Canon PowerShot A570IS 7.1MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom?

Question

or

Canon PowerShot A580 8MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Zoom

What's the difference?

What do the different megapixles mean exactly?

Which would YOU buy?

THANKS

Answer 1

MegaPixels give the depth of the picture the camera can produce, higher the Mega Pixel more clearer the picture is (in simple terms)

The optical zoom is a measurement which gives an idea how far the lens can focus and take closer shots of distant objects. The higher the x values (eg 4x, 3x etc) the lens can focus distant objects closely.

The models what mentioned by you are close variants,

Check the descriptions of the models and you can conclude yourself easily

Answer 2

I would buy the Canon A570 IS over the other cameras.

In fact, I own one.  It's a good camera, and since I own a lot of SLRs and use them a lot, I can tell you that this A570 IS is a superb point and shoot and a great value for the money.

The difference between 7.1 and 8 megapixels is nothing.  You won't see the differences on the screen or in a print.

The A570 IS has image stabilization.  That's a big plus over the A580.  And the A570 IS is less expensive than the A590 IS with no difference in image quality.

So, buy the cameras in this order:

Canon A570 IS, then the A590 IS, and last the A580.

I can tell you it's not a question of which one I *would* buy.  For me, it's the one i DID buy.  And that's the A570 IS.

Answer 3

The A570 IS is better than A580 - it has optical image stabilization (very useful thingy, especially in these small compact cameras) and manual controls - P, S, A, M modes.

The A590 is very similar to the A570. However, it takes only 20fps video in 640x480 pixel (instead of stardard 30fps) and there isn't available CHDK for it - if you would like to use it.