Home > Consumer Reviews > Canon PowerShot A560 Digital Camera - Silver (7.1MP, 4x Optical Zoom) 2.5" LCD

I got several of these for my wife's nursery school and the staff were amazed at what a great camera it is for the price. One had just spent twice as much on a Sony that "doesn't seem nearly as good". It takes really good pictures even when left on auto and is really fast. It's also good having a viewfinder, 35-140 zoom and a strong flash, unlike with those expensive little shirt pocket cameras. OK it's jacket (not shirt) pocket sized but it's real quality. Even the video clips are excellent. Before buying, though, check out the A570 - the same but with image stabilistaion.

I bought this to replace my 3.1MP A70. My initial reaction was it feels a little plasticy compared to that. Although still good quality. It is slightly smaller in size but the screen at the back is massive in comparison. It has all of the standard features you would expect, although the biggest disappointment is the "stitch assist" feature is missing from A560. I use this extensively to take landscape shots, time will tell if my manual judgement and the Photo assist software supplied do the same job.

Canon only supply a 16mB SD card, which only holds 4 photos on the highest setting so be prepared to get a larger size if you buy this. The photos taken though all very good.

Overall for a 7.1MP camera at just over £100 this represents value for money.

Build quality is great. Camera feels sturdy. Picture quality is fantastic for the price. Got this for my wife and she's a bit of a technophobe having used a 35mm point and shoot until now. She's taken to it like a duck to water.
This may not be of benefit to everyone but this camera takes two standard AA batteries. We use rechargables but if the batteries run out when we're out and about then we can just buy standard duracels etc.
The only downside I can see is that with a 2GB card you can take more than 1000 photos and this means that my wife is snapping pictures of everything.

I purchased this camera just over a week ago and I am extremely pleased that I did. Having been disappointed with the results of other cameras in this price bracket I really am impressed with with the A560. For sheer picture quality I haven't seen better in the £100 and under range, and the video capability is also very good though the sound is a little 'tinny'. Very simple to use straight out of the box.

Only a couple of niggles which is why I didn't rate this camera as five stars: 1. Low battery sign very soon after installing new batteries, though camera keeps taking pictures 2. Lovely large LCD but it is grainy and you really need the viewfinder in bright sunlight 3. A camera case would have been nice but really at this price I guess thats pushing it.

All in all if you are confused by the huge amount of cameras out there and really don't know what to go for, I would recommend this one. It may have less features than some, and it is larger and less attractive than many but for picture results I feel its excellent.

I got the camera for a Christmas Present.

Absolutely superb, and very pleased with it.

Easy to use, Image quality is superb. Facial regonition is also very good - even focusing on pets! Images are clear and sharp.

There is a manual setting so you can choose exposure, white balance, colours etc.

Finally the battery life is great. 2 x AA batteries lasted all day Christmas day (about 350 shots)

Reccomended highly to beginner, or those wishing to move on further from Point and Shoot Cameras!