Product Description

The stylish PowerShot A460 offers the high-performance features and high-quality design that make great pictures possible even if this is your very first digital camera. Equipped with 5.0 Megapixels of resolution, a 4x optical zoom and many of Canon's most popular shooting features, this is a camera designed to make digital photography simple, fun and rewarding - from the moment you take it out of the box.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6102 in Camera & Photo
• Color: Silver
• Brand: Canon
• Model: 1778B001
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: 1.60" h x 2.00" w x 4.20" l, .36 pounds
• Display size: 2

Features

• 5.0-megapixel CCD captures enough detail for photo-quality 13 x 17-inch prints
• 4x optical zoom; 2.0-inch LCD display
• 16:9 Widescreen mode for full-screen viewing on widescreen TVs and computer monitors
• DIGIC II Image Processor with iSAPS Technology for superior image quality, fast operation, and low power consumption.
• Stores images on SD, SDHC, or MMC memory cards (16MB MMC card included); powered by 2 AA-size batteries (2 alkaline batteries included)

From the Manufacturer
The stylish PowerShot A460 offers the high-performance features and high-quality design that make great pictures possible even if this is your very first digital camera. Equipped with 5.0 megapixels of resolution, a 4x optical zoom, and many of Canon's most popular shooting features, this is a camera designed to make digital photography simple, fun, and rewarding--from the moment you take it out of the box.

Take memorable pictures easily
The PowerShot A460's 5.0 megapixels of resolution give every shot added depth and dimension. You'll notice the fine details and ravishing colors. The sharpness and clarity of your enlargements will also astound you. Plus, the 4x optical zoom lens makes it simple to shoot close-ups, scenery and anything else with the brilliance and flawless clarity that have built Canon's reputation worldwide. To make shooting and playback convenient and easy, there's a big, clear 2.0-inch LCD screen.

Easy to operate for beautiful photos
This is the digital camera that takes care of you, so you never have to worry about anything. Just turn the simple Mode Dial and instantly you can handle any shooting condition. Choose from Auto for most situations, Manual when you're feeling creative, Movie, or Special Scene for superb shots in Night, Snow, Indoor or Beach settings, among others.

Shooting Modes
Advanced presets for the best possible photos under certain conditions.

Auto
The camera chooses all the settings so you can concentrate on your subject.

Manual
The ultimate in creative control, you set ISO speed, exposure compensation and white balance.

Super Macro
The camera trims the image center and digitally zooms to create beautiful enlarged close-ups.

Movie
Shoot in VGA (10 fps), QVGA (30 fps) or QQVGA (15 fps for up to 3 minutes).

Special Scene Modes
Portrait
The camera sets a large aperture, focusing the subject and artistically blurring the background to make your subject "pop."

Foliage
Capture brilliant shots of autumn foliage, greenery and blossoms.

Snow
Shoot clear snow scenes without darkened subjects or an unnatural bluish tint.

Beach
Get clear shots of people at a sunny beach without darkened faces.

Fireworks
Grab brilliant images of skyrocketing fireworks.

Indoor
Reduce blur and improve color accuracy when shooting handheld indoors.

Kids & Pets
Reduced focusing time freezes fast-moving subjects, so you won't miss those special shots.

Night Snapshot
Get natural-looking pictures with brighter backgrounds and subjects lit by flash.

Advanced imaging technology improves every photo
Canon's DIGIC II Image Processor is designed to improve processing speed and image quality, so DIGIC II provides markedly faster startup, autofocus and playback, plus it assures that every image is more colorfully vibrant.

iSAPS Technology
iSAPS Technology is an entirely original scene-recognition technology developed for digital cameras by Canon. Using an internal database of thousands of different photos, iSAPS works with the fast DIGIC II Image Processor to improve focus speed and accuracy, as well as exposure and white balance.

Enjoy wide-screen shooting
Now you can experience the full impact of every image you shoot. PowerShot A460 is equipped with a 16:9 widescreen option that lets you shoot still photos and movies in a format that's specially made for viewing on widescreen television sets or your computer monitor. Imagine the possibilities: you can entertain friends and family with shows of your own photography or host your own movie nights. It's a great way to give everyone a whole new perspective on your creativity.

Get new batteries anywhere
You don't need to worry about running out or recharging batteries. Since AA-size batteries can be purchased at any store, simply get new ones locally.

What's in the box
Canon PowerShot A460 body, AA-size alkaline battery (x 2), MultiMediaCard MMC-16M, wrist strap WS-800, Digital Camera Solution CD-ROM, USB interface cable IFC-400PCU, AV cable AVC-DC300

Customer Reviews

Priced right, compact (pocket-sized), uses AA batteries
I bought this camera (Canon A460) as a second camera and was looking for a pocket-sized, compact, digital camera that had zoom and video capabilities, took AA batteries and priced reasonably cheap [...] The Canon Powershot A460 is all that.

It's small enough to fit into your palm and fits into the front pants pocket easily and is light enough that the camera is not really noticeable after a few minutes. It seems to me that Canon designed it to be carried without a camera case because there is a lens shield that pulls into place to cover the lens whenever it is powered off. (The lens retracts into the camera body when it is powered off, and the lens cover pulls into place automatically). The body is well rounded with no sharp edges anywhere that might catch parts of clothing. The LCD screen is exposed but I pasted one of those see-thru LCD screen plastic protectors (sticky on one side) on it to protect it from scratches. All the camera's openings are well protected by covers. The only cover that I thought had a little more play than it should was the battery cover.

The camera powers up extremely quickly. You can focus with either the viewfinder or the LCD screen. One thing that surprised me was that when using the viewfinder, there is no information shown on the viewfinder other than a green light to indicate that the camera is in focus or a blinking orange light to indicate it is not. The LCD mode shows a lot more info (eg, ISO speed, current resolution, etc). But, I guess it makes sense since this is a camera that is meant to be simple, and what could be simpler than knowing when something is in focus or not. That's pretty much all the info that's needed. (Switching to the viewfinder will conserve battery power).

I bought a 2GB Kingston Secure Digital card for about $13 on Amazon for this camera so there's plenty of space. The card can be removed and put into a SD card reader that comes with most modern computers and laptops. (My laptop, the Toshiba Tecra A5 has it, and it was bought about 2 years ago). The computer will recognize the SD memory card as an extra drive, and the transfer rate is extremely fast. If your computer does not have a SD card reader, then the USB connector can be used to transfer the images to your computer instead.

In video mode, the zoom works only when in the highest video resolution (640 x 480). (This was a surprise to me too. On my Canon Powershot S1, the zoom works in all video resolutions). The video is a little more choppy compared to the Canon S1.

There is no dedicated zoom lever. Two of the buttons normally used in menu navigation also serve as zoom controls.(The Canon S1 (my other camera) has a dedicated zoom lever, which is nice). I guess, one of the reasons for reusing buttons for zooming is a more compact design--no lever sticking out that might catch your clothing). Once I got used to it, I did not have any problems using the 2 buttons for zooming.

The pictures taken are the usual Canon quality. You do have to pay attention to make sure that your hands are not shaking when you press the shutter since there is no image stabilizer (I've gotten spoilt by the Canon Powershot S1 which has a image stabilizer). [...]The buttons on the camera are designed and placed so that you could operate the camera with only the right hand if so desired. The left hand is used just to stabilize and steady the camera.

This camera uses a focus beam light that helps it to focus quickly and and has the much lauded Digic II processor. Both are technological improvements over the Canon Powershot S1 which does not have an autofocus light and only has a Digic I processor.

The camera uses AA batteries (either the rechargable or the normal type will work). Easily available power was an important feature for me.

I was very pleased with the Super Macro capability of this camera, which allows for extreme close ups. To access this mode, you have to set the camera to "M" (manual mode) on the dial, and then press the Func/Set button. This will open up a menu where you can set the camera to "Super Macro".

[...] This camera (Canon A460) has a "SCN" mode in which you can choose different scenes (Portrait, Night, Kids, Pets, Indoors, Foliage, Snow, Beach). I've used the "Snow" scene setting and my pictures came out great when I'm skiing and taking pictures. (To access the Scene setting, turn the dial to "SCN" and then press the Func/Set button, which will bring up a menu that allows you to choose the settings).

I'm really enjoying the Canon A460 and it has filled its role in my camera arsenal admirably. I needed a camera that I could take with me when I'm skiing or snowboarding that was light and small and cheap. It fits into my pants pocket and is pretty light that it does not interfere with my balance, etc. (The Canon S1, though a great camera, was a little too large to fit into my pants pocket or in a fanny pack. However, it is still my preferred camera when I'm able to have a camera case or back pack with me.)

Update (4/11/2007)--I've had this camera for about 2 months now and have accidentally dropped it twice from about 2 to 3 feet onto a hard surface floor. Also, have dropped it into a foot of snow while skiing and using the video. The camera is still working flawlessly.

Great compact camera
I'll only mention things that I didn't pick up or remember from the other reviews I've read. I also own a 4.0MP Canon A520, so it was easy to choose the same great zoom lens.

The A460 does not have the auto-rotate feature to save photos in the appropriate portrait or landscape modes. The battery and SD card are accessed through a common door, which doesn't have quite the snap and tight fit of the A520's smaller separate doors. The handshake symbol also tends to show up often when taking indoor pictures with the flash disabled - something I don't even think about with the A520. The zoom buttons were actually more intuitive to use than I expected. But I do prefer the SET button in the center of the joypad on the A520, as I tend to forget to reach down and to the left for the SET button on the A460.

But I'm nit-picking here. Otherwise, it's a great point-and-shoot camera, with a great zoom lens, and at a great price.

Disappointingly noisy images
I've used a Canon G3 for about 4 years, and have always been pleased with the image quality. I've tested the A460 against it in several situations and can report that:
-it's faster - the powerup and shot to shot speed are excellent.
-it's easy to learn and use.
-it focuses better and quicker in macro mode.
-The flash works well and quickly, and creates reasonably pleasing light in a variety of circumstances.
-The images in sunlight or reasonably bright cloudy circumstances are fine.
BUT - the images at lower light, without flash, are unusably noisy - a major drawback for me as my intended use is to take a small light camera with me on my evening walks and jogs. If low-light photos aren't important to you, it's a fine choice.