Canon PowerShot A430 4MP is a cost-effective camera that features advanced Charge Coupled Device (CCD) and zoom setting.This camera is equipped with an approximately 4.0-million camera effective pixel Charge Coupled Device (CCD), and with DIGIC II; higher resolution and high-speed processing were achieved. This camera is equipped with the 4x optical zoom lens, which covers a 35mm film equivalent focal length ranging from 39 mm (Wide Angle) to 156 mm (Telephoto) and f/2.8 (Wide Angle) – f/5.8 (Telephoto) aperture.Super Macro in the “Manual” mode allows you to shoot a subject when the distance from the front of the lens to the subject is in the range of 1 to 5 cm (0.39 to 2.0 in.) when shooting. By revising the operability of the previous My Colors mode, Color Accent mode and Color Swap mode that transform colors when shooting have been added to the shooting mode. The “My Colors” and “Photo Effect” modes have been combined into the new “My Colors” in the FUNC. menu and are used to change the look and feel of the pictures when shooting.The recording pixels now include a “Widescreen” feature that has the same aspect ratio as 16:9 widescreen TVs for shooting wide images. Also, this camera can take QVGA (320 x 240 pixels) movies at 30 frames per second.This camera is equipped with an upgraded 1.8-inch Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), ISO 400 setting, Intelligent Orientation Sensor, 9-point AiAF system, microphone, speaker, A/V OUT (Audio/Video output) Terminal and My Camera Settings.This camera is equipped with a “Print/Share” button. This button lets you easily print your images by connecting the camera directly to a direct print compatible printer. When the camera is connected to a computer (Windows / Mac OS X), pressing the Print/Share button lets you easily download images directly from the camera to the computer.
Helpful consumer’s review
The Canon Photoshot A430 is the replacement for their entry level digital camera the A410. Canon upped the megapixels to 4.0 from 3.2, enlarged the LCD to 1.8″ from 1.5″ and added more zoom (now is 4X optical and 14X combined.) Even though this is the lowest priced Canon digital camera you can buy it is in no way cheap. The camera feels solid when you use it and yet the plastic body keeps the overall weight down.
Like all the A series digitals from Canon this model still uses standard AA batteries (2 to be exact.) So when you are at the amusement park with the family and your batteries go dead, stop off at the gift shop and pickup a couple of alkalines to get you through the day. I highly recommend investing in a set of good quality NiMH rechargeable AA batteries though; they last about 4 times longer than their alkaline counterparts.
Like the A410 the A430 also has the DiG!C II processor. This fabulous processor allows the camera to power up and shoot its first picture in less than 2 seconds and keeps shooting the next pictures approximately 1 second each. There is a burst mode too but I haven’t had time to play with that feature yet. The DiG!C II processor also uses less battery power than older digital cameras so your are able to shoot more photos, and view them on the LCD, before you need to swap them for a fresh pair. I took about 150 pictures, with the LCD on, on a set of alkaline AA batteries before they needed a change. That was a “WOW” for sure.
Having owned two previous digital point and shoot cameras and one digital SLR model, I can say that I am most impressed with the A430. Some online reviewers have noted that the camera lacks independent zoom buttons. What Canon did on this camera was make one set of buttons do multiple things. The same toggle button you use to move up and down in the menus is the zoom in and out control when taking photos. I applaud Canon on this design. Why include more buttons that you need. You aren’t using the menu buttons when taking photos, so why not use them for the zoom control. They aren’t confusing to use and actually simplifies the design of the camera.
