The Canon A540 also boosts performance in some other areas as well, sporting a huge 2.5" rear-panel LCD in addition to its real-image optical viewfinder, and adding aperture-priority and shutter-priority exposure modes, welcome options for more sophisticated users. ISO light-sensitivity ranges from 80 to 800. Other exposure modes include fully automatic and fully manual, plus a wide range of scene modes in between, and a "My Colors" menu that offers special effects such as Vivid and Neutral, Light or Dark skin, and Custom color adjustments. An Underwater scene mode even adjusts color balance and exposure for use with an optional underwater housing.

The Canon PowerShot A540 also offers a range of metering modes, including evaluative, center-weighted, and even spot metering. In its continuous shooting mode, the Canon A540 is rated at 2.3 frames/second, very good speed for a modestly-priced camera.

Following a growing trend, the Canon PowerShot A540 stores its images on SD memory cards, which is rapidly becoming the dominant memory card format for digital cameras. A USB 2.0 High-Speed computer connection provides for speedy downloads, fast enough that most users will find no need for a separate card reader.

At the end of the day, the Canon A540 should be a very strong-selling model in the popular PowerShot line, providing not only dead-easy use for beginners (in full-auto mode), but a complete complement of advanced exposure and metering modes for the more experienced shooter. This is a camera that offers novice photographers plenty of capability to grow into, and should make a great choice for families or couples with widely varying levels of photo expertise.

Canon PowerShot A540
General
Camera Type	Compact
Manufacturer	Canon
Model Number	A540
Dimensions	3.6 x 2.5 x 1.7" 90.4 x 64.0 x 43.2mm
Weight	180.0 g 6.3 oz
Image Capture
Sensor Type	1/2.5 CCD
Aspect Ratio	4:3
Image Dimensions	2816 x 2112 (5.9 megapixels) 2816 x 1584 (4.5 megapixels) 2272 x 1704 (3.9 megapixels) 1600 x 1200 (1.9 megapixels) 640 x 480 (0.3 megapixels)
Image Quality	3 levels
Image Preview / Review
Viewfinder	Yes
LCD	2.5"
Lens
Lens Type	4x optical zoom
Focal Length	5.8 - 23.2mm (actual) 35 - 140mm (35mm equivalent)
Aperture Range	f/2.6 (wide) / f/5.5 (tele)
Focusing Range	Normal: 18" - infinity (45 cm - infinity) Macro: 2.0" - 18" (5 cm - 45 cm)
Exposure
ISO Sensitivity	Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800
Shutter Speed	15 - 1/2000 second
Exposure Modes	Aperture, Shutter, Manual
Metering Modes	20
Exposure Compensation	+/- 2.0EV in 1/3EV increments
White Balance	Image Sensor - Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H, Underwater, Custom, Manual
Creative
Digital Zoom	4x
Movie Format	AVI (Motion JPEG) with audio 640 and 4 80 Max. frame-rate: 30 frames per second
Storage
Recording Medium	SD/MMC
File System	Complies with Design Rule for Camera File System (DCF)
File Format	JPEG (EXIF 2.2)
Connectivity
Video	Yes, NTSC / PAL switchable
Computer	USB 2.0 High Speed
Power
Battery Type	Alkaline, NiMH
Battery Form Factor	2 x AA
Product Bundle
Flash Memory	0.0MB
Other
Digital Print Order Format (DPOF) compliant	Yes
PictBridge Compliant	Yes
Internal Microphone	Yes
Internal Speaker	Yes
Tripod Mount	Yes, Plastic
Remote Control	No
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