Canon PowerShot A720 IS

Manual Control Options
Despite the fact that the PowerShot A720 IS is geared toward beginners, the point-and-shoot offers a surprising amount of manual control. There is a wide range, from Aperture and Shutter priority up to fully Manual with an unusually high amount of built-in flash control. The camera has plenty of dedicated button controls or menu options that could scare away novices. The plus side is the A720 IS offers a plethora of adjustable controls if users decide to make the leap from automatic to manual.

Focus
Auto Focus (8.0)
The Canon PowerShot A720 IS offers a wealth of autofocus options, one of the most touted features on the latest A-series model. The system uses TTL autofocus with either a selectable Auto or Macro mode. The lens focuses normally at 1.8 feet to infinity. For closer shots, users can use Macro mode for focus as close as 0.39 inches to 1.8 feet.

Users can further specify focus parameters in the menu by choosing from four AF Frames: AiAF, which uses nine frames; Center, which uses the middle frame; FlexiZone in the Priority and Manual modes; and Face Detect.

With the upgraded Digic III image processor, the Canon PowerShot A720 IS uses an updated face detection system, Genuine Face Detection. As the third-generation face-finding technology, Canon claims the camera can automatically focus on and expose up to 35 faces – a number that far surpasses the standard 10 or 15 faces of competitors. When evaluated, however, the camera could only detect a few faces at a time, highlighted by a white box to indicate the detected faces. While innovative, Canon's Genuine Face Detection doesn’t seem all that practical. How often do point-and-shooters take photos of 35 or more people? The face detection system sometimes doesn’t work if faces are too small, too close to the edge, or not facing front. Canon earns brownie points for trying something new, but the limited number of recognized faces when tested proves it ineffective.

Manual Focus (3.5)
Users who want to precisely focus on subjects can do so using the camera's manual focus control, an increasingly popular feature on point-and-shoots. Users can select Manual focus via the four-way controller. The LCD magnifies the center frame so users can navigate the focus through the left and right directional on the multi-selector. Manual focus was effective and available in every mode except Auto and Continuous shooting.

Exposure (7.0)
The PowerShot A720 IS offers exposure compensation in all modes expect for Auto, Manual, and Movie modes. Once accessed, users can adjust exposure up to 2 stops in 1/3-stop increments.

Metering (8.0)
Users can change the metering in the Priority and Manual modes, set through the func./set button between three metering types: Evaluative, Center-Weighted (or Average), and Spot. Evaluative metering uses multiple spots for most normal shooting conditions and accounts for brightness in Face Detection autofocus. Center-Weighted metering averages the light zones of the general frame but concentrates on the center subject. Spot metering is fixed at the center and linked to the AF frame.

White Balance (7.5)
The Canon A720 IS offers white balance controls in Program, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, Manual, Continuous, and Movie mode. White balance controls include the default Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H (for daylight fluorescent), Underwater (to be used with the optional WP-DC16 Waterproof Case), and Custom.

Custom White Balance is set by navigating to the White Balance menu in the Function menu, selecting Custom, aiming the camera at a white object, and pressing the disp. button to set it.

The default Auto white balance is accurate under most lighting conditions except tungsten lights. In those situations, the Tungsten white balance preset should be used. Read more about the camera’s white balance performance in the Testing/Performance section of the review.

ISO (8.0)
Canon boosted ISO sensitivity on the PowerShot A720 IS from the earlier A710 IS. ISO options are: Auto, High ISO Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, and 1600 ISO at full resolution. Users can only change ISO settings in Program, Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority, Manual, and Auto modes. In Auto, the camera limits ISO to only two settings: Auto ISO and High ISO. The camera automatically applies noise reduction to images when the camera is set to the High ISO setting. At 1600 ISO, however, noise levels are noticeably high and lack dynamic range. Read more about ISO performance in the Testing section.

Shutter Speed (6.75)
The Canon PowerShot A720 IS offers a Shutter Priority mode, abbreviated as "Tv" on the mode dial. Users can manually adjust shutter speed in Tv or Manual mode. Speeds range from 1/2000 of a second to 15 seconds, depending on aperture and zoom. At wider f-stops, shutter speeds only reach 1/1500 of a second.

Aperture (6.75)
The Aperture Priority mode is denoted by the "Av" label on the mode dial. Users can adjust f-stops through the Av mode or Manual setting to control depth of field. Aperture ranges from a wide f/2.8 to f/8.0, and are adjusted using the four-way controller’s left and right buttons. The A720 IS has max apertures of f/2.8 in wide shooting and f/4.8 in telephoto, a decent range, even in telephoto. Using these manual functions is like moving from an automatic to a standard car; any point-and-shooter can do it, but it will take some getting used to.