Viewfinder (3.5)
The eyepiece for the real image optical zoom viewfinder is located on the camera’s back side, just above the LCD screen. The lens for the viewfinder is located on the front of the camera, just above the main lens. The image in the viewfinder zooms in and out, tracking the magnification of the main lens.
Viewfinders are becoming scarce on point-and-shoot cameras. That Canon included one here is a nod to tradition. Viewfinders are useful in brightly lit conditions where the main LCD display screen may be washed out and hard to read. Optical viewfinders also consume a lot less power than LCD screens, so they can be used to extend battery life.
Optical viewfinders typically do not show the full image recorded by the sensor, only the central or bottom 85 to 95 percent. The optical viewfinder on the A650 IS seems pretty accurate, so I would place it subjectively at the high end of that range. Canon does not specify the coverage of the viewfinder.
Another common disadvantage of optical viewfinders is parallax. The viewfinder lens is offset a little distance from the main lens. Therefore it sees things from a different angle. At ordinary shooting distances this is not much of a problem, but it can be significant in close-up or macro work, for which a live preview on the LCD is recommended for image composition.
Related to the parallax problem, when the lens is zoomed all the way out (to the widest angle setting), the lens barrel shows up in the bottom of the viewfinder, blocking part of the image. It does not appear in the actual recorded image or the LCD live preview. It is simply an inaccuracy in the optical viewfinder.
No control information appears in the optical viewfinder. You must use the LCD screen if you need to change or monitors these settings.
There is no dioptric adjustment. The viewfinder image remains fully visible with the eye positioned up to an inch away from the eyepiece, so most people with glasses should have no problem with the viewfinder.
LCD Screen (6.25)
The A650 IS has a 2.5-inch, 173,000-pixel low-temperature polycrystalline silicon TFT liquid crystal display (LCD). The resolution is short of some cameras on the market, including the Fujifilm F50fd and Olympus Stylus 1200, which have 2.7-inch monitors with 230,000 pixels.
The display has a wide viewing angle. It does not fade out and lose contrast when viewed off-axis, rather than face-on. You can show it to a group of friends standing around you and they’ll all see pretty much the same thing.
The display position is adjustable, facing in or out against the body, or with a wide range of positions away from the body. The open positions increase the range of situations for which the display is useful. For ordinary, straight-ahead snapshots, the against-the-body position is fine. Tilt the display up and you can look down on it from above, great for photographing pets or rug rats at floor level. Tilt the display down and you can hold the camera overhead to grab pictures of sports and performance events despite the crowd. Flip the display forward, and the subjects can see themselves in it (the camera reverses the image so it looks right to them). Some people find it easier to pose or smile for a portrait with this kind of feedback.
A live preview image can be shown on the LCD screen while shooting. This consumes more power than the optical viewfinder, and can be hard to see in bright surroundings. However, one major benefit usually associated with use of the LCD screen’s “live preview” is that it shows 100 percent of the recorded image, or “what you see is what you get.” This is in contrast to the possibly reduced image coverage of the viewfinder. Another advantage is that you can preview the effect of exposure controls, which can be hard to visualize with an optical viewfinder.
Various amounts of shooting information is displayed on the monitor by pressing the disp button. In Record mode, pressing the button navigates between three views: no information; shooting information, such as aperture and shutter speed; and off. In Playback mode, images can be viewed alone, with basic shooting information, with detailed shooting information, or zoomed in on to check focus.
Overall, the rotating LCD is fun to play with, but there are larger monitors with better resolution available.
Flash (4.5)
The built-in sliver-shaped flash is to the top right of the lens. Its position makes it likely to be covered by the fingers on the left hand when using two hands to hold the camera. Flashes that sit above the lens provide more even coverage than a flash placed to the side.
The flash has a range of 1.6 to 11 feet at the wide end of the zoom lens range. The range extends only out to 6.6 feet at the telephoto end. The range is on the wimpy side, and not as powerful as its predecessor, the A640. These flash ranges are specified by Canon for an Auto ISO setting, so the flash is not as strong as these figures imply.
Pressing the top of the navigation ring while in Record mode pops up an onscreen menu that selects Flash mode. Three choices are presented: Flash On, Flash Off, and Auto Flash.
In Flash On mode, the flash is forced to fire. This is useful to in brightly-lit situations in which the camera may not automatically flash. This can be used to fill in the shadows in harsh lighting situations like bright sunlight.
In Flash Off Mode, the flash is shut off, even in low-light situations in which one might normally have it on. This is useful for avoiding flash reflections off of glass, or in taking advantage of unusual and beautiful natural light. It does usually involve accepting slower shutter speeds, so consider image stabilization or a tripod in this mode.
In Flash Auto mode, the camera decides whether to fire the flash or not, based upon the amount of ambient light.
The flash compensation control is located in the function menu. The flash’s intensity can be adjusted +/- 2 EV in 1/3 stops. In the Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, and Manual modes, the flash output can be adjusted in three steps.
There are more flash options in the Shooting menu. Flash sync can be set to 1st or 2nd curtain, Slow Synchro can be set to on or off, and Red-Eye to on or off. The Safety FE feature can be utilized in the Program, Aperture Priority, and Shutter Priority modes. This feature prevents an image from being overexposed by the flash by automatically adjusting the aperture and shutter speed.
Red-eye reduction, if enabled, is performed by the focus-assist light rather than the flash. A red light shines into the subjects’ eyes before the flash fires.
There is no hot-shoe, nor a connector for an external flash. Canon offers a companion higher-powered flash, but it is essentially an optical slave and is triggered by the flash from the camera. It retails for $129.99.
The Canon A650 IS’s flash is poorly placed and its limited power makes it almost useless. Among its competition, the A650 IS has one of the weakest flashes.
Zoom Lens (7.5)
The A650 IS has an optically stabilized 6x Canon zoom lens. The lens retracts into the camera body when powered down, and extends in two tiers in use. When the camera is turned off, the lens is covered by an automatic cap.
The lens has a 35mm equivalent range of 35 to 210mm. The wide end of this range is fairly typical for point-and-shoots, though there are some cameras on the market, such as the 12.2-megapixel Panasonic FX100 ($399.95), with 28mm equivalent lenses, better for shooting large groups or expansive landscapes. The PowerShot A650 extends beyond the typical 3x optical zoom lens on most competing cameras. The longer zoom is nice to close-ups of a dance recital or playing field, for instance.
There are tele and wide converters that can be attached to the lens to widen or extend the range of the lens. The tele converter magnifies subjects by 2x and has a $149 retail price. The wide converter expands to range by 0.8x and sells for $199 from the Canon website.
A zoom indicator appears at the top of the LCD when the lens is engaged. It makes about a dozen stops throughout the range. There is noticeable mechanical noise. Zooming in is smooth, but the lens backfires when zooming out.
The max aperture when the lens is zoomed out is f/2.8 and f/4.8 when zoomed in. This range lets a good amount of light hit the image sensor, allowing users to shoot in low light without a flash.
The normal focus range of the lens is from 1.6 feet to infinity. The lens has an impressive close-up focusing range of 0.39 inches to 1.6 feet at the wide end of the zoom range. Close-ups are not recommended at the telephoto end of the range.
Lens quality seems to be generally good. Light flare was not a problem unless the sun shone directly onto the lens. A small amount of barrel distortion was visible in closeup modes.
In summary, the Canon A650 IS’s lens offers a lot of flexibility with its longer-than-average range and ability to accept conversion lenses.
