Canon PowerShot A570 IS Performance
Timing and Performance
Good to average speed for a consumer camera.
Startup/Shutdown |
||
Power on |
1.8 seconds | Time it takes for LCD to turn on and lens to deploy. (About average these days.) |
Shutdown |
1.6 seconds | How long it takes to retract lens. |
Buffer clearing time |
3 seconds* (buffer clearing after 20 LSF JPEGs) |
Worst case buffer clearing time. -- This is the delay after a set of shots before you can remove the card. Some cameras won't retract their lenses and shut down until the buffer is cleared. |
Mode switching | ||
---|---|---|
Play to Record, |
1.5 seconds | Time until first shot is captured |
Record to play |
1.3 seconds | Time to display a large/superfine file immediately after capture |
Display |
0.7 second | Time to display a large/superfine file already on the memory card. |
Shutter response (Lag Time): | ||
Full Autofocus Wide |
0.54 second | Time from fully pressing shutter button to image capture, zoom lens at wide angle position. On the fast side of average. |
Full Autofocus Tele |
0.68 second | Time from fully pressing shutter button to image capture, zoom lens at telephoto position. On the fast side of average. |
Prefocused |
0.075 second | Time to capture, after half-pressing and holding shutter button. Quite fast. |
Manual focus |
0.286 second
|
For most cameras, shutter lag is less in manual focus than autofocus, but usually not as fast as when the camera is "prefocused". About average.
|
Cycle time (shot to shot) | ||
Single Shot mode
Large SuperFine JPEG |
2.60 seconds | Time per shot, averaged over 20 shots. About average. |
Single Shot mode |
2.55 seconds | Time per shot, averaged over 20 shots. |
Early shutter |
No | Some cameras refuse to snap another shot if you release and press the shutter too quickly in Single Shot mode, making "No" the preferred answer. |
Continuous mode |
0.80 second (1.25 frames per second); 1.3 seconds to clear* |
Time per shot, averaged over 20 shots. On the slow side these days. |
Continuous mode |
0.80 second (1.25 frames per second); 1.3 second to clear* |
Time per shot, averaged over 20 shots. |
Flash recycling |
10.7 seconds | Flash at maximum output. On the slow side. |
Download speed | ||
Windows Computer, USB 2.0 |
2,813 KBytes/sec | Typical Values: |
*Note: Buffer clearing times measured with a Kingston Ultimate 133x SD memory card. Slower cards will produce correspondingly slower clearing times. Slow cards may also limit length of bursts in continuous mode. |
The Canon PowerShot A570 IS's performance ranges from good to just average, though its 10.7-second flash recycle time is slow. Start-up time is reasonable, but not fast. Shutter lag at wide angle and telephoto zoom settings is good, and "prefocus" times (half-pressing and holding down the shutter button before the final exposure) are fast as well, with a shutter delay of only 0.075 second. Shot-to-shot cycle times are a little longer than average these days, at about 2.6 seconds for large/superfine JPEGs, but the camera captures frames continuously at this rate. Continuous-mode speed is on the slower side, at about 1.25 frame/second, though the camera captures frames continuously. Connected to a computer, download speeds are exceptionally fast, so you won't feel a need for a separate card reader. Bottom line, the Canon A570 IS is responsive enough for most family photo opportunities, though its continuous shooting mode might be a tad slow for wiggly kids or sporting events.
Battery and Storage Capacity
Battery
Short battery life with standard AA alkaline cells, but much better life with NiMH rechargeables.
Operating Mode | Number of Shots |
---|---|
AA alkaline batteries,
LCD on (CIPA standard) |
120
|
AA alkaline batteries,
LCD off |
400
|
AA NiMH rechargeable cells,
LCD on (CIPA standard) |
400
|
AA NiMH rechargeable cells,
LCD off |
900
|
The Canon PowerShot A570 IS uses two AA batteries for power, and a pair of ordinary alkaline batteries are included with the camera. Runtimes are increased with NiMH batteries over alkalines. As always, we strongly recommend you pick up a couple of sets of good-quality NiMH rechargeable batteries and a good-quality charger, as they'll save you many times their cost over the life of the camera. (Do be sure to get good-quality batteries though, we found our sample of the A570IS to be a little finicky, insisting on good, high-capacity cells or it would shut down after relatively few shots.)
The table above shows the number of shots the camera is capable of (on either a fresh set of disposable batteries or a fully-charged rechargeable battery as appropriate), based on CIPA battery-life and/or manufacturer standard test conditions.
(Interested readers can find an English translation of the CIPA DC-002 standards document here. (180K PDF document))
Storage
The Canon PowerShot A570 IS accepts SD/MMC memory cards, and a 16MB card
is included with the camera.
Image Capacity with 16MB Memory Card |
SuperFine | Fine | Normal | |
---|---|---|---|---|
3,072 x 2,304
|
Images
|
4
|
7
|
16
|
File Size
|
3.3 MB
|
2.0 MB
|
984 KB
|
|
2,592 x 1,944
|
Images
|
5
|
10
|
20
|
File Size
|
2.7 MB
|
1.5 MB
|
762 KB
|
|
2,048 x 1,536
|
Images
|
9
|
16
|
32
|
File Size
|
1.7 MB
|
966 KB
|
491 KB
|
|
1,600 x 1,200
|
Images
|
14
|
26
|
49
|
File Size
|
1.1 MB
|
610 KB
|
322 KB
|
|
640 x 480
|
Images
|
55
|
85
|
134
|
File Size
|
288 KB
|
186 KB
|
119 KB
|
We strongly recommend buying a large capacity SD/MMC memory card at least a 1GB card, preferably a 2GB one, to give yourself extra space for extended outings. (Check the shopping link above, cards are really cheap these days, so no reason to skimp.)
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