the pictures are great.
- 5.0 out of 5
I purchased my camera right after Thanksgiving to have in time for Christmas. I have taken about 75 pictures, on the first of batteries and they are still charged. I do have rechargeable batteries for it, but have not use them.
As for the pictures, I was surprised that turn out so excellent. Took one at a birthday party with just the candles giving off the light, and I couldn't have asked for another picture. Use the night setting for that picture. I don't know all the ins and outs with it yet, but I having fun learning.
All I have to say, it is a good value for the money. Now go have fun taking pictures and for the memories...
- 3.0 out of 5
Iam pretty satisfied with the camera performance after using it for 2 months and i greatly advice others to buy one in such price range , but i am not satisfied with its battery life.i have used duracell removable batteries and after clicking just 10 snaps, low battery indicator signal glows and camera power off. i am uncertain whether it is a manufacturing defect or the camera has poor battery standards.please advice me.
- 4.0 out of 5
This is a great camera among this price range. I Have been using this Camera since 4 months, I have taken more than 1000 snaps and movie clips. I created about 10 Home video, Birthday CD, SVCD. Is has Excellent high quality still picture, Optical Zoom is good. video is good but opitical zoom does not work only digital zoom works, which creates noisey clips. Macro is good (5 cms wide), I expected more about (1 or 2 cms wide). LCD id overall good (2.5"). For the new user it is a very good camera. Just click and shoot with automatic mode. Even 4-5 years child can easily use this camera. There are a lots of manual fuctions for creativity snaps.
I expected more with this camera:-
1. Optical Zoom should be at least more than 6X zoom.
2. Macro should be 1-2 cms wide.
3. Optical zoom should be work during movies shooting.
4. LCD resolution should more and at least 3" wide.
Though it is a great camera among 7.1 MP family. or campare to other brand. My expectation is beyond the existing price range.
Kishor Toppo, New Delhi
- 4.0 out of 5
excellent clarity,user friendly,good optical zoom.
very good for intraoral pictures-that's why i bought it.And am not disappointed.
- 4.0 out of 5
I used to have a Panasonic model LZ2, but I dropped it and damaged it. So I went searching for another camera and decided on the Canon A570, because I saw the good reviews on it. My first impressions are as follows:
1. It fits and feels really well in your hand.
2. The buttons all have a good feel and click with a purpose.
3. I know the power button is small, but I still get confused with it being the shutter button sometimes. I'm sure this won't be an issue as I get used to the operation.
4. I don't much care for the noisy zoom lens. In comparison the Panasonic I had was much more quiet.
5. I'm disappointed there is no internal memory. I thought this was pretty much standard. The free 16MB card is a joke.
6. The camera makes audible sounds which is cool, but they sound rather feable as if the camera is struggling to make these sounds.
7. I miss having the 6x optical zoom on my Panasonic vs. the 4x optical zoom on this one.
7. I like the ring release button so you can add other lenses. Although, I priced them and they are not cheap.
8. The camera despite some of the cons I mentioned seems like a really nice camera, but I can't help wonder about the newer Panasonic Lumix LZ7. It gets good reviews also.
- 5.0 out of 5
It totally rocks!I was definitaly pleased with the quality,my pictures seem to come out proffessional and when I print them otu Im asked if they are proffessional!If you are looking for a good camera, take a look at the Canon A570.I have had my camera for 8 months and Its yet to fail me.
- 4.0 out of 5
I have been using for 3 months, being a euro spec i found scene modes doesn't allow much manupulations as i did with my favourite A80 but Aquarium and foliage options give excellent colors, IS & FD is great, being high ISO cam low light has noise. Great overall camera.
- 5.0 out of 5
I've had this camera for less than a month and I must say that I am a very pleased customer. After reading the basic manual I was able to take crisp and clear shots. The color of the images taken with this camera is most life like and the quality of the pics exceeded my expectations even when taking pics in near complete darkness. The Canon PowerShot 570IS is the ideal camera for the average guy wanting to take great pics as well as the amateur to near professional photographer since it has just the right amount of both automatic and manual controls and for the price, you just can't go wrong. This camera has a lot of great features and modes to ensure that almost every pic you take is the perfect pic. I suggest you purchase a larger memory card and some cr-v3 batteries since you will be taking non-stop pic after pic after familiarising yourself with this great camera.
- 5.0 out of 5
This camera has more features than I know what to do with right now. I love the fact that it's a great point and shoot camera with almost no shutter delay(I have two young kids ages 1 & 3)so that I don't have to worry about missing a shot. The instructions that Cannon gives, are very easy to understand and makes it easy to explore more of the optional features. I don't like the flash recharge delay, but the quality of the pictures pays off in the end. It's also able to accommodate an external flash and other lenses too which I was not aware of until I started playing with it. I was origanally looking for a simple point and shoot camera, but I like the fact that I can do more if I want to later on. I had tried out a 710is and the first 15 shots I took had really bad red-eye even with the red-eye reduction feature on. The digic III processor really makes a difference. I highly recommend this cam for anyone that is a first time buyer/ease of use buyer but also wants options for later.
- 4.0 out of 5
The camera isn't as bad as Tom's report. If there's one thing I hate in a digital camera, it's over saturated, high contrast, too bright and too sharp pics; the mark of el cheapo digital cameras, trying to be something they are not.
This camera takes silky-smooth images, knocking on the back door of my Canon Digital Rebel.
Unremarkable above ISO 400 (expected). The camera shines, stopped-down a bit.
Flash charge times are too slow (perhaps "AA" high-current capable batteries are in order).
IS helps a bit, but nothing like my Canon IS lense(s)for the Rebel.
It's a great camera for the money. Well worth it.
Charles
- 3.0 out of 5
I was very happy with the camera until the lens froze on the forth day. I sent it back to NewEgg and another one has been sent. If the lens problems does not happen again I will buy more of the cameras for our school district.
- 2.0 out of 5
I was very disappointed with my new A570 and ended up returning it after 7 days. After all the rave reviews and good ratings, I was just not satisfied with the lack of sharpness or definition in the pictures. I tried both manual and automatic features in an attempt to improve performance. Finally I took a number of pictures side by side with 2 cameras and did a side by side unmarked photo comparison test afterwards with a few friends. Everybody picked the pictures that were taken with my old Kodak CX7530 point and shoot as best.
The movie feature in the A570 worked beautiful with remarkable video.
- 4.0 out of 5
It takes amazing pictures with good quality. Only problem with camera is flash recharge which takes longer time and you may loose some of the moments that you wanted to capture (May be problem sometime). Movie mode is also good. Overall good camera in this price range. I would recommend this camera to any one.
- 5.0 out of 5
Pros : Excellent color quality. Good macro.
Size: Extremely small.
Cons:Battery indicator flashes after certain time even with fully charged ni mh batteries in.
Overall great camera with wide aperture and flash recharge does not bother me.
Canon Powershot A570 IS Comments & Questions (write your own!)
How close are you looking to get to the object you're shooting? A camera with "macro" mode will probably be the best bet for you. You'll probably want image stabilization capabilities as well (to deal with the indoor lighting). The Canon A570 IS ( digitalcamera-hq.com/digita... ) might be a good choice for you. The high ISO capability and image stabilization will be great for the indoor shots. In macro mode, you can get as close as 2 inches to your subject. I hope this helps.
Andrew
Good Luck!
* A bright lite source can be a friend or foe as it can trick your cameras meter.
* Use your PowerShot's easy exposure options to brighten a dark photo situation.
* Canon PowerShot cameras allow you to adjust their sensitivity to the environment's light (up to ISO 400).
You can adjust your exposure by +/-2 stops in 1/3-stop increments.
There's also the "Special Scene" and Night Scene presets. A little experimentation will yield you the proper setting to get good sunrise/sunset shots.
face detection helps but you can do without it, and it will only help when capturing images of people. When capturing other images, the 6x option will be better, because you can never have enough zoom!
in other words I would go for the A710 with 6x zoom.
Thanks
theres so many options along with the new line of SD models. Its boggling! SD300 has a new macro lens but it must not be out there yet.
GR
when I was reseaching I found out that the sd 800 IS has superb macro down to 1.2 inches , unklike the a570 IS which goes to only 2 inches. You will need a camera with image stabilization, it help out greatly. I have tested out the sd 800 IS and it locks on to targets alot closer, clearer and quicker than any of the cameras that u mentioned. It will cost u though. Otherwise if u can't afford go for the a570 IS it is the best all around budget deal for u.
Good Luck
I'm gettin my first digicam and am very excited. Ive pretty much decided on the A570 but therz something thats confusing me. Some websites state the A570 having manual focus while others dont.
DOES THE A570 HAVE MANUAL FOCUS OR NOT?
Also the main features im looking for are:
1. Some manual controls like manual focus
2. Sizeable length of Video recording
3. Can function as a webcam
4. Sound recording(optional)
Does the A570 satisfy all of these?
I'd really aprreciate any help. THANK YOU !
None of the above work as web cams.
The a570 is has a mic.
Ask me if u want to know any more.
1. Is the canon A570 IS the best choice between the A570, A710 and A640?
P.S. I dont care too much about the 6X zoom in the A710 nor the swiveling LCD in the A640.
2. I also looked at Sony's camera's (which I guess is the "second best" brand after canon (or is it?).
Just two of them had manual focus n other manual controls. Other cons were they used Lithium-Ion batteries and seemed bulkier than the Canon 570IS.
Would be suggest any other brand/model?
Thanx a TON !!
2. canon is superior to sony image quality.
3.a570 has manual focus, aperture and shutter speed.
sony is not second best. kodak is. Just go with canon though.
I used the site beachcamera.com to buy two cameras. Good service. Trusted site by cnet and canon authorized dealer. low price of 239 and free shipping.
1. the swivel LCD was less cooler than i thought it would be.
2. more megapixels doesnt mean better picture quality, mot amatuers dont need more than 5 MP. Infact higher Mp cams seem to have higher picture noise.
3. a570 had 1 hour of continous video recording while a640 has 8 min of contnious video record (both at highest quality video setting)
Without IS u need a tripod for on the go quick shot pics.
thank you both for your input there... I've been swaying between the A640, the A570, and the SD 800.
It's been hard trying to figure out the features I really *want* versus the ones I really *need*. Plus, this camera is for my wife - she needs to be able to pick it up and go with it, and get good shots. Tonight we checked out the A570 and SD 800, and she really liked the A570 for its grip, as well as its feature set (MODE choices are better implemented on the A570, which you'll see later).
Surprisingly, the two cameras match very closely in features and in performance. The differences seem slight in most respects (mainly in terms of size, battery, zoom, and wide angle), except I found that myself surprised that the GUI/menu system on the SD 800 just baffled me, with too many dual-function icons. Now that I consider it, the two may have very like GUIs, but the icon clutter left me confused (and I'm a gadget head, so I don't mind lots of buttons, I'll learn them). However, I found I could navigate and control the A570 far more intuitively (this was my second visit to the store, and I had spent 20 minutes or so with each camera previously).
Also, on the A570, the mode knob is external, mounted on top, so you can change modes *and* power on FAST. On the SD 800, the modes are accessible only *after* the camera has booted, because they are in the software. So, the A570 wins the "power-on and mode select" competition by 5 seconds, easy, since you avoid having to deal with waiitng for startup, then calling up the GUI, then locating the right mode in software.
Either way, your comments help me rule out the A640, and my time in the store (and my wife's weakened right hand strength) ruled out the SD 800 (too easy to fumble and drop, and to handle the GUI).
An A570 is on the way! Thanks for your comments!
I just found out a new difference between the A570 and the A710 (of these twwo i am considering one). The A710 seems to have a wider angle lens than the A570. What advantage does this have? Is the difference between the two a lot ?
THANXXXX.
Where did you find the wider angle on the 710? I do not see that on the review sites I've visited... curious.
This side-by-side feature comparison *may* help you see the differences between the two cameras more easily. They are so-o-o-o-o much alike, it surprised me.
dpreview.com/reviews/compar...
The biggest differences I see (that would affect my thinking) are these...
ISO to 1600 (570) vs 800 (710)
4:1 zoom (570) vs 6:1 zoom (710)
Aperture F2.6-F5.5 (570) vs F2.8-F4.8 (710)
The zoom favors the 710. The aperture favors the 570. My reasoning: While I would prefer a bigger zoom, the digital zoom on the 570 surprised me, it was that good. The wider aperture range seems to indicate I'd have more likelihood of capturing a better shot with the 570.
I ordered from Newegg.com. I've had great results from them, and excellent customer service. Most items ship in 3 days at a reasonable price. I've been buying from them from some 7 years. Another I'd highly recommend is B&H photo. Both of these I've used on and off for many years. That's not to slam the advertisers here... I've just not had experience with them.
Lemme first thank you for your help ! really appreciate it :D
Secondly, to answer our question, I'm not really sure where i got the info that the A710 has a wider angle lens than the A570.
The problem is I dont know much about camera and therfore cannot make out throught the specifications which camera has a wide angle kens or not.
If you could just find out if this difference does infact exist between the two or if it really matter, I'll be set to order my camera that very moment. hahaha :D
thanx again !
Price being equal, I'm buying an A640 as it looks nicer and seems to be better for manual focusig, although I understand if anyone prefers the A570is which is smaller and has more up to date features like face detection, red eye removal and a stabiliser.
Sonys and Panasonics and Canon Ixus range are great if you prefer something yet smaller and convenient. Their pictures are pretty much as good and better for personal (family and friends) images.
Alternatively the Nikon P5000 looks and feels far superior. Get this if there's a good deal.
Just to explain a little more... When i take a picture (any ISO) there might be "grain" (digital noise) or not... but the Digic III processor kicks in... and try to "denoise" the image which leave orrible JPEG artefact and blur on textures. Of course I could find any way to disable the "denoise" feature (which would have been the perfecto solution for me!). So now I'm thinking about changing it for a a710IS but I'd like to be able to keep my a570IS (cheaper and smaller!)...
So if any of you find any solution to this, please let me know!
Also I don't understand why nobody as seen this kind of problem... my guess is that it must arise with every digic III base camera... So this is major? Why does everyone say that all 3 camera above will produce good quality picture? (Digic II is GREAT! but from what I can see, Digic III is orible!)
Wondering how noticeable the flash issue on the A570IS really is?
consider the following:
1 primary use children
panasonic lumix has special baby modes
panasonic.co.uk/technology/...
2.the panasonics are very robust cameras good for family use.
3 the new dmc ls60 is priced at £99 in the uk in the us it called ls70 and is priced at $149.
should I upgrade to 700 line?
It is important when you take pictures in low light condition or using extreme zoom like 6X, 10X or more. At close range, a flash will do equally well, if not better, in getting your picture.
If you have already got a camera, there is no necessity to change it just for the feature alone. If you are upgrading to a better camera, then go for it.
#2.) For smaller zooms, bukit97 is exactly right that it doesn't make much of a difference. If you have shaky hands, it'll help somewhat, but with the fast shutter speeds it won't make a huge difference.
#3.) In low light, bukit97 is right again. Keep in mind, though -- IMAGE STABILIZATION DOES NOT KEEP YOUR TARGET FROM BLURRING! It only keeps YOU from blurring the picture. When your shutter speed is extended due to poor lighting, moving objects will blur, and there's nothing you can do about it. Try to take a picture with the fastest shutter speed and lowest ISO possible in the lighting you're given. Try to do it without a flash, too, if possible. This is all experience, so be patient and take hundreds of pictures!
The Canon SD700IS is a beautiful camera. If you want wide-angle, go for the SD800IS (they're the same price). If you don't care about image stabilization, get the SD750.
As technology improves, you will find it less and less likely to find cameras without optical image stabilization. It's the future of cameras and, if you can get the feature on a camera you like, you definitely should.
The A570 IS ( digitalcamera-hq.com/digita... ) is another new model that offers image stabilization that is getting rave reviews. Definitely worth a look if you like the new Canons but want IS.
does it have to be canon?
I use a panasonic fz3 it has a 28mm widescreen mode and a great black and white mode
the new fz8 is even better
dcresource.com/news/newsite...
i just recently was camera shopping and found that the PowerShot A series digital cameras have more manual functions than the SDs. I've not experimented widely, but the A570IS and the very similar A710 have black and white (as well as sepia) modes.
Since the A170 is so similar, i'll note that I bought the A570 because i wanted better quality photos in low light situations more than the 6x zoom. What i've found, now that i've entered the universe of 7 megapixels, is that the digital zoom on top of the optical zoom is still quite satisfying.
The A570 also has more metadata associated with the image, and this is supposed to make digital printing more successful.
HTH,
judith
A570 IS : 1 hour of video record att highest quality
A710: Only 8 minutes of video record at highest quality.
Most ppl online say there isn't much difference between 6X and 4X.
The A570 also has more metadata associated with the image, and this is supposed to make digital printing more successful.
I am not a serious photography fan.
Simply and definitely, I want to save Precious moments beautifully.
Quality of the Camera and Images preferred over Size of the Camera.
Ready to invest upto 230$ [Including Memory and other stuff].
No restrictions on Company.
Movie mode, with sound, and a nice large LCD. It also runs on AAs. And prices are such that you can take the extra and get a few 512MB+ SD cards.
If not which one has more/of what ??
A USB connection allows easy offload of images from the SD or MMC card to a Mac or PC. And unlike some manufacturers who are still clinging to the older USB 1.1/2.0 Full Speed standard, Canon has adopted a much swifter USB 2.0 High Speed interface in the Canon A710. For users without a computer (or those who like to make quick prints without the hassle of touching their PC), you can bypass the extra step completely and print directly from the PowerShot A710 IS to a Canon or other PictBridge-enabled printer via the same USB
this is A570 To aid quick and easy access three popular scene modes Kids and Pets, Indoor and Night Snapshot have been moved to the Mode dial. The PowerShot A560 has 14 shooting modes to cover many shooting situations, including Beach, Snow and Fireworks scene modes. The PowerShot A570 IS adds Underwater mode for use with the optional waterproof case accessory and creative options that enable manual control of aperture and shutter speed settings. In total, the camera offers users 19 shooting modes. The creative potential of the PowerShot A570 IS can be extended with a comprehensive range of accessories that includes telephoto, wide and close-up lens converters, and slave flash
if you use one of those camera and does matter which is best but you prefer to trail this camera before you buy it if i were you i will go for top one like A710 bec there is more as thirteen of modes and other one has offered 19 shoot modes!
i advice you to go buy small one to fit your pocket to take with this to anywhere around world or family portial photoshoot
good luck
revhead227
When we compare the cameras physically, they seem very similar. I did a very detailed study of the specs at the Canon site and the difference beyond the zoom seems to be the A570 more sensitive in low light (a larger ISO range) and the A570 has exif 2.2 metadata (which supports better digital printing, supposedly).
HTH
judith
And if it could be attached to the computer and used as a webcam?
Rechargeable batteries?? I hate changing A4 batteries over and over and over...
Anyone know if this is the right camera, or know of a camera that has these features. Please help me as soon as possible!
Oh and a, can someone explain the SD card thing. So you have to buy a good sized SD card aswell because the one it comes with is crappy??
PS: Please write reply as if your writing to someone who doesn't understand much camera language thanks! :P
The card that comes with it is actually only 16 mb. But this is my third digi camera so I expected that. I just picked up a 2 GB SD card for $25 at Best Buy though and I think that will get us through our next vacation.
The batteries that come with it are just 2 regular AA's. I use the NiMh rechargable ones but love the option of using regular AA's if I get caught without charged ones. I just know that all digital cameras eat through regular batteries really fast so it's best to use rechargables.
Hope that helps on some of your questions.
Are there any good tutorials on using the flash settings on this camera? While i do use a film SLR and so understand about fstops, aperture priority and shutter speed priority and such, it's going to take me a while to figure out the equivalent techniques on the powershot A, i fear. I suppose a series of tutorials for the manual features on a digital camera would help....
Two questions in one, i suppose! Please forgive me as a newbie.
I found several tutorials regarding shooting with fill flash (<a href="best-family-photography-tip... one</a>), but since you are familiar with the manual controls themselves, most of them are likely too simplistic for you. The rules for shooting manual on your digital cam and for shooting film are pretty similar, it just takes some experimentation with that particular camera. I realize that isn't terribly helpful- I mostly just wanted to post that Photoshop link in case it would help you at all. =)
anichols
There are three things I would consider when buying a camera for someone with hand tremor:
-Image stabilization- as mentioned above, image stabilization/ shake reduction will help control blurriness caused by camera shake. It's not magic and it won't control ALL of it, but it'll help considerably. Look for "optical" rather than "digital" stabilization; both are available, but optical works much better and doesn't degrade your image quality like digital does.
-Avoid using too much zoom. You mentioned wanting to take pictures of birds, so I'm assuming you will want to use some zoom, but bear in mind that the longer the zoom, the more shake you may experience. Do you want something with a very long zoom? If so, I'd recommend a tripod (or setting up a system where you can brace the camera against a windowsill or something similar while shooting the photo).
-A viewfinder. This is optional, but if you really want to hold the camera in your hands instead of setting it on something, an optical viewfinder can help. These are the little windows you look through to compose the photo (just like on film cameras); many models offer both a viewfinder and the standard LCD. If you use a viewfinder, then you are automatically bracing the camera against your forehead, which helps with shake. As I said, if you're willing to use a tripod or support for the camera, this isn't necessary, but it can be nice to have.
Depending on how much zoom you want (and your price range), there are a few cameras you can look at. The
Canon A570 IS ( digitalcamera-hq.com/digita... ) comes to mind - image stabilization, viewfinder, 4x optical zoom - but it'll really depend on what out of these features sounds most important to you. Let me know and I can help point you towards more options.
If you're NOT under warranty or it's not new enough to return, let me know and I'll try to walk you through some solutions. But some of them may void the warranty, so please, try that first!
i just notice that other canon brands are having the same problem... has this become a universal canon sickness?
It's not necessarily a Canon problem- I think we just hear about it more with Canons due to their major popularity. But after answering questions on this board for a long time, I have seen the same issue pop up on other major brands- Kodak has a 28 error, Panasonic also has a "Lens error restart camera," Nikon has its own "lens error," etc. You'll also hear a lot about Canon's E18 error, which is very similar to this. It all has to do with the delicacy of the lens mechanism on digitals, which can be thrown off by bangs and bumps, or even by pieces of dust or sand lodged in the mechanism. So it's really less of a Canon problem than it is a universal issue with digital cameras and their delicate lenses. In cases like the OP, sending it back is best because the problem happening right out of the box indicates a shipping or manufacturing problem; in other cases, it's just a matter of being gentle with your camera.
and it's like.. stuck
it won't work.
PLZ HELP!!
my sister dropped it in the house and i don't know what to do???
and it keeps showing that message.
and i dont have the warranty thing.
cause i got it for christmas.
i just want to go threw the steps.
so i dont have to buy a whole new camera.
and my camera is a Canon PowerShot SD600
But... if the estimate is more than the cost of the camera (which may happen if it's old enough), or if you just want to try, here are a few methods that might help.
1. If you can get the camera to turn on, go into the Setup menu and do a factory reset/ restore defaults. If you can't get it to turn on, remove the batteries, wait a few minutes, then put them back in. If you are just getting the error message and the lens isn't making a weird grinding noise or anything, what you have may just be a technical glitch, and doing one of these two things may put it back to normal. Try this first.
2. Didn't work? OK. Next idea: take a look at where the USB plugs into the camera on the side; if it's a Canon, there should be a soft padded cover there. Take that side and rap the padded part gently against a table top. Sometimes this works, I don't know why.
3. Next idea: If your lens moves at all when the camera is turned on, watch how it moves. Does it come out and then back in? If so, turn it on and, as it comes out, grab it and hold it for a few seconds, preventing it from going back in; then let it go. You may also try holding it a few centimeters above a table top, and as it comes out, let it hit the table top and be forced back in before it is fully out.
Those are the top things that seem to work for people. But... if they don't work for you, there's still more you can try.
Here's the thing: most of these errors that you all are getting are related; the 'lens error, restart camera' is very similar to Canon's old e18 error, and various other manufacturers have the same issues. So even if you're not seeing the E18 error message on a Canon camera, the problem you're having is very similar to that one. So take a look at e18error.com/repair.html
That website outlines multiple methods to fix the E18 error (and therefore similar lens errors). Some of those methods I've just described here, but there are others, right down to a guide on how to dismantle your camera. Read that site carefully as it explains things in pretty good detail, and give them all a shot and see if anything works.
Good luck!
2. take a look at where the USB plugs ...rap the padded part gently against a table top. Sometimes this works, I don't know why.
I'm sure this isn't supposed to be a legitimate solution and I hope there isn't other damage. Oh well, it worked!!
Thanks so much, Brenda P.
thanks
Jo
Thanks!
Chump
It is still under warranty, but my local Canon have stated to me that they will not honour the warranty, and repairing the camera will cost about 75% of the original cost of the camera (I can get a much better camera for the same amount).
I won't be buying Canon again.
i tried all the above solutions, and i still am recieving the "lens error" message.
i dont know what else to do!
i dont really know what to do!
brenda p? got anything?
i hit it on the lower right corner looking from the back of the camera.
my brother dropped it in the house and i don't know what to do???
it worked for my problem, when i officially gave up hope.
hold your camera parallel to the floor with the lens facing upwards.
there should be two silver rings that the lens is surrounded by.
push and twist left on the outer ring WHILE holding the power button.
it took me two tries, but it worked!
i dropped up my camera a couple of hours go and went to the internet to check out what 'do-it-yourself' repair techniques i could apply (camera was beyond return period and it was me who dropped it).
the 3part lens structure had troubles getting inside - error message "lens error, restart camera".
well, hat i learned is to adjust the normal state of lenses and to push it a little bit until it fits.
I used a knife to make the aluminum cover of the lenses to fit in.
here is a picture made with the freshly repaired camera : flickr.com/photos/dilyan/25... (any of the admins, feel free to post the pic here for future reference to fellow mis-fortunate droppers if you wish )
have a great day,
D.
Ain't the internet grand?
Pulled the lens out a little bit each time. But it would go back to the original deformed state. Got annoyed. Tapped the lens real hard with my palm for three four times. It pushed the lens back in!!! And I started the camera . It was working . After a couple of zoom in and out's the gears stopped making their noise! It works fine now. Thanks everyone.
Canon Powershot SD600
"
My daughter dropped the camera yesterday, and we got the "lens error" message. I just did the "hold the lens on a table and hit the power button" trick on mine. It fixed it!!!!! Thanks for the great advice!!!
Paul
Paul
Thanks!!! I encountered the same error and I tried out some tips you provided and it works!! I'm so happy now XD
idropped my canon 800is camera and after that the lense is not going inside and it shows lense error restart ur camera i tried by removing batteries and it did nt work so kindly help me .
thanks
e18.bitnet.cx/comments.php
I have a powershot A430, it is probably about 2 years old by now maybe a year and a half, no warranty and they other day I was taking pictures and the 'lens error restart camera' message has appeared.
The lens is fully extended, it makes a quick I'm trying to retract noise when I turn it on, nothing moves on the lens though. The screen lights up and says Canon then it goes to the error message for a few seconds beeps and shuts off automatically.
I have tried turing the outter ring while holding power, I have tried turning it on in play mode, video mode etc..., I tried pushing the lens back in when turning it on, I tried the tapping on the table trick, I took out the batteries then put them back in, I tried brand new batteries, I tried with and without the memory card in it. Been like this for a few days.
Can anyone think of anything other than taking it to a repair shop, as I am sure it would cost more than buying a better camera which I have been thinking about lately...
I got the 'lens error, restart camera' message after firmly putting the camera down on a counter. The lens was stuck half way out with no cover. We've had the camera for over a year.
I changed the batteries and fiddled/gently pulled & pushed the lens while turning the camera on over and over again. I also gently tapped it on the USB port side. After several tries the lens started moving and eventually pulled all the way out. Next thing I know it's working again...for now.
Thanks again!
Despite the issue with the camera Canon's tech support and customer service is wonderful. I would definately purchase antoher canonon.
Hit the mini-usb port against the table (gently) did the work. The camera works fine now =)!!!
How in hell can that be possible?
>2. Didn't work? OK. Next idea: take a look at where the USB plugs into the camera on the side; if it's a Canon, there should be a soft >padded cover there. Take that side and rap the padded part gently against a table top. Sometimes this works, I don't know why.
worked like a charm on my Canon SD1100. Son of a Gun!!!
Thanks!!!
I tried the "tap, tap" fix given here, but got no results. Then I tried BrendaP's "3. Next idea: If your lens moves at all when the camera is turned on, watch how it moves. Does it come out and then back in? If so, turn it on and, as it comes out, grab it and hold it for a few seconds, preventing it from going back in; then let it go."
This caused a couple of small click sounds to come from the camera - but then it worked fine. I think the guts of these cameras now are made mostly of plastic and can get jammed or crossed easily. I am sure that this procedure should be repeated as a last resort, but when you can buy a brand new camera for LESS than the shops & manufacturer want to fix a problem it is a good idea to give it a try.
camerarepair.blogspot.com/2...
The lens needs to be cleaned or repaired, or replaced; banging it will only break the LCD screen or cause the camera to stop powering! You are lucky if you don't ruin your camera, so be warned.
If you want the camera repaired, you can buy a defective camera and make one good one from the parts, or you can buy the part and repair it yourself or send it in for repair to somebody who knows what they are doing.
We are an affordable digital camera repair business ( darntoothysam.com ), and we can get you either the part you need or do the repair for you. We would be happy to help you with your repair if we can!
Thomas
Darntoothysam.com
4) Try forcing the camera lens:
Turn off the camera. Place it on the back with the lens facing up and take a look at the spacing between the lens and the lens housing. If you notice that the gap is not even all the way around the lens, the problem should be easy to fix. This type of a problem usually occurs if the camera was dropped while the lens was extended.
Simply - VERY GENTLY - press down the lens on the side where the gap is the biggest. You should hear a "click" as it pops back into place. Try powering the camera back on.
some one want to help me?
sijodaniel@hotmail.com
its a cannon powershot a570 is
no warranties
So this is what happened. I dropped the camera on the way to park - it was in a roots case and its kinda dropped many times and I thought it would be fine as always until I got the park and it gave me the lens error restart camera message. I tried putting it on and off around 20 times and that didnt work. The problem was that every time I shut off I got the error.
I even played with the lens that comes out, holding it and powering off but again that didn't work. In the case of the Powershot SD750 it doesnt have a USB rubber thing so I tried hitting the camera against the table a few times but no luck. Even the defaulting to original settings didnt work.
What did work for me was the tip about zooming in and out. After 5 mins of doing it it finally worked! Just wanna say thank you to everyone!!
my lens is extended all the way out and stuck!
when i try to turn on my camera,
it makes a buzzing noise and then it says CANON
after that, i get lens error, restart camera!
help!
it`s the same with mine. well almost!
the lens is stuck half way out.
if i press the on-button it shows canon and makes noise. then it shows lens error, restart camera!
aarrr.
or more ideas of how to fix it?
I have never dropped the camera. When the problem happened I just tried to zoom and it all of sudden got stuck.
My roommates got a new cat and I went to take a video of him for my girlfriend to see. There was something funny about the way the lens moved, but it still worked. I took the video and went on my way. I got to my girlfriend's, we went for a walk in the park, I showed her the video and then stuck it back in it's case. I went home, and went to power it on and it's making that awful grinding sound some people described, not extending AT ALL, and giving me the lens error message.
I've tried rapping it gently on the padded side, I've tried pushing and twisting the outer ring, I can't get to the manual reset option, and I can't zoom in and out, as it won't start up. I'm about to try rapping it on whatever side makes impact first when I huck it at my wall @_@. I've got no explanation for why I got the error to begin with, and none of these solutions seem to be giving me the same miraculous results others are getting.
I'm gonna go whimper in the corner now and wait for another possible solution
Well the best solution is as follows
1.hold the camera with lens facing upwards.
2. There should be two rings on the lens.
3. While holding the power button, push the outer ring and try moving it to the left .
4. The lens will come out and go back in and its back in working condition
Good luck
thanks
You saved my camera- I banged it on the USB sige against the table and it completely solved the issue!
one day i was taking pictures and all of a sudden the screen turned black but the lens never closed. i thought i had to charge my battery so i went home and it was fully charged and i put it in my camera and since then it hasnt turned on. the lens are still open and they havent closed yet. i dont know what to do. and i dont think i have insurance. can anybody help me? it will mean alot to me!
thank you!
Anyway I laid the camera on it's back as per instructions here and twit turned and banged to no avail.
--------------------------------------------------
* laying the camera on its back
* manually opened the mechanical lens cover with your finger and
* firmly grabbed the edge of the cover housing with your finger (your finger will be touching the glass lens)
* while grasping the edge try and pull out the lens barrel.
* at the same time with your other hand power on the camera.
--------------------------------------------------
I know it is not good to touch the lens but the camera was worthless to me anyway.
Good luck to all hope this helps some else
nothing did...:(
F***er, was typed from my madness... i was very frusdterated..
i am sorry. i meant my name was Amy,
and I for got to re name myself. I am sorry :(
But nothing worked.. :(
1. taping the USB port area 10-15 times
2. Hold the Lense moving part- which come out and goes in- for 10-15 seconds
3. Most importantly make sure that the Zoon adjustment is positioned as Mimum. This helps as the camera tries to adjust the lense position if the zoom position is in between which might lead to issues for the camera and leads to Lens error. So keep the zoom option in Minimum (or max) not in in b/w. Once camera starts working fine you can adjust this for 10-15 times to make sure that Zoom adjustments are working fine for the camera..
thanks
It makes no attempt to open the lens, no noise or movement is observed. Tried tapping/hitting it and poking the lens around with a knife, nothing. Any suggestions before I take it appart?
Then, push the power button for several times.
It works!
So i had to open the camera and fix it by myself. Here are the results:
treasure.perjantai.net/~gad...
I have no idea what to do. The cam appears to be closed perfectly fine, except the shutter is open and objective is about 1-2mm higher than it should. While turning the cam on, it doesn't do ANYTHING. Just gives me "lens error, restart camera" so I can't turn it manually. I really don't want to pay 150 for fixing some minor mistake (since it's not actually broken, hasn't fallen or anything)
I'll take ANY advice.
The link for the service package is as follows:
http:/www.camerasandparts.com/coleerrese.html
If you have any questions, email me at: bigday7@live.com Good luck with it, that site is the absolute best for a Powershot.
Thank you so much Brenda P!
Thank You Brenda P.
3. Next idea: If your lens moves at all when the camera is turned on, watch how it moves. Does it come out and then back in? If so, turn it on and, as it comes out, grab it and hold it for a few seconds, preventing it from going back in; then let it go.
Worked, Thank you, saved me £25 just to get a quote.
12 April 2008 10:07
That worked a treat! am sooo pleased!!!!!
bomaus.net/index.php?option...
I gently forced the lens back in as much as I could, and tried again a bit later. Success! It occurred to me that when the lens apparatus was parallel to the ground it seemed to work better, and every start after that, with lens parallel, has been OK.
My conclusion; these things are horribly finicky, and I don't really believe it's fixed, but I'm going to always hold it level on start up and cross my fingers. Plus, the more moving parts involved, the greater chance that it will break, so when I have the money, my next digital purchase will be an SLR.
I ask because I am currently testing the Olympus SP-550UZ ( digitalcamera-hq.com/digita... ) and have so far been quite pleased with the results. 7.1 MP, 18x zoom, image stabilization and some great scene based program features including a 15fps burst mode.
But in your case, the one benefit is that you can enable panoramic guides to help you create stunning panoramas that you can stitch together in Photoshop. Pretty good feature if you're standing at the top of the Eiffel Tower and want to take a series of shots of the Paris skyline.
It also has in camera editing features such as cropping, sepia and black/white alerations, nite modes, super macro mode for REALLY close up shots, even a mode for shooting documents.
I'm really enjoying it. If I had to complain, however, I have found the menu structure wanting. But other than that, it's a top notch camera.
Pocket size, I'd have to point you towards Canon Powershot A570 IS ( digitalcamera-hq.com/digita... ).
Based on what I see from it, the Olympus has more vibrant color, but your mileage may vary.
Start with a shutter speed of 1/125. If the 'aperture ' value appears in red, press the left or right direction button until it changes to white color. Otherwise select 1/250 and try again.
You are then ready to start taking pictures.
<a href="forums.dpreview.com/forums/... is a fantastic run-down of the differences between them. Make sure to read the whole thread, as there are a few corrections made to that list in later posts.
As you can see there are some changes that are good, some that are not so good. Whether it's worth it really depends on what features are most important to you.
Thanks again!
The S5 continuous shooting mode does have a nice perk that the S3 doesn't, which is the auto focus, that keeps the moving subject in focus continously while you fire.
So really, the continuous shooting issue will depend on what you want to shoot. Do you have a specific need for the c.s.? If so, maybe I can help you determine if the S5 would be fast enough to meet it.
The hot shoe on the s5 means you can attach an external flash to the camera. This can come in handy. Cameras have built-in flashes, but sometimes (for example, in a very large dim area like a stadium) some extra oomph is needed. With that said, it is possible to attach extra flashes to the s3 as well, you just need to buy a little extra equipment. But the s5 having a hot shoe means you can just pop a Speedlite flash right onto it. So, it can be a plus; but unless you're planning on needing it often, it's not necessarily worth the extra price. Don't get me wrong; hot shoes are fantastic (you will see them on DSLRs and all the high end cameras, and I love using external flashes) but whether or not it's worth it to you depends on how often you think you'll need a very powerful flash.
And I'll add here that the s3's built-in flash is pretty good, anyhow.
I think this could go a few different ways in terms of what camera you should get. My two cents: if I were you, I would probably be buying the s3 right now. I think that from all I've heard about the s5, it has a few advantages to it (hot shoe, larger LCD), but the speed issue is there to be considered, and to me, the advantages aren't large enough to justify the difference in price (and the loss of speed in continuous mode). That's my opinion; I personally think the s3 is a nice all-around camera and would suit you well.
Here's the devil's advocate: Although we've gotten onto Canon, there are other brands and options out there that are comparable. It sounds like you do need something with some power (not just a little point and shoot), you do need zoom, and you do need speed. Do you want me to link you to some other possibles, or are you pretty convinced that you want to go Canon? I'm a huge Canon fan myself but I wouldn't mind at all pointing you to some other brands/ models to make a true comparison!
Oh one more thing. does the s5 have the capabilities of more zoom with an added lens? Can the s3 do that too?
Thanks
In terms of other brands, you're right on the H7, the memory cards can get expensive and are less convenient than the ones for the Canon. The touch screen is kind of a pain for some people too- neat function, but can get covered with fingerprints. If I pointed you towards another brand, it would probably be one of the Fuji ultra zooms. Although those will also have the same issue with memory cards as the Sony, so if that's a factor for you, again, Canon may be best here.
Movie modes in the s3 and s5 are different from each other, and I think this is one area where the s5 did a good job. s5 offers Face Detection technology in movies, which can recognize and focus on human faces automatically, and it can also record longer videos than the s3. If you had a large enough memory card, you could record a 32 minute video where the s3 would only give you 8 minutes on the same card. There may be a tiny reduction in quality of the video with a length like that, but nothing you'd notice.
One caution on that though: if the thought of recording a 32 minute video is exciting, you might want to consider whether you really want your camera to do that or if you'd rather use a separate video camera (higher quality) for clips of that length! It is really up to you, and it'll depend on what you record and how long it usually is. But yeah, I think s5 movies= better.
For the s3 to have a separate flash, you'd need to purchase what's called a slave flash/ bracket. It's complex, but basically because the flash can't hook directly to the camera via a hot shoe, you have to buy a 'bracket' as well that fits around the camera and plugs into it somewhere else, often the tripod hole, and has its own trigger. Basically it's like attaching a totally separate functioning unit (the flash) to the camera and having them work together. Not as handy as a Speedlite and not as cheap, but they do still work if you really want one. Here are some links about them:
<a href="photography-on-the.net/foru... with an S3</a>
<a href="buy.com/prod/Canon_HF_DC1_H... flash for sale</a>
Hmm, what else? The ISO on the s5 goes up to 1600, not 3200, as far as I know; but that is still higher than the s3, which goes up to 800 I believe. But that isn't something to get too excited about, because here's what it is: the ISO is kind of like film speed on a regular camera. You know how you can use 100 speed film outdoors in the sunshine, but if you want to shoot inside, you use something like 400 speed film? ISO does the same thing, more or less. The higher the ISO, the more sensitive the shot is going to be to light, thus a higher ISO is good for shooting in dark conditions. But, on these cameras as well as on almost all digitals, an ISO of 1600 is going to be REALLY, really grainy. Being able to capture light indoors means you sacrifice some image quality, and although in theory a sensitivity of 1600 is nice, you would probably almost never use it because the photos would be unusable. The highest ISO I try to use in any condition is 800, which is grainy enough as it is; so the s5 offering the option of 1600 is likely an option you wouldn't use anyhow.
Both cameras can take optional lenses, so no tie breaker there. =)
I hope that helps. Let me know how you're thinking re: s3 vs. s5. And I can definitely help you find a 'teenager' camera, but what do you mean by decent zoom? Finding something pocket-sized with a good zoom can sometimes be tricky, as the longer the zoom the larger the camera.
On the one hand, the s3 is cheaper, has a better continuous mode, and has many of the same functions as the s5 for less $. On the other, the s5 has the better movie mode and the hot shoe. But if you use a camcorder anyhow and won't use external flash much, then those improvements may be negligible. And the faster continuous mode of the s3 might be nice for you.
Here are a few links to people discussing this same decision, maybe some of their opinions will sway you:
forums.dpreview.com/forums/...
photographyboard.net/forums...
forums.dpreview.com/forums/...
For your other camera, I can't think of any that quite fit your criteria. The Canon G7 has the zoom and pixels you want but is quite a bit above the price range you gave, and it's pretty bulky too. The A710 IS ( digitalcamera-hq.com/digita... ) may be pretty close, although it's somewhat pricier than what you mentioned, it does have the zoom and pixels and is nice and small. Read the user reviews on that one, though; the major thing to beware of is that that camera has a serious issue with lag time between photos if you are using the flash.
If that doesn't work, maybe you can compromise a little and go for something like the new A570 IS ( digitalcamera-hq.com/digita... ) or the A550 ( digitalcamera-hq.com/digita... ), (4x zoom). Is a smaller zoom acceptable, or would you rather pay more/ have a larger camera for the full 6x?
I'll check the other discussions too. Once again , thank you, thank you!
Let me know if you have further questions, always happy to help. And let me know what you decide on for either camera. I'm curious now! =)
The 8mp is also causing some people to grumble because of the fact that it has the same size image sensor as the S3, which only has 6mp. I think this is probably what you saw that said something didn't change, they were referring to the sensor size. For best image quality, a large amount of pixels should go with a larger sensor. Think of it this way: the pixels are stored on the sensor. The more pixels you try to cram onto that sensor, the less improvement those pixels are going to offer to the image quality, as the pixels don't like to be crammed all into one small space. So the S3 and the S5 having the same size sensor means that the S5 has more 'cramming' going on. Many people (me included) believe that manufacturers do this as a sort of cheap upgrade. They can market a camera with tons of megapixels, but if they don't bother to upgrade the sensor, it won't give you that great of an image. I don't necessarily think that's what's happening with the S5- 8mp on a 1/2.5 sensor isn't THAT bad, and I don't see Canon as the type to pixel-cram for marketing purposes- but that is why people are complaining. If I were you, I wouldn't use those two extra mp as a deciding factor between the cams.
1.Hot shoe/external flash..would it be used?
2. face detection? Is this really a factor?
3. 2 mp is not significant
4. 1/2 " bigger screen-no biggie
5.iso 1600 ( not important)
6.:( Slower continuous mode.
7. better movies
8. 2 more shooting modes. no biggie?
9. I also read that the s5 camera itself is a little bigger than s3....not as easy to hold??
So as far as I can tell bottom line...would I use the hot shoe? Is that worth the extra money?
Hmm.....If I could wait for real reviews of normal everyday peeps once they have them in hand, I would...but I really need this camera for a trip in 2 weeks. Thinking on it a little more.
Thanks Brenda, you continue to be a big help.
I believe that more pixels crammed within a sensor of the same size than less pixels will improve image quality because image pixels will be smaller - that is less grainy. Though naked eyes may be unable to see the difference between 6Mp and 8Mp without magnification it should make a big difference when printing or projecting in large size. Just imagine two 15 inch LCDs one with 640 x 480 pixels and another 1024 x 768 pixels. They have same size but the picture resolution is quite different.
Lisa, sounds like you've been researching also.
Any advice on which way to go...s5,s3? Maybe waiting for user reviews would be the best answer...although I too have a trip coming up.
Thanks again.
"I think that from all I've heard about the s5, it has a few advantages to it (hot shoe, larger LCD), but the speed issue is there to be considered, and to me, the advantages aren't large enough to justify the difference in price"
Guess if the LCD is a major factor, i.e. if the menus are hard to see on the smaller screen, then that may be a larger issue for you and might lean you towards the S5. Lots of people are really pleased by it, and that .5 inches does make quite a bit of difference if you rely on the LCD a lot!
Not quite. The issue with more pixels on a small sensor means that the pixels will be smaller, as you've said, but smaller pixels actually leads to more grain, not less.
Smaller pixels have a lower dynamic range and less volume, thus less photon capacity and a weaker light signal, resulting in noisier photos. Here's a good explanation of how this works:
cambridgeincolour.com/tutor...
another one:
outbackphoto.com/dp_essenti...
I think what you may be getting at, though, is the fact that an enlargement made from the S5, with more pixels and the same sensor, may be better than one from the S3 because more pixels means that the noise that DOES exist will be 'enlarged less' since there are more pixels to use. And that's true (see the end paragraph of that first article I linked for a better explanation of that, I am not doing a very good job of explaining it).
I think advanced photographers who expected a better upgrade from Canon are the ones complaining about this. In my opinion, the average shooter will not notice much image quality difference between these cameras either way.
I just ordered the s3. Thanks for all of your help. If I could have waited longer, I maybe would have, but I know that the s3 is an excellent camera and I'm sure that I'll be happy with it.
Have a great summer!
Now I need some battery and memory card advice. Size, write speed, battery charger and battery brand....the best bang for my buck. :)
Thanks
OK. Accessories! This camera takes SD cards, and it can also take SDHC, which are the 'high capacity' SD cards. That means you can buy the huge 4 and 8gb cards if you wanted to. Personally, I wouldn't, just because if you have a memory card error, you could lose all your photos in one fell swoop. I usually use a few slightly smaller cards just as a precaution (although, for all the problems people have, I should note that I've personally never had a memory card error, so don't be too scared of that happening as long as you follow all the directions). I'd recommend a 4gb as the absolute largest if you really want a big card; your best bet would be to buy a couple of 1gb or 2gb cards. Brand doesn't matter much; I usually use Sandisk or Kingston, but as long as it's an SD card, you'll be OK. As far as speed goes, this camera can take the high speed cards (60x or higher), so that's really up to you as well. The main areas you'd see a benefit is going to be in the time between shots (it will probably be ready for the next shot a little quicker) and in shooting video. High speed cards are a good investment if you're at all impatient, but they're not absolutely necessary. Let me know if you need links to places to buy these items.
Batteries= this camera uses AA batteries. What I always do with cameras that use AAs is I purchase rechargeable NiMH AAs, along with a charger. You can buy these anywhere (even, like, Walmart), and the batteries plus charger will probably run between 20 and 30 bucks. Mine are Energizer, so brand doesn't really matter, although you can buy the ones made by Canon (<a href="amazon.com/Canon-CBK4-300-B... if you'd like. I think the life you'll get out of either one will be comparable. I would recommend, though, if you're going on vacation, buying two sets of the batteries and one charger, so that you can still be shooting while one set of batteries charges. You should be happy with the battery life on these. If you need exact numbers or anything on how long you can expect them to last let me know and I'll look into it.
Let me know if that helps!
Does that help?... It helps TREMENDOUSLY! Thank you...I sure hope you're getting paid for this advice! LOL. Once again, thanks! What i-net provider would you recommend? I'm sure I'll hit Walmart too, but if you know a good I-net with fast cheap shipping, let me know!
Thanks again!
I have been thinking about the resolution issue for awhile. If one takes a pixel and divides it into quadrants, that would be the same as going from a 2MP sensor to an 8MP sensor, in the same x-y space.
Now the pixels on the given 2MP are huge (compared to the 8MP version), and therefore would be more accurate at determining the intensity and color of the light. But the smaller pixels would be [i]mostly[/b] accurate as well--due to ISO testing that is designed to give minimum threshholds.
So even if the 8MP pixels are only accurate 75% of the time, one still gains an increase in resolution.
You are exactly right in terms of resolution. It's the loss of size in pixels that is the kicker in my opinion. It isn't just a loss in accuracy in determining the dynamic range and light, it's a loss in ability to handle them. Smaller pixel= less light gathering area= weaker light signal= more 'signal to noise ratio'= noisier photo. Smaller pixel also= less dynamic range= less ability to hold photons= less range of color before becoming totally black or white. All of those things degrade quality, so that's where people have issues with 'pixel cramming.'
But as I said, at this level (going from 6 to 8) it's really negligible. In the sample you gave, the cramming of 8 megapixels onto the same sensor as a 2 megapixel would be a serious loss of quality (I know you were just using it as an example, though). All of this is why in spite of it all DSLRs have larger sensors than simple point & shoots.
I think we are sort-of covering two issues here as well. But basically, in my opinion the main issue for quality is the interplay of the sensor and the lenses, so if a camera can balance those skillfully then I don't mind how many megapixels they want (or don't want) to give me!
Accessories question:
How are the Lexar mem cards...lexar platinum II......ALSO, can you take a mem card out of an hp camera and use it in canon? Would you have to re-format or are they just interchangeable?
I have an S3 in the house and I'm struggling with the 2.0 LCD versus the larger 2.5 LCD on the S5 (which I haven't seen yet) -- but the timelapse thing really irritates me. I'm a gardener, I need timelapse that goes for hours. And I gather that the equally mysterious downgrade in burst speed between the S3 and the S5 is a sore point with other buyers; my partner, when I told him about this, was startled and not at all pleased. So if I can find a way to live with the S3's small screen.... *sigh*
And just hope that someday, Canon deigns to combine the S3's timelapse and burst speed, the S5's 8mpx and hotshoe, and Sony's fine 3.0" LCD into one camera... maybe 15X... and what else should we wish for, a bigger sensor (chip?) to do better processing? RAW ability? And call it all the S7 or whatever, and stick to a $450 US price point... yeah! Right! :)
The Olympus 550UZ still has timelapse, but I have other reasons for not wanting that one. In this summer's generation of newultrazooms, the Olympus 550UZ is the ---only--- one (that I know of) with genuine timelapse ability, now that Canon's essentially dropped it.
Lexars seem fine as long as they're the right type (SD obviously); I've used them in the past with no problems, although not as often as I've used Sandisk. But they're plenty reputable.
Switching the card from one camera to another, even if they're the SAME brand, often means you have to reformat. So be careful about that, since if you DO reformat it will erase the card. Best to have separate cards for each camera if possible to avoid any weird errors/ lost photos.
For what it's worth, you pretty much hit the nail on the head. While personally I can take or leave a large LCD, but there are plenty of shooters who rely on a good-sized one, and thus there are plenty of people who can't understand why the S5 had to be 'downgraded' in so many ways. My main point of interest on the S5 was the hot shoe, which I thought was awesome- but what with all the other issues cropping up, if I were to purchase I'd still head towards an S3 myself. Not that the S5 is bad, it just truly depends on what you want from a camera, but I think lots of S3 fans were expecting the next one to be, well, different than it was.
It'll be interesting to see what comes next.
Richio and Nancy, the S5 and the S3 both stop at 12X but I think most reviewers have been using "anything past 10X" as their superzoom definition.
Brenda, O Wise One, do you happen to know if the S5 has a remote shutter capability that does NOT involve hooking up a laptop between you and the camera? The S1 had a remote shutter; the S3 does not, except for some weird laptop setup, which strikes me as useless.
If not, then is it possible at all to raise the performance by hackers or other third party people, or is it really running at its peak performance?
The PowerShot S5 IS comes bundled with the following Canon Software:
RemoteCapture Task 1.7 (Windows and Macintosh) for PC controlled remote shooting.
So i would guess theres no remote shooting option without PC. At least i didnt see it in the article even in the S5 accessories section.
Perhaps the degradation is due to the 'face detection' computations/focusing as well as the extra computing needed to transfer the extra pixels from the sensor to the memory card. Logically, turning down the compression factor (to use less compression but more storage) should help the throughput, since the compression logarithm also eats up computing cycles.
Thirdly, turn off the LCD. Geesh, that's just one more job that eats up the time-between-shots. QUESTION: Do these labs that test these cameras use ideal parameters, or just everymans-everyday settings?
Rich
About the whole cramming in 2mb more pixels. Are the 8mb of pixels physically on the LCD? Where I'm going is, if you adjust the image size down on the S5, are less pixels being generated on the LCD so they are bigger and more responsive (whatever was said above), or are just less pixels on the LCD being used? So by downgrading image size onthe S5 would you get a better quality picure?
I've also heard the S3 suffers many quality issues. Has anybody else heard that? -Thanks
When making photos with smaller resolution, one simply can't ignore pixels unless one is going from say, 8mp to 2mp (unlikely). To keep the same aspect ratio on a strictly "use 'em or lose 'em" basis, you would have to use the square root of the original megapixels.
Hence apparently there are algorithms in place to make a more modest reduction in the number of megapixels emplyed. Such computations involve averaging the values of surrounding pixels. Does this increase photo quality? I assume you mean does a "dumbed-down" S5 shooting at 5mp produce better photos than a 5mp camera shooting at the full 5mp?
Interesting scenario. The resolution of the two photos in the above example obviously would be identical. The only change is the extra 3mp, theoretically "being put to good use" in the algorithm. The only possible advantage I can see from this comparison is that the 8mp camera MIGHT have an increase in the ISO rating.
Rich
RAW support and many other excellent features are provided in an excellent hack.
You can find screenshots and link to it here: Link ( forums.dpreview.com/forums/... )
DIGIC III cameras propably will get their own hack someday.
Thanks to everybody!
I think the competitive Olympus 550 UZ does have RAW (as well as actual timelapse, which the S5 dropped).
Maybe someone can make a hack for it on the S5, I don't know.
And I just read that there was some kind of limit on the amount of photo's you can take in an hour? I'm confused...is this only in "High Speed Burst" mode? or can you only take 30 picts per hour?
Hi Christa. Re: your question, it is true that the higher ISO on the S5 will help with low-light shots, but on the other hand, regardless of the camera you're going to experience SOME graininess/ noise at an ISO of 1600. I think you would be fine with either of these cameras; as everyone is discussing, the main drawback of the S5 is the lack of speed in burst mode, and unless you plan to shoot lots of continuous photos that won't really affect you. For macro shots, both are pretty comparable; and as I said, that higher ISO of the S5 is nice, but probably wouldn't result in that higher an image quality than the S3.
Regarding the limit on photos per hour, not sure of the specs on these cameras, but I can assure you that they were talking about High Speed Burst mode or something similar to that. That's the only area where a camera will experience limitations, and then they are typically related to the mem card, which can only work 'so fast' to save photos, resulting in a certain amount you can fire off in a row before the camera reaches its limit. For normal shooting, you should not experience any limit as to how many shots you can fire per hour.
forums.popphoto.com/camera/...
which is quite possibly one of the best explanations of the pixel size issue I've ever read. You might find it helpful.
I have not heard many quality complaints about the S3 physically. Maybe one person talking about how the camera body was not very tightly sealed, but definitely not complaints to the extent that we typically hear them when a camera has true build issues.
One last question(or almost)....Do you think the swivel LCD screen on the S3 breakable? that is my only other worry that it might snap off or something.....
And what about downloading pictures....when you download them are they in JPEG format or in something else? (I have a Mac, so I am always worried about compatibility issues.)
Now I don't know....I just read the reviews of the S3 on this website and they seem to say it takes noisy/bad quality pictures in all settings.... is this true of the S5 as well? And the reviews of the S3 also say using the Macro and Super Macro features are hard (you have to hold the button while shooting the photo.)... is this the same on S5? Boy am I confused now.
I think I'm the one who confused you by talking about timelapse. That's totally different from burst. First, in the high speed burst, the S3 will take 2.3 frames per second (FPS). The S5 is slower, and will take only 1.5 FPS.
Second, you can take any number of photos you want to in an hour with either camera. No limit, just as Brenda already told you.
Third, my complaint was that the S3 timelapse function is excellent -- you can take photos anywhere from one minute to sixty minutes apart, and you can take as many as you want, even setting the camera up to take time-lapse photos over several days if you want to. So far, so good.
But the S5 changed that completely and now, you can take photos only from thirty seconds to one minute apart, and you can only take ten shots -- so you can only photograph ONE five-to-ten minute span, and that's it, no more unless you set the whole thing up again. This makes it useless for a flower unfolding, for clouds across the sky, for hot-air balloon launches, for birdfeeder surveillance, etc. etc. That's the limit I was talking about.
For your other questions: The photos download from the S3 in JPG format. The tilt/swivel LCD is of course breakable if you work at it, but it's not all that fragile and the advantages are HUGE, especially if you're holding the camera up high for group shots, or down low to get pictures of plants or babies crawling, etc.
And finally, no, the macro/super macro feature is not at all hard to use. You press the button for macro, let go, and take your photo. You press the button a couple of extra seconds for super macro, let go, and take your picture. You're not trying to hold the button down while taking the picture.
You're welcome. I should clarify a little: any graininess at the high ISO isn't really a feature of the S5, but of digital cameras in general. Most tend to get grainy at high numbers, and it's my opinion that, except for in very select situations, you can get by shooting almost ANYTHING with an ISO of 800 or under. That higher ISO might come in handy at certain times, but I don't think it's necessarily a make-or-break reason to buy the camera, since as I said, the picture quality up there probably won't be very good. What's more, you mentioned shooting moon and star scapes. Shooting those is a little different than shooting basic low light shots, and in fact it's recommended that you NOT crank the ISO when shooting the night sky (which gives off a certain amount of its own light)- so ISO 800 or lower would probably do the trick very nicely anyhow. Shoot at the lowest possible ISO for things like that. The S3 should do it.
I have not heard about the swivel LCD on the S3 being too fragile. Usually if something breaks a lot on a certain cam we're the first to hear about it, and so far, no complaints. Certainly it can be broken, but I think if you're reasonably gentle you should be just fine.
As for your last question, I think camera reviews are an EXCELLENT way to go about purchasing a camera. If everyone who owns it is complaining about a certain problem, you can reasonably expect that this problem really does exist and avoid the camera. (Just look at some of the ones on this site that have gotten Fs). On the other hand, you have to be careful sometimes, because everyone comes from a different place when they write reviews. Some people who use the S3 are expecting the photos to be DSLR-quality, and they are mildly disappointed, because it doesn't have that power. Others are using it in place of a point & shoot and they're awed by how great it is. So the reviews sort of depend on the reviewer. Something like grain is tricky, too... those people who review it as being grainy may very well just not know how to use it! I've had plenty of questions from people who claimed that cameras like the S3 gave them bad photos, and it turned out to be a case of needing to adjust the settings, take it off Auto mode and do some experimenting. I can honestly tell you that considering its image processor, its mechanisms, and the samples I've seen, both the S3 and the S5 are capable of excellent, grain-free photos. It's all in knowing how to use it. Canon is (in my opinion) one of the most grain-free producers of cameras on the market, and these are no exception.
Here are some debates for you to read over that might help:
photography-on-the.net/foru...
forums.dpreview.com/forums/...
As far as pressing down the button for Macro, I am almost sure you don't have to hold the button while shooting. What you do have to do is press the button in order to access the mode (you hold it slightly longer to get into Super Macro), and perhaps while the camera focuses. That act of having to hold it down to get to Super Macro might be what people are complaining about. According to <a href="imaging-resource.com/PRODS/... review</a>, the button "pressed once" activates Macro, and held down enables Super Macro. I'd imagine lots more complaints if you had to hold it while you shot!
Let me know if any of this helps at all!
PS love all the posts it really helps us beginners.
From everything I'm hearing / reading. (And I think I've read every review and comparison on the internet) It sounds like it makes sense to get the S3 and wait for a better upgrade past the S5. The S5 just isn't that much better yet. It has the enhancement groundworks for being much better, it just needs refining of those enhancements it has over the S3 to make it a worthwhile superior choice. In my humble opinion. Thanks everyone.
Anyway here is what finally convinced me to go for the S3:
"I haven't really had a huge problem with noise. The s3 has an ISO range of 80 to "Hi" [which I think they said was supposed to be 800]. I do start getting some bothersome noise at around ISO 400, but the vast majority of that can be controlled in NeatImage pretty reasonably. I use ISO 80 almost all of the time [with zero noise], and up to ISO 200 when I really need to. With the lens capable of f/2.7, you can use ISO 80 handheld in most situations with no problems.
The differences between the S3 and S5 are:
S5 has higher resolution [again, the sensors are the same size, so you're likely going to get more noise w/ the s5]
S5 has higher ISO - up to ISO 1600; I feel pretty confident saying that you won't get a useable image at that ISO, anyway.
S5 has the face detection; that could be important if you do a lot of portraits.
S5 has capability of external flash use; that could also be important if you do a lot of flash photography - I personally don't.
S5 has 1/2" larger LCD screen; not a huge deal to me, either
S5 is slightly heavier and slightly larger.
Otherwise, they are identical. I really see no reason for my own personal use that I would need/want the S5 over the S3 that I have. I don't do much pos-processing at all on my photos because, having used film since I was a kid, I want to get it right the first time around. I don't enjoy sitting in photoshop for extended periods of time making things look better. Sometimes it's fun, but mostly I'd rather be out shooting. ;) I do the bare minimum when I have to; levels, some color balance, and converting to black and white when I think the photo would benefit from that. I don't even do very much cropping in post-process; most of the frames I've shot are as-seen."
Now I just have to save the $$ and I can order. :D
Thanks for reading .....
Question: Do you know how well the eneloops keep their charge in a hot car? I like to keep a camera handy; sometimes I have to (or accidentally) leave a camera in the car in the sun. I would love to find a battery that keeps its charge even in a hot car.
I don't have any experience with the eneloops in a hot car, however, they are listed as being much better than NiMH with weather extremes. I just ordered an 8-pack for my external flash unit. As a backup, I keep a set of CR-V3 lithium batteries with me (they have a really long shelf life). I'm still using the original set (over 2 years) that came with my Pentax camera.
you can now use the s3 as a time lapse camera with almost any interval you want. you can also save pics in RAW format. CHDK adds a battery meter and a really cool color histogram. another fine hack upgrade is control of the manual focus via the zoom lever vs using the less than ergonomic 4 way switch.
the s5 hasn't been hacked because it has the digic 3 processor.
oh yeah the hack also includes a clock, two fun games, a text reader and the option to write your own picture taking scripts to upload to the s3.
say you want the camera to take a pic every 52 seconds at a target 42 ft away with a 1/60 @f 4.0 iso 200 setting for total of 232 pics at M resolution. its easy to do.
with the s5 or any other camera you would need an attached laptop.
I'd been looking info last month, i wnat to change my LUMIX FZ-7 and i get so confused... Like kik says, "You get more info, you get deeper and sometimes, you get more confused"
Until last month i was a click to get a S3, when i found the S5, i guess that i get similar doubts like a lot of photo enthusiats that i read about.
OK, i need to thank to BrendaP for the GREAT and no scarce comments. Definitly those comments and answers are a important factor to my choice.
Thanks goes as well to LisaSmall who answer and explained the "Time lapse" thing, that feature seems awesome =)
on Summary, for my, for my hobbie related needs, the S3 is cheaper and have better features that the S5, except the HotShoe and 2.5"LCD (i'm gonna miss the 3" LUMIX Screen).
Thks again
There are a lot of great hi-zoom cameras on the market now. I've always liked Fuji cameras, even though I'm using a Pentax dSLR now. The Fuji FinePix S700 offers a budget-conscious alternative to existing megazoom cameras. It's a fairly small camera that packs a 10x optical zoom lens and a 7.1 MP sensor. With full manual control over all shooting settings as well as full auto, you can take advantage of the S700's wide ISO and shutter speed ranges to ensure you get sharp, clean images. You can find one for as low as $195 at www.buydig.com Hope this helps a little. I'm sure there are many other opinions out there, but it will be hard to beat this Fuji on price and quality.
The Kodak Z712 IS is a good option too, you can find it on Amazon (U$229). The Z712 has fast performance, point-and-shoot flexibility, 2.5"LCD, EVF, 12X (36-432 mm) Optical Lens (With I.S.), 7MP,.... etc
I think that is a good choice too ;)
This is a photo with a Treo; it gives you a little sense of how far away i'm taking the photo. (Also, ducks).
farm2.static.flickr.com/130...
This is (a similar) turtle a few days later. It was actually slightly more distant.
farm2.static.flickr.com/107...
An interesting way to review real world use with the camera is to review the Flickr images for the camera.
See flickr.com/cameras/canon/po...
See flickr.com/photos/elainegre... for larger images and more details.
Of course, you could get closer to the duck...
In Canon's nomenclature (as well as any others I can think of) "IS" stands for "Image Stabilization," which means that the camera has some sort of technology built-in to compensate for your hands' shaking/moving while shooting. In Canon cameras, this usually means a lens-based IS system (using gyroscopes). For other manufacturers IS can be of the "CCD-shift" variety (i.e. the imaging sensor moves rather than the lens elements) or the software variety (camera automatically uses quicker shutter speeds and higher ISO settings).
You can read more about the subject here ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image... ).
Hope this helps!
From wiki ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digit... ):
"Image noise / grain: Noise in a digital camera's image is remarkably similar to Film grain in a film camera. At high ISO levels (film speed) the grain/noise becomes more apparent in the final image. Although film ISO levels can be lower than digital ISO levels (25 and 50 respectively), digital settings can be changed quickly according to requirements, while film must be physically replaced and protected from all light during such replacement. Additionally, image noise reduction techniques can be used to remove noise from digital images and film grain is fixed. From an artistic point of view, film grain and image noise may be desirable when creating a specific mood for an image. Modern digital cameras have comparable noise/grain at the same ISO as film cameras. Some digital cameras though, do exhibit a pattern in the digital noise which is not found on film."
Here's how I would break it down: If you shoot with flash a lot, get the A630. Reason being that the A570's flash is pretty limited, and it also is kind of slow on recycle time (takes a few seconds after a flash shot before you can take another shot). If you mostly shoot outdoors (or indoors without flash), go for the A570.
The SD800 wins in terms of flash recycle time; it seems to come in around 2.5- 2.8 seconds, vs. the 3-4 seconds the A570 takes. Those times do vary widely depending on your distance from the subject, but the main issue is the battery (the SD800 has a lithium while the A570 takes AAs). Personally, I think image quality will be pretty comparable on both of these- they use the same processor and are both high quality Canons- but I'd choose the SD800 because of the wide angle lens, which is fantastic.
Any suggestions? Is this camera a decent one?
This camera's 7.1 MP and image stabilization should be great for what you want to do. The wide ISO range (80-1600) will also be good for lower light settings. Good luck and happy shooting.
Andrew
Shutter speeds are identical but setable on the A570IS in Tv and M modes.
White Balance: The A570Is has an underwater preset -- the A560 doesn't.
Flash: A570IS has Flash exposure compensation (+/-2 stops in 1/3-stop increments) The A560 doesn't
Shooting Modes: The A570IS has more shooting modes ... Missing from the A560 are; P, Av, Tv, Underwater, stich assist.
Dimensions: A570IS 89.5 x 64.3 x 42.8mm; A560 91.2 x 64.0 x 43.1mm
Weight: A570IS 175g ; A560 165g
My opinion is that you want the money you spend to be where it counts and that's on the picture itself. And Fuji seems to have done that by focusing on the chip and the lens.
As for another option in the same class, I'd point you to the Canon Powershot A570IS. ( digitalcamera-hq.com/digita... ) It has alot of the same features but comes with optical image stabilization and face detection autofocus, and the improved DIGIC III processor. Granted, it has only 7.1mp compared to the Fuji's 9.0mp, but the reality is that for snapshots, you really won't see a difference until you reach enlargements above 8x10 and only then, it's marginal.
Absent that, you can go to Canon's website and download the latest drivers for your camera.
If the card headers get overwritten, the files cannot be read.
What you can do is to carry out a simple operation of photo recovery. Go to <a href="freewr.com/freeware.php?dow... site</a> and download a free copy of Photorec - the second software in the list of Top Digital Camera Tools.
Install and run Photorec and you will get the pictures back. I would buy a card reader for this purpose because it is so much more convenient.
Is it true that the A570 IS uses only AA Disposible Alkaline Batteries? Why on earth would one still make an eletronics product that uses disposible batteries? What would happen if I used rechargeable batteries?
Many Thanks,
Johnny
I mistook a gear rating site saying they where disappointed in the AA size coupled with the specifics stating AA Alkaline Disposable I guess that is what comes in the package.
Anyway, is there a reason Canon uses AA size and not built in rechargeables? Mobilty?
Johnny
The AA size is obviously too large to fir in the super-slim cameras, so those models HAVE to use the li-ion cells.
Check out the POWEREX batteries/chargers at thomas-distributing.com/ind...
PS the AAs come in different strengths---get a minimum of 2200 mAh.
I imagine they cant use AAA cause they are too weak?
JSKK
Thanks all!!
Dan
Unfortunately, high ISOs means more grainy pictures and for digital compacts, ISO 400 appears to be the threshold between acceptable and not so good pictures.
If you have set your mind on such cameras, the only exception worth considering is Fuji f30 which has been reported as ' the best low light compact camera on the market today' and it takes pictures ' with ISO 800 output that can rival some cameras at ISO 200. ' see <a href="dpreview.com/reviews/fujifi... review</a>.
Thanks!
Dan
By and large bright light is a problem for all LCDs, even the A570. So the viewfinder is useful in the bright sun.
Batteries and their chargers vary in quality. Batteries are rated in milli-amp hours, or MaH. 2000 MaH is considered the bare minimum, particularly with today's cameras that have 2 - 3 inch LCDs, instead of the older style 1.5 - 1.8 inch LCDs. I have seen some batteries that go up to 2600-2700 MaH; obviously, the more amps, the more photos between charges.
Check out thomas-distributing.com/ind... which is a nice site for info on batteries and chargers.
PS what do you mean by your 2nd sentence??
Also what is the expected write speed for a 150X SD card? I've seen 22.5MB per second for read speed but what is the expected write sped for a 150X SD card?
-I found data online that stated some 150X SD cards have a 22.5MB/sec read time, as you said, and those quoted a 15MB/sec write time. Others said 11MB/sec write time. But the high speed of these cards does improve the write time/ shot-to-shot time.
-Having said that, with a card that fast, you will likely be limited more by the camera than by the card. And I'm not exactly sure what "top speeds" are on the A570. I do know that it has very respectable shot-to-shot times and is one of the speedier cameras available, but I honestly don't know if it can take full advantage of the write speed offered by a 150X card. I would imagine so, since it's a new camera and a fast one, but I can't say for sure. I also don't know where to find that info since, as you said, none of the speed testers mention what speed card they are using. This may be something worth a call to Canon's customer service about, as they may be able to help you figure out whether 150X would be overkill for this cam or not.
I realize I'm pretty much telling you that I'm not sure, but I thought it at least might help to hear that write speed is indeed affected by card speed. How much depends on the camera (as well as what you're shooting; with/ without flash, file size, etc.)
Letter 'X' in 150X indicates 'data transfer rate of 150kbps'.
Thus the data transfer rate
= 150 x 150 KBPS
= 22.5 MBPS
Typically a 150X SD card will write at a speed of 90 to 100X speed.
Here's a few tips to increase camera performance:
Prefocus. Hold down the shutter half way to get a prefocus of the image you're shooting. When it changes, prefocus again. This will speed up your camera's performance during picture taking since it won't have to autofocus before it shoots the shot.
Fresher batteries. Use alkalines at least. But I recommend using high energy batteries designed for digital photography. Varta is a good brand. They are usually sold in camera shops, are long lasting (because they are sold in small quantities) put out alot of energy.
Shoot in "sports" modes when you're in situations that require action. Night or available light modes when in night time settings. These presets can help in speeding up your shots, rather than the camera taking a split second to evaluate the conditions of the lighting.
Pan with the action. You can create some pretty cool shots by panning with your shot, focusing on your subject. This will create the effect of your subject in sharp contrast to the blurry background.
Use a flash - even in day time. This will "freeze" the image and cause your subject to "pop" in the shot. However, flash is only designed for limited range and can dissipate outside of about 20-25 feet unless you're using a zoomable flash. And you may find you're waiting for the flash to recover if you're looking for multiple or burst shots.
Stick with 100-400 ISO. Going higher will cause more noise/grain in your shots, particularly in darker settings.
And I concur with Brenda, just inquire with Canon Helpdesk about it, they'll let you which cards are most compatible with your camera.
I purchased the class 6 card to facillitate quick read/write times (the mfg proposed that 30MB/s were max) while the card is being utilized by my pc. I was hoping for much quicker write speeds, it performed at 111% over minimum write speed. The class 2 card performed at 250% over minimum write speed. With the cost being 300% more and the speed increase of 24% (over the class 2) the value would be best quantified with the frequency of use (for me, not worth the money).
The Class rating is a very useful way to tell the minimum write speeds of SD cards. Unfortunately the mfg of the cards still use "best case scenerios" to advertise speeds and very often the end experience is very much lacking. I would not expect to get more than the Class rating for these divices and would not give much credence to any mfg claims unless they have published results to back it up.
I agree with the above posts, they are older but, the logic is correct. The calss 6 card did not speed up my cameras shot to shot performance, as mentioned above, I did not expect it to. I did expect it to perform better than it did being utilized by my pc through an enbedded reader and compatible (speed) hardware/software. The tests were very generic, but did reflect a real world test of actually how I intended to use the device. The good thing is that the (less expensive) class 2 card works just as well with my camera (not a SLR) and its write speed is 250% over it minimum rating. I will be sticking with them until at least the Class 10 card becomes available and comes down in price.
Thanx
2700 mAh NiMH batteries will work with your A570IS, and should net you around 300 pictures.
I'm not sure about the "uniross mini charger...for 2100s" you're referring to. But as for battery chargers, I've personally had a good experience with this one ( amazon.com/Rayovac-Universa...
).
It's bulky, because it's universal and can hold 8 AA batteries at a time. But it's a nice slow recharge, allowing you to recharge batteries seemingly forever. You don't have to worry about taking the batteries on time to avoid them getting hot. And the charger will charge batteries until capacity. I myself bought Sony 2,500 mAh batteries and haven't had a problem with those, either. But Energize, Sony and Rayovac are all good rechargable battery brands.
Some examples: $20 for Canon brand.
I'd get 2 packs of these ( amazon.com/Rechargeable-Bat... ) (here too ( amazon.com/Energizer-NH15BP... )) instead, personally. Especially if you end up getting (or have, and it works) a 4-battery charger.
I like this web site: thomas-distributing.com/ind...
for information and of course items for sale. They sell a MAHA charger, which is advertised as state-of-the-art. I have the MAHA Powerex MH-C204W charger, which can do 4 AAs or 4 AAAs at one time. You can mix these: 2 AAs, and 2AAAs, etc. And it has a topping-off feature; you can leave the batteries in there indefinitely, and every 10 seconds it zips a little charge in them.
Most importantly, the Thomas Company has been reliable & the web site is easy to use; I have placed two orders with them over the last couple of years, and everything went like clockwork.
Just bought mine a 2 weeks ago. Seems to me like it is a camera problem. With fully charged battery, it can simply show the low battery sign after a few shots. Thought it is a battery problem but the voltage seems to be ok at 1.29V. Will check with the dealer to see if this is a problem or will think of getting back to the service centre.
As at the beginning of the thread I said I have the same problem.I did a lot of research and have come across an interesting article regarding this problem,which the author claims is a regular phenomenon with the powershots.
photography-on-the.net/foru...
users.on.net/~mhains/Review...
I think the high battery voltage level cutoff for a570 might be the issue(and our battery is attaining it after a few shots owing to a steep early-life discharge curve),and if such is the case,as the guy claims,using an NimH with has a very good voltage vs usage curve should solve our problem.
After a lot of browsing,I have come to the conclusion that either Uniross 2700mAh or Sanyo 2100mAh or Powerex 2700mAh,in that order,should solve the problem.I would definitely get a set of them next time I go to the nearest city,but meanwhile,I reccomend you to try the same and inform me here if u have success
Wishing you best of Luck
Do Inform me!!
It might be hard to believe, but 1.29 volts is not that great. I have been taking voltage readings for several years on "suspect" batteries---to see if I should toss them---and have found that (with 1.5volt cells) 1.20 - 1.25 volts is pretty much too low for electronics. Obviously a low voltage would be OK for a flashlight, if you didn't mind the diminished light.
My point is, 1.29 volts is not much higher than this threshold of 1.25. And as ND points out, this particular camera might have a higher-than-average cutoff threshold. In fact, this is from imaging-resource.com:
The Canon PowerShot A570 IS uses two AA batteries for power, and a pair of ordinary alkaline batteries are included with the camera. Runtimes are increased with NiMH batteries over alkalines. As always, we strongly recommend you pick up a couple of sets of good-quality NiMH rechargeable batteries and a good-quality charger, as they'll save you many times their cost over the life of the camera. (Do be sure to get good-quality batteries though, we found our sample of the A570IS to be a little finicky, insisting on good, high-capacity cells or it would shut down after relatively few shots.)
Rich
U have made a god point,but the thing is that once the battery is loaded and being used in the camera,it is much lower than 1.29 volts.
This is because every bettery has an internal resistance,which even if .1 ohms(every major NimH has infact more than that),and if the current usage by camera is 500mA,again a reasonable assumption with flash,screen and IS on,the battery voltage is effectively 1.23-1.24 volts only).
So to be on the safer side always,a very good brand is required.
I would appreciate if you could suggest one.
The A570 has a 2.5 inch LCD; perhaps it is high-res as well? Naturally that would eat more power than a smaller screen, or even a same-size screen with lower res. Of course auto-focus uses power, as does the IS. One can see why the larger cameras, like the Canon S3-S5 and A640 are designed to use 4 AAs instead of just 2.
Thanks for the comments. A couple of points which I would like to add:
1) The NiMH battery that I have is a GP battery with typ voltage of 1.2V. And the battery recommended in the brouchure is I think also 1.2 V typ. If the cutoff point is 1.25V, then we it is really a design problem.
2) I did try without turning on the screen, I can continue to take shots with no issues. But that is an unacceptable solution right?
3) I will be calling the Canon person and try to see if they have similar issues documented to see if they can fix this by software. Seems to be an issue which would have been surfaced during the field trial.
Will update if there is any fixes for this?
Thanks
It may not be exactly the issue here, but it can certainly contribute without you knowing it.
I did spoke to one of the repair centre person and was told that it could be some cold solders on the board etc. But having 2 new cameras in a row is pretty unlikely unless their quality is so bad. Hate to send in a brand new camera for repair though. This is a bad experience for me as my previous IXUS400 have no such problem at all.
as i had pointed out earlier that either Uniross 2700mAh or Sanyo 2100mAh or Powerex 2700mAhor even energizer 2500,in that order,should solve the problem.I would reccomend you to try the same and inform me here if u have success
Thanks for the advice. I'll just go down to the service centre today to let them take a look. Another person that I talked to at the service centre also mentioned that it could be due to the battery. I would want to feedback to them that then they would need to tell the dealer not to give out the GP2300 battery as a free gift if it is not compatible.
Will update to see what is their feedback.
That's peculiar,because energizer 2500s are one of the best cells that can be used with 570IS,as their voltage curve remains above 1.2 V for most of the discharge cycle.
data.energizer.com/PDFs/nh1...
Since your cam worked well with the alkalines,there is no problem with the camera.The problem must have been with the batteries/charger,there is no other way flash would have faltered.
So use another charger and use sanyo eneloops 2000/uniross 2700s this time.Service centre won't help as it is not a tech problem.
I purchased 4 sanyo eneloops this sunday.And haven't got the low battery warning after 96 shots.It is too early to say whether it is good,but would certainly tell after a few charges and discharges.
And yes,the first charge lasted for 240 pics,with more than half with flash and LCD and IS on full time. :D
Sep-12, I bought 4 eneloops 2000mAH for going on my small trip last weekend. I can see that the flashing low-battery show on LCD after I took a few shorts. I guess just about 10 - 15 shorts or less!! Yes, some with flash on and some not. I was tried to take photo and keep changing the battery all time, total photos are about 60-70 in my 1gb sd card.
oh, I'm using Uniross small charger, is that a problem? now, I might try some other brands like GP2700 or Energizer. Any advices?
Was told that with full charge, can take about 200 shots. Was also told that battery will drain out by itself if left in the camera for a couple of days. I mean this is really crapy. With my previous IXUS400, I don't remember having to keep charging my battery after leaving there for a long time. If I need to always remember to take out the battery every time after I go out to take some pictures, it's ridiculous.
Anybody out there has any idea what is the
1) Minimum voltage before we see the low battery sign? (Just for a reference as I guess it depends on the battery type, internal resistance etc)
2) How long can a fully charged batetry remains in the camera before it starts to show battery low sign when you power on?
3) If a fully charged batetry is left by itself, how long can it last?
Thanks
Amos
My eneloops are working fine.I don't know what might be the problem with Dokmai's batteries.Sanyo 2000s are giving 200+ shots and seem to retain charge.Even uniross 2100 seems to be getting better with each charge.
I looked for Sanyo at high mAh last week many shops in Bangkok but couldn't find it. so I bought a <a href="commy4u.com">Commy&... Quick Smart Charger with 4 pieces of 2700 mAh batt last Friday and charged them all the whole night. Saturday, I took a day trip around Bangkok.. guess what? This time, I can take photos about 270 shots from only 2 batt from the first charge!! I still have another two batt leave for me to pratice on my camera shooting.
So get the big mAh as much as you can.. Have some spare is good but just a pair of high mAh is enough for a day.
ND, I'll charge my eneloops with Commy charger again, and see if I can use it.
Thanks Matt and all for your advices.
It came with <a href="commy4u.com/product_detail.... Smart Charger</a>.
Hope it's OK to put the whole link.
My advice would be that next time, we buy a camera, mak sure that it does not have this problem because it is a real problem. Just the other day, my wife borrowed the camera to try to take picture of my son getting a prize on stage. Just at the crucial moment, the camera shuts down. This sucks right?
What are others getting with this camera? WHile 90 isn't great. I guess without flash it would be much better but nowhere near the 400 they claim in their spec's.
THanks Tom
Has anyone sent their A 570 IS in to Canon ? I contacted them and they told me to bring it in. Is this just a proforma move with no solution? Is anyone getting a better battary yield?
Tnx Tom
I put a fresh set of Enloops, 2500 right from the charger into the camera. So what does this prove?
I am going to put another fresh set in, and let them sit and run the same test, probably in a few days and see what the difference is.
One possibility is that their is a drain on the batteries going on when the camera is off.
HAs anyone else had this or a different result. HAs anyone seen the batteries draw down when stored in the camera when not in use?
TNx, Tom
I suspect their is some kind of discharge gooing n when the batteries sit in the camera. A smaal dischargew is normal but it is possible there batteries are getting hammered in this camera.
Does anyone have any experience with fully charged batteries sitting in the camera and then having the degradation of power?
I really can't account for the 2,200+++ shots on the fresh eneloops, especially since the camera is rated for 400 in thespec.
I spoke to a tech at Canon and he sai I should get at least 200 - 300 shots with flash. I told him about the power issue and said that a lot were having problems with it. He said there was no "recorded" issue with it.. GRRR.
Tom
www.thomas-distributing.com/index.htm
They have Low-Discharge rechargable batteries which is what you should get that go up to 2,800 Mah and they are not expensive. The Sanyo Eneloops which are 2,000 Mah pack of 4 go for about $9.00 US. I am waiting to see how my Eneloops work out, especially since they seem to be getting better with multiple charges. When you buy the batteries it says they are fully charged, ready to go. I recommend you give them a full charge before using them. It is my understanding that MaH batteries do not have memory like a Nicad so you can charge them even when partially charged without degrading their capacity.
I got my camera about 3 months ago and I must say that there is definitely a design issue with the camera. The camera is supposed to cater to a range of battery. There are now so many complaints and even with people who uses very good high power battery. So the conclusion that I have is that the camera has a design issue and whoever that has a problem with this should try to send in their camera to canon and get them to check and repair them. Most important of all, get them to tell you the rootcause so that we can all know the real problem.
When I got my camera, I saw the problem. Thinking that it could be a defective set, I decided to change to a new set and the person was nice enough to change for me. But 2 weeks down the road, I saw the problem happening to my new set. I sent it down to the service centre and I collected 1 week later and they say nothing's wrong. But I still see the problem now. A FEW SHOT and the sign comes out even with newly charged batteries.
Please for the sake of the rest of the 570 user, please get canon to fix your camera. I bet they are telling their techs to not reveal the problem as it could become a global recall issue. But we should continue to pursue and see if we can get something done.
I am going to try the highest MAh low discharge I can find, around 2700 or so..at least this will give me the best "shot."
I will update and would appreciate any further feedback from you.
tb
I just put a new set of Eneloop's in the camera and I am going to let it set for a few days and see how this might impact the number of shots I can take.
How are you doing with straight flash photos? ANyone have some numbers to compare? I'm sure I would have gotten more if I hadn't shot the movies but I really wanted to give it a good test.
Tom
There is definitely an issue with this camera. My solution for now is to carry an extra set of batteries at all times. I'll see how long I can live with that.
img232.imageshack.us/img232...
I'm having the same problem as well and my camera is 2 weeks old. The battery light keeps coming on. I haven't tried the Sanyo Eneloops yet, but since you guys swear by it, I'll pick some up. Do you guys have a preference on a charger as well (that doesn't break the bank)?
In the mean time, I took a mathematical approach. Since the specs indicated that 120 photos can be taken with the LCD screen on (and I also left everything else on.. like the flash) and 400 with LCD off (and I turned off the sound, the start up screen and such), that indicated to me that the ratio of flash photos to no flash photos was 30%. I performed a mix of taking photos with everything on and everything off and I got the same 30% before the 'replace your batteries' sentence came up. This yielded to about 250 photos taken during this test.
Although I hate seeing that flashing red battery telling me that my battery life is low (when I just put some new ones in, and not to mention that this situation is an utter annoyance), I was still able to continue taking photos. I'm guessing that even though the charge in the batteries are still good, I agree with the idea that the threshold on the camera to indicate that the batteries are low might be set too high.
Any thoughts?
Thanks.
I use my camera with all the bells and whistles..I'd rather just carry a few extra batteries with me so I can enjoy an otherwise excellent camera. I carry four extra batteries plus the set of 2 in the camera. That will cover anything. When I travel, I take the little charger with me. IT fast charges 4 at a time.
I'd still be interested in any other metrics on how many shots you are getting so we can see if there is any consistency to this.
Thanks,
Tom
This is ridiculous, my camera is a month old, I paid 200$ and eats batteries like theres no tomorrow.
I should have gone with the Sony. The lithium batteries for the Sony are available everywhere.
like a fuji... this my first Canon in 25 years... probably last if they have deaf eared service.
Beside this small issue, taking its size, features and quality to price ratio, I think that a570is is a awesome camera.
tb
Maybe thyere is not only alone contact issue, but poor contact does matter here - I'm sure.
I have not taken many shots recently but have taken 60 so far on this set of eneloops with flash since 12/2 so that is 22 days with these batteries sitting in the camera. I just put the toothpick fix in so I will see how that works.
Jim: Please let us know how many shots you get with the toothpick fix before the low-batt light comes on again.
Thanks everyone. tb
I have also taken a file to touch up the positive and negative sides of the batteries and I also touched up the contact tips on the battery door with the file to try to make sure there is minimum resistance between the contacts and the batteries, at least on the battery door.
I am trying it and will let you all know what my results are. tb
I currently have 237 flash shots and still going without a low batt light. I will let everyone know how far I get until the light goes on and then how many more shots until it dies...
tb
John if you look closely at the positive contact on the batt compartment cover I suspect you will see the possibility of it being slightly out of alignment. The contact surface with the positive side is very small. I don't know if it is really the issue but I am leaving no small item untried. I refuse to have to live with the 25-50 shot battery issue. From the ideas shared on this forum it seems to me that we are reaching a functional solution.
tnx
tb
I am going to fresh charge a set and see what kind of voltage I get right out of the charger. The Eneloop is a low discharge battery so it is supposed to hold it's voltage discharge curve without too much drop off. Looking at the above referenced numbers it certainly appears it is working that way.
John, what kind of batteries are you running, Energizers ?- if so they didn't work for me..very disappointing and somewhat illogical that a lower 2000vnimh would work better.
tb
With High Performance Energizer 2850 NIMh rehargables I also got the 25-50 shot threshold low battery so I changed to the Eneloops.
THis is the latest update on my Flash Test with the following parameters:
1. Flash on ALL shots: ALL bells & whistles turned on: AUTO MODE.
2. Toothpick Fix on Positive Side only on battery door to assure best contact. (Not sure this is necessary but I am keeping it that way, can't hurt. See #3)
3. Filing both contacts on battery door to assure minimum resistance with battery contact. (Just touched them up so they were shiney).
4. 2000 Nimh Eneloop low-discharge batteries.
I started test with fresh batteries on 12/2 and wanted to see if time sitting contributed to battery drawdown. Today's date 12/29. My conclusion, this is NOT a factor.
I will now continue shooting until the camera will not fire anymore flash photos so I can get a total count.
I hope this information is helpful to all of us with A 570 IS challanges. Please continue to share your metrics so we all can get to the best solution.
Thanks to all of you for your contributions.
tb
After getting the first low-batt indicator - I was rapid firing the flash, I waited about 5 min before continuing. Then I would shoot 10-15 shots and then let it rest a bit and then pick it up and shoot somemore. As you know in reality almost no one shoots continuous flash shots anyway so ths is probably a severe test.
I went from 489 to 616 flash shots (same batt's) before the low-batt indicator came on the second time. I measured the Eneloop voltage and now it is 1.20v. Down from 1.21v previously. After letting it sit for about six minutes the Low Batt indicator is off again and I am shooting flash again in 10-15 shot bunches and then letting it rest for 5 minutes or so. I will keep doing this until the Low-Batt indicator comes on and stays on and report back with the numbers.
781 shots before low-batt indicator came on for 3rd time.: using flash taking 10-15 shots in a row and then letting it rest for 5 min-6min... I may be hitting it too many times in a row for the batteries to recover.
816 flash shots and low-batt indicator is flashing for 4th time. Measured the voltage about 1.15-1.17v.
What is interesting here is that the batteries recover very quickly and in normal use I think they would actually go much further without the low-batt indicator flashing.
I let it sit for another 3 minutes and now I'm up to 850 flash shots and still going - no low-batt right now, though it's got to be getting low on gas...
866 shots: Low-batt ind came on and is now staying on (was getting worried low-batt ind was broken, LOL)
Continued shooting until 970 shots when camera shut down and change battery indicator came on. Voltage 1.125ish.
As far as I'm concerned, CASE CLOSED at least for me. If anyone needs any further info, please post and I'll be glad to share whatever I can.
Thanks everyone for your help and interest.
Please add any comments or experiences you are having to this forum. Appreciate all your help. I will add any new info I get.
Best,
Tom
These marvelous results you got... are they
-with OR without toothpicks?
-with the Sanyo rechargeables?
-Also, what is the NiMH on the batteries you are using.
I have a friend very discouraged with the camera she purchased on my recommendation, because the batteries go sooo fast. I'd raher help her with this cam than recommend another battery hog!
Thank you,
DB
I am using the Sanyo Eneloop's they are 2,000 NiMH. They are a low-discharge battery - all that means is they hold their charge longer when they are stored vs a regular discharge NiMh - I don't know if that really matters in the scheme of things unless you leave your batteries in your camera for 6 months or longer. I think it wouldn't be a bad idea to remove them if you weren't going to use it for an extended time anyway. Actually I have no idea why they work better than the Energizer 2850 that I have that failed at 25-50 shots. I haven't tried them again since I switched to the Eneloops - but they might work with the clean contacts and the toothpick fix.
CHARGER: Another issue I discovered is the variables among chargers. I have found, at least on my Eneloop's that I get a charge up to 1.45v right out of the charger with a Sanyo charger and 1.35v 24hr later. The point here is I have another charger and they come out at 1.25v I think this might make a difference. The test I ran above was on the lower output charger 1.25v. so again this is a variable but seems not a do or die issue - just an observation. I have read above that a good charger can be very critcal with some batteries.
I have read that the ENeloops are rated for 1,000 recharges on a slow recharge and if you use a rapid recharger it cuts the battery life in about half. Since these batteries are now inexpensive, I don't think it matters. You can buy them at www.thomas-distributing.com for apx $9.00 US for 4. If you have a Costco they have a great deal for $25. for Eneloop's: 8 AA, 4 AAA and a Charger.
I really like this camera. You cannot use ordinary alkalines in it.
When I spoke to a Canon Tech about this problem they said to clean the contacts but they never specified what needed to be done. I think if you try the above you should be in good shape.
Let us know how it works.
Tom
God bless you! Happy New year!
-db
1) Even brand new cheapo alkalines (i.e. Walgreen's Ultra, No. American UltraLast) will effect a low battery or change battery condition immediately or within a few shots.
2) I have several NEXcell 2100 and Radio Shack 1600 Ni-MH batteries that do well in other devices but fail quickly in the A570Is. So, I figured I just didn't have good enough batteries and went on to try non-rechargeables. See number three, next.
3) The only non-rechargeable battery worth a darn is the Energizer e2 lithium.
4) Now here is the strangestness of them all: On Thanksgiving I was doing some shooting when the low battery warning showed. Fully expecting a couple of e2 lithiums to fall into my hands from the camera, imagine my surprise when I saw two Radio Shack 1000 ni-cads in my palm. Yes, nickel cadmiums a family member threw into the camera a few weeks earlier. I've rotated six of these ni-cads in two led flashlights for about five years.
5) Yet even stranger: About 15 years ago I purchased a Yaesu handi-talkie which came with a rechargeable battery pack. After a few years the pack gave out and I cracked it open to find four Sanyo 750 mAh ni-cads, two of which were bad. The other two have since been powering a portable AM/FM radio that gets daily usage. Just for grins, I tried them in the A570IS. I took dozens of flash shots over the holidays on the fully charged 750 Sanyos and they're still going.
I've tested several hundred non-flash shots with the RS 1000s before the low battery icon came on. I'm not going to hammer the camera or the flash to test these ni-cads to full depletion. Needless to say, I think I've found my batteries.
Go figure!
I worked in a shop a while back and we were having a problem with a particular group of battery powered equipment only ours were not rechargable. After getting in touch with a knowlegable service tech about the units working for a short time, then not powering back up, he said that we should have used duracell batteries.
He said that most of the other batteries would develop a film on ends of the batteries,causing a bad connection. We really didn't think there was that much difference in the batteries, but switching to the duracells solved the problem. My point is that different mfgs use different materials and this could make a difference in some of the results that you may be seeing. I am not endorsing duracells, because I don't even know if they make the nimh or not! I gave my daughter an a570 that is having the same trouble, so I'll be trying to help her find a solution with hers when she brings it over. May be that cleaning the contacts and batteries will help. I also try to avoid getting the oil from my hands on them after they're cleaned!
Let's see where are those toothpicks, I may need those too!
Thanks everyone for the info. if I find anything else I post back!
BOUGHT THIS CAMERA "NEW" TODAY along with a slow charging Duracell 2500mAh Charger and batteries. 10 minutes into taking general photos around the house, the batteries that came with the camera either died or were victim to the dreaded "low battery" warning or shutdown. I have come to realize after visiting this forum that it's the camera and not the batteries. It's not old batteries, dirty contacts, batteries left in the camera, mAh variances or any of the other scenario that has been thrown around this thread.
I fully charged the Duracell set and just 18 shots in, I either get the low battery warning or camera shut off. I played with the contacts but to no avail. I can clearly see the battery makes full contact with the contacts on the door so there is no connection issue there. The low battery warning is intermittent from turning the camera on and off and I was able to take dozens of pictures with the blinking red warning icon showing. At other times though, I'd get the "change batteries" text and the camera would shut off. Again, all with the same set of batteries.
Against my wife's wishes not to buy another PowerShot camera, (our A75 had similar full battery/no power issues a couple years into the purchase) the A570 IS was just taking fantastic pictures for the money ($179 US at BestBuy) and figured the power issue was taken care of.
The writing is on the wall here folks. This camera has some serious and annoying power issues and nobody should have to go on wild goose chases looking for batteries that "might" just keep this camera working. Mine is going back! Good luck and thanks for the thread.
As I was putting everything back in the box to return, I put the original alkaline batteries back in the camera and tried to see how many pictures I could take and now I'm snapping picture after picture without a single warning. I put the 2500mAh Duracell's back in too and out of say 60 pictures, shutting the camera on and off, switching each battery location (-/+,+/-), turning functions on and off, I only recieved the a low battery once and for the life of me I can't get it to duplicate which you know will also happen at the return desk. I'm going to try some Duracell 2650mAh's to see how those perform and I'll post the results. Maybe it's somewhere in the battery door since it is pretty fragile piece of plastic.
So, do I A) return it not even 24 hours into the purchase? B) try to exchange it for another one hoping this one was made on a Friday a minute before the bell rang for the weekend? Or C), spend $100 extra for the only other camera I liked at BestBuy? I'm kind of stuck there unless I want to get nailed with a %15 restocking fee and go somewhere else. You all don't need to answer, I'm just typing out loud. Just wanted to give you the update.
Or... and I say this because I believe its possible... after a short "break in period" it works. Could a contact need cleaning? I didn't and no toothpicks either.
At any rate I personally am very content.
It would be nice if it recovered quicker after a flash but I'm really enjoying short 30-45 sec videos. I load everything in the laptop and everyone coos over the new grandbaby. Much of which in low holiday lighting.
Glad I kept mine, good luck, John
I'm going to try the Canon SX100IS for about $80 more. I have read the reviews and although some still mention it's not the best on battery life, most give it about 250-325 shot count on 2500mAh batteries which is more than enough for my shooting style. Most importantly though, no talk of premature low battery warnings or instances of the camera just shutting off. I could go with another brand that they sell, but I'd like to stay with the SD format and stay away from cameras that use proprietary batteries.
Batteries - Eneloop 2000 NIMH?
Charger - ?
Toothpicks -?
Thanks
Greg
"Dale" on Jan 1/07 got it correct (and those people with the toothpick solution)! If you check out both reviews of this camera on the links below, both reviewers noted a problem with the battery compartment door and battery usage. These are the guys who tested for Canon! They thought it was just their "test" camera. One solution was to just open and shut the battery compartment door. It does appear to be a connection/contact problem rather than a battery problem. I suggested a friend buy the 570IS two days ago and we've been having the same problem with flashing battery warning after only a few shots. VERY annoying! Opening and closing the battery door did get rid of the flashing battery warning every time. I'm going to suggest cleaning the contacts better AND the "toothpick solution" immediately!
imaging-resource.com/PRODS/...
dpreview.com/reviews/canona...
I do agree that the contacts and battery door are questionable, definately a design issue. I am enjoying my camera and it takes excellent photos. I just returned from Mexico with it. I hooked it up to the TV using the Video connection so I could view the photos on a larger screen - they were magnificent (at least to me- sunsets - vivid colors..etc.). My batteries did run down and started flashing after about 300 mixed flash/no flash shots but I reviewed my photos on the TV about 5X so I think that used a bit of juice not to mention turning it on and off a zillion times.
I am keeping an eye on it and will report here if I find the results inconsistent. However, I am satisfied with the camera and will live with it. OF course, if I had it to do all over again, I would not buy this camera I'm sure their are comparable cameras out there that would not require this investment of time and energy. However, since I rec'd this as a gift (from my wife :) I want to make it work. LOL
Let me know if I can be of further help.
Best,
Tom
Keep you updated with when they run out. So far, I'm pretty happy with it.
-PH
(1) camera shows dead battery with flashing red icon; additionally, optional (and free) software shows the battery at 2.1V.
(2) I open the door, and reclose it. Immediately after powerup, the voltage is back near 2.3V, and remains at that voltage steadily.
Note that pressing the closed battery door at various locations causes wild fluctuations in the displayed battery voltage; thus clearly some contact somewhere is to blame for apparent loss of power...
Try cleaning both the battery terminals and camera terminals by gently rubbing with a pencil erasor; this removes any blocking residue or oxidization. Or anything gentle action you could think of that causes better contact.
[I'm using brand new energizer 2500mAh NiMH batteries.]
So for me in any case, battery contact is the issue.
Could you clue us in on the free software that allows you to monitor battery voltage, if I understood your post correctly.
THanks,
Tom B.
After cleaning the battery contacts, and the camera contacts--including the ones deep inside the battery compartment--the voltage is now relatively constant at 2.4V, despite taking pictures for an hour or so. So, thus far the issue seems resolved (for me in any case).
I got my camera yesterday, hoping I would not get one with the low battery problem, but after taking about a dozen pictures, I am already getting it. I proably should just return it, but it is a nice little camera and just what I was looking for. But I don't want to go fooling around with adding toothpicks. I find the battery compartment door hard to close as it is and it feels rather fragile. If I break it, I won't be able to return it.
Does anyone know if Cannon makes a more reliable point and shoot in the same price range?
I have the same problem with the battery indicator.
Using Eneloops batteries resolved the problem.
Regards
First I need to update my January 1 posting and report that the Radio Shack 1000 mAh NiCads do in fact rapidly die out unlike the Sanyo 700 mAh NiCads which go on and on in the face of logic.
I am also experiencing rapid battery failures from lithiums, titaniums, ultras, supers and all sorts of similar non-rechargeables whose packaging is splattered with "lasts forever" promises. I also tried the "open and close the hatch" work around with mixed results.
I recently purchased a set of Maha Powerex 2700 mAh NiMH AAs which I can report work 100% in my A570IS and far, far longer than the Sanyo 700s I've been depending on.
Check this out: have a look at the contact on the battery door for the top (plus) of the AA battery. There are two spikes that've been pranged into the metal which one would assume are there to "bite" into the battery terminal. I don't have a micrometer, but the spacing between these spikes is about 3 mm. The diameter of the top contact of just about any battery I've got is... about 3 mm! EXCEPT for the Powerex at 5 mm and the rinky dink 700 mAh Sanyo at 6 mm. Just hold the top of an average AA up close to those two spikes and you can actually see they could never BOTH dig in! This could explain why the toothpick fix works - the contact is deformed enough for at least one of the spikes to dig in. Similarly, opening and closing the hatch might allow one spike to dig in until normal handling allows the battery to shift to an inefficient centering between the two spikes to evoke a low battery condition.
Clearly, the batteries with a larger diameter plus contact do the job for me. To help verify my experience, we need folks to report on the top diameter of the batteries they use successfully in the A570IS.
Will some one please measure and report on the highly popular eneloop?
It would also be interesting to see if Canon might have redesigned that contact. Does anyone have something other than two of those little spikes 3 mm apart?
I've also noticed at chdk.wikia.com there are two firmware versions for the A570IS but it's way too complicated trying to determine who has what and if the low battery issue might have been addressed by the later version (by means of easing up on the level at which the low battery warning is triggered).
By the way, isn't this pathetic?! I bought this camera so I didn't have to depend on some proprietary pricey battery pack. And here it is, not worth a darn even with a brand new pair of expensive lithiums!
Tnx,
Tom
Try this site..they sell them for apx $9. US for 4.
Like you I wish this wasn't a problem and shame on them for not addressing it but with the low cost of this camera I think the horse is out of the barn.
tb
Now if I could only figure out how to get a sharp pictue!! But I think that is operator error not the camera.
Tooth pick solution was brillent. Instead, I looked around and saw coke's packing (cardboard), cut it is small tiny piece with scissors and places underneath the positive terminal tab. Worked like a charm. TOOK 150 PICTURES WITH FLASH , battery used is 2000 mhz Digital battery , (from walmart too). Still can take the pictures but I don't want to push my luck. Darn thing hasn't taken more than 10 pictures at a time and now it can take more than 150 pictures. Can't wait until I tell my wife that I opened it and saw there was a problem and used my soldering thing to fix it. She will think that I am genious...LOL.
tb
It is shameful that Canon is selling millions of these cameras without acknowledging or trying to fix this problem. Anyone who uses this camera even once will immediately realize that the battery compartment cover is flimsy and prone to breakage. The first time I changed the batteries I thought to myself "Well, this isn't going to last very long."
I now have my Canon 570IS with a piece of cardboard in the battery compartment, and my Panasonic 3CCD video camera with a piece of mounting tape inside the tape compartment (to fix a completely different problem, that Panasonic refused to acknowledge or fix). Welcome to cheap Chinese manufacturing folks. When price becomes the only deciding factor for consumers, this is the junk that we get for our hard earned money.
I am 100% convinced it is the trap door + contact that is the culprit in this battery failure issue and ANY batt with a + term of 4mm or greater is the fix. Along with mangling the trap door + contact. :-(
Tom B and LKB!!:
What is the diameter of the + terminal on your eneloops?
Thanks.
I'd call those guys and see what they recommend. Make sure it is a better one, IMHO..though they are relatively cheap. If you have a charger now and a voltmeter you can check the voltage on your batteries and compare it to some of the readings I and a few others have taken and see if you are ok.
LEt us know.
BEst,
Tom
The eneloop is the best AA battery I have ever had during 45 years using rechargeables. eneloop is a new technology with far better characteristics than the standard nimhi types, no matter the maximum rating. And the price is right. A slow charger is recommended.
These links give more and better explanation than I can:
stefanv.com/electronics/san...
eneloop.info/whatseneloop.html
Today, I put in 2 freshly charged 2100 uniross batteries, and immediately it told me to change batteries! I was shocked.. Then after reading the loose contact suggestions on this post, I tried to fiddle around with the battery shutter door...
I am 100% convinced now that it is a contact issue or whatever - something wrong with the battery door mechanism. Its nothing to do with the batteries we use..
The same battery which gave me "change batteries" error - now i have removed and reinserted, and closed the shutter little more firmly and gently .. now its working fine .. It has already taken some 25 shots with flash ..
Hope this helps ...
If you read further baclk on this forum you will see that several posters sent their cameras forf repair and got them back the same way or exchanged them and had the same issue. Also it seems one did an exchange and the problem was resovled. So it appears to be a faulty manufacturing process.
IF you read the reviews from a testers, they had the same problem with a prerelease sample but thought it was because it was prerelease. They gave it a thumbs up - and now this.
If you can exchange it you should - nobody should have to go through this. I got mine for a gift and it was purchased several months before I rec'd it - so I am stuck, so I had no choice but to seek a solution. This forum is the solution. MY camera works great now and it takes terriffic pictures without any battery issues.
Nobody should end up going through this. Condiering the low cost of the camera, I can't imagine Canon recalling it - shame on them...
tb
My canon A570 IS has battery indication problem after about 40-50 shots using Uniross 2100mAh rechargeables...is it due to the batteries..what do you advice??should I go for 2700 mAh batteries,and whether I can use 2700s with powershot A570?...Moreover would my uniross mini charger I am using for 2100s can charge 2700s or would I have to buy a new charger....If so plz suggest some good 2700mAh battery+charger combination.
Thanx
This tread could have been 2 threads. The battery contacts seem to be a problem identified and solved.
The other thread here is about batteries and has a lot of good information, invaluable to any digital camera user wanting to use rechargables. The new technology AA batteries can be identified by statements like 'Precharged' and 'Holds charge longer than standard rechargables'. These are inexpensive, give more pictures without recharging, and are a green alternative to throwaways. Available at Wal-Mart cheaply and others.
Eneloops are available at Costco and www.thomasdistributors.com
Good luck.
tb
Best,
Tom
For those not interested in the Toothpick Fix, I have published this short piece for those seeking a battery solution as well as an explanation of the issue. Please feel free pass on this link or print out the document for whatever reason you want:
docs.google.com/Doc?docid=d...
Here are your choices in batteries:
Sanyo eneloop 2000 mAh low discharge NiMH if you want this flavor of technology.
Maha Powerex 2700 mAh conventional NiMH with a kick.
Any alkaline battery with a top contact flat of 4 mm or more. These are hard to find and if you stumble on some, since they have a shelf life measured in years, snag a pair and keep them with your A570IS in the event you should find yourself with depleted rechargeables.
And if you need a charger:
The Maha MH-C204W (white plastic) or MH-C204B (black plastic) is featured with the eneloops at ThomasDistributing.com. This is a fast charger and will only do NiMHs.
I am partial to the slow charging Maha MH-C401FS because of its negative pulse technology, four independent charging circuits and its ability to handle NiCads.
Otherwise, any "conditioning" or "microprocessor controlled" NiMH charger you purchased within the last two or three years will work just fine.
BTW: Have you run the Powerex against the Eneloop's for a shot comparison? I'd be interested in knowing what the spread is.
Thanks for your contribution,
Tom
John
tb
tb
Jesus: what's your point?
Ramus: thanks for your report, tho it's not Good News.
ND: Powerex batteries are made by Maha, a world-wide leader for a looooong time. You didn't mention what city you're in or if you're in a region or country with restricted services.
Go to this site and see what your options are: mahaenergy.com/store/buy.asp
Otherwise, thomasdistributing.com or zbattery.com are A-OK.
Good luck.
Tried Amourek's toothpick trick - problem solved.
I'm so happy.:)
Unfortunately mine cost closer to $300 last year...GRRR..
Best,
tb
I've been following this post since last fall when my new camera started showing the battery alerts after a couple dozen photos. (see my post of dec. 5).
I tried the eneloops last month and they have indeed solved the problem. I've taken a couple of hundred pictures with one set of them and still no alert!
So I join the ranks of those whose problems are solved. And it is a great camera!
RS
I hear you on that!! In fact, I bumped into this thread about the battery issue when I clicked on the link at cnet showing it as the best cam for under $200. Under 200?! GRRR But, yeah, for $145 it can't be beat.
BTW: I picked up 8 AA and 4 AAA eneloops and a Sanyo N05 charger and a pair each of AA-C and AA-D adapters in a package sold for $26 at Costco. That's right, $26.00. At best pricing, separately that all would come to $58. I almost picked up two. But, I have no need for so many chargers and I want to wait a while and see if they boost them over 2000 mAh before I buy any more. Maha has 'em at 2100, so I think it's just a matter or time.
Amazon has the same deal for $37, still a good deal especially if you don't have a charger:
amazon.com/Sanyo-Eneloop-Ba...
Hope that link works. If not, do a search...
D77
Tom
I read a test report on this camera and it seems this camera has a battery DOOR problem the door is loose or something. it seems to fit loosely if I remember . interesting. perhaps this camera is designed so that one end of the contacts is pathed through a metal plate on the inside of the door cover and then through the hinges back into the camera. that may be why the problem exists. the hinge is loose because of play and doesnt get solid contact which might be remedied by a firmer contact (toothpicks pushing them out) putting tooth picks under the contacts (I havent seen the picture yet) pushes on the battery and hence the battery may push against the door to tighten the whole thing up.
i would be curious to see if the premium batteries that some are having success with are not actually just a part of a millemeter longer.
another thing I read is that these batteries need at least four complete charge and complete discharge times before they run at their peak ability. I am not sure if this is true with the higher tech nickle metal hydride or lithum ion whatever. worth a try charge fully and discharge the battery in other device that drains the batteries all the way down. run it to nothing and do this four time.s
by the way since this camera is older tech one of the few criticisms is the lower resolution lcd can any one comment on this to inform me if the camera has suitable viewing in most situations my wife and I both have eyesight that needs all the help we can get and are new to dig camera. we have seen later tech lcds in the store that are adequate but I am not sure if this lower resolution LCD will do it for us. for me a purchase will be made on line
With my Eneloop's I found that they seemed to work better with a few charge cycles. They are supposed to be ready to go right out of the package but I found that it didn't hurt to top them off first. I also give them a topping off before taking them on a trip eventhough they are a low discharge battery. I have the Canon camera case for this camera. It has a space for spare batteries and holds 4. More than enough for a an intensive week or 2 of shooting for me.
COnsidering online prices in the $150 range, this camera, problems and all, once addressed, is a good camera, IMHO. You must be willing to deal with the door/contact issue and have the correct batteries. The typical Energizer NIMH, etc batteries and many others that have been tried on this forum just don't work. Apply the info here and you should have a great camera.
Tom
Circuit city has one on display but the batteries were dead I didnt want to obligatet the clerk too much because their price is considerably higher than the average price I see around. I think Ritz has it for only $10-20 more than the low $140 I saw from Amazon partners but dont know who they might be , buying through amazon may have certain protections I have to check about return policy. paying an extra $20 from my local RITZ store may not be a bad idea anyway.
have to see if the wife will be okay with the lcc and handling she may even be more comfortable with it as it has a grip where the batts are. in the store they have the camera attached to an antitheft device and she is not perceiving what these cameras are like (small arent they?)
thanks for your advice. I have always been partial to Maha chargers and Powerex but will read through the battery selections posted above and meditate
just FYI
Thanks for the info.
Tom
Why am I considering this Canon A570 IS even though the problems its older technology Its only in the $150 range (for our first digital camera) and although it has its problems obvioiusly what has been discussed here, and although some of the canons have that e18 error which can totally trash your purchase 100% ($150 is better than $225 or even $300 for newer ones) I get total manual control which I think I want plus IS AND I can use CHKD with it. which is a freeware hack program that goes on your memory card and with it you can save your pictures in RAW format. Low light without flash the IS and higher ISO settings plus the ability to save in raw and then process in computer sounds to me like unbeatable for $150 or so!
thanks again for the help with this camera
Why am I considering this Canon A570 IS even though the problems its older technology Its only in the $150 range (for our first digital camera) and although it has its problems obvioiusly what has been discussed here, and although some of the canons have that e18 error which can totally trash your purchase 100% ($150 is better than $225 or even $300 for newer ones) I get total manual control which I think I want plus IS AND I can use CHKD with it. which is a freeware hack program that goes on your memory card and with it you can save your pictures in RAW format. Low light without flash the IS and higher ISO settings plus the ability to save in raw and then process in computer sounds to me like unbeatable for $150 or so!
thanks again for the help with this camera
Did u use chdk to change shutter speed to 1/20000 ? That's 10 times lower than the max allowed in manual mode with no chdk. Won't it damage the basic shutter functionality of the 570 IS in the long run ?
I havent obtained the camera yet, and havent worked with CHKD yet. I want to use it for saving in RAW plus the idea that you get a constant battery charge readout in your camera, how many shots left or percentage of battery. I suggest going to the CHDK page and I think there is a forum. I will be doing the same. you can search for CHDK wiki.
Some of the better chargers like the MAHA and the LaCross have a discharge charge feature which refreshes batteries that have been sitting you may get better results with that.
tb
- The Camera has great features. The IS works fine. Even my young daughter can take good shots with it.
- This battery problem is a very odd indeed. Using the original batteries, I took about 80 pictures, and something like 8 minutes movies at low rate. I measure the voltage on the batteries and they seem OK. They can operate my analog Ricoh nicely. Is this OK?? I think it disappointing to me.
The camera can still work in the playback mode though.
After the low battery indicator popped in, I bought some new Eveready, not alkaline, stupid I know but they work fine for my other camera. These never worked, the camera would shot down immeidtaelty or just take one shot even with the toothpick tricks.
In where I am there is no much variety in rechargables. Only Energizer at 2100 or 3000 or Varta at 2400 and so on.
Anyway, I think I will not buy Canon anymore. I previously had a Canon color printer and was a piece of junk.
I applied the toothpick fix to my a570, I used it with a new pair of Kodak Alkaline batteries (manufactered in 2006 !!) and was able to shoot 30 indoor pictures (all with flash) before the low battery indicator came up. (in comparison to 5 shots with the Panasonic batteries that came with the battery).
I want to ask if such number of photos makes it liable to say that the toothpick fix worked? Moreover, I am considering to buy rechargeables but only found that the only rechargeables in my city stores are Energizer 2000mA and 2500mA, will these rechargables give me good number of pictures, which one should i go for the 2000mA or the 2500mA.
Thank you all in advance.
YOu can purchase Eneloops from www.thomasdistributing.com They seem to work well for everyone. IF you look back in the forum to Nov, Dec 2007 there is much detail on what seemed to work. The issue with the camera is a manufacturing defect which does not affect all of the cameras - only the lucky few here.
tb
caig.com/
this company makes a pro line of contact cleaners and conditioners. I have saved this bookmark for years and first read about them from high end audio and ham radio resources.
I see that Radio Shack and Guitar Center now vend some of their products.
store.caig.com/s.nl/it.I/id...
I am on my way over to RS today to see if they have this in stock. see the first product pictured on the page linked just above. From what I have heard of this product in the past, it is definitely worth checking out. For those not in the U.S. check out their distributor page.
I am certain I will be buying the Canon A720 which has most of the features of the A570 and 590 but is newer vintage, yes, with the same flimsy battery arrangement and the AA battery usage. ( has USB 2.0 but not high speed but I will live with that. takes SD but not SDHD but does take MMC cards which at this point I know NOTHING about) the lens is said to be much better than the other two. CHDK program under development for that model
just FYI and I would think that the two CAIG products are essentials for this and any camera (and bettery ends too)
thanks again to all for the dialog and recommendations I am also checking out the LaCrosse 900 charger and will be perfectly happy I think with the Enveloops
again great info, thanks!
TEST RESULTS:: 970 FLASH SHOTS until CHANGE BATTERY INDICATOR ..see below for test and results:
After getting the first low-batt indicator - I was rapid firing the flash, I waited about 5 min before continuing. Then I would shoot 10-15 shots and then let it rest a bit and then pick it up and shoot somemore. As you know in reality almost no one shoots continuous flash shots anyway so ths is probably a severe test.
I went from 489 to 616 flash shots (same batt's) before the low-batt indicator came on the second time. I measured the Eneloop voltage and now it is 1.20v. Down from 1.21v previously. After letting it sit for about six minutes the Low Batt indicator is off again and I am shooting flash again in 10-15 shot bunches and then letting it rest for 5 minutes or so. I will keep doing this until the Low-Batt indicator comes on and stays on and report back with the numbers.
781 shots before low-batt indicator came on for 3rd time.: using flash taking 10-15 shots in a row and then letting it rest for 5 min-6min... I may be hitting it too many times in a row for the batteries to recover.
816 flash shots and low-batt indicator is flashing for 4th time. Measured the voltage about 1.15-1.17v.
What is interesting here is that the batteries recover very quickly and in normal use I think they would actually go much further without the low-batt indicator flashing.
I let it sit for another 3 minutes and now I'm up to 850 flash shots and still going - no low-batt right now, though it's got to be getting low on gas...
866 shots: Low-batt ind came on and is now staying on (was getting worried low-batt ind was broken, LOL)
Continued shooting until 970 shots when camera shut down and change battery indicator came on. Voltage 1.125ish.
I hope this shows at least what I got, previously with other high NIMH batteries and NO toothpick I was getting 25 shots or so.
Tom B
with the information that they use Elite 1700 mah cells in an A710.
The cells drop the flash recycle time by 1-2 seconds over other cells. Elite cells are designed for very high discharge rates (20+ amps) and so have very low internal resistance.
The poster stated he can take over 400 medium powered flash images and the cells will still be reading about 1.3v each and the recycle time is less than 3 seconds. Full-power flash recycle time is 9 seconds. Low powered flash recycle time is less than one second.
Elite 1700 cells are designed for paintball guns and supposedly the lower internal resistance allows faster shooting.
I wonder if anyone notices any difference in flash RECYCLE times with their chosen batteries or just battery life.
Just wonder if these higher amperage batteries pose a problem in with any damage to the ciruit. But I am being overcautious here. If someone is using them then I suppose there isn't that problem I am not really knowledgable of electronics.
Except for one thing. I remember that battery voltage should be tested only UNDER A LOAD. not just sitting there and read with a voltmeter. Thats how they test your battery in your car. Those battery testers that you can buy in Radio Shack etc. for your home battery work that way I am told.
I remember that the way to test a battery is with a resistor of a certain value in series when using the voltmeter. Batteries actual reading will differ under a load which is how the battery is used. Perhaps the poster's information of the Elites having 'less internal resistance' is part of this.
I wonder if those who did some voltage tests could go back and retest under a load. I suppose this might be why different brands of batteries are more succesful than others in these tests. Testing this way could shed better light on different battery's performance here.
'Continued shooting until 970 shots when camera shut down and change battery indicator came on. Voltage 1.125ish.'
That is an incredible number of shots!
Camera settings (no. pixels, jpeg compression, and other features) would seem to have an effect on the number of shots. On my camera, high quality settings make for longer time delay between pictures, most likely additional time for processing and writing to the media. Seems the more work a camera does, the more energy needed.
I am curious to know the settings for your test?
Thanks ..... John L.
tb
'... shooting the next step up from the 640X...'
The next higher resolution would be 1600x1200, or 1.92 megapixels. The camera is capable of 7.1 megapixels. I don't know total effect for sure, but most likely a higher resolution and a low compression ratio would probably reduce the number of shots significantly, but the number still would be impressive.
It would be intereting to know how many shots in a high resolution, low compression test.
John L.
By the way, did u people notice one thing ? If u select the postcard sized mode (1600 x 1200 and fine compression), u cannot select digital zooming in the options menu ? Only when u select something other than postcard mode will the digital zoom option be selectable. The manual should have stated that clearly. I thought the camera was having some more problems other than battery life!
I am not sure how the new SD series is but take a look they are nice cameras. I just placed my order for the A720 as it just went on sale on amazon for $170 US dollars it has some manual bells and whistles I wanted to get out of my system for my first digital camera (have had film slrs in early days)
It was features and price.
It seems that the battery problem isnt such a problem when you use premium rechargables particularly the Sanyo enveloops I did go into Ritz camera here to see one of the A models and the salesperson said to use Enveloops that gets them off the hook if you look at a few of the a series on ritz website you see they are offering enveloops right on the same page to me that says thats safe way out of the "problem" for this camera
but if you like the newer canon sd series and other brands go for it seems that alll the a series after this year will be replaced anyway. I am taking a gamble with the battery thing and another problem or two but if you have the money go up in price range.
see if you can find a canon of the sd series in the camera shop and take a look at the battery comporatment you can tell if its the same design as the older a series.
I currently reside in Jordan - Middle East and here I could not find any decent rechargeable batteries except for the energizer 2000mAH which are also overpriced. There is no way that I could obtain the eneloops batteries even if i bought them from the net because most refuse to send such items to the middle east. So my question goes as follows: If I used the energizer batteries and applied the toothpick fix, will that solve the problem? (I consider the problem solved if i could get approx 150-200 pictures and few minutes video before recharging), moreover, is it true that it is better to use chargers that take hours to do the job rather than the 15-minute chargers?
thanks in advance :)
Hope others who have contributed here will answer your question.
If it were me I would choose a camera with a different battery type
The Alkaline battery’s that came in the box didn’t last long before the battery light came on.
I then bought Rayovac 2500 Nickel Metal Hydride batteries at Walmart. They latest longer but still the battery light came on too soon. By then, Best Buys’ 14 day, take back period was over and I was stuck with the camera.
After some researching on the internet I read people had done tests on the camera showing that the cameras low battery light comes on at 1.1 volt per battery, for a total of 2.2 volts for both batteries. The camera shuts off at 1.0 volt per battery or a total 2.0 volts for both batteries in the camera. This is a really bad shut off voltage for a digital camera because most AA batteries can’t hold that high a voltage for the length of their charge.
I then found someone had done voltage drop off tests and charts, which showed various batteries, and how their voltage drops off. Here is the link.
users.on.net/~mhains/Review...
The enveloop 2000 seemed to have the highest voltage for the full length of their charge, which makes them perfect for this camera. They also have the new long life technology, which makes them hold 85% of their charge for a whole year. They come precharged. Regular NiMH batteries lose 30 % of their charge per month so they need to be charged every month.
The User Guide manual that came with the camera says to use AA- sized Alkaline batteries or Canon AA- Sized NiMH batteries. So this probably saves Canon from any lawsuits. I have yet to see someone on here use Canon batteries and have a problem. The Canon batteries must just start off with a higher voltage, which then stays high enough for the length of their charge. But they are expensive and I don’t think they have the long life technology, which means they will have to be charged every month or the camera will be dead.
I bought my eneloop batteries and charger at Amazon.com for about $15.00. This solved the problem for me. I also bought extra eneloop batteries at Circuit City.
Ben
It seems that this user indicates that the button battery for the time/date is not holding. He keeps having to replace it. These button batteries should last a long time.
Apparently the AAs are the only thing running the time/date in this user's camera and it has to be reset each time the AAs are removed, recharged and put back in.
Has anyone here had that problem?
Don't worry about capacity when buying NIMH cells for use in cameras, worry about internal resistance and voltage maintenance. You'll get more shots without a low battery indicator from low resistance cells than you will from high capacity cells. Unfortunately manufactures don't list internal resistance on the package. Eneloop 2000mAH cells are some of the lowest internal resistance cells on the consumer market. Sure they have a lower number on the package, and will probably deliver less pictures than a 2700mAH cell when compared *straight* off the charger in some cameras, but what about the next day? 2500mAH and higher capacity cells are prone to develop rapid self discharge. They can sit in a device (or on the shelf for that matter) and be completely dead in a few days. This is because the platelets and insulators within the cells are packed in so tight that they start to "leak" stored energy between the layers. The result is a cell that discharges rapidly without any current drawn from it. Those thin, tightly packed internals are the reason the high capacity cells have more internal resistance and poor voltage-under-load characteristics as well. The eneloops, also sold re-badged under different brands (white top duracell 2000mAH LSD cells, for example), have thicker insulating barriers within the cell, and thicker plates, they can pass current more freely, and as a result, often deliver more useful watt-hours than a cell that is rated high mAH. Remember, a camera is a "regulated" device that will pull more current from a set of cells to off-set low input voltage to run a component within the camera, so a cell that suffers from high internal resistance will have the camera try to pull more current from it to offset that low voltage, in doing so, more power will be wasted as heat within the cell (because of resistance).
It's important to note that not ALL high capacity cells develop extremely rapid self discharge, but MANY of them do. They will perform and work as expected usually within the first few dozen charge/discharge cycles, but then they will start to rapidly degrade, their internal resistance will increase, their voltage maintenance will go down the tubes, and their self discharge will become unmanageable. In my experience, most consumer cells will not deliver a useful performance past 100 cycles. Eneloops handle the rigors in the long run much better, even if you don't get as many shots straight off the charger as another cell, the eneloops will pay for themselves in the long run by not needing to be replaced as soon.
Another option would be to look into some hobby grade (super low resistance) cells. Usually found where RC guys can be found. They are usually about 5 mOhm give or take and hold voltages up around 1.35V into most light loads without any problems. They are usually rated around 1500-1700mAH capacity, but remember, capacity ratings aren't everything!
Even with the low battery indicator on, it will randomnly turn on and off at will whenever the camera is used and I can still take several pictures, up in the hundreds before the batteries are actually discharged. I suspect that it's an issue with the firmware on the camera itself, especially after talking with a few Canon approved repair facilities who've said that they've had quite a few cameras come in with the same issue.
tb
It was a reasonble choice, with the first charge, I was able to take 210 shots and about 20 minutes of video over a period of one month (so there was no internal discharge). I think it is OK now but I have to say the quality is still not what I would compare to my analog Pentax and Ricoh SLR's. Maybe I still have to get used to the adjustments. I found that the Prorgram mode with exposure compensation provides much better results than the fully automatic mode. Also, recently the white balance functions seems to work wonders sometimes.
Canon better come up with a solution or this will be the last Canon product I will buy.
Look at the post by Amourek at 18.52 on 8/12/2007 and the attached picture. Use a thin piece of flat wood & slide it under the +ve terminal in the battery cover where shown to raise the contact up slightly (Don't bother with the -ve terminal). Then replace your batteries with Sanyo Eneloop rechargeables and I believe your problem will be solved. A bit of a bodge but at the end of the day it looks like Canon are unlikely to accept there's a problem.
Not having toothpicks, I solved it by using a small screwdriver to gently bend out the contacts in the lid. Perfect, and a very good battery life, even using the screen and the flash.
This is a brilliant camera, but Canon should have sorted this problem.
Jim (J.Baker @ ex.ac.uk)
Thanks to Tasha for extra information on this. My bending the contacts probably did the same as having slightly longer batteries, it did improve things a lot, but I have since discovered that this is not the entire solution. After a while the low battery icon appeared again, but I ignored it and was able to take many photos with the thing flashing.
I think one day's shooting on one set of alkaline is OK, although other cameras do much better. My theory is that the firmware needs modifying, so that it does not give the warning so early, ie, before it is necessary. The flashing warning is very distracting and is NOT telling us the truth. Don't let it shut down the camera; you can turn this off in the options.
Jim
----------------
Thanks,
Tom B.
MENU
Right for settings
Select Power saving
Change Auto Power Down to OFF
This only stops the auto power down. Nothing else is affected.
If this is disabled does this mean there will be no power down, no alert and no change battery alerts. The camera will just go dead when it is time to change batteries??
Thanks for clarifing,
Tom
As far as I can tell, this ONLY prevents the camera shutting down when it thinks the power is low.
You will still get the battery low icon and eventually, it will just stop working and say "Change batteries".
This may not be of any great help, as I think the auto-power down is usually just if the camera has not been used for a while, but I suspect that it might also do the shut down when it thinks the power is low.
In any case, nothing else seems to be affected, so why not try it? I would rather decide when to turn off my camera than let it decide!
There remain two questions.
(1) Why do you get the low battery icon after taking only a small number of photos with a new set of batteries?
(2) Why can you then go on to take a lot more photos with the icon flashing all the time?
It does seem like a bug in the firmware to me.
Jim
-----------------
kenrockwell.com/canon/compa...
The review has this to say about the battery problem:
-----------------------------------------------------
POWER
Battery Life and Meter
The A570 has the same overly sensitive low battery warning as the other A-series Canons I've used. It often will flash the red battery symbol or shut down, even if the batteries are fine or new. Don't believe it; keep trying and keep shooting. My 4-year-old Canon A70 has always done the same thing.
I made 300 shots on the A570 on a set of 2,100 mAh Ni-MH and they were still going when I returned the camera to my friend from my photo club.
Since I couldn't kill the battery in the short time I had it, I don't know if I'd get more than 300 shots. The battery meter was telling me I was out of juice, but the open circuit voltage of the cells was each 1.29V, which is fine for Ni-MH. It is probably happier with throw-away lithium.
Here is another suggestion from elsewhere. I have just tried it, inserted new batteries, and will report if it helps...
----------------
mikedodd's Full Review: Canon PowerShot A570 IS Digital Camera
I really like the PowerShot A570IS. It's a big step up from the A80 I had before it. However, I've experienced the low-battery warning problem that has been mentioned multiple times on the 'Net.
The problem manifests itself when the camera turns on the low-battery warning indicator even with a fresh set of batteries installed. It happened to me repeatedly after turning on the power only for five times with a fresh set of batteries.
I discovered I could make the warning indicator go away by simply opening and closing the battery compartment cover. After I did this, the camera would operate normally with the same set of batteries. But after 4 or 5 power-cycles, the low-battery indicator would again come on.
I expected the battery compartment cover and I believe the design of the metal electrical contacts is flawed. These contacts are made of springy metal, but there isn't enough force to press the metal securely against the battery. Even worse, the end of each contact has a metal tab that prevents it from being bent further out to increase the tension. I believe these contacts are the cause of the low-battery warning.
I fixed my camera by inserting tiny pieces of plastic foam (i.e., spongy, like from "foam rubber" pillows) under the metal contacts. I used a small screwdriver to gently bend up each metal strip, and stuffed a small piece of foam under it. This provides enough force to keep the contact securely touching the battery. Since I made this fix, I have power-cycled the camera at least two dozen times, and never once did the low-battery warning come on. In other words, I believe the problem is fixed.
I applied a bit of DeOxit on the terminals of a couple of batteries, inserted them, and opened and closed the battery door a couple of times. Afterwards, I shot 250+ flash photos with no low battery warning. Try it out if you get a chance, it might be a little simpler than wedging something under the contacts. You can find DeOxit at Radio Shack, Fry's, MCM Electronics, etc. Or at www.caig.com
It's fairly expensive, but it's the best contact cleaner I've ever used.
tnx
Update: Up to over 400 shots on this charge now.
I still get the warning, but was able to take dozens of photos with the warning flashing.
I write software for embedded systems like this (not cameras), so I am a bit of an expert. This is my theory:
The software is too sensitive to the battery voltage. It does drop dramatically as a photo is taken, and maybe the software picks up on this and reports "low battery". Instead of realising the the voltage is soon OK, it continues to report the warning. You can confirm this by opening the battery compartment and closing it again. The warning will often go away, but come back again when you take another photo.
Maybe it's just an annoyance, but I do feel that Canon should address this. It does spoil a wonderful little camera.
Has anybody tried CHDK software and decreasing the battery warning? Perhaps that will help.
I finally decided to recharge my first set of batteries.
My question is: can I charge two batteries in a four-battery charger?
Thanks!
RS
I'd strongly recommend picking up a good charger that can recondition/test/restore batteries as well as charge any number at once. The Maha Powerex MH-C9000 is the one I use, and it works great.
'Do I have to charge 4 batteries at a time in the 4-position charger, or may I charge only one?
The eneloop 4-position charger battery slots are designed in pairs. It is designed so that it may accommodate charging 2 batteries at a time - 2 in the inside positions or 2 outside positions - or 4 batteries at a time. The charger charges AA or AAA only.'
This charger has worked frequently and perfectly for 9 months. I charge 2 cells often in either the inside or outside positions, and also 4 at a time - no problems.
No doubt the Maha Powerex MH-C9000 has more features and may be better in the long run. It costs $57.95 plus shipping from Amazon.
Link to the FAQ section of the U.S. site:
eneloopusa.com/eneloop.html
Hope this is helpful. ..... John L.
My problem: Energizer 1850 mAH NiMH's get rejected when they are still well charged. They will then go on until they are flat in GPS, torch, etc.
I tried 'toothpick' and DeOxit and they did not help in my case.
I borrowed some Uniross 800 mAH NiCad's and without using DeOxit or toothpick managed to use them until they were genuinely fairly well discharged. Occasionally I had to wipe them and reload them. Incidently these have small positive terminals.
I came to believe that my camera does not suffer from bad contacts, but that the Energizer batteries have too much internal resistance. See "mdocod" on 22 April 2008. Eneloops have low internal resistance so I got some.
These batteries went on and on until even the GPS agreed they well well run down, and without using DeOxit or toothpick and without having to reload them at all. I used the method in the manual page 116 (monitor on, alternate flash and zoom, etc.) and "Change the batteries" came up after 397 shots. The low battery warning first came up after 368 shots. This trial was over a period of 8 days.
Thankyou everyone. It seems the solution is not the same in every case.
I mean the "low battery warning sign" because it will become useless if so.
CANON! Make firmware to fix this issue!
When a company too giant, they start forget they valuable customer, what a shame.
Tom
I called Canon and they told me there are no reports of such an issue and as it is out of warranty, I could mail it back. Average cost to fix is $129.
Have these folks heard of the internet? Are they aware that people can now share their experience? Is anybody from Canon reading this? I told them this was my first, and likely last Canon purchase. Why should anybody have to fiddle with toothpicks when there is a design flaw. Outrageous in my opinion. Love the camera otherwise, but Canon is not doing the right thing here.
You are right about Canon, but ...
Since you have had it a year and like it, you might try the toothpick trick - very cheap and simple. Metal contacts should not become too compressed to make good contact, but this is a common problem, not only this model and Canon - even in the film point and shoots.
After trying the toothpick trick, check if you are using the newer NiMH technology rechargables as discussed several times in this thread. They make a world of difference over the older ones.
Happy shooting ..... Johnny.
I have the greatest sympathy with Michael and what he has written. Canon could sort this out and they ought to.
Perhaps all who read this forum should email them?
This is a design fault, despite my expertise in electronics and software, I am not sure I understand quite what is wrong.
BUT, don't give up on Canon. Absolutely fantastic cameras. My digital Canon SLR is a miracle of technology, quite amazing. This little one performs incredibly, despite the problem.
I am sure someone from Canon must be reading this. Please sort it out. You have some of the best technologists on the planet, so just solve this small problem, please.
Thanks for the replies. I have tried cleaning my contacts with a clean eraser, but that has not helped at all. I'm going to try the toothpick trick and see if that helps.
So, is there an email address for Canon, it would be great if folks could email them to be sure they are aware of the scope of the problem?
-michael
By now, anyone writing to Canon to fix this problem is whistling in the wind. They will do nothing, as amply stated several times above.
Just get the contacts working, with a toothpick or whatever, and get some of the new type of Nickel Metal Hydride batteries and charger - Eneloops or whatever other bands have the new technology. These are rechargeable, almost nothing to recharge, with hardly any self-discharging, and are much, much cheaper than the polluting throw-away ones. You, your camera, and the environment will be happier.
Maybe someone can write a summery of these fixes, and let this issue be put to bed, and everyone just enjoy the great pictures possible.
Johnny.
Buy Sanyo Eneloop batteries. It is possible to take about 700 photos continuously with the LCD on with them or even more.
cutoff.ie: it will cut off after a slight change in voltage drop of battery assuming battery is low.It is designed for
battery protection to get maximum life unfortunately indication level for canon was too early.So it needs either
a firmware update or change in its circuit to overcome this.I am waiting for reply from canon for the same
problem.So everybody give a complaint at canon site.link is- canon.co.in/ComplainForm.asp
thanks
It is doubtful you will get any response from Canon, and if you do get one, they will do nothing. This problem and solutions have been discussed many times in this forum, including the 2 comments above yours.
Good luck ..... Johnny.
I would encourage others to hassle them for a fix.
A wonderful little camera, spoilt by a minor bug.
I must say that my Canon digital SLR is quite remarkable, fantastic technology, good user interface, brilliant results. Canon are good, bu they are letting customers down with this problem.
Jim
-------------------------
I responded in another thread. I've tried the toothpick problem and the camera now works as it did when new. No low battery indicator, and no problems with any type of battery.
As said in previous notes, it's a nice camera but Canon has dropped the ball. My first and last Canon as they know full well about the problem, but choose to ignore when you call them and reference this and all the other threads on various forums of users complaining about this identical issue.
Thanks to the prior users who solved the problem on Canon's behalf,
michael
Jason C
i am sure someone there at Canon is reading this, if so, please pass it on to senior management.
Look how many messages on here, and this is just one forum. This is a genuine problem.
Time to own up and correct this fault. OK, it will cost you a bit, but how much will it cost you to lose so many customers that love your cameras? And yes, you will lose us, for life; there are plenty of good alternatives. You have to give good service if you want to compete. You are not doing so.
Please do the right thing on this one.
And the advantage to having a camera that uses AA batteries is that you shouldn't have to purchase special brands or types of battiers. Just normal duracell AAs should be fine.
I was pretty nervous about the battery cover anyway, you really have to push on it to open and close it. Probably best I take it back anyway, before that breaks.
Thank everyone for their contributions.
My conclusion; The batteries are the problem.
The cause is the high internal resistance of the batteries!
Many NiMh batteries have a high internal resistance for use in the A720.
The same applies to the alkaline battery, including those of Duracell.
The Electo 2300 mAh NiMh batteries that I had used, have an internal resistance of 500 mOhm!
The NiCad's Sanyo 700 mAh give no problems.
NiCad's have a much lower internal resistance than NiMh batteries.
The internal resistance can be determined by measuring the battery voltage with load and without load.
For the load I used a resistance of 1 ohm.
Discharge current is then about 1 A.
Example.
Without load 1.3 V voltage measured.
With load of 1 Ohm a voltage of 1.2 V measured.
The internal resistance is approximately the voltage difference measured in ohms.
The internal resistance = 1.3 - 1.2 = 0.1 ohms.
As far as I can see Sanyo NiMh batteries and in particular the Eneloop AA 2000 mAh, which were listed here, are a good choice.
Did you read the manual? Did you go back to where you bought the camera and ask for help? did you call Canon?
Johnny.
Perhaps I can save you some time. I bought the A720 which is essentially the same design camera. I had read through the suggestions here to get an idea of what was happening even before I took delivery in the camera.
I checked with a camera salesperson and mentioned the battery problem. The salesperson stated that there is no problem with batteries but covered that by stating that Sanyo Enveloops are the battery to buy for any device of this type taking AA batteries.
You should invest in Sanyo Enveloops as I did. Regardless of the cost of the camera, cost as a factor in that decision you are dealing with irreplaceable moments so why skimp on battery and charger? WE dont have to figure the cost of film and D&P anymore so skimping on batteries and charger is senseless.
Enveloops aren't expensive. I think somewhere in the neighborhood of 4 for $13 and the package doubles as a carrying case for spares.
I read through the decisions and ordered a LaCrosse charger which was the bigger cost here. I have NOT regretted it.
Enveloops are designed to have long lasting battery shelf life in between charges. With the excellent LaCrosse charger topping off the batteries from the camera just before an outing with the camera, since the batteries retain a lot of charge, is rather quick. I always have a pack of spare batteries topped off (4 in the case that Sanyo supplies in my pocket. That gives me a MINIMUM of 500 full cycle flashes.
I ordered my batteries and LaCrosse charger from www.thomas-distributing.com Its a good investment! Mine selects the charging rate and also will recondition a battery with discharge/charge cycles. The instructions are comprehensive.
The toothpick trick referred to just uses a flat toothpick to shim up the contacts a bit as the batteries tend to fit loose which may contribute to the problem. An observant poster here noticed that the contacts on the ends of the Enveloop batteries are just a bit longer than some batteries and I have found that the toothpick trick was not necessary. I don't quite get the number of full flashes that some report here but with 2 sets of spares in my pocket it has NEVER been a a problem.
My next camera probably won't be a Canon but not just the battery problem. One of the problems is that they have opted a) to utilize AAs instead of a proprietary battery and b) some of these A series cameras only use two AAs instead of four.
Aside from the battery thing, you have to admit that Canon's A series cameras have pretty good picture quality. My A720 has been said to rival or even surpass entry level SLRs. It's the camera itself that gets a bit clumsy, way too slow for me for quick deciding camera shots. The LCD is terrible out in the sun, but the optical finder saves the bacon.
Good enough for me. Good luck!
We have a Canon A710 IS. What a great camera. We've had it for a year or so and it's ability to use power from a fresh set of batteries has gradually weakened over time. VERY FRUSTRATING!
Recently it has gotten so bad that we are unable to put brand new recharged batteries in without it shutting down instantly. The only thing that would work are fresh regular alkaline 1.5V batteries. And then this workaround just failed to work. Reading through all these great posts I tried a few things without success:
1.0 Clean all 4 camera contacts (tried q-tip w QD electronic cleaner, then tried pencil erasure)
2.0 Clean all 4 battery ends
3.0 Remove the door, bend the positive and negative metal leads so they have more spring force, re-install.
I finally tried the "toothpick" solution. Although instead, I cut a 1/8 inch strip along side of the short side of a business card, folded it a few times, ripped off excess and inserted under the positive metal contactor.
VOILA! Worked like a charm
CONCLUSION: Since I had just bent the top contactor so it had at least it's original position (if not more) I think that the bottom metal contactor must gradually lose it's spring and the overall distance between top and bottom contactor gets so long that proper contact is not made.
This last suggestion sounds good. Lots of other suggestions here, so best to try them and see if anything works for you. There may be more than one problem involved.
But it is a design fault, isn't it? I have never had this kind of problem with any other battery powered equipment. Canon should fix it.
It is strange that such a brilliant high-tech camera should fail because of a badly designed battery compartment. The processor is rather more complex, and they got that right.
:-)
There are other forums and internet questions where the problem of batteries in various models of digital cameras comes up. They take only a few pictures and poop out. And as far as I know, the camera instruction manuals don't cover the performance problems with various batteries, and don't promote the types compatible with digital's characteristics. Even another model of Canon point and shoot I recently bought as a gift didn't cover this battery situation.
Otherwise as previously noted here, a great little camera...
Still, it is a shame Canon doesn't address this with a firmware upgrade to address the battery sensor issue. - BUMS... :)
Tom B.
I agree with Tom B of course, about Canon.
I might give in and get some Eneloops. They are good, if expensive. But they seem to work for many.
But I might try another solution first. It seems possible that Eneloops might work because they are a tiny bit longer than other batteries. If this is the case, there are other ways to effectively make the battery longer. This is what is behind the toothpick solution. I think I will put some solder on the positive terminal of some alkaline batteries, filed down to be just a few mm thick.
It might work?
They are surprisingly inexpensive at Costco here, charger and some AA's plus in one package. Another package is only batteries. My kids bought some there and both are really happy with them. You don't get the full selection, however - typical Costco marketing. Wal Mart also carries Eneloop at a excellent price.
I also suggest you top off your Eneloops if they have been sitting for a while... especially if you are going on a trip. Never hurts though they do hold a charge in storage better than any other battery..
After spending a few dollars for this camera, don't fall over pennies to reduce the aggrevation, IMHO.
This camera takes awsome Pic's
Tom B.
Yes, maybe we should remember the good points about the camera.
I don't really understand how, but it often takes pics as good as my expensive SLR. Not so much control of course, or changing lenses, or big flash unit, and does not take a good pic of a black cat in a coal cellar by candlelight, (my SLR does), but it fits in my pocket!
That's why I have given so much time to trying to solve the battery problem.
I think the Eneloops are more expensive here in the UK, but I will look into it.
Thanks to Tom and others for advice on this. Much appreciated.
I got some Eneloop batteries. Quite expensive. They seem to work. Maybe problem solved?
I have the A20 which essentially I think is the same design, the same 2 AA cell battery scheme.
The way I see and understand it, if I remove my batteries the circuit is broken. If I hold down the on button for thirty seconds one would think that would not have an influence on the circuit in the camera.
Or is holding down the battery bleeding some held charge in the ciruit and logic somewhere?
not questioning this just trying to understand it. For future reference.
Enveloops seem to work for me well enough perhaps I dont get as may shots as otherss but I tested to about 200 flashes at full discharge so I think thats adequate for a camera of this type.
I am greatful that I have an inexpensive camera with good optics that can rival what entry level SLRS produce! the fact that the camera is slow in operation comes with the territory.
Good point.
The camera does also have a small battery cell, so not completely dead when main batteries are removed.
But I would guess that a proper reset needs to be done by holding the button down, with the main batteries inserted.
No one should complain if they get 200 shots.
The problem that this big thread is all about is getting less than 20 shots before the low battery warning. For most, the camera contiues to work, but it is a bug, and Canon should fix it!
just saw that perhaps that point needed clarifying somehow.
Can't figure Canons concept on the battery design thing. that camera that I have the A720 isnt compact anyway it will fit a coat pocket but not something else so I cant figure why they would go to some proprietary flat battery and be done with it. The camera is great basically and perhaps they dont want this price range camera to be TOO good as to cut into SLR sales Always leave em wanting more!!
Anyway enveloops do it for me!
I did not try the "toothpick" solution or clean the contacts. But after I did this, a new set of duracell alkaline batteries, which repeatedly before had given the low-battery indication began to work just fine.
This problem appears to be multi-pronged, but the "firmware" problem, as someone called it above, may be addressed by this fix, which the CNET commenter claimed came from CANON.
reviews.cnet.com/digital-ca...
Haven't seen if this works in the long term yet, but something definitely happened immediately. My batteries that refused to work a few moments ago (repeatedly) now work.
Thanks LP. That sounds like good evidence that the "reset" thing might help for some people. Worth a try - it's free! It does sound as if there may be more than one cause of this problem.
I got some of the eneloop batteries and so far, they seem to be working OK.
BUT, just to repeat my moan, Canon should sort this out!
If I knew how (and I don't) I'd add a photo to show the difference in height.
It is just the size of the battery, just that. Eneloops and Duracell are just that tiny bit bigger, a few mm. This is BAD battery compartment design by Canon. They get all the difficult hi-tech stuff right and the battery compartment wrong! I think there is a firmware problem too, as the camera should not be so sensitive to a temporary drop in battery voltage due to a bad connection. They could be forgiven if they did something about it, but they have not. I am afraid that my next camera will not be a Canon.
Jim
--------------
On all the flashes I have had over many years, rechargeable batteries perform significantly better than alkaline. This is in spite of their lower voltage, and they are quite inexpensive now, at least in the U.S. and Canada. The new technology NiMH batteries have overcome the problem of self-discharge. The electrical cost of recharging is insignificant.
There are economic, environmental and performance advantages of rechargeable batteries. Alkaline batteries are used once and dumped into the garbage.
My point is just about the problem that this thread is all about - the false "low battery" warning. This seems not to be connected to type of battery, but to SIZE of batery!
For people who can solder, putting a little solder on the battery contacts may well make them work better, whatever battery type. Just try to add about 2mm to the length.
I was most interested in the new type rechargeable batteries, and have seen and fixed contact problems on many cameras and flashes. Around 6 years ago I returned a Nikon Coolpix after getting it home and finding it would not work with new alkalines at all, even though the manual and advertising said it would. Changed it for another Coolpix that had a Nikon only lithium ion battery. That worked ok.
Nickel Cadmium was my first rechargeable in 1961. They were soldered into a flash that advertised a "lifetime of flashes". Yeah, it was true if you died within 6 years. With fewer and fewer flashes for each charge, over a 6 year period the flash became useless. The new reusable batteries were a little better, but self-discharge was a real problem because it got worse over time. It is only since around 2003 since the new low self discharge NiMH Eneloops and others of same technology have been on the market in AA and AAA sizes. My discovery of them in Wal-Mart, of all places, got me interested. Been a fan since. 1 1/2 years and the 20 AA cells are still fine and show amazing characteristics, not only in my flash, but in a CD player, my wireless mouse, and digital camera (6).
Also, while we are all complaining, let's not forget how extraordinarily good this little camera is, despite the problems. I can honestly say that I have had results as good as from my very expensive SLR Canon. Probably got the same computer inside! I thought I was quite a good photographer, but the camera often seems to make better decisions!
Toothpick, Eneloops, and holding the power button when switching batteries seems to have worked. The eneloops have given me 150 shots right out of the package (some with flash) already and I'm still going with no low battery warning.
Yes, I have gone with the Eneloops too. Silly name but great batteries. No problems so far, but the camera is supposed to work with any AA batteries. I feel strongly that Canon should solve this problem
"Myself and many, many others are having problems with the "low battery" indicator coming on prematurely, and with the camera shutting down prematurely. This problem is occurring with known GOOD, FULLY CHARGED batteries.
Please see the attached thread, which proves this is a real issue which Canon surely must in good conscience address. There are hundreds upon hundreds of posts in this thread.
digitalcamera-hq.com/digita...
Thank you and I eagerly await your reply.
Ken"
We'll see if anything is new.
tb
"Canon USA does not monitor, confirm, endorse, or attest to the accuracy
any information posted on third party web sites. It seems many
customers are overwhelmed by the barrage of information (or
misinformation) being posted on unregulated, non-Canon web sites.
Unfortunately, this is not something over which Canon has any control.
We are able only to confirm the performance of our products based on our
own testing."
So there you have it. Sad.
Ken
So, so many of us morons are banging our heads here over a non-issue!
Kudos Canon!
OK, most camera buyers won't see this, but I think Canon have lost rather a lot of us as customers? And we all have friends who we talk to, who many of us may advise on camera purchase.
Customer service?
the batteries are fine .
=[ . helpp ?
I can see from the previous reviews about purchasing the "Eneloops battery". Can anyone suggest if this is worth for a try on my case? On the other hand, can I charge the eneloops battery using normal battery charger?
Any comments/suggestions will be very much appreciated! Thanks all.
I trusted Canon to have the best camera but maybe this is the only odd case for it. I previously own the Canon powershot A75 and it still work like a charm. Anyhow, I sure lose my confidence on Canon after this issue.
I am so thrilled and speechless to how amazing these batteries had saved my long term headaches.
I put in the 2 precharged eneloop batteries right after purchased. I have taken appro. 50 shots and 3- one minute length movie clips. No sign of the stupid "low battery indicator" at all. Of course, it is still under experiment.
I am so glad that I can kept this Canon Camera, save my money, and not listen to the Canon technical support's suggestion.
Sanyo Eneloop batteries rulezzZZZZ!!!
I never trust "Sony" brand on anything. Their product never last long. I have a cousin who works to fix Sony products and he agrees with my idea that Sony product aren't that great. Anyway, the finally decision is always on you.
I was using Energizer 2450mAh batteries with in-line Energizer charger, and kept getting the low battery warning.
I did 2 things here, and now my camera is working 100%:
- I put a small piece of cardboard in behind the contact on the battery door.
- I bought a set of pre-charged 2200mAh Eneloop batteries.
I did some testing and found that the Energizers work 100% once the piece of cardboard was put in.
The eneloops were on sale at Costco so I picked up a set of 4xAA, 4xAAA, charger and lighter adapter for the charger, and these batteries are PHENOMENAL. 500 pictures and a short movie and still going strong! I haven't even charged these once yet - they are still running on the out-of-the-package charge!
I think the easiest fix it simply sliding a small piece of carboard behind the battery contact. It should solve the problem, regardless of the batteries used.
Ryan
Just this very day, I cleaned the contacts and installed the toothpicks, and have been pressing on the shoot button for over an hour with no sign of the dreaded low battery icon.
200+ pictures and I am still pushing that button.
Kudos to one and all for figuring out this ridiculous little problem.
Gob bless you, everyone--as Tiny Tim would have said!
Forgot to mention that, because of my "battery" frustration, I also tried the 30 second "reboot", just in case the usage of different kinds of batteries may have :upset" the camera.
I am using Energizer nimh rechargeables, and so far, am very happy with them.
I also switched the toothpicks for fragments of a Canon suppliers business card---LOL!!
To resolve the annoying "change the batteries" problem. Goto menu, choose yellow menu, select
file No. reset to ON. Turn camera off and back on.
Voila fixed.
I bought the battery and recharged it for almost 7 hrs and I clicked 115 pics with 80% of them with full flash with videos.
Till Now I've not seen the low battery indicator yet.
So the verdict is go for SANYO 2700 mah battery. Should be MADE IN JAPAN.
Until this stupid rechargeable problem pop up.I had both A550 and A570IS have this battery problem.
A550 is fine until 1 year later, but A570 have this problem after 2 months of usage.
Send A570IS and Uniross Rechargeable battery to Canon Service center, after one week they call up to pick up camera and battery as they can not find any problem, but the low batt warning remain.
I never ask my friend or colleague to buy any Canon DC again, also I advice them to avoid buying any canon product due to the poor after sales service and bad product too.
I suppose to bought a Canon 40D a year ago, but finally choice Sony Alpha as my good experience of Sony after sales service compare to Canon poor service.
Bad impression of Canon After Service , irresponsible multi-national company.
p/s : tooth pick trick do not work for me.
tb
Jason
"Thank you for writing to us regarding your PowerShot A570 IS. We value
you as a Canon customer and appreciate the opportunity to assist you.
We regret to hear that you are experiencing difficulties with the
batteries in your PowerShot A570 IS.
The A570 IS camera is shipped with Panasonic Gold AA-size alkaline
batteries. According to the product catalog, one set of these batteries
will provide sufficient power to the camera for 120 images when using
the LCD display and 400 images if not using the LCD display, or
approximately 9 hours of playback time. If using AA-size NiMH
batteries, use only Canon AA-size NiMH batteries and the charger
recommended for use with these batteries. The NB-3AH (fully charged)
batteries should last for approximately 400 images while using the LCD
monitor and approximately 900 images with the LCD powered off, or
approximately 11 hours of playback time.
Canon is not endorsing any particular brand of batteries, but camera
owners should be advised that different battery brands might provide
more or less longevity. Other factors are use of the LCD display (as
previously mentioned) and ambient temperature. At lower temperatures,
batteries provide significantly less longevity.
Canon USA does not monitor, confirm, endorse, or attest to the accuracy
any information posted on third party web sites. It seems many
customers are overwhelmed by the barrage of information (or
misinformation) being posted on unregulated, non-Canon web sites.
Unfortunately, this is not something over which Canon has any control.
We are able only to confirm the performance of our products based on our
own testing.
Please let us know if we can be of any further assistance with your
PowerShot A570 IS.
Thank you for choosing Canon.
Sincerely,
Thomas
Technical Support Representative
Special Note: Certain issues are very difficult to resolve via email.
If your question remains unanswered after you have received this email,
you may call our special toll-free number for email customers with
unresolved issues and speak to a technician by dialing 1-866-261-9362,
Monday - Friday 8:00 a.m. - 12:00 midnight ET, and Saturday 10:00 a.m. -
8:00 p.m. ET (excluding holidays).
If you prefer to continue to communicate via email, reply to this
message and we will respond as quickly as possible."
Many of us have had success with this brand of battery, and I can add that I had a cousin with the same camera and the same problem. I had him try eneloops and now his works fine as well.
Don't blame the company ... It may be a sofware glitch in the Camera but some of the batteries are just fine I still use my Sanyo 2700mah batteries and they are giving me 150+ photos all with flash...without battery low warning.... after that I get battery low warning but still I'm able to click 200+ pics with single charge. Canon reccomends 2500mah batteries for this camera.
I also bought the 4 UNIROSS 2100mah batteries and they were just giving me less then 50 shots on single charge. For 2 years I did not bothered but when I tried Sanyo batteries it appears like there was no fault at all. On 26 dec my A570is completed 2 years and it works as good as new with Sanyo 2700mah batteries.
So fellas, If you have a problem with a camera check the manuals and see what kinda batteries Co. is reccomending.
I'm looking for more heavy duty batteries to get a 400+ pics with a single charge... although these batteries can give me 400 pics provided I do not use the Flash and Zoom too much..........
Happy Clicking with SANYO HR-3U-2BP-2700...
This is a tough call. On the one hand, the A570 IS has the big, big plus of optical image stabilization and higher ISO options. On the other hand, the A640 has a bigger and better sensor (10mp vs 7mp), a better macro range (1cm vs 5cm), and a greater range of shutter speeds. The A640 is bigger and heavier (though not by much). Both have good manual control options. And, as you mentioned, the A640 has the great flip out & twist LCD screen.
Personally, I'd lean toward the A640, though the image stabilization would give me second thoughts.
Good luck!
dpreview.com/news/0708/0708...
And any user reviews you find on the a710 should give you an idea. The a720 just adds the DIGIC III (Face Recognition etc...), .9 MPs, and ISO 1600.
The a570 and a650 both post a flash recycle time of up to ten seconds. I'm not exactly sure under what circumstances it would take 10 SECONDS to recharge the flash! However I do know that in reality the a650 recharges a lot faster, which makes sense since it has 4 AA's. I'd go for the sd850 (nice and small) for $100 more, or the.... hallelujah... a650 for $200 more (would need a bigger back pack though, :-o)
I guess you must have bought your camera by now, but here's my $0.02:
I purchased the A570 IS a few months ago, and have been very pleased with this compromise.
I say compromise, because I wanted more from the camera I was going to buy: higher ISO performance (like the Fuji F40d), wider angle (28mm), more zoom (6x?), bigger sensor, etc...
Would I want a tilt screen like the A640? Mmm, yes, but it's far from critical.
Do I prefer image stabilization? Hell yeah!
Do I prefer the smaller size of the A570 IS? Mostly, yes.
The bottom line for me picking this model was it was the best compromise for what I wanted, and the price was great. The camera fitting all the specs I wanted just doesn't exist right now (I plan on *maybe* purchasing a 'bigger' model in a few years...), and so I am very happy with my purchase!
It's a great camera, takes great pictures, it's very easy to carry around; it's got some limitations, but for the price, it's clearly one of the best values out there!
Much better value than the A640 imo...
I'd also put fresh batteries in the camera. Can you attach an AC adapter on it and replicate the problem?
Another tip is to go to Canon's website ( usa.canon.com/consumer/cont... ) and look for firmware updates. Download and install them.
Absent that, this sounds like a CCD issue. Canon did have trouble with that on a few other models and issued a service advisory over it. You model isn't a part of this advisory, but perhaps if you contact Canon and calmly explain to them you have the same issue, they may relent and repair it. Here's the information just in case:
Check out this service advisory ( usa.canon.com/consumer/cont... ) from Canon regarding it.
Malfunction:
It has been confirmed that the connecting parts of the internal wiring of the CCD used in affected products may become disconnected, especially if the affected products are stored or used in high-temperature and high-humidity environments. If this occurs, the signal is not output from the CCD normally in Shooting Mode, which may cause a distorted image or the absence of an image. This malfunction can be confirmed on the LCD monitor screen during shooting. The same malfunction also appears on the recorded image.
Canon's Response:
Effective immediately, and regardless of warranty status, Canon will repair, free of charge, the products listed above exhibiting the above-mentioned malfunction if Canon determines that the malfunction is caused by the CCD image sensor. Canon will also cover the cost of shipping and handling in connection with this repair.
So the good news is that Canon will fix it for FREE:
U.S. residents are kindly directed to contact the Canon Customer Support Center for further assistance at 1-800-828-4040. Support hours are Monday thru Friday - 8:00 AM to 12:00 midnight; and Saturday 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM (all times EST). Alternatively, if electronic support is preferred, please send your email to carecenter@cits.canon.com
If you're happy with the answer you received, you can simply click on "Mark for best answer" bubble and it will close out the question. Thanks for posting it and Good luck!
Your issue of "can't review photos in playback mode" is probably just due to you having pressed the display button to off? If not, then it could be a LCD problem?!
And you're right, aside from the IS, there really isn't a dime's worth of difference in picture quality.
-have also changed date and time button battery
Never use manganese (non-alkaline) or lithium batteries, as these battery types may overheat in the camera.
Canon recommends NiMH rechargables or AA Alkalines.
,
I prefer Canon as they're cameras are competitively comparable and some are even better. They use SD technology and standard color management.
And Canon glass is amoungst the best in the business.
If it doesn't work, just go here and click "Product/Software Manuals": usa.canon.com/consumer/cont...
Something like these amazon.com/Sony-2500-Rechar... with a battery charger like this amazon.com/Sony-BCG-34HE4-S... will cost about $28 (no tax or shipping) for 8 AA batteries and the charger. (Or just get the charger, which includes 4 batteries, and you'll have a set in the camera and a fresh set for when you need to swap.
Don't go below 2,500 mAh or else the amount of pictures you can take will suffer (as well as flash recharge, most likely).
To,
Dear Alfredo.
I use the SONY NI-MH Rechargeable Battery model -NH-AA HR15/51 1.2V - AAHR6 MIGNON -AAtyp.2700mAh for my 570IS and they work like a dream.
Yes with the normal AA Alkaline batteries I never get more than approx 100 photos per pair, while with the High Capacity NI-MH battery model as mentioned above I get more than 300 shots for sure ( With LCD on and more than 50% of photos with flash )
This has been my experience till date .
I bought this Camera recently and would like to know whether the Face detection and Auto focus functions are working while the self timer is on.
If not, could you advice me how to get well focused self photographs using this camera.
Thanks.
If you're trying to use the self-timer to take your own picture with no one else in it, you'll want to put something in your place while you work with the camera to focus on the distance you want to stand from. Something as simple as a stuffed animal at eye-level, or a picture or something. Then the camera can autofocus on that distance and facial area, so when you run back into the picture, you just have to move the stuffed animal/picture and replace it with your own.
Really, the best way to take self-portraits is to either have someone else take it, or see if there's a remote-control accessory for your camera... these accessories generally will let you depress the snapshot button when you're ready for the picture, letting the camera autofocus one last time.
Thanks a lot for the answer.
Kokila
As far as memory cards, this camera supports both SD and SDHC. Since you want a 1 or 2GB card, SDHC's are out of the question (I believe they start at 4GB). Fortunately, there are a ton of good 1-2GB cards out there. Here are a few I would suggest:
amazon.com/SanDisk-SDSDH-20...
amazon.com/SanDisk-Secure-D...
You really don't need anything faster, especially for this type of camera. These cards are cheap ($10/GB, about), and even normal speed is fine. By the time you upgrade your camera, you'll end up buying 8-16GB extreme speed cards for dirt cheap!
I wouldn't suggest buying at the site I included the links for (shipping kills the deals). But those are simple memory cards you can find at any store. Don't pay more than $30 for a 2GB memory card, it's a rip-off. Even the second link 2GB card is $22 with arm-and-a-leg shipping rates.
Would a 2-4 gb card hold a good amount of movie time? Say 30 min. in standard format?
Big Help. Thanks again.
On the MAC side, iPhoto will perform many of the same options.
BTW - as an aside, My recommendation is that you invest $10 in a USB memory card reader. Plug your SD card into it and your pc will read it as a drive. Then it's a simple drag and drop onto your mac and you can use any program you want to manage your photos. Then delete the photos USING THE PC and you're back to shooting pictures.
Once you put the card into the reader, it should open up a small options box where you can upload pictures to a specific folder, or just a default one, etc... and also a check-box where it will prompt you to delete all the pictures after uploading.
Hi Neil.
Yes . I agree that the best option is to attach a memory card reader to the Comp. ( i.e. If the comp. doesnt have a built-in one ).
And the best option for auto delete when using the card reader is to use the option of " cut and paste " while transferring the photos from the the card to a designated folder on the Comp. In this way the photos are also transferred and will be automatically deleted from the memory card at the same time.
Its a breeze.
Try it.
picasa.google.com/download/...
Picasa2 is free, easy to learn and use and has lots of tools to "adjust" your pics and keep them organized. And did I mention its free?
as you are getting better resolution tough marginally and better optical ZOOM too 6X.
Lookwise also A720 IS is better as per my taste.
Though around 50$ price difference can be there but I guess it is worth of that much.
You would be amazed what the extra 2x zoom can do for you, and since you are already considering between the 2 models, I would expect that the little extra that you would need to pay for the A720 would not be an issue, heck I think the small price difference is insignificant! (It's only like US$30 difference in my country) Before the A720 came out, the A710 IS was much more pricier than the 570IS!
Apart from the zoom, A720IS also offers a few extra nifty functions. I think it gives you the color accent and color swap functions which the 570IS forgo, and you would at least get digital zooming during video mode with the 720IS.
I myself was considering getting the 720IS before I eventually opted for the S5 IS due to its many extra benefits, it's cost me much more, but I was willing to pay for the extras.
One thing though, I would suggest you getting a set of reputable NiMH rechargeables with the A720 IS, as I've read many complains that there is a battery issue! Opinions out there suggests Sanyo's Eneloop, so you should go for those instead of other brands/models as these eneloops gives 1.2V servicing voltage during use which is just above the required level of voltage for this camera and many other A series powershot which uses only 2 AA cells. Most others NiMH out there simply fall short on this aspect.
Also, I believe digital zooming is available on the A570 IS as well. Even if not, that shouldn't be a deal breaker as it degrades the picture quality anyway.
The A570 IS has this cool 60fps fast frame rate mode that the A720 Is lacks.
If you really need the extra zoom, you should pay extra for the SX100 IS, if not, get the A570 IS.
SX100IS, well, that's a totally different camera. No viewfinder! Bigger body, price tag is much more higher!
Plus, unless they have good sealing, they can get dust in them (my A720 IS had to be sent back because of this).
I've compared the difference between 4x and 6x zoom with the older A530 and newer A720 IS, and, there really isn't much difference. The extra zoom does help a little, but not as much as you would think. I think for it to make any real difference you would need a 7x or larger zoom. Anyway, just my opinion.
Concerning the battery issue, both camera employs the same built, hence, you most probably get the same battery problem whether you go for 570 or 720. Some people get the battery problem woth their camera, while some don't. Of these, the forumers who had this issue more or less found that most owners using Sanyo's Eneloop rechargeable batteries more or less did not have the problem. And they concluded that it's probably due to the camera requiring higher operating (constant) voltage, so some less capable recahrgeables maybe not be up to task! Some owners also suggested that the issue is due to the battery connector plate not giving sufficiently contact to the batteries.
Concerning the higher MP issue, well, you could get the 720, but just set the resoultion to a lower setting. What the 720 gives you over the 570 is an extra 2x optical zoom! It's significant, and on the very slight higher price, the 720 is well worth it (IMHO). In all honesty 7MP and 8MP is almost the same, so don't focus on this difference on your decision!
In this sense, I'm talking about functions. You'll get the whole range of "creative shooting zone" with the A720IS, i.e. shutter priority, aperture priority, Program AE and FULL MANUAL! With the SD850, all you'll get are presets shooting modes, so you won't have any way of adjusting say aperture / shutter, etc. This is all well and fine if you just intend to point and shoot your way every time, without wanting to do some manual adjustments by yourself. And mind you, SD850 will probably give results that you'll be happy with most of the time, only downside is when you are shooting in some extremely difficult environments, the "creative shooting zone" would be a very helpful choice!
GOing further, the creative zone actually is the same as most SLR functions! i.e. if you use this functions, then you'll understand more how the camera shooting works! But that is another matter.
Personally, I find myself needing the creative shooting functions. Others would do just find without them. It's a personal preference, and if you never intend of moving forward to say a SLR, then it probably wouldn't matter.
Back to the matter of the batteries. It's pros and cons when it comes to Lithium vs. NiMH AAs. Debates and discussions has been going on and on about them. And it's also a personal preference on this case. With Lithium ion, you'll get a lighter, smaller battery. Charging time varies but it'll be around an hour for a full charge. Number of shots will generally be around 200+ shots per charge. The downside is that a spare Lithium Ion would be much much more costlier! A genuine model would probably cost you around US$40-50?
For Cameras using AA, the A720 is specified as capable of shooting 300+ shots with NiMH, extra sets are cheap, charging time depends on your charger, nowadays you can go get a 15 minute fast charger. And if you ever run out of power when you are on a trip etc. you can easily just buy any normal AA from the shop. (Pain with the batteries, well that I can't really answer you! haha! Some people never had that problem with their a720...)
Either way, both cameras give very respectable results!
Thanks for all your help Tigervyh if you want to cut & paste your above answer to my "Need help picking new Digital" under the canon a720 I'll give you the 10 pts (would have put 20 on it but thought I'd need the other 10 for another answer.)
It is 12,1meg pix/6x optical zoom,& the clarity is excellent.
leedas27- thank you very much for taking the time to answer my question. I would love to have the 12, 1 meg pix/6xzoom, but as you said it is exspensive, and is a little out of my price range. By the way, how much is $800.00(Singapore dollars in Canadian dollars. Thanks again R.M.
$450.00 US. Will wait a bit and see what happens by Christmas. Bye!
1. Prefocus. Hold down the shutter half way to get a prefocus of the image you're shooting. When it changes, prefocus again. This will speed up your camera's performance during picture taking since it won't have to autofocus before it shoots the shot.
2. Use faster SD cards. Yes, there are faster cards and it does make a difference in writing the image file to the card. This is especially key if you're taking multiple or burst images.
3. Fresher batteries. Use alkalines at least. But I recommend using high energy batteries designed for digital photography. Varta is a good brand. They are usually sold in camera shops, are long lasting (because they are sold in small quantities) put out alot of energy.
4. Shoot in "sports" preset modes when you're in situations that require action. Night or available light modes when in night time settings. These presets can help in speeding up your shots, rather than the camera taking a split second to evaluate the conditions of the lighting.
5. Go manual. If you are manually focusing, particularly in darker settings, you can constantly refocus the image as things happen. Also, the infrared does have a range and if your image is out of that range you can end up with the camera's "best guess" or infinity setting which may not help. You can also go manual on fstops and shutter speeds as well, getting more light faster when you choose.
6. Go with a shallow depth of field.
7. Pan with the action. You can create some pretty cool shots by panning with your shot, focusing on your subject. This will create the effect of your subject in sharp contrast to the blurry background.
8. Use a flash - even in day time. This will "freeze" the image and cause your subject to "pop" in the shot. However, flash is only designed for limited range and can dissipate outside of about 20-25 feet unless you're using a zoomable flash.
9. Stick with 100-400 ISO. Going higher will cause more noise/grain in your shots, particularly in darker settings.
Making these tips habit, particularly #s 1 & 7 will reduce your shutter delay by as much as 80%.
This option is found under Sound Memo.
usa.canon.com/consumer/cont...
Larry
Andrew
Yes . The CANON powershot model A570 IS has a tripod connector and its a plastic one .
Its positioned on the left side (not in the centre )but it works fine
- Resolution: Both have 7.1MP
- Optical zoom: 4x vs 3x
More optical zoom gets you closer to your subject in the photo.
- Image stabilization?: Yes vs No
IS functionality helps with low light situations and camera shake.
- Battery type: AA vs. Lithium rechargeable
You can purchase NiMH AA rechargeable batteries pretty cheap, so this isn't that big of a difference.
- Dimensions (WxDxH): 3.52"x1.69"x2.53" & 0.39lbs VS 3.38"x0.76"x2.11" & 0.28lbs
The Canon SD1000 ( digitalcamera-hq.com/digita... ) is smaller and easily portable, but the Canon A570 ( digitalcamera-hq.com/digita... ) isn't that much larger and offers a little more functionality. I would choose the A570 ( digitalcamera-hq.com/digita... ) because of the longer zoom range and the image stabilization. Good luck and happy shooting.
Andrew
A570IS is best at... everything else!
Seriously, Camera manufacturers have to make compromises when designing and building the smallest cameras, the end result is fewer features and slightly lower overall performance. I looked at the SD1000; when I first noticed that it uses the new DigicIII I was excited, then I looked at all the details and quickly decided it wasn't in the same league with the 570.
The A570IS is best because..
1) Takes better quality photos in low light, mostly due to image stabilization, partly due to better high ISO performance.
2) Takes better quality photos of distant objects due to the higher 4X optical zoom AND the image stabilization.
3) Can focus much closer for macro shots, as close as 2 inches at widest angle.
4) Easier to hold stable with right hand due to the shape of the battery compartment, reduced natural shake so the image stabilization can be most effective.
5) Takes more photos before you must recharge/change batteries. The SD1000 is limited to about 210 photos with it's custom battery pack. With the AA batteries in the A570IS, you decide the quality of battery you use and how many spares you keep around. I highly recommend the Energizer Lithium, longest lasting battery there is, and just happens to have the lowest cost-per-photo of any disposable AA battery because it lasts so long. (I dont have a number to put in here yet, but will as soon as my 16-year old manages to run down the set we put in yesterday) Rechargables cost less in the long run, but they need regular recharging just like the battery pack in the SD1000.
6) The A570 costs about $15 less also, another testament to the economics of building smaller cameras, less capability at higher cost.
Happy shopping!
I would still stick with the A570 IS ( digitalcamera-hq.com/digita... ) because of the image stabilization. The A580 ( digitalcamera-hq.com/digita... ) does not come with this feature, which is a nice to have for low light shots.
This big things with the A580 ( digitalcamera-hq.com/digita... ) are the "ease of use" features, which are nice for extreme novice users, and a newer processor. Unless you have never used a camera before, I don't think these are worth the upgrade.
Andrew
Both of these cameras are very versatile. The Sony H9 ( digitalcamera-hq.com/digita... ) will probably work better in low light situations, but the Fuji A800 ( digitalcamera-hq.com/digita... ) is more compact and will travel better. There are a lot of cameras available under $400, so you might want to go through DCHQ's Gift Guide ( digitalcamera-hq.com/digita... ) to find just the right camera for you. Good luck and happy shooting.
Andrew
Andrew
So many options. My Sony H2 is in the shop. I've owned it for a year now (still under warranty) and the AF stopped working.
I googled it and it seems the the H2 has a problem with this, the Auto Focus just quits and (sometimes) it can be repaired.
This is disappointing, since the camera is among the very fastest in shutter lag and start up time. I miss it, but I also learned there the H2 has a problem with shutter buttons just popping off and disappearing! Mine hasn't done this, but it makes me question Sony Digicams for build quality. So now what do I do...I'm a writer/ photographer for a local newspaper and I need a camera right away. My H2 won't be back from the shop until after the holidays and even then, I'm not sure I can depend on it to continue to operate. I went to Best Buy and looked at at least ten of the cameras they have on display. I didn't like any of them, including the canons, the olympus or fujifilms. I didn't even bother with the Nikons, since they're prohibitely expensive and complicated. The Kodak Z812 IS wasn't too bad, but the pics were grainy. The Sony H3 took nice photos, and was reasonably fast shutter and startup, but it has the same shutter button and AF mechanisms and I fear they too will fail.
I'm just about ready to just go back to my old Nikon N80 and (shudder) wait for my prints to come back from Rite Aid.
Does anyone have any suggestions for a very good Point and Shoot, with at least 10X zoom, very fast shutter and reasonable start up times. One that has decent battery life and is not prone to mechanical failure?
I'm listening..
thanks -
Scott - Milton, Wa.
You might try the Canon A570 IS ( digitalcamera-hq.com/digita... ). I have had great luck with Canon's, and think they are very user friendly. If you don't want to move to a dSLR, this might be the way to go.
Andrew
I'll check the Canon A570 out. Right now, I've borrowed a Kodak Z712 and so far, it's fairly quick for start up and initial shot speeds, but the pic quality is not as good as my H2. I may just wait until the next generation of prosumer cameras come out.
That is, if the H2 comes back fixed, and doesn't falter before then.
scott
Andrew
You might have to reset the default settings, or change the display settings. You can set the "Auto Play" function by going into the play menu, select auto play, and use the function set button, then the arrows to choose the setting. If the issue is where pressing the button does nothing, you may need to contact Canon support ( usa.canon.com/consumer/cont... ) for a repair or warranty work. Good luck.
Andrew
You might try the Fuji S700 ( digitalcamera-hq.com/digita... ). It has image stabilization, 7.1 megapixels, and a digital viewfinder (works like an optical, but through the lens digitally). It also boasts 10x optical zoom. It also runs for only $180. Good luck and happy shooting.
Andrew
And compared to Canon's optics ... well, you can't.
As for shutter delay, it is a way of life in digital cameras. But the good news is that the delay is lessening as the technology matures. And what's interesting is, that DSLRs dont' have a lag issue at all. Or, it's nearly non existent.
The good news is that according to recent news articles, many camera companies will be incorporating the CCD chips they use in their SLR lines (which give no shutter lag) into their point and shoot cameras. So look for it within the next few years.
Meanwhile, the NYT has an interesting article ( nytimes.com/2007/05/10/tech... ) on shutter lag and how to combat it.
jacke
Or, you can simply take the SD card to your local photo printer to print. But only about 20% of digital photographers actually print their pictures anymore!
Andrew
batteryuniversity.com/
For the Canon A570is the real advantage is that you can carry along (or buy worldwide) a few AA alkaline as final backups to get your pictures when the NiMh runs out unexpectedly. As you will see if you go to the batteryuniversity site, it is always a compromise of one factor or another. Great shelf life is needed for emergency backup, but higher energy density for your everyday use. NiCd will recharge up to 1500 times but has the dreaded "memory" problem to deal with.
Best Wishes
Larry
If you have rechargeable AA batteries, you can use them on the Canon A570 IS ( digitalcamera-hq.com/digita... ). As for the AC adapter, if this plugged directly in your old camera, I wouldn't count on it working in the new one. I hope this helps.
Andrew
Francis
The SD memory you were using in the CanonA570is will NOT fit or work in the Fuji E500.
The risk isn't worth it for trying the AC adapter.
Thank you,
Francis
This camera was first sold almost 3 years ago. While it does work underwater, many of the reviews on picture quality are very bad. I would recommend spending a little more than this camera's $190 pricetag for a quality camera that can be purchased with an optional underwater housing. Some cameras from Canon's point and shoot digital line, can be fitted with very functional underwater housings ( usa.canon.com/consumer/cont... ).
The Canon A570 IS ( digitalcamera-hq.com/digita... ) can be outfitted with its own underwater housing ( usa.canon.com/consumer/cont... ). It has a higher resolution, image stabilization, and will take much better pictures for you. The price of the camera is as low as $147 right now, and the housing can be found on eBay ( search.ebay.com/search/sear... ) for about the same price. I hope this helps. Good luck and happy shooting.
Andrew
I would first turn the camera off and take the batteries out for about 1-2 whole minutes. Then put them back in and power back on. If the issue is still occuring, you might have an internal issue with the camera. If that is the case, I would contact Canon customer support ( usa.canon.com/consumer/cont... ) for resolution. Good luck.
Andrew
Larry
The guys on that thread are coming to a conclusion that it may be a contact point issue and they are going towards using a "toothpick" support method to solve the problem. Also, they are pointing to using Sanyo's Eneloop rechargeables as the best solution thus far. Check out there posts.
Plus, people on that thread has been sending in the A570 to Canon service centers with no definite improvements on their problem, but still, you should complain to Canon about this issue, as I can see, it's a camera issue that many owners are experiencing!
I checked up on this issue as my mother's 570 is experiencing the same problem. and wow, I had thought it was an isolated issue. Will try the toothpick method? Maybe the supplied AA panasonic batteries had a higher contact surface, hmmm...
Another tip is to go to Canon's website ( usa.canon.com/consumer/cont... ) and look for firmware updates. Download and install them.
If that doesn't solve it, then you may want to look at how you're shooting your pictures. If you're simply firing them off without prefocusing first, the camera may not be focusing on where you want it to. PREFOCUSING allows you to properly focus on the subject area you want and then you can proceed to push the shutter button the rest of the way to take the picture. It's a good habit to get into.
As for the flash overexposing the image, these flashes are best used at a distance of about 6-10 feet. Before that you end up overexposing, past that, the flash dissipates to the point where it's useless. This is because they are designed to take pictures of portraits and small groups.
Hope that helps.
In the non-automatic recording mode (such as P, Tv or Av) press the func. button. Navigate down to the fifth symbol (looks like lightning and a plus and minus sign). You'll see a series of dots on the screen going from -2 to 0 to +2. This is adjustable flash exposure (similar to the exposure value for making the picture lighter or darker without the flash). Adjust this flash exposure toward -2 and the flash will lessen and the faces will darken toward normal. Sometimes the Auto setting just doesn't work right in a particular lighting situation and some manual control is needed. Or perhaps your camera somehow got set to a plus flash exposure value and has been blasting away ever since.
Best Wishes, Larry
Using the presets in settings where you don't have the time to adjust for compensation will keep the camera focused on a set condition and as such, apply specific settings just for them. Rather than allowing the automatic setting to make a compromise determination.
The argument is essentially this: CCD chips on point and shoot cameras a smaller and as such, fitting in more pixels causes them to lose light sensivity. Sure, there’s more data on the chip, but the chip can’t absorb the light data and what it ends up with is a picture that has more noise than image quality. In addition, the more megapixels a camera has, the larger the lens it needs to provide the clarity it deserves and prevent diffraction due to a loss of detail with smaller apertures. But since we’re talking portable point and shoots here, those large lenses simply aren’t made.
I have not had this camera but have read several reviews on it and no one mentions any difficulty such as you as describing. I agree with James that a camera reset is a good thing to try and carries no risk. If that does not correct the problem, then a visit to the Canon website to download the latest firmware would be advised just as James suggested earlier. something is not functioning correctly on your camera. We just haven't found it yet.
Canon A570is
Canon A720is
Fuji Finepix S700
Once you have had a look at their specs and read the reviews, feel free to come back here and ask more questions as they develop.
Good hunting, Larry
I know this is a simple question, but when was the last time the batteries were changed? A lithium ion battery can lose its life after a while. Instead of buying a new camera, you can just get a new battery and it should work just fine. Its a lot cheaper than buying a new camera too. You can find them on the Kodak accessory page ( kodak.com/eknec/PageQuerier... ) for your camera. Good luck.
Andrew
I'm a big fan of Canon cameras. I currently own three. The Canon A570 IS ( digitalcamera-hq.com/digita... ) is a great upgrade. The 7.1MP resolution will allow for great photos, even up to 20x30 poster prints at the finest resolution settings, the image stabilization helps in low light and shakey situations, and the manual exposure settings are a favorite of mine for gaining more control over your photographs. It is also withing your budget. I think this would be a great fit for you.
Andrew
Glad we could help. Please come back with any more questions. Good luck and happy shooting.
Andrew
1). Whenever a JPEG image is altered and saved it goes through a recompression step which throws away some of the data. Your computer software that does the red-eye correction could easily be throwing away the data your camera needs to identify the image or otherwise be unable to uncompress it from the data into an actual image.
2). You might try saving the unchanged (original) image from the card to the computer hard drive. Then remove the card before doing any alterations. That way the original image is still in the card, but it is also in the computer where you can alter it as desired.
3). Have you tried Picasa2? It is free software complements of Google. It will keep your photos organized and has red-eye remover and other nice tools to fix your pictures easily. It is not a professional level like PhotoShop, but it works well and is free. You can download it at picasa.google.com/download/... I've used it a long time and not had trouble as you describe.
Best of luck, Larry
Now we can address the issue at hand. What has happened is that the EXIF data that that camera looks for gets stripped from the picture when you edit it on the computer. That data needs to be put back in. I haven't checked it out yet, but utilities like IrfanView software reinserts EXIF data (I'm sure there are others). You simply open the photos on the SD card in IrfanView and simply save them again. Accordingly, the EXIF data is written back into the file and voila, the camera plays them.
Hopefully downloading irfanview and reloading the memory card to the pc when this program is open will restore the images....or my fiance' will punish me severely!!
There's an entire website ( e18error.com/ ) devoted to this. In a nutshell, Canon E18 error happens when the lens gets stuck while trying to extend. The camera will beep a few times and the LCD will display a little E18 in the lower-left corner. The lens gets stuck in the extended position, and refuses to move either to focus the lens or to retract when powered off.
It can happen. But it isn't so widespread that it should prevent you from buying Canon. And the A570 is a terrific camera.
As for the IS feature. It's optical image stabilization, so I think it is. If it were digital IS, where the stabilization is done with software, I'd say look elsewhere.
Matthew
picasa.google.com/download/
Once you have your pictures entered into Picasa2 by using the Import button in the upper left hand corner of the page, you can then use the Export button in the lower right hand corner. Click on export button; enter a name for the new exported folder; near the center of the new page find "Resize to" button and slider; click on Resize to and adjust slider to desired size; click on OK; picture will now be in the exported section near the bottom on the left hand column of the page; click on file name and find new size picture ready to go. I think you can process more than one picture at a time but I'm not absolutely certain of that.
Best Wishes and let me know if you need further advice.
Larry is correct, picasa works very well. You should have something on your PC as well. When they are downloaded to your PC, double click them in the folder. You should have Microsoft Picture Viewer open them. You can click the "edit photo" buttons along the tool bar, and then click resize photos along the right toolbar that appears. I would use the presized options as web, large. I hope this helps.
Andrew
Comparing them, it's a pretty tight result, but when looking at the enlarged scans, you can see that A570 starting to pull away with detail and color saturation. Given the choice, I'd go with the A570.
i am using a usb cable and file sizes are approx 200mb using windows xp spk2
that fixed it.
now i just have to work out how to get them to play in a non pc dvd player
thanks again
i have made numerous attempts to burn the files with nero and i keep getting
getting a invalid file format.
i am editing these files in zoom browser first which came with the camera
thanks
"The lens shift image stabilizer function allows you to minimize the camera shake efffect (blurred images) when you shoot distant subject that have been magnified or when you shoot in dark settings without a flash."
You can change your program settings back to automatic and if the flash is needed, it should go off. Or, you play with the preset functions. You can also turn off IS altogether, but that's not really a viable option, IMHO.
What you can try is to reset the camera. This is a fairly easy procedure which involves either going into your setup menu and choosing "reset" (or intialize), holding down the menu key for 5 seconds, or, removing the batteries for a few minutes. It may be that the firmware loading got corrupted and the camera just needs to be "rebooted," which is something that turning it on/off won't accomplish. But after which, you should have the camera reset to factory default settings.
Another tip is to go to Canon's website ( usa.canon.com/consumer/cont... ) and look for firmware updates. Download and install them.
Unfortunately, nowhere did I find a "raised hand" icon in the software manual. So I will try your solution. And go to the Canon website for any updates. Appreciate your feedback. Hope it works. Thanks again.
There is also a "custom" setting which allows for multiple exposures up to 30 seconds apart WITHOUT the flash.
This camera will fare decently in low light when using a flash. If you don't want to use a flash, I would set the camera at 1600 ISO and utilize the image stabilization settings. While the shot may come out a little grainier than usual, it will still show up decently. A good way to get sharper shots in low light is to use a monopod or tripod. It will further reduce camera shake.
Andrew
Note to self: Canon bites the dust, another brand next time.
# Slide the battery/memory card cover lock in the direction of the arrow (), and press down while opening the cover ().
# Insert the batteries as shown and close the battery / memory card cover.
Another tip is to go to Canon's website ( usa.canon.com/consumer/cont... ) and look for firmware updates. Download and install them.
If that doesn't work, then Canon's only other suggestion is to have the camera serviced. Is it still under warranty?
This camera won't be too bad for what you want to do. You might find its zoom a little lacking though (only 4x optical). I would go for something with at least 10x like the Canon 100sx IS ( digitalcamera-hq.com/digita... ). The range of shutter speeds and longer zoom will be great for all you want to do. The manual focus option is also nice for extreme closeups, making sure you have just the right focal length. Good luck and happy shooting on your trip.
Andrew
Vallii
I think the Panasonic LZ7 ( digitalcamera-hq.com/digita... ) is a great option for a beginning photographer. The 7(+) MP resolution will render great prints, and the 6x optical zoom will still get you decent zoom capability on your trip. I hope this helps.
Andrew
Cheers.
Valli
Andrew
Another tip is to go to Canon's website ( usa.canon.com/consumer/cont... ) and look for firmware updates. Download and install them.
Also, make sure you have fresh high capacity (mAh) batteries in it. Often undercharged or depleted batteries can easily affect camera performance.
James, even menu button is not working and there is no firmware update for 570IS. Any other option
Now, to your price point - the Canon A570 ( digitalcamera-hq.com/digita... ) is an ideal. It's also the highest rated camera under $150. 7.1 megapixels, 4x optical zoom & Optical Image Stabilization are just a few examples of the punch this camera packs.
I solved this problem on my A570 by stuffing tiny pieces of plastic foam under the metal arms. I used a small screwdriver to bend the arm up slightly, then pushed in a tiny piece of foam and removed the screwdriver. The foam provides extra force to press the contact harder against the battery.
Before I made this modification, my brand-new A570 would display the low-battery warning after only four or five power off/on cycles. After adding the foam pieces, I've power-cycled the camera several dozen times and the low-battery warning is nowhere to be seen. In other words, the problem is fixed!
Thanks for the update on this. Make sure that the foam pieces you use don't cause a short though. Always beware when you change electrical connections like this.
Andrew
> should look like after the fix.
Here is a link to a photo showing the contacts with the plastic foam inserted under them:
<mdodd.com/photos/a570-batte...
I used tiny pieces of "foam rubber" carpet padding. With a small screwdriver, I gently bent up the middle of the metal battery contact, then forced the foam underneath the end of the contact with another small screwdriver. It's important to use some kind of foam, because solid plastic or wood will prevent the contact from moving, and will make it difficult to close the battery compartment door.I hope this helps.
http:// mdodd dot com/photos/a570-battery-contacts dot jpg
I can't stress enough how dangerous it is to add wood, plastic, foam, etc into any electrical equipment to move the connectors around. This can lead to electrical shocks or a shorting of your camera's equipment. While inserting items like Mike Dodd's photo ( mdodd.com/photos/a570-batte... ) might seem like a temporary fix, this can be very dangerous. I would personally avoid this camera all together.
Batteries that come with this camera will vary in their life due to how long they were on the shelf before the camera was purchased. Just another bit of information.
Andrew
> connectors around. This can lead to electrical shocks or a shorting of your camera's equipment. While inserting items
> like Mike Dodd's photo might seem like a temporary fix, this can be very dangerous. I would personally avoid this
>camera all together.
While I appreciate your concern, the warning is unfounded. The plastic foam is non-conductive, and modification does not "move the connectors around". Instead, it simply increases the tension of the metal contacts against the batteries. Were it not for the tiny lip on the end of the contacts, one could do the same thing by bending the metal. I have worked with solid-state electronics professionally for 38 years (designed and built), and can state confidently that there is nothing dangerous about this modification as I described it. It is impossible to get a shock from two 1.2V batteries, and the modification in no way increases the chance of shorting an electrical circuit.
Section (a) of the warranty ( usa.canon.com/consumer/cont... ) on the camera specifically states that it no longer applies if the camera is altered or worked on by someone other than an authorized service person:
"(a) Loss of or damage to the PowerShot Digital Camera due to abuse, mishandling, improper packaging by you, alteration, accident, electrical current fluctuations, failure to follow operating, maintenance or environmental instructions prescribed in Canon U.S.A.'s or Canon Canada's user's manual or services performed by someone other than Canon U.S.A. or Canon Canada, or an authorized PowerShot Digital Camera service center. Without limiting the foregoing, water damage, sand/corrosion damage, battery leakage, dropping the camera, scratches, abrasions or damage to the body, lenses or LCD display or damage to the connectors or cables, AC adapter or CompactFlash memory card, will be presumed to have resulted from misuse, abuse or failure to operate the PowerShot Digital Camera as set forth in the operating instructions."
While the language seems vague, the last section shows that if any changes were made by other than an authorized individual and the camera is damaged, it will be categorized as misuse.
Andrew
I applied the toothpick fix to my a570, I used it with a new pair of Kodak Alkaline batteries (manufactered in 2006 !!) and was able to shoot 30 indoor pictures (all with flash) before the low battery indicator came up. (in comparison to 5 shots with the Panasonic batteries that came with the battery).
I want to ask if such number of photos makes it liable to say that the toothpick fix worked? Moreover, I am considering to buy rechargeables but only found that the only rechargeables in my city stores are Energizer 2000mA and 2500mA, will these rechargables give me good number of pictures, which one should i go for the 2000mA or the 2500mA.
Thank you all in advance.
regarding rechargeables, these are readily available online, either at online photo stores or on eBay. Google on "NiMH AA battery, and you'll turn up a bunch of them. The rating is that you quoted are really "mAH" not "mA." The "H" at the end stands for "hours" and the specification represents the capacity of the battery, such as "2000 milliamp-hours." A higher number means the battery has more capacity. I recommend buying the highest-capacity batteries you can find. This translates into more shots before you have to change batteries.
I currently reside in Jordan - Middle East and here I could not find any decent rechargeable batteries except for the energizer 2000mAH which are also overpriced. There is no way that I could obtain the eneloops batteries even if i bought them from the net because most refuse to send such items to the middle east. So my question goes as follows: If I used the energizer batteries and applied the toothpick fix, will that solve the problem? (I consider the problem solved if i could get approx 150-200 pictures and few minutes video before recharging), moreover, is it true that it is better to use chargers that take hours to do the job rather than the 15-minute chargers?
thanks in advance :)
First of all, it's not a "toothpick" fix. My suggestion was to insert small pieces of sponge rubber or plastic foam under the metal battery contacts.
I can't answer your question about the Energizer batteries specifically, but I would expect the better electrical contact to solve the problem. The cause of the problem really originates with the camera's use of two vs. four batteries. Two batteries produce only 2.4 volts, where four batteries would produce 4.8 volts. A poor electrical contact will introduce a slight voltage drop, and I suspect this drop is a significant percentage of the 2.4 volts, where it would be a much smaller percentage of the 4.8 volts if the camera had four batteries. So the small voltage drop appears to the camera circuitry like the batteries are partially discharged, when in fact they are not.
The argument is essentially this: CCD chips on point and shoot cameras a smaller and as such, fitting in more pixels causes them to lose light sensivity. Sure, there’s more data on the chip, but the chip can’t absorb the light data and what it ends up with is a picture that has more noise than image quality. In addition, the more megapixels a camera has, the larger the lens it needs to provide the clarity it deserves and prevent diffraction due to a loss of detail with smaller apertures. But since we’re talking portable point and shoots here, those large lenses simply aren’t being made.
Finally, with larger mega pixels comes longer saving time due to their requires huge storage capacity, or more compression if not storing images in RAW format. The result is a noisier image and a dissatisfied camera user who thirsts for high quality and speed but fell into the trap of "more must mean better."
In the end, relying on a smaller MP that can balance all these needs may indeed be a better answer.
If, however, you take a lot of 8x10s and above, that extra boost of MP will begin to show up and be noticeable. So, going with snapshots, I'm not really too thrilled with the 6mp cameras out there. So let's go up a little larger to 7.1 mp ( digitalcamera-hq.com/digita... ). Still very good for the job and you have lots of options, including:
The top ranked Fuji Finepix S700 ( digitalcamera-hq.com/digita... ). It has a 10x optical zoom which is pretty darn good. Then, there's the Panasonic TZ3 ( digitalcamera-hq.com/digita... ) which has a 10x zoom and optical image stabilization. Both are under $200. And although it has a slighly smaller zoom at 4x, there's the Canon A570 ( digitalcamera-hq.com/digita... ) which makes up for it's lack of zoom with image stabilization. And at under $75.00, you can't beat the price.
Lastly there's my personal favorite in this class, but it's a tad bulky ... the Olympus SP550UZ ( digitalcamera-hq.com/digita... ) which has a whopping 18x optical zoom, image stabilization and still weighs in at around $160!
Lots of options and all WELL below $299.
I had purchased a kodak two years ago (5 megapixels and 4x zoom) and do not like the quality of pictures I get from it (especially when I try to zoom in on my kids at sports events and concerts) so I do not want to make a bad choice again-
As an aside, I have seen and tried the Olympus 1010 in a local store For about $269 (Sam's Club), and I will PROBABLY be buying that camera for my wife and not one like the W170 or the original camera, the T300, I was thinking of getting for her before I confirmed that its pictures were basically crap.
But I will give you that nobody is selling it for cheaper. I'm simply skeptical of those "get our card and we'll give you a steal of a deal" deals.
I did buy the Olympus camera (because of all its other great features and apparent quality-I hope) DESPITE being a Canon/Fuji person and the one big thing I hated about it and that was its proprietary XD memory card. Olympus looks like it might be ready to give up on it because it included a Micro SD to XD card adaptor. Now, all I have to find out is if, in addition to the lower price and higher GIGs available for Micro SDs, does the adaptor allow the faster SD card processing or is the internal camera electronics going to forestall that? Any ideas on that one? Haven't bought an XD card yet but, if I do, it will be the somewhat faster "H" series.
I would think that at this stage, an adapter would handle the faster cards. But if it's not the case, it will be a few month's down the line. Moore's law being what it is.
Thank you-
Once again that you for all your help- Don't want to invest in another camera that I regret buying-
BTW - I recommend you put the picture on flickr and just point a link to it. That way everyone can see it.
HAL - there is an argument out there about being over overburdened with technology. It's the multiple remote control syndrome. Why not have one that does it all and does it well? I, for one, will welcome the day when I don't have to bring a camcorder, still camera and cell phone to Disneyland and still get the same great quality.
I agree- if I want to not bring a camcorder and a camera to a school play where my child will only be on for about 2 minutes why can't I just bring a camera take pictures and get a quick video of the play? I don't think that is asking to much in this day and age of technology- And I would love to see the picture however maybe you could do a picture on flickr and a link-
Bye!
I had to reduce the size because Picasa Albums was going Bananas with the original 4.3 MBs for one picture.
thanks for all the input-
hal5141
The Olympus cameras 840, 1010, etc have a firmware upgrade. If you use the Olympus brand M+ XD card you can get unlimited video length when combined with the firmware upgrade. Found more info on the olympus site.
Good luck - I'm trying to decide between Sony W170 and Olympus 840 or 1010 too and this discussion was helpful.
carol
S700 camera has firmware updates too, from fuji´s official page. It´s standard to have a non limited video length (just limited due to card capacity). With upgrades, this units can use up to 8GB SD cards, on where you can store about 145 minute video. It´s amazing, not?
2) You will need to buy at least one, preferably two, SD/SDHC memory cards to use in your camera. The SD card that comes with the camera will only hold a few pictures. You can get 2GB SD cards cheap now. If you plan on taking video with your camera, be certain that the SD/SDHC cards you buy are rated at least Class II. (Class I is too slow for video). And if you are planning on using the "continuous shot" mode for taking a series of really fast shots, then you will need Class III card for maximum speed.
3) You might want to consider the Canon A710is since it has a longer zoom and should be available for about the same price. You might have to look on eBay though since the A720is replaced it and you might not be able to find a brand new one. The A710is also takes better macro shots than the A570is.
Good luck and feel free to ask more questions.
dpreview.com/reviews/canona...
dpreview.com/reviews/canona...
The only significant difference is the 6X zoom on the 710 (versus the 4X zoom on the 570).
They are almost matched on the low light function having the A570is win by a nose at the widest zoom and the A710is wins by a little more at the full tele zoom position. For use indoors you would most likely be using the widest zoom setting so the A570is wins but just barely on a laboratory test setting. Almost certainly not enough difference to see on a printed picture.
You might want to shop around and see which one you can purchase for the cheaper price. Also, read those two reviews and see if anything stands out as undesirable on either one. Lastly, go to a store that has them both and feel them in your hands. Sometimes a camera just feels all wrong (hard to reach controls, unbalanced, slippery, etc.).
You can't really go wrong with either of these two cameras since they are so closely matched. If you like the A570is and it is cheaper, get it and start enjoying it. :)
thanks so much!
1. Prefocus. Hold down the shutter half way to get a prefocus of the image you're shooting. When it changes, prefocus again. This will speed up your camera's performance during picture taking since it won't have to autofocus before it shoots the shot.
2. Use faster SD cards. Yes, there are faster cards and it does make a difference in writing the image file to the card. This is especially key if you're taking multiple or burst images.
3. Fresher batteries. Use alkalines at least. But I recommend using high energy batteries designed for digital photography. Varta is a good brand. They are usually sold in camera shops, are long lasting (because they are sold in small quantities) put out alot of energy.
4. Pan with the action. You can create some pretty cool shots by panning with your shot, focusing on your subject. This will create the effect of your subject in sharp contrast to the blurry background.
6. Stick with 100-400 ISO. Going higher will cause more noise/grain in your shots, particularly in darker settings.
Doing these, particularly pre-focusing and panning with the action will cut your shutter lag by as much as 80%.
The rapid chargers do work just as good as the overnights, but faster. As for the actual batteries you choose: if you want a longer life battery, go with the highest amperage. I'm not sure what the rating is on the Rayovacs that you're looking at, but the higher, the longer they last. Good luck and happy shooting.
Andrew
The same applies to the alkaline battery, including those of Duracell.
The Electo 2300 mAh NiMh batteries that I had used, have an internal resistance of 500 mOhm!
The NiCad's Sanyo 700 mAh give no problems.
NiCad's have a much lower internal resistance than NiMh batteries.
The internal resistance can be determined by measuring the battery voltage with load and without load.
For the load I used a resistance of 1 ohm.
Discharge current is then about 1 A.
Example.
Without load 1.3 V voltage measured.
With load of 1 Ohm a voltage of 1.2 V measured.
The internal resistance is approximately the voltage difference measured in ohms.
The internal resistance = 1.3 - 1.2 = 0.1 ohms.
As far as I can see Sanyo NiMh batteries and in particular the Eneloop AA 2000 mAh, are a good choice.
But I think your instincts to return the Casio is a good idea as I've read many complaints about Casio's quality.
Using the Self-timer
Changing the Self-Timer Settings
With this function, images are shot 10 or 2 seconds after the shutter button is pressed. This is useful when you want to take a memorable photo with everyone including yourself in the picture. The self-timer can be used in any shooting mode. In addition, you can set the delay time and number of shots (Custom Timer).
1. Press the <FUNC./SET> button and use the or button to choose (Single Frame).
2. Then use the or buttons to choose , or .
* When the shutter button is pressed fully, the self-timer will activate and the selftimer lamp will blink.
* When the self-timer is set to or , the shutter activates in 10 or 2 seconds after the shutter button is pressed fully.
* With the (Custom Timer) option, the specified number of shots are taken after the specified delay when the shutter button is pressed fully. You can change the delay time (0–10, 15, 20, 30sec.) and number of shots (1–10). When [Delay] is set to 2 or more sec., the self-timer sound begins to beep 2 sec. before the shutter releases. When [Shots] is set to more than 1, the self-timer sound only beeps before the first shot.
To Cancel the Self-Timer
Follow the same steps as above and return the setting to (Single Frame).
The self-timer cannot be used on some shooting modes.
Changing the Self-Timer settings and the Custom Timer delay time and number of shots.
1. Press the <FUNC./SET> button and use the or button to choose (Single Frame) and then select using the or buttons to choose .
2. Next, press the <MENU> button
3. Use the or button to select [Delay] or [Shots]. Use the or button to change the delay time (0-10, 15, 20, or 30 sec.) or number of shots (1-10).
4. To finalize your selection, press the <FUNC./SET> button.
* If the [Shots] option is set to 2 or more shots, the following occurs.
- The exposure and white balance are locked at the settings selected for the first shot.
- If the flash is used, the interval between shots lengthens because the flash must charge.
- The interval between shots may lengthen when the built-in memory of the camera fills.
- Shooting will automatically cease if the memory card becomes full.
Additionally, often, when you purchase batteries in bulk, it isn't uncommon that some or many of them are near dead or worse. Batteries bought in bulk tend to have a long turnover and such, can lose much of their battery power before they are used. And many batteries such as AAs are general purpose batteries and are not designed for the high energy use of digital cameras and the flashes they trigger. As such, I recommend using high energy batteries designed for digital photography. Varta is a good brand. They are usually sold in camera shops, are long lasting (because they are sold in small quantities) put out alot of energy.
Another tip is to go to Canon's website ( usa.canon.com/consumer/cont... ) and look for firmware updates. Download and install them.
Also, make sure you have fresh high capacity (mAh) batteries in it. Often undercharged or depleted batteries can easily affect camera performance.
As for where to take it for repair, here's the contact info for Canon Kuwait. ( canon.co.uk/Contact_Us/Cano... )
Good luck.
a chance on the Canon 570 IS. I just my camera this week. Yes, I know about the infamous battery problem and the fixes, but I couldn't resist because of the value this digicam offers for the money. I took a short video at 640x480 30FPS. The video plays but the sound is not in sync. it lags, behind. What did I do wrong. I chose the 570 over the newer 590 because of the 30FPS at 640x480 res. I guess the newer one only does 20FPS.
Thanks
Mangler
Clean the contacts as best you can with a damp cotton bud and then let the contacts dry for a few minutes. Then use a pencil eraser or some folded normal note paper and rub / polish the contacts as best you can. This has a light abrasive effect that cleans up the contacts.
Always use a high capacity rechargeable NiMH batteries or Lithium batteries in this camera as ordinary Alkaline cells are not suitable for this high power drain camera.
The cause is the high internal resistance of the used batteries!
Many NiMh batteries have a high internal resistance for use in the A720.
The same applies to the alkaline battery, including those of Duracell.
The Electo 2300 mAh NiMh batteries that I had used, have an internal resistance of 500 mOhm!
The NiCad's Sanyo 700 mAh give no problems.
NiCad's have a much lower internal resistance than NiMh batteries.
The internal resistance can be determined by measuring the battery voltage with load and without load.
For the load I used a resistance of 1 ohm.
Discharge current is then about 1 A.
Example.
Without load 1.3 V voltage measured.
With load of 1 Ohm a voltage of 1.2 V measured.
The internal resistance is approximately the voltage difference measured in ohms.
The internal resistance = 1.3 - 1.2 = 0.1 ohms.
As far as I can see Sanyo NiMh batteries and in particular the Eneloop AA 2000 mAh, are a good choice.
Thanks
There's an entire website ( e18error.com/ ) devoted to this. In a nutshell, Canon E18 error happens when the lens gets stuck while trying to extend. The camera will beep a few times and the LCD will display a little E18 in the lower-left corner. The lens gets stuck in the extended position, and refuses to move either to focus the lens or to retract when powered off.
If your camera is still under warranty, the best thing you can do have Canon should fix it.
If your camera is out of warranty, or if Canon refuses to repair it for free, the one thing you can try is to If you gently, and I do mean GENTLY push against the lens with the PALM of your hand as you turn it on, it may cause it to depress back into the camera. If that doesn't work, and you can't reset it or turn it on/off several times, then you may have to send it in for a repair estimate anyway.
But understand that the average cost of a camera repair is around $180. As such, it may cost more to repair than it is really worth. The rule of thumb is that if the estimate for repair is north of 50% what you paid for it, you're better off taking that money and buying a newer and upgraded model.
I now carry a spare set of rechargeable batteries and an emergency set of Lithium Energiser batteries. The rechargeable batteries are exhausted first and then the Lithium set fitted if required. Lithium batteries are expensive and not rechargeable but have very high power capacity and also have a rated 10 yr. shelf life. This makes them ideal for use in an emergency. Don't even bother with alkaline batteries - even top brands like Duracell and Energiser will not have enough power capacity for this power hungry camera.
This is less than ideal but one learns to live with it. I have a large non-Canon camera case that fits the camera with the spare batteries and a spare memory card. Also, when the low battery sign comes on, you can turn off the LCD screen and use the viewfinder to conserve power. I often get another 30-40 shots after the low bat. sign comes on.
The cause is the high internal resistance of the used batteries!
Many NiMh batteries have a high internal resistance for use in the A720.
The same applies to the alkaline battery, including those of Duracell.
The Electo 2300 mAh NiMh batteries that I had used, have an internal resistance of 500 mOhm!
The NiCad's Sanyo 700 mAh give no problems.
NiCad's have a much lower internal resistance than NiMh batteries.
The internal resistance can be determined by measuring the battery voltage with load and without load.
For the load I used a resistance of 1 ohm.
Discharge current is then about 1 A.
Example.
Without load 1.3 V voltage measured.
With load of 1 Ohm a voltage of 1.2 V measured.
The internal resistance is approximately the voltage difference measured in ohms.
The internal resistance = 1.3 - 1.2 = 0.1 ohms.
As far as I can see Sanyo NiMh batteries and in particular the Eneloop AA 2000 mAh, are a good choice.
No need to lose the moment because you relied on one card one when several can solve that problem. At the very least, you want to get more than one of whatever size you settle on.
One last thing. Cards have different speeds. The faster a card is, the quicker it'll save the photo and cycle to be ready for another shot. In the end, your camera is only going to be as fast as it's slowest link in the chain. So check for speed when you purchase a card.
my concerns are covered.
digitalcamera-hq.com/digita...
Hope this helps.
The cause is the high internal resistance of the used batteries!
Many NiMh batteries have a high internal resistance for use in the A720.
The same applies to the alkaline battery, including those of Duracell.
The Electo 2300 mAh NiMh batteries that I had used, have an internal resistance of 500 mOhm!
The NiCad's Sanyo 700 mAh give no problems.
NiCad's have a much lower internal resistance than NiMh batteries.
The internal resistance can be determined by measuring the battery voltage with load and without load.
For the load I used a resistance of 1 ohm.
Discharge current is then about 1 A.
Example.
Without load 1.3 V voltage measured.
With load of 1 Ohm a voltage of 1.2 V measured.
The internal resistance is approximately the voltage difference measured in ohms.
The internal resistance = 1.3 - 1.2 = 0.1 ohms.
As far as I can see Sanyo NiMh batteries and in particular the Eneloop AA 2000 mAh, are a good choice.
Windows XP will recognize the reader and let you save the pictures to the computer.
If you want to follow the Canon way, and use the USB cable, then you need to install the software that comes with the camera, and follow the instructions given on page 20 to page 30 of the user guide.
Also, a Windows XP computer will recognise the USB cable connected camera as an external drive. Simply open Windows Explorer (not Internet Explorer) or My Computer and there will be an icon showing the camera. Click on this and any sub-folders until you get to the image files. Highlight the ones you want and copy or cut and paste to your pc.
Thanks
Computer can recognize a card readers easily and can read the photo files in the memory card.
What follows is just a drag and paste to put the pictures into a folder in the computer.
camerarepair.blogspot.com/2...
They have more solutions to lens error problems. As far as a certified repair manual, I don't think Canon has released one. If these solutions don't work, feel free to reply back and we can try more things.
BTW, the E18 site ( e18error.com ) is up and running. Just checked. They have a page for fixing it yourself ( e18error.com/repair.html ).
The Canon A570is doesn't have any built-in memory, so all images are stored in your installed memory card (MMC, SD or SDHC) as stated above. You can also easily transfer the images to a Windows pc if your pc has a card reader.
I will say that this camera has had a pretty hard life. I take it with me everywhere (not in a case), and I've dropped it or thunked it against something more than once or twice. If it's time to say good-bye I couldn't complain. But if there's a straight-forward fix, I'd be delighted. Thanks.
If these things don't work, it may be that you've taking this camera to the point where the hard life has taken it's toll. It would probably cost more to fix than it's really worth (rule of thumb is that if it costs over 50% to repair, you're better off buying a new one).
But understand that without warranty coverage the average cost of a camera repair is around $180. As such, it may cost more to repair than it is really worth. The rule of thumb is that if the estimate for repair is north of 50% what you paid for it, you're better off taking that money and buying a newer and upgraded model.
But you won't know until Canon has a look at it and determines the cause and the cost.
Also, what's the largest sdhc card the A570IS will accept?
Anthony
As for photo size, it specs out at 512MB, but you can probably go up to 1, maybe 2 GB. But that's not a bad thing. Smaller cards are good in that having more than one will guard against loosing a great shot to a corrupted memory card.
I've tried it myself and it works.
Outside of these things, and if you can't reset the camera, you may need to send it in for repair.
Dampness more like dumbness :^(
Try the 3.5v dc inlet and if it don't work,it means the little bitty fuse link in the camera is toast. Try to find it--Canon don't want to tell you.
James--stick to cooking rice balls!
Also, reset your camera. This is a fairly easy procedure which involves either going into your setup menu and choosing "reset" (or intialize), holding down the menu key for 5 seconds, or, removing the batteries for a few minutes. It may be that the firmware loading got corrupted and the camera just needs to be "rebooted," which is something that turning it on/off won't accomplish. But after which, you should have the camera reset to factory default settings.
Another tip is to go to Canon's website ( usa.canon.com/consumer/cont... ) and look for firmware updates. Download and install them.
If that doesn't cut it, then you're looking at a camera repair.
Please urgently response.
thanks and regards
Or, if that's not it, try a different card. It may be that the card itself has developed a fault. If another one doesn't fit, then the next logical issue is that one of the contact pins has bent and as such, you'll need to have it repaired.
Or, if that's not it, try a different card. It may be that the card itself has developed a fault. If another one doesn't fit, then the next logical issue is that one of the contact pins has bent and as such, you'll need to have it repaired.
I would bookmark this page in case it happens again - sometimes these fixes work just fine, but a few people have had their cameras start giving them the error again at a later date. They seem to be more prone to getting knocked out of alignment once it's occurred once. But at least you've got it working and know what to do if it comes up again. Thanks for letting us know!
Never-the-less, sometimes it's worth the risk, and, in this case, you got the job done. Hurray!
Thanks again and Happy New Year!