Canon A480
Digital Camera Review
Mar 03, 2009
- By Marianne Schultz
The Canon PowerShot A480 is a budget-minded point-and-shoot aimed squarely at beginners. It features a 10-megapixel sensor, 3.3x optical zoom, a 2.5-inch LCD, and a plethora of shooting modes, making it easy to take pictures without the need to muck around in the menu. It will be the last camera in Canon's line-up with the older DIGIC 3 processor. Coming in a variety of colors, the A480 is a reasonably stylish camera at a modest $129.
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Design & Appearance
The A480 is not a stunning or exceedingly stylish camera, though we did find the dark red color of our review model to be quite pleasing. It also comes in blue, silver, and black for those who have more muted color tastes in their digital cameras. The only feature we found really objectionable was the large faux-chrome ring around the lens, which seemed to scream cheap more than anything else about the A480.
Size & Handling
As previously noted, the A480 is a bit portly as well, and may not be as pocket-able compared to slimmer models out there. We had a hard time jamming it into our snug jeans pockets. It was noticeable in even large and loose pockets. The one good thing about its size is how easy it is to hold on to as a result - its thickness of 1.22 inches makes it easy to grasp from front to back and it's well-balanced even when the lens is extended.
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| The A480 does not shop in the petite department |
Menu
The A480's menu system is not a consolidated one, with settings accessed in multiple ways. Pressing the Menu button brings you to more global settings that apply no matter what shooting mode is selected, such as the digital zoom, AF-assist light, volume, power-saving options, and more. The actual shooting menus are accessible via the Mode button or by using the shortcuts available through the 4-way controller. On the one hand, this makes it very straightforward to navigate once you get used to the layout, but more experienced folks who expect a single menu system to provide adjustments for every last aspect of shooting may be a bit put off.
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| The A480's main menu |
Ease of Use
As a more basic point-and-shoot, the A480's shooting menus are easy to navigate and don't require much, if any, reference to the manual at all. Menu icons are large and well-labeled and there are only a couple of levels at most, so you can't get lost and buried in a menu somewhere.
