"Picky Details" for the Canon PowerShot A610 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, we routinely measure both shutter delay and shot to shot cycle times for all cameras e test, using a test system Dave designed and built for the purpose. (Crystal-controlled, with a resolution of 0.001 second.) Here are the numbers we collected for the Canon PowerShot A610:
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(secs) |
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| Power On -> First shot |
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LCD turns on and lens extends forward.
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| Shutdown |
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First time is time to retract lens, second time is
worst-case buffer-clearing time.
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| Play to Record, first shot |
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Time until first shot is captured.
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| Record to play |
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First time is that required to display a large/fine
file immediately after capture, second time is that needed to display
a large/fine file that has already been processed and stored on the
memory card.
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| Shutter lag, full autofocus |
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First time is at full wide-angle, second is full telephoto. |
| Shutter lag, prefocus |
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Time to capture, after half-pressing shutter button.
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| Shutter lag, manual focus |
0.23
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Time to capture, with focus set manually. |
| Cycle Time, max/min resolution |
1.09 / 1.07 |
First number is for large/fine files, second number is time for "TV" mode (640x480) images. Times are averages. In both modes, shoots at this pace continuously, clearing the buffer after each shot. |
| Cycle Time, Flash exposures | 5 | (Flash at maximum power output) |
| Cycle Time, continuous mode | 0.41 (2.44 fps) |
Times are averages. Shoots at this pace continuously, clearing the buffer after each shot, regardless of resolution. |
Power
The Canon PowerShot A610 uses four AA batteries for power, and ordinary alkaline batteries are included with the camera.
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(@5.0 volts on the external power terminal) |
(four 1600 mA cells) |
| Capture Mode, w/LCD |
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| Capture Mode, no LCD |
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| Half-pressed shutter w/LCD |
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| Half-pressed w/o LCD |
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| Memory Write (transient) |
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| Flash Recharge (transient) |
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| Image Playback |
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Read Dave's NiMH battery shootout page to see which batteries currently on the market are the best, and see our review of the Maha C-204W NiMH battery charger, his current favorite.
Storage Capacity
The Canon PowerShot A610 stores its photos on SD / MMC memory cards, and a 16 MB card is included with the camera. (We strongly recommend buying large SD card, 64 MB or 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 32 MB card at each size/quality setting.
| Resolution/Quality 16 MB Memory Card |
Fine | Normal | |
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| 2592 x 1944 | Images (Avg size) |
6 2.7 MB |
10 1.4 MB |
21 750 KB |
| Approx. Compression |
6:1 | 10:1 | 20:1 | |
| 2048 x 1536 | Images (Avg size) |
9 1.7 MB |
16 950 KB |
33 483 KB |
| Approx. Compression |
6:1 | 10:1 | 20:1 | |
| 1600 x 1200 | Images (Avg size) |
15 1.1 MB |
26 600 KB |
50 316 KB |
| Approx. Compression |
5:1 | 10:1 | 19:1 | |
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Images (Avg size) |
56 283 KB |
87 183 KB |
117 KB |
| Approx. Compression |
3:1 | 5:1 | |
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Download Speed
The Canon PowerShot A610 connects to a host computer via a USB interface. Downloading files to my USB 2.0-equipped Sony desktop running Windows XP (Pentium IV, 2.4 GHz), I clocked it at 1501 KBytes/second, a very good rate. (Cameras with slow USB interfaces run as low as 300 KB/s, cameras with fast v1.1 interfaces run as high as 600 KB/s. Cameras with USB v2.0 interfaces run as fast as several megabytes/second.)
A610 Test Images
A610 Specifications
A610 "Picky Details"
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