CANON POWERSHOT A2500

CANON POWERSHOT A2500

A good option for the price, but it has its share of qualms.

The Canon PowerShot A2500 is almost identical to the A2400 IS. The difference is quite obvious from the model number itself—the missing suffix “IS” indicates that the A2500 lacks optical image stabilisation. 

At 28mm, the lens of the A2500 is slightly less wider than the one in Nikon Coolpix L28, which starts from 26mm. However, with a focal length of 140mm at the wide end, you get a closer view with the A2500. You don’t need optical image stabilisation for a 5x zoom lens when you shoot in broad daylight. However, the lack of optical IS is this camera's Achilles Heel in low light. 

The rear of the A2500 sports a 2.7-inch, 230K dot LCD monitor. To its right is the control panel, which comprises a 5-way D-pad and buttons for video recording, help, playback and menu. Canon has taken a slightly different approach with the shortcuts on the D-pad. Pressing the Up button toggles the Auto mode, which is nice if you want hassle-free shooting. The Left button toggles Eco mode which turns off the display when the camera is idle for 10 seconds to save battery life. The other two directional buttons are for flash settings and display information. We think shortcuts for EV, macro or self-timer would have been more useful than the Auto and Eco mode toggles. 

The A2500 can record video at 640 x 480 or 1280 x 720 at 30fps. A good thing is that
you have optical zoom at your disposal while recording videos. 

As with most entry-level point-and-shoot digital cameras, you don’t have granular control over exposure. The aperture and shutter speed are set by the camera depending on the light conditions and the scene modes you select. The mode that offers most flexibility is Program mode, which allows you to set the white balance, EV, metering mode, ISO and drive mode. 


With settings for ISO, light metering and tracking focus, the A2500 offers some flexibility over exposure and focus. The noise is well controlled at up to ISO 200 after which there’s colour noise and great loss of details. Purple fringing wasn’t visible around dark areas against strong backlight, but slight chromatic aberrations are visible along the edges of the frame. The A2500 is best at capturing macros and close-ups. The closest shooting distance is about an inch from the object, and the results are excellent. Given a choice between the A2500 and L28, the former is definitely a better choice despite L28’s more-intuitive user interface and handier shortcuts on the D-pad. The A2500 is snappier and the overall imaging quality is a notch better than that of the L28. It’s also more fun to use with the raft of effect filters. 

FOR Lightweight; optical zoom for video recording; effect filters.
AGAINST No optical IS; average photo quality; fidgety UI.

SPECS Dimensions (WxHxD): 97.7 x 56 x 20.9 mm; Weight: 125g; Resolution: 16MP; Focal length: 28-140mm; Optical zoom: 5x; Aperture: f/2.8-f/6.9; Shutter speed: 15-1/2000 sec; LCD monitor: 2.7-in, 230k dot, tilting; Video recording: 720p, 30 fps

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