Electronics : Canon PowerShot A560 Digital Camera - Silver (7.1MP, 4x Optical Zoom) 2.5" LCD

Rating: - Far From A Disappointment ! ....
Needed A Little Pocket Camera For Everyday Shots, So ....

Bought this camera as pocket point and shoot device ...

What a little gem ....

Ok, so it's silver, it's made of plastic, its lightweight;

YES ... it's a budget pocket camera .

BUT ......

It Costs less than £100-00 Pounds, and it takes FANTASIC SHOTS !!!! ..

So easy to use, with a fool proof auto mode, which anyone can use, to produce excellent results .... But also has a few other features, like manual ISO control, which will enable you to take outstanding shots in low light conditions .... Up to ISO 1600 ....

Packed with little features that you could choose to ignore, if you wish, or, if you like, you can explore, to produce even more interesting shots.

All contained in one little silver plastic box ...

Great Results, A4 Size, and beyond ...

Quality Optics with 4x Zoom, ....

Fast Start Up, Focus, And Refresh Rate .... You will be surprised .....

Really Impressive Multiple shoot mode ....

Good Battery Life ...

Not much more to say other than, you could do a whole lot worse for you £100-00 ...I know, I have in the past !! ...

Go And Buy One Today ... A Real Little Gem !!!

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Rating: - A disappointment
Perhaps I am being too hard on the 560, but overall I am disappointed. I rave about Canon cameras, recommending them to my friends. I currently have an S5is as my main camera, and am very pleased with it. When my wife's A70 died, after 5 years service, the A560 seemed the perfect replacement: double the pixels, slightly higher zoom and all in a smaller model.

Unfortunately I am not overly impressed. The build is not as good as the older A70, and more importantly, the image quality is inferior. Pictures are less sharp and the colours less natural than I am used to from the older camera.

It is not a "bad camera" and for the price it is a bargain. I like the size, I like the optical viewfinder (increasingly rare these days) but it is not of the quality I have come to expect from Canon. I could not recommend this camera, and instead would suggest that paying the extra for the A580 or A720 would be a better move.

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Rating: - a560
Bought to replace an old sony cyber shot- good price - too many to choose from really:
pros: price competitive, 4x optical zoom, crisp pictures as expected, nice macro function for taking pictures of small things,
cons: batteries (non rechargeable), a bit clunky looking (not a sexy thing),
Does need larger memory card - so annoying to have to fish around amazon to find on that actually comes from amazon (ie not marketplace), which though more expensive will be delivered together and free.
Can anyone recommend a good rechargeable battery option?

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Rating: - Excellent features for the price
The Powershot A560 is an improvement on the A75/A85, it takes excellent pictures and has a number of photography modes including landscape mode, fireworks/night-time mode, and various settings for different environments. Exposure levels have also been improved. When taking photos of people inside buildings I recommend "auto mode" without the flash, as using the flash results in people being overexposed. You can record videos at up to 640x480 resolution at up to 30 frames/second, for as long as you want, until either the memory card or battery runs out (I find this particularly useful for capturing lightning, or taking videos of firework displays for example).

As another reviewer said, you will need to purchase a high capacity SD card separately, preferably a 2 or 4GB one, as the one Canon supplies you with will only hold about 10 photos. A camera case is also recommended.

One warning though- be very careful with the lens, the mechanism appears to have been improved since the A70/A75/A85, but it's still pretty fragile (as is the case on most, if not all, digital cameras). I wouldn't recommend making use of its "beach photography mode" for instance, as if sand gets into the lens mechanism it will jam. Apparently the old infamous error "E18" has been replaced with "Lens error- restart camera", but it's essentially the same thing. So be sure to keep the lens clean and avoid dropping the camera. Some unfortunate customers get lens errors despite no misuse of the camera, but you take that risk with any brand of digital camera.

Otherwise, a strongly recommended product.

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Rating: - Great quality at a Great price.
Canon has always been a reliable brand for cameras, and this is no exception. My old Powershot A40 gave up the ghost after 6 yrs , maybe dropping down the stairs did,nt help. I bought the 560 and am delighted, out the box, 5 mins setup, shots of the cats and right on the computer.The quality and ease of use is ideal for the novice like myself.The functions of the 560 are equal that of a far more expensive camera. Highly recomended.