Home > Consumer Reviews > Canon PowerShot A60 Digital Camera [2MP 3xOptical]

First Digital Camera, seriously looked at over 30 digital cameras from 2mp - 4mp. Don't be put off by 2 megapixel, if your not printing any bigger than 10 x 8" then a higher pixel count won't make much difference. This camera produces better quality pics than most 3/4mp camera in this price range. For the novice there is a multitude of predefined settings such as night shots/landscapes etc and it can honestly be used straight out the box its that easy. For the more advance user there is total control over the settings unlike most other cameras in this price range, you can alter white balances, flash output, you basically have a lot of control over your shots. The flash is superb, not like the usual sad excuse for a candle that most dish out. Colour accuracy is spot on, but once again you have full control over colour/contrast if you wish - you shouldn't need photoshop.
One word of advice if you are printing colour photos make sure your printer is upto the job, the printer and quality of paper used can make all the difference.
This price is unbelievable, this is the cheapest I have seen this camera anywhere, and believe me Iv'e looked.
Video also as Audio unlike most other cameras at this price.
OVERALL: This is a excellent camera with more features/control than you would believe. It is a solid reliable camera that oozes quality. I can't honestly fault this camera and for the money its a steal, throw that hold film camera in the bin you won't be disappointed.

I have been looking at buying a digital camera for some time, and come January, I thought I find something that had been reduced in the sale. Like most people, I started looking, creating lists, refining them, picking favorites, reading reviews. But all of the sudden, the hidden costs rear their ugly heads - proprietory memory, proprietory spare rechargable batteries. I found I would need about £400. (I had set my heart on the sony DSC-12, 128mb card, spare battery).

The Canon A60 proved to be the remedy.

1. Flexiblity / Features.
I am not a professional photographer, but fancied learning how to use (and abuse) some of the additional features that a manual camera provides. The Canon has many more options that its point and click counterparts - a whole host of predefined modes.

2. Cheap components
It takes AA batteries. You can get these wherever you are. Rather than cart a charger, or spare battery on holiday with you. This means your camera doesn't become a dead weight when you forget to charge it before a wedding.

It uses Compact Flash. Its a relatively open standard, and this means lots of manufacturers make cards. This means competition and lower prices.

3. Picture Quality.
Astounding. Many of my workmates have the 3 megapixel Olympus - about £229. The quality of my pictures is higher.

The mega pixel value indicates the resolution of your picture. This camera will take photos that can be printed at the standard holiday snaps resoultion of 5" x 7". Higher resolutions allow you to print bigger photos (A4 for instance). Although I'd like my masterpieces to be printed on A4 at galleries, I've yet to have ever have one of my photos blown up to A4. For the most part you find that a 2megapixel camera can take pictures that are higher resolution than your standard 19 inch PC monitor.

Go for it. After buying I worried that I'd short sold myself on a false economy.

Now I feel pretty darn wise...

This camera is 2 mega pixel but do not be fooled into thinking that this is not enough! Yes you can get 4 mega pixel cameras at the same price but they do not have the same quality and you simply have 'auto' mode which gives you no control how your pictures will look. I am not a keen amateur photographer or a pro but for the price this camera will let me start tinkering with aperture settings etc that other cameras at this price simply do not allow. This can only mean that I will take more photographs and in turn this will lead to better quality pictures and extend the life of the camera greatly.

The pictures I have taken so far are very clear even with auto mode and the picture stitch feature for creating panoramic pictures from a series of shots is amazingly clever and accurate. The macro mode for close up shots is also very impressive, picking up the tiniest details (fluff) between the keys of this very keyboard! The video mode is also very good as an additional feature (not a gimmick!) as it records with sound which other cameras at this price don't seem to have!

Overall I'm very impressed with the camera and glad I investigated the competition available and chose the powershot a60 from amazon. I also recommend getting the 128 card too as this can store 200+ pics at the largest = finest resolution.

This Canon Powershot A60 gives you everything you could ask for from a digital camera. the picture quality is great (you can set it to 1 of 3 different resolutions depending on your memory card), and you can even take short video clips (average 20 seconds - again dependant on your card.Unlike the similar Nikon Coolpix 2100 model, this camera also has audio with the video. My one complaint with this camera is that it eats up batteries extremely fast. The best idea would be to invest in a rechargable battery set, or always keep a new set handy otherwise you could find it turning off at that crucial moment...

I bought this camera for my teenage daughter and it's proved to be an excellent choice; don't be put off by "only" 2Megapixels - using high res and high quality settings the images are superb and are sufficient for a 10"x8" print. With the exception of the lower res, this appears to be indentical to the considerably more expensive A70 & A80 models (3MP and 4MP). Canon really prove themselves compared to "cheaper" brands in the functionality of the camera, the image quality and the high standard of the inclusive applications software. We particularly liked the thumbnail manager and "stitching" program. The controls and camera software are extremely well thought out and easy to use. The camera benefits from the use of "generic" (i.e. low cost) CF Card and AA battery formats - this means that spares of these components won't break the bank. Camera fits nicely into the hand and is well weighted, whilst it's not a pocket camera, it's physical size is "convenient".
In summary - "great".