Good to average speed for a consumer camera.

The A710's performance is generally average to faster than average. Startup and shutdown speeds are above average. Shutter response is a bit faster than average but not dramatically so. Shot-to-shot cycle times and continuous-mode speeds are above average, too, but the impressive thing is that the A710 can shoot indefinitely in continuous mode, given a fast enough memory card. (We tested with a Kingston 120x Ultimate SD card.) The one slow spot is that the flash takes 8.5 seconds to recharge after a full-power shot, well below average. On the other hand, connected to a computer or printer with USB 2.0, download speeds are very fast, pretty much eliminating the need for an external reader. Bottom line, while not a first choice for sports or other really fast-paced action, the A710 is responsive enough (particularly at wide angle lens settings) to handle most family photo opportunities.

Battery
Good battery life with NiMH rechargeable AA's.

The Canon A710 uses two AA batteries for power. The table above shows the number of shots it can take with either Alkaline or NiMH batteries, based on the CIPA battery-life standard. (Based on 2500 mAh capacity cells.) A CIPA rating of 360 shots (with the LCD display enabled) is pretty good, but as always we strongly recommend that you purchase a couple of sets of high-capacity NiMH rechargeable batteries and a good-quality charger, as they'll save you many times their cost over the life of the camera.

(Interested readers can find an English translation of the CIPA DC-002 standards document here. (180K PDF document))

Storage
A 16MB SD Memory Card is included with the PowerShot A710.

We strongly recommend buying at least a 512MB card, preferably a 1GB one, to give yourself extra space for extended outings.