I just bought a Powershot A590 IS

[Perry Ge]

This little guy was really cheap - $125CAD (about $100USD), and I'm astounded at how well it handles. Full manual controls, manual focus, spot metering, I like!

I wanted something that I could carry around all the time in my pocket, and the 5D + 85L doesn't fit :p. The IQ is no 5D, and it would be nice to have a wider angle lens, but for the price, I'm pretty happy with this little camera.

One question - anyone know how to adjust the brightness of the LCD?

Sample image, taken on my way back home from the store - ISO400, and I had to bump the exposure 1.5 stops in post because my LCD was too bright and I forgot to check the histogram - this was just a snapshot. I still can't believe how cheap this camera is!

[Lotto]

I found the LCD is too bright to my liking too, and don't see a way to adjust it.

Agree it's quite a amazing little cam for the price. I like all the manual controls it has :)

[Zell]

I agree. I got this camera about 2 weeks ago and it's the best sub-compact I've had. It takes great pictures and the cost ($113) didn't break the bank for me. We use it primarily for family pictures for Christmas, birthdays, family vacations, etc. It is still a sub-compact and because of that it doesn't take really great pictures like more advanced cameras would.

[pmk]

I got one a few weeks ago but haven't had the chance to use it.

I'd be interested in hearing your opnions about using manual exposure. At least in my one test shot, it didn't look like you could control the depth of field very much even at the lowest aperature.

Seems like a decent P&S though.

Oh, I don't think you can control the LCD brightness.

pmk

[Perry Ge]

I got one a few weeks ago but haven't had the chance to use it.

I'd be interested in hearing your opnions about using manual exposure. At least in my one test shot, it didn't look like you could control the depth of field very much even at the lowest aperature.

Seems like a decent P&S though.

Oh, I don't think you can control the LCD brightness.

pmk
Sucks about the LCD - the screen is too bright.

Manual exposure is great - I haven't taken it out of M, especially with spot metering available. But it's a compact, so you're never gonna get DSLR-like DOF. The only way to get any kind of bokeh is to go into macro mode or manual focus, focus down to MFD, and shoot a close up subject with a far background.

[Perry Ge]

I got one a few weeks ago but haven't had the chance to use it.

I'd be interested in hearing your opnions about using manual exposure. At least in my one test shot, it didn't look like you could control the depth of field very much even at the lowest aperature.

Re: DOF

I present - my lunch. Don't ask me to reshoot this, because my subject no longer exists :p. M, minimum focusing distance (manual focus), ISO400:

[pmk]

Nice, Perry. I guess you'll be selling your 5D soon, eh? :)

I'm also curious about the two IS modes, continuous vs only during shot. I usually use my P&S while I'm doing something at the same time, say mountain biking. I wonder which mode would be a better stabilization mode.

pmk

[Perry Ge]

You'd have to pry the 5D off my cold, dead hands :p.

I keep IS at shoot only instead of continuous, I found I got better, more consistent results that way. But you've gotta give it a second to initialise when you half-press.

[johnnybfan]

My son is working for an insurance adjusting company in Milwaukee. They give each of their agents their own camera to use. When he told me his was coming and that it was a Canon but he didn't know which model it was. I told him it was going to be the A590IS. He asked me why I thought it was the A590, I told him that I had played with one in the store and that is was a very nice camera for not too much money. He was pretty impressed when he got it & realized his old man was right.:D:D:D Miracles do happen! Enjoy your new camera. It will be a great addition to your 5D.

[pmk]

Hey Perry. Feeling daring? Want to shoot RAW on the 590?

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=604584

Let me know how it goes! :)

pmk

[Perry Ge]

^ I fully inted to use the CHDK, but my card reader doesn't seem to be reading my A590's SD card. Once I get round this problem, I will be using the CHDK :D.

[Jon]

Do you have an SD or an SDHC card? SDHC (over 2 GB size) Cards aren't readable in the older SD readers.

[pmk]

^ I fully inted to use the CHDK, but my card reader doesn't seem to be reading my A590's SD card. Once I get round this problem, I will be using the CHDK :D.

Same with mine. Luckily the card I bought came with a mini-reader ... but it's still sort of a pain since I got a multi-card reader (that doesn't like SDHC). You'd think they'd be backwards compatible, albeit slower. Luckily the reader does read my UDMA compact flash.

pmk

[Jon]

Nope - the problem with SD and SDHC is that the controler is at least partly in the reader. With CF the controller's entirely on the card. So using an SD card is like using an old RLL or MFM hard disk where you needed to format the drive with the controller you were going to use. And if the drive was too big, it just wouldn't work, or you had to load a supplemental program on your PC to run as part of boot-up. CF is like an IDE drive, where the "controller" on the computer just says "give me some data" and the card does all the housekeeping.

[Perry Ge]

No it's just a standard SD card. I think my card reader may be messed.

[MichaelJ07]

I have the 590 and love it. I don't know how to use it to it's fullest potential yet, but I'm learning by coming here.

Enjoy yours!

Michael

[dtravis7]

I purchased a A590 IS a few weeks ago now and used it for the grand opening of the new Apple store here in town. All the pics turned out great and I was glad the IS worked so well as I was in a rush to get some of the pics and did shake the camera a lot. No blur at all in any of the pictures. For the $$$ I am beyond impressed. Great job Canon!

[SamClarkPhotography]

Can any of you post (or link to) some photos taken with your A590's? I'm thinking of picking this one up as an all-time-carry-around camera, but would like to see the image qualities. 100% crops would be great too.

Thanks!

[Perry Ge]

Can any of you post (or link to) some photos taken with your A590's? I'm thinking of picking this one up as an all-time-carry-around camera, but would like to see the image qualities. 100% crops would be great too.

Thanks!
IQ is decent for a P&S, even at higher ISOs, but crap compared to a DSLR. If you pixel peep these shots, you'll be massively disappointed. There's smearing of detail and heavy noise reduction visible, even at base ISO (wow I feel like the dude from dpreview saying that). I'll see if I have any new shots lying around other than the ones I already posted, but to be honest, I don't use it much.

[SamClarkPhotography]

Ahh... well that's good to know since I pixel peep often. Thanks

[Ozimax]

Just purchased an A590 IS, in Oz, for $118 ($80 USD). Pretty cheap stuff. Looking forward to using it. (I had G9 but it was too much money tied up in a P&S).

[CB357]

Just purchased an A590 IS, in Oz, for $118 ($80 USD). Pretty cheap stuff. Looking forward to using it. (I had G9 but it was too much money tied up in a P&S).

I'm seriously looking at getting an A590 (as a P&S alternative for my 50D) and the best price I could see in Sydney was $159.95 ?

Could you let me know where you got yours at such a great price ;)

[Ozimax]

I'm seriously looking at getting an A590 (as a P&S alternative for my 50D) and the best price I could see in Sydney was $159.95 ?

Could you let me know where you got yours at such a great price ;)

Sure. Dick smith current catalogue. Should be in all stores until new year.

[CB357]

Great - thanks, I'll check it out tomorrow :)

[jakobsmommy2004]

You can adjust it in manual mode. I think it is the number like the shutter speed or the iso, not sure which one but use the left and right buttons on the function set cross on the right of the LCD.

[CB357]

Hey Perry. Feeling daring? Want to shoot RAW on the 590?

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=604584

Let me know how it goes! :)

pmk

Wow, just loaded CHDK and makes the A590 even more 'useable' - thanks for the link :cool:

[pmk]

Well perryge, inquiring minds want to know ....

Are you shooting RAW with the 590IS yet? I looked into it but it seemed like a bit of hassle to set it up.

pmk

[Perry Ge]

Well perryge, inquiring minds want to know ....

Are you shooting RAW with the 590IS yet? I looked into it but it seemed like a bit of hassle to set it up.

pmk

Nah, I can't be bothered. I hardly ever touch the camera, and when I do, it's because I don't want to shoot anything serious. It's not really worth processing the files.

[pmk]

Nah, I can't be bothered.

I hear ya. I'm only using the camera when there is no way I can carry the DSLR. Seems only good for snapshots anyway.

pmk

[Bill Boehme]

This little guy was really cheap - $125CAD (about $100USD), and I'm astounded at how well it handles. Full manual controls, manual focus, spot metering, I like!

I wanted something that I could carry around all the time in my pocket, and the 5D + 85L doesn't fit :p. The IQ is no 5D, and it would be nice to have a wider angle lens, but for the price, I'm pretty happy with this little camera.

One question - anyone know how to adjust the brightness of the LCD?

Sample image, taken on my way back home from the store - ISO400, and I had to bump the exposure 1.5 stops in post because my LCD was too bright and I forgot to check the histogram - this was just a snapshot. I still can't believe how cheap this camera is!

Thanks for the camera review, Perry! My wife was just asking me about that model today as a replacement for her battery eating Kodak P&S. Based on the feature set and your comments about the camera, I told her that it is a very good choice. (I also threw in some mumbo-jumbo that I had done a lot of in-depth research) ;)

[FutzAndTinker]

I just bought a A590 as a supplement to my A650. I will be using it with CHDK to take time lapse photos while hang gliding. I love the A650 but didn't want to risk damaging it if I happen to have a 'whack' landing. 8)

Running CHDK is like getting a new camera!...so much to explore and tweak.

[MichaelJ07]

Hey FutzAndTinker! I guess if you have a "whack" landing, we won't see any of those good shots you took while hang glinding, huh? Try to have a soft landing and shoot us some pics!

Also, let us know how the CHDK works on that 590. I have a 590 and love it (although I don't use it for hang gliding as I am prone to "whack" landings right here on earth......)

Michael

[HoosierJoe]

We bought one of these a few weeks ago. Simply because it is impractical to use the dslr for everything.

I am impressed by the results. This is an early one taken with flash and converted.

Yesterday I took some in Av mode and no flash. They look great. I really like the versatility of of this little camera.