With the new PowerShot A480 camera, Canon puts an end to the rectangular brick shape of its earlier A460 and A470 models and offers a more traditional design. This new product has a 10 MP with better video (30 f/s), but has lost the manual mode to a P mode.

Handling

The PowerShot A480 has a plastic body and despite its good build resembles much a bulky toy. The rear panel has a small 2,5 inch display with only a 115 000 dot resolution. The display has a highly reflective surface and poor viewing angles. This is rather unfortunate as it is the only way to shoot your pictures. Navigation is very traditional; the mode button allows switch from video to mode scene, auto or P.
In order to change the settings, you can use the Func/Set button. The graphic interface is well conceived and pleasant. The camera is quick and easy to use. Start up time is a bit more than one second and focus is quick: about 0,60 seconds for a wide angle and zoom. Burst mode is however disappointing with only 0,8 frames/s.



Picture quality

In low sensitivities, the pictures are rather convincing; well coloured, exposure is harmonious and white balance is neutral.
When zooming on the pictures, you can see some imperfections such as purple fringing and chromatic aberrations in high-contrast areas. Image noise is similar as on other compacts by Canon.

Between ISO 80 and ISO 200 the quality is crisp and there is no image noise. However at 100% on the screen, the coloured pixels are quite obvious. Beyond ISO 400 you get blurry effects that become far too visible at ISO 1600. However there is not much loss of detail. Switching to black and white can help.




The biggest disappointment is the camera does not have optical image stabilisation technology.
Les automatic features (face detection or reducing red eye effect) are very efficient. The video quality is decent and we finally have an entry level Canon that offers 30 f/s. Unfortunately the zoom is not available during recording.

Last but not least the PowerShot A480 works with 2 AA batteries.