Canon PowerShot ELPH 530 HS Digital Camera Review

Speed and Timing

Like most CMOS-based cameras, the ELPH 530 HS is a speedy shooter. Focus and shot-to-shot times are snappy, and continuous drive mode is a workhorse.

Two full-res burst modes are available: one with autofocus, and one without. Capacity is only limited by the size of your memory card, so they're both true continuous drive modes. The sans-AF mode is predictably faster. There's also a reduced-res high-speed burst mode available.

In continuous drive mode without autofocus, the ELPH 530 HS reliably cranks out about 2.4 frames per second—not the fastest we've seen, but there's no capacity, so it's arguably more useful than some of the "10fps for a half-second" modes we've seen on some cameras.

Regular 2-second and 10-second timers are available, as is a programmable interval timer. It allows the user to select the number of shots and the time between each shot. Canon usually includes this feature in their compacts, and we wish more manufacturers would follow suit.