Canon Powershot A2000 IS - Digital Camera Review
Review Date: 01/11/2008
Rating: Recommended
Author: Stephen Waller
Buy Now: Get the Best Price

Introduction: Announced in the summer of 2008, the Canon Powershot A2000 IS is one of Canon's new compact A series digital cameras with image stabilisation, replacing the PowerShot A720 IS. It features a 6x optical zoom lens, a 3.0” LCD screen, VGA video recording, a 10 megapixel sensor and face detection and tracking focus. The Canon Powershot A2000 IS is available from around £155 which is good value for money. The camera is enclosed in a plastic two tone metallic grey finished body. The camera measures approx. 102 x 63.5 x 32mm (excluding protrusions), and weighs approx. 190g. excluding battery and memory card.

Canon have this to say about the camera:

"Slim and easy to use, the 10.0 Megapixel PowerShot A2000 IS brings family and friends up-close with a 6x zoom – then uses Face Detection for brilliant results. A 3.0” LCD lets everyone enjoy the photos immediately."

You can find more information on their website.

The Camera: a visual tour: (Photos of the camera taken with the Canon Digital IXUS 980 IS)

Front view - camera off.

Front view - camera on, microphone, focus assist lamp, flash.

Top - on/off, mode dial, zoom control, shutter release.

Size Comparison: Compared to a Pentax PC-550 35mm film camera - a medium/compact sized 35mm film camera.

Size comparison.

Size comparison.

Specifications / Features:

• 10 Megapixels
• 6x zoom with optical Image Stabilizer
• Motion Detection Technology
• Face Detection Technology
• Red-Eye Correction
• DIGIC III and iSAPS
• 3.0” LCD
• 17 Shooting Modes and My Colours
• VGA and LP movies
• Modes: Program, Auto, Easy, Portrait, Landscape, Night Snapshot, Kids & Pets, Indoor, Special Scene (Night Scene, Sunset, Foliage, Snow, Beach, Fireworks, Aquarium, ISO 3200), Video.
• Histogram available: Only in playback
  
• Optical viewfinder: No
• Manual WB: Yes
  

Box Contents:

• Digital Camera
• Wrist Strap
• 2 AA alkaline batteries
• AV Cable
• USB Cable
• 32mb SD Memory card
• Software CD ROM
• Basic Printed Manual

Average box contents - a larger memory card would be nice, as would a case. A case, and a large memory card is recommended.

Menu system: The menu system is logical and fairly straightforward. If you are familiar with the way Canon menus work then you can use any Canon camera. The function button gives (along with the other buttons on the back of the camera) quick access to the most commonly used options with just one press of the button, and the menu button works as it should providing access to options that you rarely need to change (such as flash compensation). The playback menu gives you some useful features such as slideshow, re-size, red-eye correction, sound memo, and the usual print options.

Picture Size / Quality: The camera lets you choose the image size (10m, 6m, 4m, 2m, VGA, 2m with date, Widescreen), aspect ratio (4:3, or Widescreen), and how much compression is applied to the images (Superfine, Fine, Normal). Higher quality images take a large amount of memory, so a high capacity memory card is definitely recommended, unless you're prepared to sacrifice image size or compression to fit more pictures in memory. There is a very good choice of image sizes, compression options, and some choice regarding aspect ratios - it's just missing a 3:2 aspect ratio mode.

Bottom - metal tripod mount, battery and SD memory card compartment.

Battery usage: Battery life is rated at approx. 240 shots (with supplied alkaline batteries) and approx. 500 shots (with optional Canon NB-3AH batteries) according to CIPA standards. I took about 270 shots before the battery low indicator started flashing, but was able to continue shooting (after resting the batteries) for a further 60 odd images. Battery life will be dependent on the kind of use you make of the camera. As the camera uses AA batteries, carrying spares, or finding replacements in an emergency should not be a problem.

Memory cards: The A2000 IS supports SD, SDHC, MMC, MMCplus, HC MMCplus and comes supplied with a 32MB memory card. A large memory card is relatively cheap, and highly recommended, I would recommend at a bare minimum a 1gb memory card, if you intend to take fine JPEG images, and preferably a 2gb memory card, or larger. The larger the memory card, the more photos you will be able to take. If you are likely to go on holiday then the largest memory card you can afford would definitely be worth investing in, as you don't always know when you will next be at a computer. You can use SD or SDHC memory cards - I tend to use Sandisk Ultra II Plus USB SD memory cards as these let you plug the memory card straight into a USB socket making it easy to transfer images onto any computer, they are available as 1GB SD cards, or 2GB SD cards. Listed below are links to memory cards that will work with the Canon Powershot A2000 IS:

Find the latest prices for SD memory cards at Amazon.co.uk: 1gb (1000mb): £2, 2gb (2000mb): £5, 4gb (4000mb SDHC): £10
Need more help deciding what size memory card to buy? Click here to read my article called "What Size Memory Card Should I Buy?"

Speed: The camera can take its first photo from 'off' in approx 1.3 seconds (without flash), which is very quick. Focusing seemed very quick too, and even in very low light when it uses flash-assist it takes only a little longer. The camera shutter response seemed instant when pre-focused, and shot to shot time was fairly quick, with a delay of around 1.8 seconds without flash (and review off). The flash recharge time was quite quick allowing a shot to be taken roughly every 3.4 seconds, with a fully charged battery. Flash is also available in the continuous shooting mode, with a good shot to shot time of around 1 seconds for up to 20 shots. Continuous shooting is reasonable with a fast memory card, at roughly 1.4fps at all resolution until the card is full. The playback and menus are also very quick.

Back - 3.0” LCD screen, speaker, play, face select, print, 4-way controller (ISO, Macro, Flash, Timer-Continuous), function / set button, display, menu.

Ease of use: The camera is easy to use, especially in the AUTO mode and has a number of scene modes that help get good results. The controls on the back of the camera are quite straightforward. The menus are responsive and are also easy to use, and the options are big enough and easy enough to see clearly, although built in help would have been nice. The scene modes are easy to access, mainly thanks to the large display, and a lot of the options can be accessed using the buttons on the back. It's easy to see when photos are in focus, and the image stabilisation means that more of your shots will be sharp.

Ergonomics and Buttons: (Feel, placement, labels, etc) The layout and size of the buttons and controls are good, with the most commonly used options reachable with your right thumb. The zoom control (very sensitive) and shutter release also work well. I thought the camera felt very good ergonomically, as it feels solid and well built, though due to the lack of a good hand grip, using the wrist strap is advisable. It will also fit very easily into pockets.

Image Quality: Here are some real world sample photos taken in various settings, (such as Inside, Outside, Macro) to demonstrate the image quality and also show different features of the camera. Larger versions of these, plus more photos are available in the Canon Powershot A2000 IS Sample Photo Gallery!

Inside:

Heather and Flower (ISO200)	Flash photo (ISO200)

Inside: The camera has very good colour - It took a good "Heather and Flower" photo - there is no red-eye in the photo. On wide angle, the flash falls of in the top corners, and the rest of the image appears slightly overexposed . Otherwise it is very good, coping well with group photos, and for the most part red-eye is quite low. On AUTO ISO, the ISO setting was kept quite low in these photos (ISO200), however noise was noticeable. Better results are possible by using a lower ISO setting, especially with subjects close to the camera. The camera did a good job at focusing even in low-light where the focus assist lamp kicks in. Colour is quite richly saturated, though lacking in contrast however this can be improved using My Colours "Vivid" or "Custom Colour" setting.

ISO Noise Test: Noise is generally a bad thing - it fragments detail, and gives a grainy effect over the image. With digital cameras noise can be a real problem as it is often made out of blue, red or green dots. As the ISO setting increases, pictures tend to have more noise and is most noticeable in darker areas. The camera has an Automatic mode for ISO levels (ranging from ISO 80 - ISO1600), and manual ISO settings (ISO: 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600 and 3200 at 2M in Special Scene).

Below you'll find the noise test image, plus actual pixel crops, viewable at 100%, from the image taken at different ISO settings, compared with the 9 megapixel Canon Powershot SX110 IS, and 14.7 megapixel Canon Digital IXUS 980 IS.

Canon Powershot SX110 IS (9mp)	Canon Powershot A2000 IS (10mp)	Canon Digital IXUS 980 IS (14.7mp)

ISO Noise Test Photos - Flash is off. Canon Powershot SX110 IS on the left, Canon Powershot A2000 IS in the middle, Canon Digital IXUS 980 IS on the right. Any tonal difference is due to white balance or lighting / metering differences.

Canon Powershot SX110 IS (9mp)	Canon Powershot A2000 IS (10mp)	Canon Digital IXUS 980 IS (14.7mp)
ISO80 - NA	ISO80 - Actual Pixels	ISO80 - Actual Pixels
ISO100 - Actual Pixels	ISO100 - Actual Pixels	ISO100 - Actual Pixels
ISO200 - Actual Pixels	ISO200 - Actual Pixels	ISO200 - Actual Pixels
ISO400 - Actual Pixels	ISO400 - Actual Pixels	ISO400 - Actual Pixels
ISO800 - Actual Pixels	ISO800 - Actual Pixels	ISO800 - Actual Pixels
ISO1600 - Actual Pixels	ISO1600 - Actual Pixels	ISO1600 - Actual Pixels
ISO3200 - Actual Pixels (2mp)	ISO3200 - Actual Pixels (2mp)	ISO3200 - Actual Pixels (2mp)

Noise results: What's surprising here is that the camera with the highest number of megapixels, the 14.7 megapixel Canon Digital IXUS 980 IS, appears to have the lowest noise of the three cameras! The 9 megapixel Canon Powershot SX110 IS has the highest noise, but also the sharpest images, with ISO800 and 1600 particularly noisy. The 10 megapixel Canon Powershot A2000 IS has slightly less noise, but still shows a lot of noise at ISO800 and above. The Canon Digital IXUS 980 IS has less noise, cleaner pictures, and an impressively smooth ISO3200 mode (albeit at 2mp) - these impressive results could be due to the IXUS 980 using the new Canon DIGIC 4 image processor, while the SX110 and A2000 use the older DIGIC 3 processor.

Image Stabilisation: The camera features real image stabilisation, as optical image stabilisation. This feature helps reduce image blur due to low light or long zoom photography. Examples showing this feature switched on and off can be seen below.

Canon Powershot A2000 IS (10mp) ISO80, 1/20	Canon Powershot A2000 IS (10mp) ISO80, 1/20
Image stabilisation off	Image stabilisation on

With image stabilisation switched on the images are much sharper and clearer, and is much more likely to come out blur free, especially in low light, when using the zoom or when using slow shutter speeds. The camera's system appears to work well, and it's good to see that this feature is becoming the norm with digital cameras.

Outside:

Liverpool shops (ISO80)	Sweet Pea Macro(ISO80)

Outside: The camera has quite rich, saturated colours. There was very good detail, and the camera took a number of very pleasing images, with good contrast, and very little chromatic aberrations or purple fringing. In general 'normal' quality jpeg artifacts are not easily seen, however areas with strong contrasts benefit from use of the highest quality setting.

Zoom: This lens provides a 6.4 – 38.4 mm (35mm equivalent: 36 – 216mm) optical zoom starting which is great for 'normal' everyday photography. I've included examples below to show what the zoom is capable of. An example of digital zoom can be seen as well. Digital Zoom basically takes a crop of the centre of the frame and enlarges the image, degrading image quality, and is therefore best avoided.

Wide-angle	6x optical Zoom	Full optical and digital zoom

Exposure: The photos of the clock tower are exposed well with detail in the dark areas as well as the lighter areas - exposure in other photos was generally very good. Vignetting was not noticed in these photos, though there is some fall-off in focus towards the corners. It can be useful to under expose images with bright backgrounds (eg; sky) with use of exposure compensation.

Lens noise and zoom: The lens makes some noise, and gives you fourteen steps between wide and telephoto - this gives good control over how you frame your subject, though the control is very sensitive.

Other Image Quality issues: Purple fringing / Chromatic aberration were slight, as was focus fall off towards the corners. There is some barreling at wide angle though pin cushioning was not noticeable at full zoom.

Macro Lens Performance:

Timex Watch Macro	Actual Pixels (ISO200)

The closest the camera lens can get to the subject when taking macro photos is 1cm using wide angle. Colour and detail is very good, and there appears to be low noise at ISO100 and below. Setting the white balance manually helps achieve better results. The camera can also take macro photos when zoomed in slightly.

Video mode: The cameras has three video modes: (L)640 x 480, 30fps/30fps(LP), (M)320 x 240, 30fps and (S)160 x 120, 15fps recording VGA videos with sound as AVI files, and using the optical image stabilisation they appear very smooth and shake free. However, compared to other digital cameras the Canon can't fit very long videos on a memory card, as it doesn't use very high compression, such as MPEG4. Up to 4GB or 1 hour (L and M) 3 mins (S) depending on memory card speed and capacity. Optical zoom is available prior to, and digital zoom whilst recording.

Conclusion

Summary: The Canon Powershot A2000 IS is a robust compact camera that provides an impressive 3.0" LCD screen, 10 megapixel sensor, 6x optical zoom lens and image stabilisation. Image quality is generally very good, and although noise is quite high compared to the competition, images are useable up to ISO400 and tend to maintain good detail. The camera's screen is not up to the standard of other Canons though battery life is excellent. Overall this is an appealing camera offering value for money, and a number of features that should suit beginners and more advanced users. An area where this camera could be seen as lacking is in the lens department, especially as a lot of new cameras now offer a wider angle lens. Canon have also decided to remove full manual controls from this range of cameras, which is quite disappointing, and may put some buyers off. If you want a genuinely good camera with a 3.0" LCD, a 6x optical zoom lens, and image stabilization, then this is recommended!

What I like:

• Good image quality
• Face detection software
• 6x optical zoom lens
• Optical image stabilisation helps in low light
• Good size 3" screen
• Robust body
• Orientation sensor
• Excellent battery life
• Focus assist light
• Good macro mode
• Quick performance
• Useful manual controls
  

What I don't like:

• Lacks wide angle lens
• Slightly small icons on mode dial
• Lacks full manual controls

Additional Test Images are viewable in the Canon Powershot A2000 IS Sample Photo Gallery.