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Canon PowerShot A520

Canon PowerShot A520
Canon PowerShot A520Canon PowerShot A520Canon PowerShot A520Canon PowerShot A520Canon PowerShot A520Canon PowerShot A520Canon PowerShot A520Canon PowerShot A520Canon PowerShot A520Canon PowerShot A520
alaScore 87

545 reviews

Apr, 2024

alaTest has collected and analyzed 545 reviews of Canon PowerShot A520. The average rating for this product is 4.3/5, compared to an average rating of 4.3/5 for other Digital Compact Cameras for all reviews. People really like the image quality and portability. The price and performance also get good feedback. The energy efficiency and low light performance get negative reviews. Reviews about the control panel and screen are different.

usability, performance, price, portability, image quality

memory, flash, shutter, low-light, energy

We analyzed user and expert ratings, product age and more factors. Compared to other Digital Compact Cameras the Canon PowerShot A520 is awarded an overall alaScore™ of 87/100 = Very good quality.

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Review analysis

(Based on 545 reviews)

Expert Reviews  

User Reviews  

Review Ratings

  (45% of reviews)
Show all 5 star reviews   (42% of reviews)
Show all 4 star reviews   (8% of reviews)
Show all 3 star reviews   (2% of reviews)
Show all 2 star reviews   (3% of reviews)
Show all 1 star reviews

Features

usability
  Show positive (87%)Show negative (13%)(Show all)
performance
  Show positive (65%)Show negative (35%)(Show all)
price
  Show positive (89%)Show negative (11%)(Show all)
portability
  Show positive (63%)Show negative (37%)(Show all)
battery
  Show positive (51%)Show negative (49%)(Show all)
image quality
  Show positive (81%)Show negative (19%)(Show all)
size
  Show positive (86%)Show negative (14%)(Show all)
zoom
  Show positive (86%)Show negative (14%)(Show all)
screen
  Show positive (54%)Show negative (46%)(Show all)
durability
  Show positive (70%)Show negative (30%)(Show all)
design
  Show positive (89%)Show negative (11%)(Show all)
lens
  Show positive (88%)Show negative (13%)(Show all)
memory
  Show positive (43%)Show negative (57%)(Show all)
flash
  Show positive (33%)Show negative (67%)(Show all)
reliability
  Show positive (72%)Show negative (28%)(Show all)
shutter
  Show positive (13%)Show negative (88%)(Show all)
color
  Show positive (86%)Show negative (14%)(Show all)
low-light
  Show positive (25%)Show negative (75%)(Show all)
exposure
  Show positive (88%)Show negative (13%)(Show all)
focus
  Show positive (75%)Show negative (25%)(Show all)
optics
  Show positive (83%)Show negative (17%)(Show all)
energy
  Show positive (33%)Show negative (67%)(Show all)
storage
  Show positive (80%)Show negative (20%)(Show all)
glare
  Show positive (100%)None yet(Show all)
control panel
  Show positive (50%)Show negative (50%)(Show all)
viewfinder
  Show positive (100%)None yet(Show all)
Show more features

Showing 182 review(s)

Expert Reviews User Reviews

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Showing 1 - 58 of 182 Show Reviews: in English | in other languages (316)

Consumer review (amazon.co.uk)

Amazon.co.uk review summary for Canon PowerShot A520

 

alaTest has collected and analyzed 20 user reviews of Canon PowerShot A520 from Amazon.co.uk. The average user rating for this product is 4.3/5, compared to an average user rating of 4.3/5 for other Digital Compact Cameras on Amazon.co.uk. Views about the size and portability are on the whole positive. The usability and price also get good reviews, but there are some mixed comments about the battery.

performance, price, usability, portability, size

100% of the reviews on Amazon.co.uk give this product a positive rating.

Apr, 2024

Consumer review (amazon.com)

Amazon.com review summary for Canon PowerShot A520

 

alaTest has collected and analyzed 28 user reviews of Canon PowerShot A520 from Amazon.com. The average user rating for this product is 4.1/5, compared to an average user rating of 4.2/5 for other Digital Compact Cameras on Amazon.com. People really like the size and performance. The portability and battery are also mentioned favorably. There are some negative views about the reliability and durability. There are some mixed views about the price.

usability, battery, portability, performance, size

durability, reliability

89% of the reviews on Amazon.com give this product a positive rating.

Apr, 2024

Expert review by : Doug Harman (pocket-lint.com)

Canon PowerShot A520

 

Canon's A-series of digital cameras have been the company's mainstay in the budget market and the new A520 (there's also an almost identical 3.2MP, A510 version too) is the new top of the Canon budget tree. A thorough revamp brings it right up to date...

Great AF, build, lens and exposures combine with a nice price and smaller, lighter camera sure to appeal to anyone wanting a sophisticated ‘point and shooter’.

Standard AA batteries (supplied) will last for almost 10-shots! You’ll need to budget for a decent set of rechargeable AAs. Noise over ISO 400 is intrusive and the camera does not so much leaps from the starting blocks as crawl onto the track.

The Canon PowerShot A520 might look a style icon compared with some of its brethren, but it is probably the ideal model for anyone buying a digital camera for the first time. It's simple to use, has resolution enough for prints of up to, say, 8 x10in...

Apr, 2005
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Expert review by (dcmag.co.uk)

Canon PowerShot A520

 

For anyone on a budget who wants as much control and customisation as possible, the Canon PowerShot is hard to beat. Slight niggles with low-light autofocus and red-eye tendencies are our only real criticism. The handy size and easy controls make it a dre

Jun, 2009
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Expert review by (photoxels.com)

Canon PowerShot A520 Review

 

The Canon PowerShot A520 can be used as a point-and-shoot camera in Auto or Program AE mode, but it's attractiveness lies in the flexible exposure control it allows: Shutter-Priority, Aperture-Priority, full Manual, plus easy to use scene (Image Zone)...

Jun, 2005
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Expert review by (digicamreview.co.uk)

Canon Powershot A520

 

The Canon Powershot A520, is available for £176 / $249 - and is a 4 megapixel digital camera, with a 4x optical zoom lens (equivalent to 35-140mm on a 35mm camera), and a 1.8" TFT screen. The camera is enclosed in a silver metal and plastic body. It...

Very good image quality - very good colour ; 4x optical zoom lens ; Quite compact ; Manual controls (shutter, aperture, focus, custom white balance) ; Take AA batteries ; Focus-assist lamp ; Auto-rotates images ; Expandable with additional lenses /...

The Canon Powershot A520 is an excellent all round camera, with a decent 4x optical zoom lens, and features to suit every need, from basic point and shoot operation, to full manual controls. The camera takes AA batteries so can travel with you anywhere...

May, 2005
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Expert review by (cameras.co.uk)

Canon Powershot A520

 

Canon Powershot A520 Review and Where to Find the Best Prices. Standard compact digital camera. Body made of plastic, but picture quality is worth a close look.

Very good feature set for the price

Limited movie recording times

The main attraction of the Powershot A520 is the number of features it offers for the price. Very good outdoors with excellent colour reproduction.

Mar, 2005
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Expert review by : Andy Shaw (webuser.co.uk)

Canon PowerShot A520

 

This 4-megapixel camera comes in a large chassis that's less pocketable but easier to hold steady when shooting pictures.

With software to help download and organise your images and a 16MB SD card to get you started, this is a great camera but you have to compromise its size and shortage of megapixels with its extra optical zoom and high-quality snaps.

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Expert review by : What Digital Camera Magazine (whatdigitalcamera.com)

Review of the Canon PowerShot A520 - Digital SLR Reviews

 

The Canon A520 question is compact but not tiny, slim but not, and light but not insubstantial.

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Expert review by : David D. Busch (cnet.com)

Canon PowerShot A520 review

 

Canon PowerShot A520

Versatile manual and automated controls; strong image quality; zoom flash; quick burst mode; available lens converters and underwater housing.

Not as compact as many pocket cameras; many common settings require trip to menus; long flash-recycle time.

Strong image quality and a good mixture of manual and automated exposure controls make the Canon PowerShot A520 a low-cost option for snapshooters and enthusiasts alike.

Jun, 2005
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Expert review by : Eric Butterfield (pcworld.com)

Canon Powershot A520 Camera

 

The $300 Canon PowerShot A520 is an affordable point-and-shoot for the budding photography student. This camera is essentially a 4-megapixel version of the $200 PowerShot A510 (a 3.2-megapixel camera that won a Best Buy in our May 2005 issue). The two...

Many manual controls and features

Very limited battery life

Canon offers a variety of accessories for the A520, including wide-angle ($99), telephoto ($129), and close-up ($120) converters. To attach one of these, you have to remove a plastic ring around the lens and attach a $20 lens adapter tube. Also, you...

Jun, 2005
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Expert review by : Mike Kobrin (pcmag.com)

Canon PowerShot A520

 

A single drop in the deluge of Canon cameras in the past two years, the A520 neither impresses nor innovates, but it's a decent buy.

Excellent manual controls. Accepts conversion lenses. Smaller and lighter than predecessor. Good battery life.

Very slow recycle time. Analog controls aren't responsive enough. LCD could be a bit bigger. Disappointing movie mode. No on-screen help.

More digital camera reviews:• Ricoh Theta SC• Sony a9• SeaLife DC2000• Nikon Coolpix W100• Canon EOS M6• more

Apr, 2005
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