Canon PowerShot A650 IS review

Performance
In our tests, the A650 IS performed with mediocrity, save for a particularly perky shutter. After a 1.6-second wait from power-on to capturing its first shot, the camera took an arduous 2.8 seconds between every shot thereafter with the flash turned off. With the flash enabled, that wait slightly increased to three seconds.

Shooting speed (in seconds)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)

Typical shot-to-shot time

Time to first shot

Shutter lag (typical)

Canon PowerShot A640 IS

1.7

1.5

0.5

Canon PowerShot G9

2

1.7

0.5

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W200

2.2

1.6

0.5

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX100

2.3

2.4

0.6

Canon PowerShot A650 IS

2.8

1.6

0.5

Casio Exilim EX-Z1200

3.1

2.3

0.5

Burst mode produced similarly lacklustre numbers, capturing 10 full-resolution pictures in 11 seconds for a rate of 0.9 frames per second. On the bright side, the camera's shutter lagged less than 0.5 seconds with our high-contrast target, and just 0.9 seconds with our low-contrast target.

The A650 IS' slow shot-to-shot and burst numbers can be best attributed to its higher resolution. Processing 12-megapixel pictures simply takes longer than lower-resolution pictures. Other 12-megapixel cameras like the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX100, the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W200, and even Canon's own PowerShot G9 each take a second or more between shots with the flash disabled. That said, some aspects of the A650 IS' performance do feel sluggish.