Camera, Photography, These Year Three: Canon Canon Powershot A720

This is the third article, Canon Powershot A720, purchased in early 2008. The reason for buying it is that photography has just started. I would like to take a cheap and portable camera with a manual function to complete the stage for beginners. It is convenient to take photos every day, even if it is lost or damaged. Although he liked the G-series cameras, he knew that at the time the level was not enough, plus the price of the G-series doubled the previous year, or increase the level first.

This camera has recorded a lot of time since I followed me in early 2008. Because it's cheap, it's everywhere. The elimination is about 40,000 shutters. What is the point of view of the product, the source of the picture Canon official website.

Although it is a cheap product, the buttons and dials of the A720 have maintained a relatively high level of performance, with clear segments and moderate damping. The feeling of giving people is not cheap. And Canon's products only take a lot of effort in functional logic design. The commonly used functions can be directly called out through the five-way keys and several function keys on the back of the machine, while other functions can basically be entered in the menu layer. This is important for a machine that takes pictures anywhere, anytime.


The A720 is equipped with the Canon Signature IS optical image stabilization feature, which ensures that I can shoot at the slowest 1/5 second shutter speed with iso100 sensitivity. The six-fold optical zoom covers the daily required wide-angle and telephoto focal length. The only downside is that the maximum aperture is 2.8. Compared to the G10 that year, it is still a little inferior. Therefore, for background blurring, it must be close to the subject. can. But in general meet the demand. In particular, the A720 is also equipped with an independent optical eyepiece. Unlike the electronic viewfinder, this eyepiece is somewhat like the design of a rangefinder camera. The eyepiece sees the real image and can change the focal length according to the change of the zoom lever. Such an eyepiece facilitates the grasp of light, and can lengthen the shooting time by turning off the back screen when the camera is low in power.

Due to cost considerations, the A720 uses two AA batteries as the power supply. Due to the improved energy consumption system, it is unnecessary to think that the previous A710 needs to use four AA batteries, which is more suitable for carrying in terms of weight and volume. In order to accommodate the battery, the specially designed protrusion becomes a good handle, making the one-handed grip very stable. Still due to Chen's considerations, there is no built-in backup power supply inside the camera, so the task of recording settings and time and date information is powered by a CR1220 coin cell battery. The camera also provides an interface to connect the tripod, it is convenient, but the durability of the plastic interface is not as good as the metal interface, but fortunately the camera is not heavy.

The design of the back of the camera is very simple. The 3.0-inch monitor has a general effect. The resolution and color performance can only be said to meet the demand. The advantage is that when you view photos on your computer, you are surprised at the colors, rather than some machines that have been specifically optimized for on-board displays. The experience on the computer is more frightening than surprises. In particular, it is worth mentioning that still photos and dynamic videos are completed by a two-way dial, which is very quick. However, the ability to shoot videos was not as good as it is today's smart phones, and the format is more than practical.

After the appearance is over, let's talk about the use of this machine. The A720 has been in use for about three years. Its portability is very good, plus the price is cheap. Basically, it is carried wherever it is. The manual features of the A720 helped me through the beginner stage of photography. The relationship between aperture and shutter for depth of field and light and shade was based on the practice of the A720. The following photographs have been used in the early days, but they have also been used for some time. Now look back and see, in fact, the difference is still quite obvious. Of course, there are still many areas that need improvement.

Aperture f4.0, shutter 1/400, taken in AL. After all, it is a compact camera. The tolerance of the photoreceptor is normal. In addition to the limitation of the camera's viewfinder, the photo is not aligned.

Optical drive f3.2, shutter 1/1000, taken in AL. The composition is very general, but it is worth mentioning that the A720's display of color is quite what I like.

Optical drive f4, shutter 1/80, ISO 320, taken in AL. The light conditions are more complicated and the exposure and metering are not well understood at the time.

Optical drive f4, shutter 1/60, taken in FL

Aperture f2.8, shutter 1/3, ISO 100, taken in AL. Handheld shooting, A720 optical image stabilization effect is still good.

The color of this picture is a bit strange. I don't know if there is a problem with the sun's rays and angles or how it looks.

In the first year of school, the first snow that was seen was readily pressed. The snow's rays are not well-handed, and the entire photo is grayish.

Aperture f8, shutter 1/80, taken in FL.

The following photos were taken at NM's International Balloon Festival. At that time, in order to participate in the event, it departed at 2 o'clock in the morning and opened a 2-hour high-speed shuttle bus to arrive at the event, hoping to take some interesting pictures. During that time already planned to start the Pentax K5, so hang K10D on the Internet to sell, thinking about selling and other discounts, the result K10D quickly shot, K5 has been without a discount, and the hot air balloon festival happens to be in this out of gear Period, but unfortunately had to withstand the A720. In general, the A720 helped me to complete the task, but because of the objective factors such as latitude and lens quality, many places in the picture are not satisfactory.

Aperture f8, shutter 1/100

Aperture f8, shutter 1/80. This photo will be more like if I can reduce some reflection in the upper left corner. The photo contest organized by the event organizer participated in this photo was selected as an event postcard.

Optical drive f6.3, shutter 1/320. I like this picture very much, because the difference between the brightness of the flame and the brightness of the background is large, so I had to sacrifice the brightness of the background.

The A720 was used from 2008 and was retired early in 2011. It witnessed most of the time when a poor student was studying in a foreign country. The reason for the retirement is that the battery door latch snaps and cannot be closed properly. The temporary solution is to use wide transparent glue, but the effect is not good. The successor to the A720 was the Canon S95, which was purchased in early 2011 and is still serving as an auxiliary machine.