Is the Canon A610 a good choice for a simple camera with fast focus times?

Question

Is the Canon A610 a good choice for a simple camera with fast focus times?

Answer 1

The A610 is a fantastic camera. It uses the newest generation DiGiC II processor which is the fastest on the market currently for consumer digicams. IT also leapfrogs some of its more expensive brethren by offering full manual overrides for exposure and focus and runs forever on a set of rechargeable AA batteries. Highly recommended. Also since it's not an ultra compact, it has a larger lens which positively impacts image quality. The lens was designed for the 7 MP A620 so with the 5 MP sensor on the A610 it has more than enough detail and clarity.



I have an SD400 (same as SD450 with a slightly smaller screen) and I'm happy with it but it's not nearly flexible enough to be my primary camera. YMMV, though. Also, because it's small it only takes proprietary batteries which last a decent amount of time but you're out of luck unless you have a spare when you run out. At least with the A610 you can just have a spare set of AA's when you're away from a charger. Image quality is also slightly worse with the ultra compact cameras, due to the smaller lenses.

Answer 2

The Canon A610 looks like a pretty good camera, and I was considering it, but it's a bit bulky. If you really want the manual control (aperture and shuttter priority modes, manual focus), as well as the flip out LCD (pretty cool feature IMO), then it's a solid choice. I've tried it out in a store, and the auto focus times was very fast. The DIGIC 2 processor is pretty well acclaimed to be quick. The review on dpreview.com (actually for the A620, which is the 7 MP version of the A610) gives the lag times.



If you don't need the manual controls or the flip out LCD, and size matters, the Canon SD400 or SD450 aregreat choices, and actually what I'm leaning towards purchasing. They use the same processor, so are just as fast. There's also a review for it at dpreview.com. The LCD is larger at 2.5", and they are TINY. (Look cool, too).



Check out what other users have to say and the aforementioned reviews at the following site.

Answer 3

yes. It is fast enough for the price. And the image has some quality