ProductCritic: Canon PowerShot A520 Reviews

vnunet.com (100)

The perfect model for those who want a versatile and easy-to-use digicam without spending a fortune.

Megapixel.net (91)

The A510/520 body is more compact, more stylized, and even easier to use than recent cameras in this line such as the A95 and A85. The optical viewfinder is placed closer to the left side of the body, making it easier to use, and the controls, including the Mode dial with its well-defined positions, are better than those of previous A-series cameras.

Digital Photography Review (85)

It would be hard to find a more suitable first digital camera for the novice digital photographer than the PowerShot A520. No matter what the situation, the A520 turns out perfectly exposed and focused results shot after shot. And the fact that as well as idiot-proof ‘point and shoot’ modes and scene modes you get a full array of manual options means it’s a camera that you can grow with as your skills develop.

Imaging Resource (85)

Built on the same long-tested design as many A-series predecessors, the Canon A520 offers a lot in its compact package. Its combination of automatic and manual features make it very approachable for novices, but interesting for experienced users, the net result being a camera that will satisfy a broad range of interests and provide a good path for novice users to expand their photographic horizons as their experience grows.

Steve's Digicams (85)

There’s a lot to like about the Canon PowerShot A520. With automatic and scene modes for the beginner, and manual, shutter-priority and aperture-priority modes for the advanced user, it has appealing features for every member of your family. It is small and light enough that you’ll want to have it with you all the time, never missing a photo op. The A520’s image quality is very good, with sufficient resolution for 8×10-inch prints even after a moderate amount of cropping.

Let's Go Digital (84)

It won’t come to you as a big surprise; the Canon Powershot A520 is a recommendable digital camera. It offers value for its money, has a few minor points that need improving, but in general it delivers an excellent result.

PC World (81)

With many manual controls, the full-featured but compact PowerShot A520 is a good deal for beginning photographers.

PhotographyReview.com (81)

The Canon A520 is lightweight camera with credibility. When you are out-and-about, it can go with you without slowing you down. For the money, it will give you great shots of your family and personal events. The thing I liked the best was its ease-of-use, and I liked the availability of usable manual controls. You can actually use this inexpensive camera to learn about the fundamentals of photography and have enough features to take shots without thinking.

Digital Camera Resource Page (80)

In conclusion, I can highly recommend the A510 and A520 to most people. However, those who take a lot of photos in dim lighting (and by that I don’t mean interior lighting, I mean darker than that) or fans of redeye-free photos may be frustrated with either of the two cameras. To be fair, most of the competition has the same problems, but since the old models didn’t have these problems, I’m going to knock Canon for it.

Digital Camera Info (80)

The typical features touted within this segment of the market – large LCD, long battery life, internal memory, and strong movie mode – are relatively void on the A520. Rather, Canon has opted to cater to a niche demographic of compact camera consumers and design a camera that appeals to those seeking a portable sub-$300 alternative with extensive control. If manual control appeals to you, there really is no greater value out there in this price range.

Laptop Magazine (80)

Canon puts aperture priority, shutter priority, and even full manual control at your fingertips, which is a relative rarity in this price range. Want to focus manually? You can do that too. All of this customization makes the A520 the kind of four-megapixel camera users can grow into.

WebUser (80)

With software to help download and organise your images and a 16MB SD card to get you started, this is a great camera but you have to compromise its size and shortage of megapixels with its extra optical zoom and high-quality snaps.

Pocket-lint (80)

The Canon PowerShot A520 might look a style icon compared with some of its brethren, but it is probably the ideal model for anyone buying a digital camera for the first time. It also has a good range of auto and manual controls, so that as you become more confident, you can grow with your photography without quickly outgrowing the camera.

Digital Camera Magazine (80)

For anyone on a budget who wants as much control and customisation as possible, the Canon PowerShot is hard to beat. Slight niggles with low-light autofocus and red-eye tendencies are our only real criticism. The handy size and easy controls make it a dream to use – it’s a brilliant ‘out and about’ camera.

Digicam Review (78)

The camera is compact and is designed well – the camera feels comfortable in my hands. The camera is fairly compact and has a good zoom range. The camera is easy to use, the menu system is easy to use and there is a fairly good layout of buttons and controls. The camera speed is okay, but slightly on the sluggish side.

cameras.co.uk (76)

The main attraction of the Powershot A520 is the number of features it offers for the price. Very good outdoors with excellent colour reproduction.

CNET (68)

This compact 4-megapixel replacement for the PowerShot A85 isn’t as light and pocketable as its Elph counterpart, the PowerShot SD300, but it offers the full range of manual controls that photo enthusiasts require, outdoes its stablemate in number of scene modes and zoom range, and costs less to boot.

PC Mag (60)

If this camera weren’t such a slow performer, we might give it a higher rating. This camera is not a bad buy, and it’s a worthy successor to the A85.