Canon PowerShot A540 6MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Zoom

With a full 6.0 megapixels of imaging power, widescreen capability and a high-quality 4x optical zoom lens, the super-intuitive PowerShot A540 is ready to produce impressive results right from the start. This camera is packed with value from its high-end specs to its high-performance capabilities, yet easy enough for beginners to use. Auto and Manual Exposure/White Balance settings ISO range 80-800 for shooting high-quality images in a variety of lighting situations Shoot pictures in the Widescreen resolution option (2816x1584) to view them full screen on your widescreen TV or computer monitor! Built-in Flash with Red-Eye Reduction 21 Shooting Modes for overcoming those tough shooting conditions & 9-point AiAF for focusing on your subject, no matter where they are in the frame! Self-Timer - 2-sec./10-sec., Custom Up to 2.3fps Continuous Shooting SD/MMC card slot A 16MB MMC Card is included, however we suggest purchasing an Optional 512MB memory card. It will allow you to store a lot more video and images, as well as take advantage of the camera's high Resolution abilities. Interfaces - USB2.0, A/V out (NTSC/PAL) Print directly to Canon CP/SELPHY Compact and PIXMA Photo Printers or any PictBridge compatible printer via included USB cable without a computer! Powered by 2x AA Alkaline or Rechargeable Ni-MH Batteries We suggest purchasing optional rechargeable NiMH batteries to be able to take approximately 3 times as many still pictures when compared to alkaline batteries Approximate Unit Dimensions - (WxHxD) 3.56 x 2.52 x 1.70; Unit Weight - 6.35 oz (Body only without memory card and batteries)

Customer Reviews:

As good as any digital point and shoot camera. Far cheaper than most.
This is a fine camera at any price. I have an A75 from a couple of years back. This is essentially the same camera. I borrowed a friend's A540 recently and was able to use it immediately without having to ask questions. My only complaint: if you use the flash the camera needs too much time to "wake up" for the next shot. Oh well. Digital point and shoots are not the right choice for action or sports anyway.

As for the photo quality: just about all digital cameras provide acceptable photos in 2006. If you look at the user submitted photos here at Amazon, you'll notice that one person has provided a picture from a commercial shoot taken with this camera. If you didn't know what camera took the picture, you would swear it was some expensive professional over-priced toy. (It's the shot of the package-carrying woman with the green background.) Here's the thing: the camera that takes the picture is virtually irrelevant. The lighting, composition and knowledge of the photographer combined: these things make good photos.

So, do yourself a favor. Don't spend too much. Buy this camera or something similar in this price range, then take a class or read some books about photography. Don't worry about the stupid camera so much.

(By the way. I have a shot of a lobster that I took with the A75 posted on Amazon. Just go to the A75 page at Amazon to see it. If that pic doesn't convince you that these are good cameras, then go waste your money.)
--2006-12-17

Great Camera for beginners!
Earlier in the year I was given a Canon PowerShot from my employer for work purposes. This was my first experience with a digital camera. Yes, I was still in the dinosaur age of the film camera! Nobody showed me how to use the camera and no instruction booklet came with it. The Canon PowerShots are easy enough to use that you can pick one up and start snapping away. After using a digital camera for almost a year now, I don't want to go back to a film camera. I bought the PowerShot A 540 for personal use and I LOVE it. My parents were so interested in my camera that they purchased one for themselves from Amazon. One negative I have about the camera is that sometimes the screen is a little fuzzy when reviewing what you have just photographed but it's by no means enough of a problem to prevent someone from purchasing the camera. If you want the camera to do all the work for you, all you need do is put it on "Automatic," focus and snap. Oh, the card that comes with the camera is basically useless, plan on getting a card that will hold more pictures. A++ batteries are used in the camera and even come with the camera when purchased. You can't go wrong with this digital camera!

--2006-12-16

Outstanding camera and value!
I have an "ultra-zoom" (12x optical) camera. It's size/shape makes it anything but "compact". Was looking for a second camera to be able to carry in a pocket. Did a fair amount of research before selecting this camera. Was amazed at all the advanced features on such a small camera and the fairly inexpensive price. Takes great pictures on full Auto mode, have also used some of the advanced features to test them out and they work great as well. One thing I definitely wanted was a camera that used the same SD media as my other one so I could share cards between them. Like the flexibility to add different lenses, though I'll probably never buy one. Heck, you can even buy a waterproof case if you want to take pictures underwater! Pretty neat, if unlikely to be useful to most buyers.
--2006-12-13

Finally sold on digital
With so many options out there this is a great choice for the average consumer. All the extras and easy to use. This is only my second digital camera and I love it. Until now I always reverted back to my 35MM. Only complaint is the inability to turn off the flash for night shots. Maybe I missed that in the advanced manual. Very happy overall!
--2006-12-06

You won't find a better camera unless you spend hundreds more.
This is a fantastic camera, especially for the price. The optical zoom of 4x is more than most cameras that cost $100 more and is invaluable for getting the perfect shot especially when coupled with 6 megapixels. Close ups are very nice and the picture quality is very good.

The features go on and on. It can be pure point and shoot in "Automatic Mode" or it can replace a full-sized SLR in "Manual Mode" when you can't lug around a big camera. And with it's stitch assist and variety of lighting options, it can be anything in between.

Though I haven't done so yet, you can apparently buy a variety of lens attachments for it, including a 10x optical zoom and a wide angle adapter. I cannot, however, vouch for these, though Canon's reputation for lenses would indicate good quality.

I pretty much use it in place of a regular video camera now. It picks up sound as well as any camera without a boom-mike. I originally thought that the 1 gb limit on video clips would be too much of a limitation, it turns out that this gives you about 25 minutes (depending on your settings) of good quality video in one single clip, which is more than I ever use for one clip anyway. I tend to shoot shorter shots and edit them all together later.

Though I don't use them much, there are also editing features for video on the camera itself. This is fine if you need it in a pinch and it lets you do just enough to do on-the-spot editing if you really need to.

The one drawback, as others have stated, is the relatively low flash refresh time. I have found this to be tedious only in the darkest of circumstances. In medium light, it's fine with the flash. Also, because of the great amount of exposure and aperture control you have (especially for a 'point and shoot') the flash isn't always as necessary as it would be with other cameras.

Finally, I used regular batteries for exactly two days before I bought rechargeable ones. I went through 6 batteries in 2 days, though admittedly these were not high end batteries designed for digital cameras. Still, spending $20 on batteries and a charger is a no-brainer, espeically when you end up using the camera as much as I have.

And with all its great features and picture quality, it's hard not to.
--2006-12-04

- Canon