I’m quite the photography hobbyists, and own several digital cameras and DSLRs. I’ve been in the market lately for a smaller compact digital camera when I don’t feel like carrying my digital SLR camera around. Previously, I’ve had some good luck with other Canon Powershot cameras and the A590 IS asked look like a reasonable candidate. In this review, I’ll try and take a look at some of the more advanced features as well some of the basic features of the camera. Most cameras in its class, have a wide range of manual features. But, the Canon A590 IS offers some pretty beefed-up manual features as well.

The A590 is a little bit smaller than some of the earlier model power shot cameras, and the colors a bit darker gray as well. The finish looks a little more professional, and should stand up fairly well to the occasional scratches and nicks.

On the other hand, a SLR camera is pretty expensive (almost $5,000) not to mention the rest of its accessories. Why is that? Because it simply offers the best control over the image. The technology behind SLRs uses regular 35mm films: black and white films, infrared films, transparency films and color negative films but you can also find a few models that still use 24mm Advanced Photo System films.

Before buying a SLR you should decide if you want manual or auto focus (AF or MF). If you want AF you should know a few important details about these cameras: The electronics can let you down when you need them the most. The battery consumption is very high. The AF lenses can be pretty difficult to focus by hand especially when you want to switch to manual focus.

One thing I’ve complained a lot about in the past, is slow shutter response in many compact cameras. It’s not really an issue with the A590. Surprisingly, for someone used to the speed of an SLR that’s quite a statement. If you practice a little bit, and get the hang of manually focusing your photos you’ll experience an even faster shutter performance speed.

Here’s a few select choices I found from on of my favorite shopping sites. Most of these are compact cameras, as that’s by far the most popular category.

First of all, we have the Canon PowerShot SD1100IS digital camera. It’s got plenty of resolution, with 8MP, and some nice features like image stabilization and optical zoom. It goes for about $150 these days. Secondly we have the PowerShot SD880IS from Canon. It’s a few more bucks, at around $250, but comes with 10MP, a 4 times zoom lens, and a few other nice features.

Last but not least, a manual camera is considerably cheaper than an autofocus one.

You won’t spend a fortune on batteries with this camera. According to the manual, with a couple of good rechargeable AA’s you should get up to 500 shots before during a recharge. All in all, a very good value for the money.