1. Introduction

A slew of compact digital cameras has been released for the end-of-year season. From among this plethora of new models, we've selected a few that we liked for reasons of performance or simply originality. Thus, this article is not so much a comparison in the strictest sense, as it is an overview of what stands out most in the current crop of high-performance digital compacts.

Canon PowerShot A620: A Real Swiss Army Knife

Canon's A series, a line of affordable and capable compacts, has been entirely revamped. The PowerShot has traditionally been very popular with amateurs who want performance and adjustment possibilities at an affordable price. Are the new PowerShots just as attractive?

Overall Design

The A series consists of relatively big compacts that have a somewhat chunky appearance. They're called "big" because they use LR6/AA rechargeable or non-rechargeable batteries for power, and because Canon has obviously tried to size them in order to maintain good handling characteristics. After all, even though electronic components have shrunk, users' hands have not!

Equipped with a zoom lens that's more or less standard (covering a range from semi-wide angle to short telephoto), the A620 - the top of the A series line - stands out for its LCD display, which can be tilted in any direction. Even though it can be used in fully automatic mode, all of this camera's shooting parameters can be adjusted manually by the user. Naturally, many of these functions are accessible only if you don't use the "full auto" mode!

With its built-in right-handed grip, the A620 is fairly pleasant to handle, even if like most current compacts, it's a bit too small for a man's hand to assume a natural finger position. Most adult males will find that they need to bunch their fingers together to find room. Aside from that, there's no danger of getting your finger in front of the lens or the flash, which is important. Also, the main controls are well placed, with direct access to the most useful ones, and a dual access system of menus and functions for the others - a very efficient approach.