At the end of the 19th century most photographers still captured images with large, unwieldy glass plates loaded into very slow tripod mounted view cameras, but the introduction in 1888 of the boxy little Kodak "Brownie" roll film camera changed all that. The "Brownie" was simple to use, didn't have to be mounted on a tripod, and was (compared to what had gone before) very compact. Photography was never the same and the march to simplicity and miniaturization continues to this day.
Canon's "A" series digicams are famous for their no nonsense practicality, useful features, dependability, impressive picture quality, robust build-quality, and amazing ease of use. Because of that well earned fame, Canon's "A" series digicams have been number one in U.S. sales for the past five years running. One of the newest members of the "A" family, the Canon Powershot A590 IS (which replaces the Canon Powershot A570 IS) is a sterling example of that corporate design philosophy. The A590 IS is an evolutionary/cosmetic update, so it basically retains all the best features of the A 570 IS and adds a couple of useful improvements. The most obvious difference between the two cameras is the boost in resolution from 7 megapixels to 8 megapixels.
NUTS & BOLTS Viewfinder/LCD The A590 IS's coupled (zooming) optical viewfinder is sharp, fairly bright, and useful - but it is a bit squinty and only covers about eighty per cent of the image frame. There's no diopter adjustment for eyeglasses wearers.
The A590IS's 2.5 inch TFT LCD screen is bright, hue accurate, relatively fluid, and it automatically boosts gain in dim/low light. At 115,000 pixels the A590 IS's LCD screen is a bit grainy, but it is more than sharp enough for most compositional and captured image review chores. The A590 IS's user enabled LCD Grid-Line display is a nice touch that will be appreciated by more serious shooters.
Zoom The A590 IS features the same f/2.6-f5.5/5.8mm - 23.2 mm (35-140mm in 35mm equivalent) all-glass optical zoom that graced its predecessor. When the camera is powered up the zoom extends automatically and when the camera is powered down the zoom is fully retracted into the camera body and a built in iris style lens cover closes to protect it. Zooming is fairly smooth and operation is relatively quiet.
The A590 IS's 4X zoom displays some minor corner softness, but no vignetting (dark corners). There is some visible, but very minor barrel distortion at the wide-angle end of the range. Pincushion distortion is very well controlled (and essentially invisible) at the telephoto end of the zoom. Chromatic aberration (purple fringing) is slightly above average, especially noticeable in high contrast color transition areas. Overall, the A590IS's zoom is surprisingly good for an entry-level digital camera.
This zoom isn't threaded for filters or auxiliary optics, but users can (after purchasing the optional Canon LA-DC58F Conversion Lens adapter) mount auxiliary wide-angle, telephoto, or macro lenses and inexpensive 52mm filters.
Auto Focus (AF) The A590 IS features the same TTL Contrast Detection 9-point AiAF (Advanced intelligent Auto Focus) AF system as its predecessors. In all automatic exposure modes the camera analyzes the scene in front of the lens and then calculates camera to subject distance to determine which of the 9 AF points is closest to the primary subject (closest subject priority) and then locks focus on that AF point. Users can also opt for the 1 AF point (center) AF for classic portraits or traditional landscapes. AF performance is consistently quicker than average (for entry level digicams). In low light the focus assist beam helps illuminate the subject for more accurate focusing.
Enable the A590IS's Face Detection AF function (which recognizes and focuses on faces in the image frame) and the camera will isolate, lock on, and track (multiple) human faces. Although it takes a little getting used to Face Detection AF works nicely, but it only works when the subject(s) face the camera.
Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) The A590 IS's Optical Image Stabilization system reduces blur by quickly and precisely shifting a lens elements in the zoom to compensate for minor camera movement. IS allows users to shoot at shutter speeds up to 3 f-stops slower than would have been possible without IS. For example, if a shutter speed of 1/500th of a second is required to avoid the effects of camera shake (without image stabilization) the A590 IS can capture a reasonably sharp image of the same subject (everything else being equal) at 1/60th of a second.
Image stabilization can also be a very useful asset when shooting at dimly lit indoor events (like weddings and concerts) where flash is inappropriate or prohibited and where higher shutter speeds may not be possible. In addition, Image stabilization combined with higher sensitivity (like the A590 IS's ISO 1600 option) dramatically increases exposure options in low/natural light and dimly lit venues. Users also benefit outdoors when shooting handheld (where even the slightest camera movement is magnified) at full telephoto in good light because the image stabilization system automatically compensates for virtually unavoidable camera shake at the longest telephoto setting.
The A590 IS provides three IS modes: Continuous (IS on full time), Shoot only (IS is only activated when the picture is taken) and Panning (only stabilizes up and down motion) for horizontally panned exposures. A590 IS purchasers should keep in mind that continuous IS noticeably shortens battery life, so keeping the camera set to shoot only IS or a back-up battery may be a good idea.
Canon's new Motion Detection technology automatically charts camera and subject movement and then combines the motion/movement data from both sources to determine what (if any) exposure/focus/adjustments (like boosting sensitivity to counter subject movement) need to be made. Motion Detection works in concert with the A590 IS's OIS system and AiAF system to produce consistently and dependably sharp images, even under less than ideal conditions.
Flash The A590 IS's on-board multi mode flash provides an acceptable selection of flash options, including : Auto (fires when needed), On (fill flash), Red-Eye Reduction, Slow Synch, and off. Canon claims the maximum flash range is a bit less than 11 feet (3.5 meters) and that appears to be a fairly accurate assessment (based on my very limited flash use). Canon's optional HF-DC1 auto (slave) flash provides users with an enhanced slate of lighting options and extends maximum flash range to about 30 feet. Flash recycle time is between 7 and 10 seconds, which is a bit slow.
Memory Media The A590 IS saves images to SD, SDHC, & MMC memory media. Canon includes a 32MB MMC starter card in the box. SDHC cards will eventually be available in capacities up to 32GB.
Connectivity USB 2.0 High Speed, A/V out, and DC in (with optional AC Adaptor).
Power The A590IS is powered by two (2) alkaline, NiMH (Nickel Metal Hydride), or lithium ion AA cells. I used the LCD screen and optical viewfinder about equally for compositional chores (plus very occasional flash use and shoot only IS), but I didn't keep track of exposures with the re-chargeable NiMH batteries I used to test the camera. Overall, the A590IS's power management seems very good – especially using the optical viewfinder for composition and with shoot only IS (instead of continuous IS) enabled full time – using the LCD screen full time for framing. Composition, and captured image review and enabling continuous IS full time will noticeably shortens battery life.
Battery life claims from a variety of sources (with a pair of new AA alkaline batteries) run between 170 - 220 exposures and with 2300 mAh Ni-MH rechargeable batteries between 450 and 500 exposures.
EXPOSURE The A590IS utilizes the same practical, easy to understand, and simple to use exposure system that made its predecessors so popular with consumers. Exposure options include Auto (Point and Shoot mode), Program (Auto exposure with user input), Aperture Priority mode, Shutter Priority mode, and Manual mode. The DIGIC III (Digital Imaging Integrated Circuit) processor combines most primary camera functions (image interpolation and processing, auto exposure, White Balance, JPEG compression, gain control, and power management) in one chip which improves efficiency and that makes for quicker startup, faster processing, and near real time shutter response. DIGIC III (Digital Imaging Integrated Circuit) image files are optimized for bold, bright, saturated colors and balanced contrast.
Canon's exclusive iSAPS (Intelligent Scene Analysis based on Photographic Space) technology produces consistently excellent exposures in all scene modes. The camera instantly matches the scene in front of the lens with an on board database of known scene types and then compares that information with the specific scene's subject distance, white balance, contrast, dynamic range, lighting, and color (just before the image is recorded) to determine the best exposure. In all Scene modes the camera's CPU automatically optimizes all exposure parameters (aperture, shutter speed, white balance, sensitivity, etc.) for the specific scene type selected. The ISAPS system works hand in hand with Canon's DIGIC III processor and AiAF "smart" auto focus system to quickly capture properly exposed images with accurate color, balanced contrast, and tack sharp focus.
Movie Mode Canon PowerShot A590 IS users can record video clips (with audio) at 640x480 @ 30 fps with duration limited to 1GB/60 minutes. The A590 IS can also record up to 60 seconds of fast frame rate QVGA (60 fps) video clips and several lower resolution video options. In addition, there's a voice-notation mode so users can add audio notes (up to 60 seconds) to their images.
Metering The A590IS's (default) evaluative metering system is dependably accurate in all but the most challenging lighting. Casual photographers won't have to worry about metering at all and more experienced photographers can opt for either Spot metering or Center-weighted Averaging metering for more demanding/creative compositions or for a more traditional "look" in portraits and landscapes.
White Balance (WB) The A590 IS provides experienced users with an acceptable selection of white balance options including TTL Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, and Fluorescent H. Like all Canon consumer digicams the A590IS's Auto WB setting produces slightly warmer than average colors.
Sensitivity The Canon PowerShot A590 IS provides a nice range of sensitivity (ISO) settings. Savvy photographers will have no problem shooting indoors without flash and at faster shutter speeds (to freeze action) outdoors. Sensitivity options include: Auto, High ISO Auto, and user selectable settings for ISO 80,100, 200, 400, 800, and 1600.
In-Camera Image Adjustment In-camera image adjustment options are often overlooked by first-time digicam purchasers, but savvy users know the ability to make subtle color/contrast/exposure adjustments is a very important creative tool and a simple and effective way of overcoming minor exposure problems. The A590 IS, like its predecessors, offers more creative photographers a useful range of built-in exposure tweaks.
Very light or very dark subjects can trick light metering systems into underexposing or overexposing images. The A590 IS's Exposure Compensation mode allows users to subtly modify exposure parameters over a 4 EV range ( /-2 EV) in 1/3 EV increments to easily lighten or darken exposures.
The A590 IS's "My Colors" mode provides a nice selection of color/saturation options, including: Positive Film (mimics slide film color, saturation, and contrast), Neutral Film (mimics print film color, saturation, and contrast), Lighter Skin Tone, Darker Skin Tone, Vivid Blue, Vivid Green, Vivid Red, Color accent (shifts images to B&W, except for one user selected color), color swap (allows users to switch one color for another), custom color (users can adjust color balance for red, green, blue, and skin tones /-2 arbitrary steps in 1 step increments) and Photo effects (vivid or neutral color saturation, low sharpening, sepia, and B&W).
CONTROLS, DESIGN, ENGINEERING, & ERGONOMICS The Canon PowerShot A590IS Digital Camera bears a striking family resemblance to its "A" series siblings. It's an attractive, relatively compact, and sturdy (polycarbonate body shell) digicam. The control layout is logical and quickly becomes intuitive. All controls are easily accessed and the ergonomic handgrip provides stability (for right handed shooters) and nicely balances the camera in use.
The Canon Powershot A590IS digital camera, like its "A" series siblings, is built around Canon's third-generation DIGIC III processor. DIGIC (Digital Imaging Integrated Circuit) technology efficiently combines image processing, power management, and most primary camera functions (Exposure, White Balance, JPEG compression, gain control, and most auto functions) on one chip to almost effortlessly capture images that are optimized for sharp resolution, balanced contrast, and bright colors. The DIGIC III chip is also responsible for the camera's snappy auto focus and near real time shutter response.
Advanced shooters and experienced photographers will have no difficulty using the A590 IS right out of the box and even rank beginners will be able to capture impressive images after a short familiarization run with the camera and brief scan of the user's manual.
Technical Specifications Resolution: 8 Megapixels (3264 x 2448)
Viewfinders: 2.5" LCD screen and Real Image zooming optical viewfinder
Zoom: f2.6-f5.5/5.8mm-23.2mm (35mm-140mm - 35mm equivalent) all glass 4X optical zoom
Auto Focus: 9 AF point AiAF
Manual Focus: no
Image Stabilization: Yes
Flash: Built-in Multi-mode
External Flash Shoe: No
Exposure: Auto, Program AE, Scene modes, Aperture priority, Shutter priority, Manual mode, and Movie mode
Metering: Evaluative, Center-weighted, & Spot
Exposure compensation: Yes /- 2 EV in 1/3 EV increments
White balance: Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, and Fluorescent H
Sensitivity: Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, and 1600 ISO
Image Storage Media: SD/SDHC/MMC
Connectivity: USB 2.0HS out, AV/out, & DC in
Power: 2 AA batteries
Included 32MB MMC card, 2 AA Alkaline batteries, wrist strap, USB & A/V cables, software CD's, user's and software manuals.
Optional Canon NiMH Rechargeable AA Batteries & Charger Kit CBK4-300, AC Adapter Kit ACK900, High Power (slave) Flash HF-DC1, Conversion Lens Adapter LA-DC58F, Canon WC-DC58N 0.7x Wide Converter lens, TC-DC58N 1.75x Tele-converter lens, 250D 58mm Close-up Lens, and Canon soft camera case.
In the Field/Handling & Operation I often test cameras, flashes, lenses, tripods, and other imaging paraphernalia with an old friend who sells new and used digital and analog photographic equipment. Between the two of us we have more than fifty years of hands-on experience with just about every type of photo equipment and just about every facet of the photographic medium. My friend was recently able to get his hands on a brand new Canon Powershot A590 IS for us to play with. The first thing we did was to run a standard battery of color tests. We use a homemade macro stage and a selection of brightly colored (red, green, yellow, blue, orange, and purple) plastic children's beach toys photographed against a white background to check color accuracy and the precision of each camera's white balance system. The A590IS's Auto White Balance (our test images were viewed on a NEC 19" CRT monitor) is a bit warm, which is not surprising in a camera targeted at amateur shooters. Colors are bright and hue accurate, but a bit oversaturated (especially red and blue) with slightly harder than average contrast.
For our first adventure with the A590 IS we took off for nearby Cave Hill Cemetery. Cave Hill started out as a small family farm on the outskirts of the city of Louisville and then became Louisville's primary burial ground in the mid 1840's. Cave Hill is also Louisville's unofficial arboretum and one of the country's best remaining examples of 19th century U. S. landscape architecture. The cemetery's 300 acres are home to an amazing variety of exotic and native trees, shrubs, bushes, and flowers. Cave Hill is an almost perfect photo locale for local photographers because it is free, centrally located, and there is almost always something interesting to photograph. Cave Hill is filled with thousands of weather worn old headstones, dozens of ornate mausoleums, two Civil War era sections, a rustic old groundskeeper's cabin, and a small lake with dozens of resident ducks, geese, and swans.
The last few weeks we've had some really nasty weather here in Louisville; unseasonably cold with lots of rain, an ice storm, and some serious snow, but the weather gods smiled on us and provided a beautiful, bright, almost spring-like day for our first outing with the A590 IS. We drove around the oldest part of the cemetery, stopping to shoot anything that looked interesting including some old time tilted and lichen encrusted hand carved early 19th century native limestone grave markers surrounded by ankle deep carpets of last year's fallen leaves. The A590 IS does a reliably first-rate job outdoors, especially when the light is good.
For our next outing with the A590 IS the weather gods graced us with 13 inches of fresh snow. By early afternoon of the day after our unseasonable blizzard the sky was blue and the light was excellent. After a quick stop to pick up the A590 IS (I was also testing a Canon SD100 IS) I headed for Dog Hill in Cherokee Park. Dog hill is the go to place for local sledders and the area was absolutely awash in colorfully dressed kids and adults sliding down the fairly long and relatively steep hill on every type of sled and sled substitute imaginable. I spent about three hours shooting exuberant and enthusiastic sledders from a variety of positions, including one especially dangerous spot halfway down the hill. I got several decent images with both the A590 IS and the SD1100 IS. When the light started to go sour I called it a day and headed for home.
When my friend and I got together for our final outing with the A590 IS it was gray and overcast, but we didn't let that discourage us as we headed out for the Extreme Park to shoot skaters and BMX bikers. After a leisurely walking loop along Washington Street in Butchertown, we headed for the nearby Extreme Sports Park to shoot some action.
The Extreme Park is the go to place for local photographers looking to capture action shots. Skateboarders and BMX bikers are drawn to the park 24-7 to perfect their moves and hone their techniques in the industrial sized full pipe, 5 interconnected bowls, assorted ramps, and the twelve-foot half pipe.
We spent more than three hours shooting skateboarders and BMX bikers, which may seem like a lot of time, but optimal framing/timing (centering the boarders in the frame and stopping the action in mid air) is very difficult. I used the A590IS's optical viewfinder full time for framing and composition since the LCD screen is very hard to use when shooting high-speed action. The A590 IS's image stabilization worked nicely, but we had to move in pretty close because the camera's 4X zoom didn't really provide enough reach to allow us to stand off at a safe distance and still get frame-filling shots. Image Stabilization won't counteract sharp jerks or hard shifts and it can't defeat the blur inherent in too rapid panning or trying to lock on rapidly moving subjects, but it does counter most of the camera shake problems associated with shooting handheld action pictures.
PERFORMANCE Image Quality The A590IS delivers the goods in the image quality department - it consistently produced well-exposed images with decent dynamic range. Reds were a little warm and blues are a bit bright, but most casual/amateur photographers likely won't consider this a fault. We reviewed everything we'd shot on a 19" NEC CRT monitor. Outdoors the A590 IS produces dependably well exposed (although there is a slight tendency toward over exposure) almost noise free images with accurate slightly oversaturated colors and somewhat harder than average contrast. Overall, the A590 IS's image quality was as good as any 8 megapixel P&S digicam either of us has used to date.
ISO 80/ISO 100 images are indistinguishable - both show bright colors, slightly hard edged native contrast, and very low noise levels – ISO 200 images were also very good, but with a little less pop. At the ISO 400 setting noise levels are noticeably higher and there's a perceptible loss of minor detail. ISO 800 images are noisy, but they should be OK for e-mail and non-critical 3x5 or 4x6 prints - ISO 1600 images are way too noisy to be useful for anything besides record shots. There was some visible chromatic aberration in the color transition areas between dark foreground objects and bright backgrounds (like the sky), but most of our images didn't need any post exposure correction.
Shutter Lag/Timing The A590IS is fairly quick, roughly equal to or slightly faster than any other camera in its class. The boot up cycle (power on to first image capture) is a bit less than 2 seconds. The A590IS can move its 4X zoom from the wide-angle end of the zoom range to full telephoto in less than 2 seconds. AF speed is dependably quick in all but the most difficult lighting, typically less than half a second. Shutter lag shouldn't be a problem for most shooters thanks to the DIGIC III processor. Shutter fire is essentially real time with pre-focus and (according to Canon) about 1/10th of a second from scratch - a bit slower than a dSLR, but experienced photographers should be able to capture impressive action shots by slightly anticipating the critical moment and tripping the shutter just before everything comes together. Shot-to-shot times and write to card times are also a bit quicker than average.
A Few Concerns I don't have any real issues with the A590 IS, it certainly isn't a perfect camera - it has a couple of slightly irritating minor design flaws, but it is remarkably easy to use and delivers dependably excellent results in the image quality department. For the price (the on-line price range is from just under $200.00 to $165.00) I don't believe consumers are really going to be able to do any better.
Who is this camera best suited for? The A590 IS makes an almost ideal first digicam, it is also an excellent choice for the primary family camera, and a very good choice for travelers who want a tough, lightweight, "go anywhere" digital camera that runs on universally available AA batteries. The A590 IS is also an excellent choice for shooters who want a digital camera that they can grow into as they learn more about photography.
Conclusion Canon's "A" series digicams have been very popular with consumers since the introduction of the groundbreaking A20 in 2001. I've used just about every "A" series Canon digicam since the A20's debut and I've been impressed with each of them – some more than others. The "A" series winning combination of usability, practicality, functionality, flexibility, dependability, durability, and first rate performance is a solid philosophy for success and the A590 IS doesn't deviate from that winning formula. Canon's new A590 IS is a solid best buy at less than two hundred bucks and one of the best general use P&S digicams available right now.
All image quality observations provided in this review are based on the following exposure parameters. I used the camera in Program mode, with WB set to auto, sensitivity (ISO) set to Auto, default metering, and image size set to the highest resolution. All shots were handheld, with a standard SD card and shoot only IS enabled full time.
The observations, opinions, comments, conclusions, and recommendations provided in my digital camera reviews are grounded in more than 30 years experience as a photographer and extensive hands on testing of each of the cameras reviewed.
For definitive advice on How to Choose a Digital Camera
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