Canon PowerShot A620 

Available from

Amazon (£189.99)

I wonder if any manufacturer will be brave enough to produce a camera designed for those of us who are left handed?

The majority of the body is only around 3cm thick that's until the right side where another 2cm creeps in to make your grip secure for the right handed. The total dimension are 10x7.5x6.5cm and the weight is around 350grams. Let me explain the 7.5cm thickness saying it's only 3cm above, it is when the camera is off or in viewing mode but with the lens at maximum zoom this can extend to 7.5cm.

I found that, even though I am in the minority, being left handed it was not that hard for me to use the A620. Thumb up the rear of the case on the right side, the finger next to the thumb controls the zoom and the shutter while the other three fingers grip the unit. This camera has a central viewfinder and should you wish you can frame images with the 4x3cm TFT display. This has a feature often found in camcorders enabling it to twist through 270% and rather than the image appearing upside down it changes orientation as the TFT is twisted. This is not just a gimmick as having the TFT partly twisted could be useful when shooting above your head. It also means that the TFT is protected when in the pocket or bag.

See also: Digital Cameras

more

There are four buttons around a five position wheel to control all the settings with a simple slider above for capture/view. The top has on/off and a 13 position wheel that probably needs to be kept on 'Auto' until you have read the manual and mastered what the other 12 positions can do for you.

Somewhat surprisingly this unit runs on 4xAA standard batteries. I let out a cheer as a manufacturer finally decides to provide a larger than 16MB SD card even if it is 32MB. The batteries are inserted in the base and that also holds the screw for any tripod you may have. The right side is the entry point for the SD card and the other external connectors are behind a door above the SD card slot.

The image sizes this can take vary from 3072x2304 to VGA. The full range is 3072x2304, 2592x1944, 2048x1536, 1600x1200, 640x480 and what is called postcard sized 1600x1200. On the right side of this adjustment screen is the number of images available in the mode selected.

The amount of space taken by images varies greatly according to the content but as a very rough guide a 3072x2304 image will probably take around 1.2MB of space and a 1600x1200 image about 750k. I have arrived at these figures after taken dozens of images of landscapes with wide angle and zoomed shots and large numbers of internal shots at both ends of the spectrum and simply dividing the results by the total number of images and then selecting a figure slightly greater to provide a guide.

I have printed a large number of images those printed at 1600x1200 on 15x10cm paper or four up on A4. A selection of the 3072x2304 images I have printed on A4 borderless and even blown up portions of images to see just how far I could go before pixelisation crept in. I was more than happy with what I produced.

Should you want a reasonably powerful pocket camera this will not disappoint.

Available from :

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Canon-PowerShot-A620-PowerPlus-supported/dp/B000B84KJS

http://www.canon.co.uk/for_home/product_finder/cameras/digital_camera/powershot/powershot_a620