Canon PowerShot A570IS

[BHB ScubaTroll]

How big a memory card will it take (I can't seem to find that on the Internet)?

Also, any Canon users who have experience with the A570IS, how do you like it?

 

[sambolino44]

I was happy with our A570IS and the Cannon housing. The only reason we can't still use it is because it broke when we took it up to sub-zero temperatures in Alaska. We had good customer support from Canon when we returned it for warranty repair earlier, but I don't think we're going to send it back this time because the housing buttons stick.

If I had it to do all over again knowing what I know now, I'd consider spending more money on a different housing (although nobody else on this board had the same problems with the housing). And I think a big improvement would be an external strobe, although those ain't cheap, either. But as for the camera model itself; no regrets.

I couldn't find anything about the memory card, either. I think there is no limit in the camera, it will take any card with the right format, no matter what it's capacity.

 

[BHB ScubaTroll]

sambolino, thanks.

I have a dual strobe setup and a focus light so I'm set there. How was the battery life? I have 2250Nimh AA rechargeable batteries and I might spend 30-40 minutes taking shots of a single subject. Do you remember having problems with the batteries running low quickly?

... and has anyone the CHDK raw hack that added features back into the camera?

 

[Bubbletrubble]

I use an 8GB SDHC card (Class 6) in my A570IS.

I really like my A570IS. It's small, inexpensive, has manual controls, and uses regular AA batteries. I recommend using the CHDK hack designed for this model. It unlocks a lot of neat features on the camera, although shooting in RAW does cause a significant delay while the camera writes to the card.

I own both the Ikelite and Canon UW housings for this camera. The lens port on the Ikelite casts a shadow on macro-shots if the camera's internal flash is used...so it's best to use the Ikelite housing with an external strobe. This isn't an issue with the Canon UW housing.

I'd recommend purchasing a backup on Ebay. They tend to sell for $50-$100 there.

I find that at the rate I take photos, a set of 2-AA Sanyo Eneloops lasts for 2 one-hour long dives. I tend to turn off the camera when I'm not actively setting up a shot. By decreasing the internal flash power (since you'll be using one or more external strobes), the batteries in the camera might last even longer.

 

[BHB ScubaTroll]

I use an 8GB SDHC card (Class 6) in my A570IS.

I really like my A570IS. It's small, inexpensive, has manual controls, and uses regular AA batteries. I recommend using the CHDK hack designed for this model. It unlocks a lot of neat features on the camera, although shooting in RAW does cause a significant delay while the camera writes to the card.

I own both the Ikelite and Canon UW housings for this camera. The lens port on the Ikelite casts a shadow on macro-shots if the camera's internal flash is used...so it's best to use the Ikelite housing with an external strobe. This isn't an issue with the Canon UW housing.

I'd recommend purchasing a backup on Ebay. They tend to sell for $50-$100 there.

Great info, thanks!
Nemrod is selling two of his setups (one with the ikelite and one with the canon housing). The AA batteries is the thing that worries me most. I have an old Oly that uses 2 AA batteries. It is an old version and has to be turned on before the camera goes in the case. I was lucky to get 45 min. from the camera underwater.

My DC600 (when it worked) gave me 2+ hours underwater if I turned it off in between pictures.

I have 67mm wet macro lenses, wide angle and a fisheye lens that will fit the Ikelite threaded housing, dual strobes and a focus light. I generally use the focus light only when shooting macro shots... no flash or strobe

Nemrod is selling the Ikelite version for $350 and the Canon version for $300 or both for $575... Hmmm, what to do

 

[sambolino44]

I think we got acceptable (can't really give you numbers) battery life once we switched to NimH. We had several different capacities, all at least 2250. We'd sometimes get two dives out of one set of batteries, but often would put fresh ones in for the second dive just in case. We did have a recurring problem of the battery warning indicator coming on, but it would go away if we just flipped the batteries and put the same ones back in. I think it had to do with the contacts, but we'd clean them with alcohol (and the batteries) and it would still happen sometimes.

We'd still get a shadow from the lens port of our Canon housing if we didn't use the diffuser, and with thick gloves I sometimes would knock it off.

We only started getting good color when we started using the custom color balance, set at depth by pointing at a white slate.

 

[BHB ScubaTroll]

Thanks guys. You've answered my questions!

I am now waiting to complete the "deal" and have the camera with Ikelite housing sent to me. I will use the hack and at least have the histogram and other functions available to me underwater.

 

[jim2386]

How big a memory card will it take (I can't seem to find that on the Internet)?

Also, any Canon users who have experience with the A570IS, how do you like it?

I have the A570IS and I use 8GB SDHC cards in it. Never tried bigger. I see no point. You can fit 68 minutes of continuous video on the card or over 2000 high resolution pictures. Buy two cards and switch them between dive days. I always like to split my pictures up in the rare event a card goes corrupt I don't lose ALL my pictures. I've had it happen once. Just something to think about.

As for batteries, the low battery low voltage level (The voltage level programmed to turn the "low battery" indicator light on and shut the camera down) is relatively high on this camera. I have had great success with Sanyo Eneloop batteries because their voltage curve stays higher for longer and the batteries seem to hold a better charge than other batteries later in life. I recommend them highly. Also, you can't go wrong with Energizer lithium batteries...although not rechargeable.

Hope this helps. Also, the photos on my SB photo page were all taken with the A570IS

Jim

 

[stu_in_fl]

Hey Jim,
here are the specs:

Canon PowerShot A570 IS digital camera specifications: Digital Photography Review

As Jim2386 mentioned - it takes SD and SDHC cards.

 

[BHB ScubaTroll]

I have the A570IS and I use 8GB SDHC cards in it. Never tried bigger. I see no point. You can fit 68 minutes of continuous video on the card or over 2000 high resolution pictures. Buy two cards and switch them between dive days. I always like to split my pictures up in the rare event a card goes corrupt I don't lose ALL my pictures. I've had it happen once. Just something to think about.

As for batteries, the low battery low voltage level (The voltage level programmed to turn the "low battery" indicator light on and shut the camera down) is relatively high on this camera. I have had great success with Sanyo Eneloop batteries because their voltage curve stays higher for longer and the batteries seem to hold a better charge than other batteries later in life. I recommend them highly. Also, you can't go wrong with Energizer lithium batteries...although not rechargeable.

Hope this helps. Also, the photos on my SB photo page were all taken with the A570IS

Jim

That's great info, Jim. Right now I use the Kodak fast charge 2500mAh NiMH batteries and have been very happy with their life in my strobes. I have just enough time to learn this camera before getting to Bonaire at the end of June. I think I will start with those and see how they do. I will keep the Sanyo batteries in mind if I don't like what I get from the Kodaks.

As soon as I saw that Bubbletrouble was using the 8 GB SDHC cards, I knew that was all I need. Right now I have 4 2 GB SD cards I used with the SeaLife DC600. Since the Canon can use the SDHC, I will grab a couple of those. I download photos to the laptop at the end of each day and store a backup on memory sticks while on vacation. If I get lazy for a day, the second card is available for that day of diving or if one card goes bad, I can change it with little to no headache while on a dive trip

I will be checking out your photos as soon as I post this. I figure if I was getting the shots I got with my little SeaLife 6MP, I should be able to increase quality with this camera just a bit.

Hey Jim,
here are the specs:

Canon PowerShot A570 IS digital camera specifications: Digital Photography Review

As Jim2386 mentioned - it takes SD and SDHC cards.

Thanks Stu! That was better information than I was finding from any of my searches for specs on the camera... SDHC with its write speed should make for some interesting images!