Canon PowerShot A620 Digital Camera [7.1MP, 4 x Optical Zoom]

Pros:
- it has a good solid feel to it, not too heavy, and with a decent right-hand grip which compacts don't have. It may not be a pocket-sized compact, but it's not exactly a dead-weight either. A good mid-size.
- a 4x optical zoom, conveniently located around the shutter release button.
- very good focussing, and the facility to do your own spot focus. The focussing is faster than many cameras I've seen.
- shutter and aperture priority modes for those who like to experiment, along with a perfectly adequate point and shoot auto mode.
- it has a view finder, albeit just for centering shots. You can't expect the full viewfinder functionality of a DSLR in such a small camera, but it makes a difference to those of us used to looking through a viewfinder, even if you can't see how well focussed it is through it.
- it takes high-speed SD memory, which is necessary for fast photo and video writing.
- the video mode is also very impressive, and you can use the zoom whilst videoing.
- it has a good selection of semi-auto picture modes, including night-time shots, self-timer, and continuous shutter modes. All very easy to set up.
- takes no time to get itself into a ready state.
- picture access is very fast, especially with a high-speed SD card.
- the swivel screen is a huge bonus for when you can't take pictures at head height. It is very clear in poor light and in bright light.

Cons:
- the supplied 32meg SD card is woefully inadequate, although it does get you started.
- the Adapter plug cover is very flimsy, and is difficult to shut with the wrist-strap on. For a solid camera, this is a bit surprising.
- the supplied alkaline batteries will quickly get used up, so invest in a set of 2300 mah batteries with a fast charger.
- as usual, there is no case supplied so you'll have to cough up yet more money.
- the red-eye reduction isn't all that good, but most software can get rid of that.

There is a very comprehensive review on this camera (and others in its range) on www.dcresource.com which helped me decide on the A620. I am extremely pleased with this purchase and would recommend it to anyone who wants a versatile, quality camera without having to splash out on a larger and more expensive DSLR.

Nearer 5 stars than 4 for this, so 5 it is.

The swivel LCD is great and makes taking pictures at funny angles a breeze, it's 2" in size and very clear when viewing pictures or composing pictures.

Pictures seem to come out perfect when using Auto mode, this is good for point and shoot people but the camera has full manual controls as well if you wish to experiment with different effect, Auto is good for when the missus wants to take snaps as 9 out of 10 come out good which keeps her happy !!!

The colours are sharp, focusing is quick and the macro mode is amazing as it will focus down to 1cm.

Movie mode is good, much better than I thought it would be, you will need a big fast SD card though as it uses a lot of memory.

If I had to pick a fault with it I would say the zoom is quiet noisey, but not having used a digital zoom camera before I don't know if they are all like that or not.
Also don't forget this is not a super compact camera, I checked out some different cameras in a shop and there are much smaller cameras available, I prefered the slightly larger size of the A620 as it was easier to hold and felt right to me.

I'm sure a professional photographer could find faults with this camera but for me it is a great purchase, I highly recommend it for mr average who wants to take great pictures.