Camera Review: Canon PowerShot A700

Creative Zone modes include Aperture Priority and Shutter Speed Priority. Special Scene modes -- such as Night Snapshot or Beach -- assist with tricky lighting conditions. Color Accent and Color Swap modes enable dramatic color effects to be applied to both images and movies directly within the camera.

Speaking of video, the A700 records 30-frame-per-second, VGA quality movies of up to 1 GB with sound. You can also create 60-frame-per-second QVGA clips for sharp slow-motion playback. A handy compact mode enables shooting of small format clips of up to 3 minutes for easy sharing with your friends and family via email.

The A700 is about as responsive as the compacts get these days. The camera powers up very quickly and there is no 5- or 10-second wait time between shots. The overall color is sharp, saturation is very good, and it produced some great results for us. As with most cameras in the A-series, you get a lot of features for the money (Street: $349). All you need to add is a much bigger media card and some rechargeable batteries and you are ready to shoot the world around you. Well done, Canon!

What's Hot:

Full 6x optical zoom 6MP resolution

Large 2.5-inch LCD display is usable in low light

Quick startup and shot-to-shot speed

Impressive photo quality, even in relatively low light (ISO 800)

Accepts optional wide, teleconverter, and close-up lenses

Optional wireless flash available

What's Not:

Slow flash recycling

Card/slot battery cover lock hard to open

Key Specs

Maximum Shutter Speed: 15-1/2000 sec

Lens: 5.8 (W) - 34.8 (T) mm

Battery Life: CIPA estimate of 100 shots for AA Alkaline or 400 with NiMH rechargeable batteries

Dimensions: 3.72 x 2.62 x 1.71 inches

Street: $349

What's in the Box?: The 6.0-megapixel PowerShot A700 digital camera, 16MB SD card, two alkaline AA batteries, wrist strap, USB cable, A/V cable, CD-ROM featuring Canon Digital Camera Solutions, ArcSoft PhotoStudio, and drivers; basic printed manual and advanced printed manual.