DPInterface Canon PowerShot A700 Review
Brad Soo - April 20th, 2006

Canon released the PowerShot A700 camera early 2006 with even more zoom. While this may not be the flagship of the A-series (in my opinion), it's pretty close to it. Here are some changes and differences since the A620:

  • New (but smaller) image sensor which produces less noise
  • Lower resolution (6 megapixels vs 7)
  • Smaller body
  • Bigger zoom lens (6x vs 4x)
  • 2.5 inch non-rotating LCD
  • New ISO 800 and High Auto ISO options
  • Slight user interface refinements
  • New "print" menu
  • My Colors post-processing can now be done in playback
  • Uses 2 AA batteries (compared to 4 on the A620)

I'll talk more about those differences later on in the review (There's a special A-series comparison after the conclusion). But now, let's find out more about the A700 and its image quality.

Size and Weight

Compare the A700 against its competitors in size...:

(219.9)  104.8 x 66.0 x 49.1 mm (235 g) - Canon PowerShot A610/A620
(204.4)  94.5 x 66.5 x 43.4 mm (200 g) - Canon PowerShot A700
(227.5)  98.5 x 55.5 x 73.5 mm (215 g) - Casio Exilim P505
(196.1)  104.7 x 60.6 x 30.8 mm (170 g) - Fujifilm FinePix F650
(177.8)  91.0 x 57.0 x 29.8 mm (170 g) - HP Photosmart R817/818
(217.0)  111.5 x 68.5 x 37.0 mm (205 g) - Nikon Coolpix S4
(199.5)  99.5 x 65.0 x 35.0 mm (180 g) - Olympus SP320
(207.0)  100.0 x 62.0 x 45.0 mm (186 g) - Panasonic Lumix LZ3/LZ5
(210.3)  112.0 x 58.1 x 40.2 mm (230 g) - Panasonic Lumix TZ1
(175.5)  91.5 x 56.0 x 28.0 mm (150 g) - Pentax Optio SVi

And it's actually one of the biggest - though none of these cameras, except the Panasonic LZ3/LZ5, have such a big 6x zoom lens. The Canon A700 is smaller than the A610/A620, though that's not always a good thing.

Open up the Box

Together with the A700, you'll also find these:

  • 16 MB MultiMedia Card
  • 2 AA batteries (non-rechargeable)
  • Wrist strap
  • USB cable
  • A/V cable
  • CD-ROM
  • User's manual

Storage and Power

It's the usual case with the Canon PowerShot A700; the bundled card is too small - Get a 512 MB high-speed SD card immediately! A high-speed memory card makes a big difference when using most of the A700's functions, most notably the unlimited continuous shooting and movie recording features.

Battery life is very good on the A700, with 400 shots (CIPA Standard) on a single charge. The A700 uses just two AA batteries yet its battery life is near the A610/A620 which use 4 AA batteries. I got about 150 shots out of the bundled batteries which is pretty good.

The bundled batteries are non-rechargeable. So, get a set of NiMH rechargeables and a fast 15 minute charger!

500 shots - Canon PowerShot A610/A620
400 shots - Canon PowerShot A700
220 shots - Casio Exilim P505
150 shots - Fujifilm FinePix F650
200 shots - HP Photosmart R817/818
200 shots - Nikon Coolpix S4
N/A - Olympus SP320
390 shots - Panasonic Lumix LZ3/LZ5
250 shots - Panasonic Lumix TZ1
110 shots - Pentax Optio SVi

That's how the A700's battery life compares to other cameras.

Extras

Surprising for an $350 camera, the Canon PowerShot A700 has a wide range of accessories:

  • Conversion lens adapter
  • Wide-angle conversion lens (0.75x, 26 - 158 mm)
  • Telephoto conversion lens (1.75x, 61 - 368 mm)
  • Close-up conversion lens
  • Filters
  • External slave flash
  • AC adapter

 

Camera Tour

That is one big lens! The Canon PowerShot A700 has 6x optical zoom, more than the 4x on A610/A620. The lens is equivalent to 35 - 210 mm and has an aperture range of f2.8 - f4.8. This is not as good as the one on the Panasonic Lumix LZ3/LZ5 which has optical image stabilization. The A700 uses a smaller image sensor than the A610/A620 (1/2.5 inch CCD instead of 1/1.8 inch) though this one has better noise characteristics.

And that is reason number one why the A700 isn't flagship (I think it's tied with the A620). Number two is that it only has 6 megapixels - less than on the A620. If there's a real flagship coming anytime soon, I'm expecting it to use an 8 megapixel 1/1.8 inch CCD which has slightly better noise control - and one already exists on the Sony Cyber-shot W100.

Around that two-tiered lens barrel is a fixed barrel ring which can be removed by pressing the bottom-right button. You can then attach the conversion lens adapter (mentioned above) and any conversion lens you might buy.

The Canon A700's built-in flash is has a range of 0.5 - 3.5 m at wide-angle and 0.5 - 2.5 m at telephoto which is average. The AF-assist beam/self-timer lamp and optical viewfinder are located above the lens and next to the flash, the larger window being the viewfinder. The 3 microphone holes are located under the Canon logo.

Finally, the A700 has a grip on the left. But since it uses just two AA batteries and is more compact than A610/A620, the grip is naturally smaller. The difference is fairly noticeable which is bad news for telephoto low-light shots.

New to the Canon PowerShot A700 is the 2.5 inch LCD which, sadly, has only 115,000 pixels. The LCD obviously can't be swung out and rotated. And everyone knows that the flagship A-series must have a rotating LCD (Or has Canon changed their policy?). The low resolution is fairly noticeable - but then again, this is a budget camera with full manual controls! So something must give.

As with other Canon cameras, the LCD brightens a lot in low-light so visibility is excellent. Outdoor visibility has not improved though - Things are still not that visible when taking angled shots out in the sun.

The Canon A700 has a tiny viewfinder above the LCD. I found myself using the big LCD most of the time since the viewfinder is close to useless. They should've dropped the viewfinder and put a rotating LCD, though I suspect that's for, again, the real flagship.

The mode switch, which puts the camera in shooting or playback, has been moved to the top right. This is a brilliant move if you asked me - it is much easier to change modes.

The exposure button brings up exposure compensation while shooting and deletes photos in playback. Next to it, the print/share button lights up when connected to a computer/printer. Below that is the 5 way controller which has buttons assigned to the main aspects of the camera:

  • Up - Flash setting (Auto, on, off)/Jump (Go ahead/back: 10 images, 100 images, next shot date, movie, folder)
  • Down - Focus setting (Autofocus, macro, manual focus)

The FUNCtion button brings up/down a list of customizable options which allows you to set:

  • ISO sensitivity (Auto, high auto ISO, manual ISO [80, 100, 200, 400, 800])
  • White balance (Auto, daylight, cloudy, tungsten, fluorescent, fluorescent H, custom)
  • "Gear box" (Single shot, continuous, self timer 2 seconds, 10 seconds, custom timer)
  • Photo effects (Off, vivid, neutral, sepia, black-and-white, positive film, lighter/darker skin tone, custom color)
  • Flash compensation (±2 in 1/3 increments)/output (manual mode only - 1/3, 2/3 or 3/3)
  • Metering method (Evaluative, center weighted, spot)
  • Quality (Superfine, fine, normal)
  • Resolution (6 MP, 4 MP, 2 MP, VGA, postcard, widescreen)

The FUNCtion button also doubles as a SET button (A "okay" or confirmation button). There is one change and one new option in the list above. The change being My Colors is now under photo effects while the new feature is the Widescreen image size which takes a 16:9 photo - perfect for your widescreen television!

As you all know, the "Postcard resolution" is essentially a photo 2 MP in size at Fine quality. You can choose to imprint the date or date and time, or turn imprinting off. The custom white balance allows you to take photos which look natural and is especially useful when none of the 5 preset WB options are suitable.

As you can see, the Canon PowerShot A700 is an entry-level camera with lots of manual controls. You can change shutter speed and aperture as well as things like flash output. This means that everything's there and you need not buy a new camera once you've mastered the controls.

The custom color feature allows manual tweaking of the individual values of red, green, blue and skin tone in 1 step increments, from ±2.

The DISPlay button toggles the amount of info displayed on the LCD: No info, general info or all info (Playback) and display on, display info or LCD off (Shooting). Pressing the DISPlay button for longer than 1 second boosts the LCD brightness till the max (Unless, of course, it's already at the brightest setting).

It's a big dismay that Canon did not include a live histogram on the A700 (The S80 and S3 IS have it though).

Let's talk about the Color Swap and Color Accent features on the A700. Color Swap allows you to change on color for another - but just one at a time. While Color Accent allows selection of one color as well. It'll then make the rest of the photo monochrome so your colored subject will stick out.

Here's Color Swap (Black for pink):

 

and now Color Accent (red):

 

By increasing tolerance, the colors closer to the selected color are maintained/swapped while decreasing tolerance gets you the opposite results. Tolerance value ranges from ±5 and can be changed in 1 step increments.

The I/O ports are all located here, including A/V Out, USB 2.0 High Speed and DC-IN. The lens is at telephoto and that is one long lens!

The Canon PowerShot A700's top is pretty standard: power button, mode dial, speaker and shutter button. The mode dial has these options:

  • Manual - Full manual control
  • Aperture priority - You choose an aperture between f2.8 to f8.0 and the A700 will choose an appropriate shutter speed
  • Time (shutter) priority - You choose a shutter speed between 15 seconds and 1/2000 second; and the A700 will choose an appropriate aperture
  • Programmed auto - The A700 chooses both aperture and shutter speed while you control other manual functions
  • Automatic - You choose only image size and compression
  • Portrait
  • Landscape
  • Night
  • Scene modes
  • Stitch assist
  • Movie

At the bottom of the A700, there's a tripod mount and battery/SD card slot. The battery/card slot cover is quite study and has a lock mechanism.

Shooting

The A700 has 12 scene modes, which is below average but sufficient since the A700 has manual controls. A manual control tucked in the MENU area is manual AF-point selection. You can move the focus point around the LCD within a specified area.

The Canon PowerShot A700 has manual controls which include full shutter speed and aperture control. For those not ready for that, there's always program/auto mode and a variety of scene modes for almost every occasion.

The Canon PowerShot A700 has a 1 cm macro mode. That's so close, you'd probably need external lighting.

Overall, the Canon PowerShot A700 maintains the simple format of quickly accessing all the functions always found on Canon cameras. The FUNCtion button provides instant access to all the main things you'd normally want to change while the MENU area holds several other aspects that one changes now and then.

The Canon PowerShot A700 is quite simple and easy to use. Its user interface and enlarged icons make it very user friendly. I showed the A700 to several of my friends (Mostly Kodak and Nikon owners) and they found no difficulty changing its settings.

Recording

The Canon PowerShot A700's movie mode is the same from the A610/A620 and one of the best. You can take VGA movies at 30 FPS till up to 1 GB in Standard mode - That's only 8 minutes though! You can increase the recording time by selecting another size/frame rate. Selectable movie size/frame rate in Standard mode:

Size - VGA (640 x 480) or QVGA (320 x 240)
Frame rate - 30 FPS (Smooth) or 15 FPS (Choppy)

Another option, the "Fast Frame Rate" mode, can take QVGA movies at 60 FPS up to 1 minute. I wonder why the 1 minute barrier is still there since it was removed on the Canon S3 IS.

A Compact movie option records movies at QQVGA (That's 160 x 120) and 15 FPS up to 3 minutes so you can attach them to e-mails. Something worthy of note is there's Color Accent and Color Swap movie modes which, like a movie recorded in Standard mode, can be up to 1 GB per clip and the size/frame rate is selectable.

Movies are recorded in AVI format, thus the large movie sizes and the reason movies always reach the 1 GB per clip limit! That means the A700 can only record 8 minutes worth of VGA 30 FPS movie on a 1 GB card. Compare that to the Sony W50 which can do 12 minutes on a 1 GB card using the same settings (MPEG1 format) or the Casio Exilim P505 which can do 30 minutes with stereo sound (MPEG4 format)!

The A700 can use digital zoom while recording a movie since it does not require the lens to move. Digital zoom can cause loss of quality but it's not that obvious in a movie. So it's a personal decision whether or not to turn digital zoom off in movie mode.

While exposure is automatically adjusted, it cannot be manually controlled while recording. Optical zoom cannot be used and focus is fixed when recording a movie.

The video quality here was good, almost as good as stills, and audio was clear. No signs of distortion.

Performance

The A700 starts up within 2 seconds. Focusing takes roughly 1.4 seconds. The A700's competitors focus faster than that, especially the Panasonc LZ3/LZ5. The camera uses slow shutter speeds when shooting telephoto low-light shots, even using high ISO cannot help - in other words, the A700 lacks optical image stabilization and if you take low-light shots with zoom frequently, you've been warned!

Shot-to-shot interval is about 1.6 seconds. Shutter lag is almost unnoticeable, save for in low-light when the camera couldn't lock focus and at the telephoto end. The flash charges up in 8 seconds - quite slow. This could've been faster if the camera used 4 AA batteries instead of just two.

For the Canon PowerShot A700 (and other Canons), the unlimited continuous shooting feature is standard. Based on my testing with a 256 MB SanDisk Ultra II SD, the Canon A700 can fill up the memory card with photos at 2 FPS in continuous shooting drive (Same as the SD600). While not many digital cameras can do that, this one can. The Panasonic LZ3/LZ5 does the same but at a slower 1.1/1.3 FPS respectively.

The lens goes from wide-angle to telephoto in about two seconds. When it comes to powering down, the A700 turns off within 3 seconds - with the lens at telephoto.

Image Quality

It's the same sensor (as the SD600) but new 6x zoom lens, let's find out how the A700 performs when it comes to image quality:


ISO 80 (f2.8, 1/8 sec)


ISO 100 (f2.8, 1/8 sec)


ISO 200 (f3.5, 1/8 sec)


ISO 400 (f5.0, 1/8 sec)


ISO 800 (f7.1, 1/8 sec)

The Canon PowerShot A700 controls noise very well. From ISO 80 till 200, things are clean. ISO 400 is starting to show some noise. At ISO 800, things are noisy - but roughly equivalent to ISO 400 on the A610/A620. Chromatic aberration (Color fringing) was visible at the beginning but went down as aperture was increased.

The Canon PowerShot A700 showed little barrel and pincushion distortion and no signs of over-processing. The A700 exhibited some soft photos when it couldn't focus at full telephoto and some blown out highlights in contrasty scenes. Red-eye was visible in people photos.

I think the Canon A700 made quite good photos. Image quality overall was good - very similar to the SD600's photos.

Photo gallery

Look at more photos taken by the Canon PowerShot A700 in the gallery. Upon request of many readers, I've taken more landscape photos.

Playback

In playback, the Canon PowerShot A700 can playback stills and movies. Sound recorded in movies or using the sound memo function can be played back as well thanks to the built-in speaker. The A700 can also perform these functions: Protect image, rotate, record sound memos (Up to 1 minute), slideshow, print marking, direct printing (The Canon PowerShot A700 is PictBridge enabled), transfer marking and now, even post-process photos with My Colors.

The My Colors post-processing feature is a 2006 Canon feature. It allows you to make colors more vivid, change skin tones, swap colors and all the My Colors stuff. Previous Canon PowerShots could only shoot using My Colors. The "print" section is also new and can be configured when the camera is connected to a computer.

You can also zoom up to 10x into still photos taken and take a look around using the 4 directional buttons. Choose to see no info, basic info or lots of info (Shutter speed and aperture value are both shown) about your photos. Despite not having a live histogram, at least one is shown during playback on the A700.

 

Conclusion

The Canon PowerShot A700 has everything an entry-level budget camera should have and more. Its two main features - 6x optical zoom and full manual controls - set it apart from competition.

The A700 is probably meant to be a camera for beginners who eventually learn and use the controls of the A700, or even those who want a compact camera with manual controls. Okay, the A700 is not tiny but it's compact enough to fit into larger pockets or hang around your neck. The A700 has a full set of manual controls and expandability with a variety of accessories, including filters and conversion lenses.

A 2.5 inch LCD with good visibility sits at the back of the A700. Despite that, it has fairly low resolution and does not rotate. Having a big LCD doesn't mean high power consumption; in fact the A700 has great battery life!

Some other nice things about the A700 include unlimited continuous shooting at 2 FPS, unlimited VGA 30 FPS movies, good image quality and noise control. For some added fun and creativity, there's My Colors/photo effect post-processing that can be performed in the camera during playback.

Some not-so-nice things include the absence of a live histogram and startup + autofocus times need to be faster as competition is beginning to leave the A700 in the dust when it comes to those areas. The use of 2 AA batteries means overall smaller size but also slow flash recharge times and a fairly small grip. Pair that small grip with no optical image stabilization on a 6x zoom camera... and voila; you get a camera which is dependent on a tripod at telephoto in low-light!

So it all boils down to this: the Canon PowerShot A700 is a great budget camera ($350) with 6 megapixels, 6x optical zoom and full manual controls. It's perfect for almost every condition but as I said many times, if you're doing low-light telephoto shots, you might want to reconsider. For that, you'd want the Panasonic Lumix LZ5 ($280) which has optical image stabilization. But if you need the manual controls AND want steady shots, then go for the A700 - just remember to bring your tripod!

What's hot:

  • Fairly telephoto 6x optical zoom
  • Large 2.5 inch LCD with good visibility
  • Great battery life
  • Lots of useful accessories available (such as conversion lenses)
  • Fast, unlimited continuous shooting
  • Full manual controls
  • Excellent movie mode
  • My Colors/photo effect post-processing can be done in playback
  • Good high ISO performance (some counter-noise post-processing may be required, though)
  • Good photo quality
  • Overall very affordable

What's not:

  • Low LCD resolution and does not rotate
  • Large movie file sizes and cannot optical zoom or focus when recording
  • No optical image stabilization
  • No live histogram
  • Fairly small grip
  • Flash recharge time not good
  • Startup and autofocus needs to be faster
  • Less megapixels, non-rotating LCD, smaller sensor, uses fewer AA batteries, etc... This isn't the flagship A-series, is it?

Recommended accessories:

  • A set of 4 NiMH rechargeable AA batteries
  • 512 MB high-speed SD card

A-series Comparison

All the latest Canon A-series cameras have DIGIC II and full manaul controls in a more-or-less standard body (rectangular with a right hand grip) but they each have other differences:

Canon PowerShot A530 - 5 megapixels, 4x optical zoom (35 - 140 mm; f2.6 - f5.5), 1.8 inch LCD and 2 AA batteries. Does not support conversion lenses, does not have a rotating LCD, no priority modes (just full manual) and no manual AF-point selection. More compact body.

Canon PowerShot A540 - 6 megapixels, 4x optical zoom (35 - 140 mm; f2.6 - f5.5), 2.5 inch LCD and 2 AA batteries. Supports conversion lenses, does not have a rotating LCD, has priority modes but no manual AF-point selection. More compact body.

Canon PowerShot A610 - 5 megapixels, 4x optical zoom (35 - 140 mm; f2.8 - f4.1), 2 inch rotating LCD and 4 AA batteries. Supports conversion lenses, has priority modes and manual AF-point selection. Larger sensor (no high ISO mode), but also larger body.

Canon PowerShot A620 - 7 megapixels, 4x optical zoom (35 - 140 mm; f2.8 - f4.1), 2 inch rotating LCD and 4 AA batteries. Supports conversion lenses, has priority modes and manual AF-point selection. Larger sensor (no high ISO mode), but also larger body.

Canon PowerShot A700 - 6 megapixels, 6x optical zoom (35 - 210 mm; f2.8 - f4.8), 2.5 inch non-rotating LCD and 2 AA batteries. Supports conversion lenses, has priority modes and manual AF-point selection. Smaller sensor (with high ISO mode), also more compact.

Other Cameras

Here are some other cameras you might want to consider:

Casio Exilim P505 - Great movie mode, a rotating 2 inch LCD and full manual controls. But larger in size, less zoom and noise is probably an issue.

Fujifilm FinePix F650 - 5x optical zoom, a large 3 inch LCD, priority modes and around the same price; but no full manual mode, much worse battery life and no high ISO mode.

HP Photosmart R817/818 - 5x optical zoom, lots of gadgety functions and full manual controls but fairly slow, no high ISO mode and smaller LCD (2 inch).

Nikon Coolpix S4 - Has 10x optical zoom in a smaller package, lots of scene modes and rotating lens but no high ISO mode, no manual controls, worse movie mode and no image stabilization.

Olympus SP320 - Full manual controls, custom settings on mode dial, expandable and has more megapixels but less zoom (3x), slow performance and limited movie mode.

Panasonic Lumix LZ3/LZ5 - Very close to the A700 with 6x optical zoom. It makes up for its lack of any manual controls by offering numerous scene modes and optical image stabilization.

Panasonic Lumix TZ1 - Fast, compact and has 10x optical zoom. While it does not have any manual controls, it has optical image stabilization.

Pentax Optio SVi - I don't know what to say: 5x optical zoom, 1.8 inch LCD, the worst battery life - this one's not that great.

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