Canon PowerShot A650IS 12.1MP Digital Camera with 6x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom by Canon
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Digital camera reviews of Canon PowerShot A650IS 12.1MP Digital Camera with 6x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom
Digital camera Review: Great camera with some drawbacks
Summary: 4 Stars
This camera, though now discontinued, sat upon the top of the A-series line when it was released. Many great features set this camera apart from the pack, though the camera itself isn't without a few downsides as well. Several of the good things about this camera include image quality, ease of use, and good zoom length with IS. However, the A650 is not without downsides either. The bulk of the camera, less than great battery life, and poor high-ISO performance are all potential drawbacks of this camera.
The image quality of this camera is, in my opinion, its best characteristic. Although at high ISO, noise gets to be a problem, for the most part the image quality of the A650 is impeccable. Few point and shoots, if any, can match the level of clarity that this camera offers. Low light performance isn't too shabby either, though with a zoom in low light, the aperture won't go low enough to get any respectable results without using the built-in flash, which I would advise against. If you are looking for the one thing that makes this camera great, image quality is it.
The controls on this camera are fairly simple. Some nice features include a dedicated ISO shortcut button, exposure compensation, and of course, the tilt-and-swivel screen. The screen allows photos from above ones head, down low, sides, self-portraits, or virtually any other position a photographer can thing of. The trade off is a smaller screen than you might normally find on a point-and-shoot, and this isn't helped by a crappy optical viewfinder. But on the whole, the tilt-and-swivel more than makes up for the reduced dimensions of the 2.5" screen.
For a point and shoot, it's nice to see some useful zoom length, optically speaking. A lot of point and shoots like to inflate their zoom range with digital zoom, but the A650 legitimately has a 6x optical zoom. This means all 12.1 megapixels can be utilized at 6x zoom and that is certainly a nice feature. Coupled with this is the image stabilization. For lower shutter speeds, the IS can compensate for up to three stops of camera shake. This is an incredibly useful feature especially at longer zooms, where the image is more prone to blur.
Plainly put, for a point and shoot, this camera is big. Weighing in at almost a half-pound without batteries, this camera, while no dSLR, is not the sprightliest chicken on the farm. It won't do well in a small pocket, though it may fit into jacket pockets and the like. This is a trade-off for the good lens quality and faster recycle times.
The battery life on this camera is another of my complaints. To begin with, it takes 4 AA batteries to get this thing running (however, they are AA, which is nice because you don't have to deal with some proprietary battery and charger), which doesn't help with weight at all. Then, the batteries will drain fairly quickly over the course of a day if you are doing a decent amount of shooting. If you don't use the LCD, there is great potential for battery conservation, but you will then have to compose with the optical viewfinder, which is honestly a joke.
While one might expect poor high ISO performance in terms of much increased noise in most cameras, this camera, while hitting 1600 ISO, gets into very noticeable noise levels anywhere past 400 ISO. This is all right if you intend to do mostly daytime or tripod shooting, but if you are interested in low-light, handheld, and zoomed shots, even the built-in IS probably won't save your photograph. This is almost to be expected in a point and shoot, but nonetheless disappointing.
In conclusion, the Canon A650 is a worthy camera to be used as a primary camera. Great image quality and nice controls place it a step ahead of the competition. However, as a compact supplement for a dSLR or for someone desiring a light, portable camera, one might want to want to look elsewhere as its bulk disqualifies the A650 from the compact range.
Digital camera Review: Great camera, easy and flexible
Summary: 5 Stars
I previously had G5 and G1 cameras, and believe this one is an overall improvement on both. Canon confused me with their choice of product lineage - this A650 feels more like the follow-on camera to the G series than the current G9. I treasure the flip-out-over LCD for its flexibility and protection. With the self-capping lens I can slip it in a (large) pocket where I couldn't with the G5. It only lacks raw file capability to make it better than the G series, but with 12 mega-pixels the jpeg images have more detail than my old 5mp raw files did.
I haven't analyzed the feature details but the A650 feels easier to use, and display features like a large display of the mode as you switch to it makes it very user friendly. Its especially helpful using the camera underwater (see review of WP-DC18 housing) as you can be sure of the selected mode without having to look at the top of the camera.
I was starting to use the G5 less and less as it was awkward to carry around - this camera will be with me all the time and the shots so far are excellent. Underwater color correction works OK but as it is a compromise (different depths have varying light characteristics) I'll still be working on them in photoshop. Where it came in especially useful was in movies - I don't have post-processing video software that will do color correction.
Overall, a great pocket camera (cargo pocket, not shirt pocket!)
Digital camera Review: Great little camera!
Summary: 5 Stars
I am a canon powershot fan, and have been for a while now. I did a great deal of research before deciding on this particular camera, and I must say, I think I picked a great one! I love the variable angle screen and the quality of pictures is quite good. I appreciate that I can take great looking shots both with or without manual features.Digital camera Review: Great little camera, great price!
Summary: 5 Stars
I purchased this camera a couple months back through Amazon for $339.
Great quality pictures and has a good video mode. I might hold off on paying $600 here for now. Or try another avenue. Whatever you do you won't be disappointed.
Digital camera Review: Great specs, poor built quality
Summary: 3 Stars
PowerShot A650IS has very impressive specs and features. Battery life is amazing - 400+ shots on a set of AA rechargeables, very good optics for a point and shoot camera and extremely useful vari-angle LCD.
Unfortunately Canon's marketing push to squeeze 12 MP into 1/1.7 CCD sensor resulted in extensive digital noise on high ISO settings and slow performance. 1/1.7 CCD sensor is probably the biggest of any point and shoot camera on the market today, but 12 MP is too much even for this relatively large sensor. If Cannon would choose to put 7-8 MP on a sensor of this size, they would probably produce the best P/S digital camera ever made.
The build quality of this camera is also below level that one would expect from Canon. The body plastic looks cheap, there are some gaps between body parts, batteries are easily falling out when you try to access the memory card, zoom lever feels loose and it's hard to avoid accidentally pushing menu button when you try to hold the camera with one hand.
Two A650IS that I received from Amazon had one burned/stuck CCD pixel clearly visible on every picture taken with the cameras when viewed on a computer, so I had to return them. When I asked if it'd make sense to try to get another replacement, I got the following answer from Amazon: "...As it seems that the problem with this item is more widespread than we originally thought, we are not able to send another replacement. We will gladly refund you in full for the return of this item..."
While it could be just a standard customer support answer to a second replacement request, it could also indicate the real widespread problem with burned/stuck pixes on this camera model and poor quality control @ Canon.
I did contact Canon tech support and I was told that burned CCD pixels are not normal (even one of them) and that I should send it to Canon for a warranty repair.
Quality issues aside, this camera takes excellent pictures in the good lighting conditions and most of the times, with its built in flash, just don't count on it to produce anything useful above and sometimes even at ISO400.