Yet another WONDERFUL Canon Camera!

I've never been disappointed with Canon cameras. Though this is my first, my friends have long been fans and since my Fujifilm conked out on me- I figured "Why not?"

Once my old camera died I was sure that a Canon would be the only option. I have had my share of interesting experiences with digital cameras. Over the years I have gone through Kodaks, Fujifilms, Polaroids etc. And I've been less than impressed with them all. I've always been a fan of canon quality and saw the opportunity to invest.

*BODY*
The first thing that attracted me to the A590 was the color. I found it refreshing to see the gunmetal grey body in a sea of silvers and funky "custom" colors. I'm not into bubblegum pinks and robin's egg blues simply because I want my cameras to looks as professional as possible. I aspire to an own an SLR or at least a Canon G9 one day but that is another story.

The next feature was the 2.5" LCD screen. Though smaller than my past 3", I found it sufficient for my needs- plus there is an optical viewfinder, that though small, makes up for the fact that the screen can be difficult to see in direct sunlight.

My final physical selling point was the size! There are some who are into super-slim cameras that can fit into even the tightest pair of skinny jeans but I'm much more of a function person. The camera is a bit "thick", I admit, but it is far from bulky. The hand grip is very helpful and something I really missed on my last super-slim camera. The body also felt very rugged. Far more rugged than most of the "A series" I messed around with when I was shopping. The camera feels very solid in the hand and I feel confident that I'll find it difficult to drop- and that's saying A LOT! It could easily fit into a larger pocket and still sits , almost perfectly into the palm of my somewhat small hand.

*FEATURES*
As far as features go, this camera won't leave you wishing or wanting. I must admit, I was a bit disappointed that Canon left off their signature Color Accent, Color Swap, and (newly added) Stitch Assist features but I figured I could perform those on any competent photo editing software or program.

The mode dial on the camera is packed to the brim displaying all the different shooting modes offered; some of which must me accessed by menu because there is no more room on the dial. There are some modes that make it incredibly easy to shoot quick, easy photos with no changes such as Children & Pets, Portrait, Snow, Beach, Fireworks, etc. But I found the Manual, Av, Tv, and Program modes the most impressive. For someone, like myself, who enjoys delving into the more advanced features of a photography, this was ideal. One can mess around with features like ISO, aperture, shutter speed, exposure settings and more to get their artistic juices flowing.
There is also a new Easy mode that chooses EVERYTHING for you. I never use it but it is a godsend to my mother who still insists that nothing is better than a film camera.

The Face Detect was another awesome feature to see. My last digital camera lacked this so I was very excited to use it. Almost all of my shots come out with faces well exposed and bright with natural looking skin tones. The feature can also track faces ,so if the subject is moving around, you can still get the shot. It even boasts a Face Select option that allows you to choose a face out of a crowd to bring out and focus on. I found this feature very helpful during a graduation ceremony where I wanted focus on one person and not her other classmates (no offense to them).

Unfortunately, these modes are not the easiest to access but if you can take some time to sit down and read the user manual and play around with the features, you can easily operate the camera without any further need to reference the user guide. It only took me about an hour to get everything figured out.

I also found the movie mode very capable. Though it falls behind the other members of the "A Series" at 20fps rather than 30fps, I really couldn't tell that much of a difference and still managed to shoot great videos.

*Speed and Other "Stuff"*

The camera turns on very quickly, at a little over one second. The camera turns off at about the same speed, maybe a little slower.

Pictures can be taken very quickly depending on your chosen shutter speed. My only complaint was the relatively slow flash recycle time. I recommend leaving off the flash when taking continuous photographs or when shooting something that you just cannot miss.

The red eye reduction lamp seems competent though the on-board red eye correction feature was a little less than perfect at times.

*Complaints*

I suppose some of these complaints may seem superficial and I hope they do not take away from my otherwise good review but I just thought they had to be said.

- The Lens Conversion ring is a little shaky and if you shake the camera (don't do that when it's on) you can hear it rattle. I'm a little afraid I'll lose it.

- The tripod mount is located on the far left end of the camera. This makes me fear that the camera may topple over. I recommend stretching out one tripod leg farther to the right to stabilize it and fixing the other two to even it out.

- You cannot view a histogram of the image while you are taking it. It can only be seen when you are reviewing the photo.

- The microphone is located close to the grip so you need to be careful not to cover it up when shooting movies or making voice memos.

- Once again, slow flash recycle time, red eye correction tool, lack of Color swap, Color accent etc.