"Picky Details" for the Canon PowerShot A520 digital camera
(Timing, Power, and Storage Info)

Timing

When you press the shutter release on a camera, there's usually a lag time or delay before the shutter actually fires. This corresponds to the time required for the autofocus and autoexposure mechanisms time to do their work, and can amount to a fairly long delay in some situations. Since this number is rarely reported on (and even more rarely reported accurately), and can significantly affect the picture taking experience, I routinely measure both shutter delay and shot to shot cycle times for all cameras I test, using a test system I designed and built for the purpose. (Crystal-controlled, with a resolution of 0.001 second.) Here are the numbers I collected for the Canon PowerShot A520:

Very good battery life, particularly for a 2-AA cell camera. Considering that it's powered by only two AA cells, the Canon PowerShot A520 showed very good battery life. Based on the "standard" 1600 mAh NiMH cells that I've used as a basis of comparison for the last several years, worst-case run time is projected at 136 minutes in record mode with the LCD turned on. Playback run time is 348 minutes, and run time in record mode with the LCD turned off is an exceptional 12.8 hours. (Don't get too excited though, the relatively inaccurate viewfinder on the A520 will have you using the LCD display to frame your shots most of the time.) Note though, that high-capacity NiMH cells these days have true capacities of well over 2000 mAh, so you can expect worst case run times more on the order of 170 minutes, just shy of three hours. I do still highly recommend that you pick up a couple of sets of high-capacity rechargeable AA batteries and a good-quality battery charger. - This will be an investment that pays itself back many times over the life of the camera.

Storage Capacity

The Canon PowerShot A520 stores its photos on SD/MMC memory cards, and a 16 MB card is included with the camera. (I strongly recommend buying at least a 64 MB card, preferably a 128 MB one, to give yourself extra space for extended outings.) The chart below shows how many images can be stored on the included 16 MB card at each size/quality setting.