Compact / CAMERA REFERENCE
PowerShot A590 IS
Canon
Catalogue announcement:

01 / TECHNICAL RECORD
Specifications
Manufacturer specifications. Source: Canon Camera Museum ↗.
Manufacturer specifications
- Camera Effective Pixels
- Approx. 8 million
- Image Sensor
- 1/2.5-inch type CCD (Total number of pixels: Approx. 8.3 million pixels)
- Lens
- 5.8 (W)–23.2 (T) mm (35mm film equivalent: 35 (W)–140 (T) mm) f/2.6 (W)–f/5.5 (T)
- Digital Zoom
- Approx. 4.0x (Up to approx. 16x in combination with the optical zoom)
- Optical Viewfinder
- Real-image zoom viewfinder
- LCD Monitor
- 2.5-inch type, TFT color LCD, approx. 115,000 dots (Picture coverage 100%)
- AF System
- TTL autofocus/Manual focus are available AF frame mode: Face Detect* **/AiAF (9-points)/Center * AF frame can be moved and fixed to specified face. ** If no face is detected, AiAF (9-points) is used.
- Focusing Range (From the front of the lens)
- Normal: 45 cm (1.5 ft.)–infinity Macro: 5–45 cm (W) (2.0 in.–1.5 ft. (W)), 30–45 cm (T) (12 in.–1.5 ft.(T)) Manual focus/Easy: 5 cm (2.0 in.)–infinity (W), 30 cm (12 in.)–infinity (T) Kids&Pets: 1 m (3.3 ft.)–infinity (W/T)
- Shutter
- Mechanical shutter and electronic shutter
- Shutter Speeds
- 1/60–1/2000 sec. 15–1/2000 sec. (Total shutter speed range. Available range varies by shooting mode.) Slow shutter speeds of 1.3 sec. or slower operate with noise reduction.
- Image Stabilization
- Lens-shift type Continuous/Shoot Only/Panning/Off
- Metering System
- Evaluative*/Center-weighted average or Spot** * Facial brightness is also evaluated in Face Detect AF. ** Fixed to center.
- Exposure Compensation
- ±2 stops in 1/3-stop increments
- ISO Speed (Standard Output Sensitivity, Recommended Exposure Index)
- Auto* , High ISO Auto** , ISO 80/100/200/400/800/1600 * Camera automatically sets the optimal speed according to shooting mode and subject brightness. ** Camera automatically sets the optimal speed according to shooting mode, subject brightness and subject movement. However, the ISO speed is set relatively higher than Auto.
- White Balance
- Auto* , Day Light, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H or Custom * The colors of faces are evaluated in Face Detect AF.
- Built-in Flash
- Auto, on, off Facial brightness is also evaluated in Face Detect AF.
- Built-in Flash Range
- 30 cm–3.5 m (12 in.–11 ft.) (W)/30 cm–2.2 m (12 in.–7.2 ft.) (T) Brightness of image periphery may reduce depending on shooting distance.
- Shooting Modes
- Auto, Easy Creative zone: Program, Shutter-speed priority, Aperture priority, Manual Image zone: Portrait, Landscape, Night Snapshot, Kids&Pets, Indoor, Special Scene* and Movie** * Night Scene, Sunset, Foliage, Snow, Beach, Fireworks and Aquarium. ** Standard and Compact.
- Continuous Shooting
- Approx. 1.4 shots/sec.
- Self-timer
- Approx. 10-sec./approx. 2-sec. delay or custom
- Recording Media
- SD memory card/SDHC memory card/MultiMediaCard/MMCplus card/HC MMCplus card
- File Format
- Design rule for camera file system and DPOF compliant
- Data Type
- Still images: Exif 2.2 (JPEG)* Movies: AVI (Image data: Motion JPEG; Audio data: WAVE (monaural)) Sound Memo: WAVE (monaural) * This digital camera supports Exif 2.2 (also called “Exif Print”). Exif Print is a standard for enhancing the communication between digital cameras and printers. By connecting to an Exif Print-compliant printer, the camera’s image data at the time of shooting is used and optimized, yielding extremely high quality prints.
- Compression
- Superfine, Fine, Normal
- Number of Recording Pixels
- Still images ・ Large: 3264 x 2448 pixels ・ Medium 1: 2592 x 1944 pixels ・ Medium 2: 2048 x 1536 pixels ・ Medium 3, Date Stamp: 1600 x 1200 pixels ・ Small: 640 x 480 pixels ・ Widescreen: 3264 x 1832 pixels Movies ・ Standard: 640 x 480 pixels (20 frames/sec.) 640 x 480 pixels (20 frames/sec. LP) 320 x 240 pixels (30 frames/sec.) Recording can continue until the memory card is full* (can record up to a maximum of 4 GB at one time** ) ・ Compact 160 x 120 pixels (15 frames/sec.) Maximum recording length per clip: 3 min. * Using super high-speed memory cards (SDC- 512 MSH recommended). ** Even if the file size has not reached 4 GB, the recording is stopped when the recording time reaches one hour. Depending on memory card capacity and data write speed, recording may stop before the file size reaches 4 GB or the recording time reaches one hour.
- Playback Modes
- Single (histogram displayable), Index (9 thumbnail images), Magnified (approx. 2x to 10x max.), Resume Playback, Image Inspection Tool, Jump, My Category, Movie Playback (slow motion available), Rotate, Slide Show, Red-Eye Correction, Resize, Sound memos (it is possible to record and playback up to 1 min.), Protect
- Direct Print
- PictBridge compliant, and Canon Direct Print and Bubble Jet Direct compatible
- Interface
- Hi-Speed USB (mini-B) Audio/Video output (NTSC or PAL selectable, monaural audio)
- Communication Settings
- MTP, PTP
- Power Source
- 2 AA-size alkaline batteries 2 AA-size NiMH batteries NB4-300 (sold separately) AC Adapter Kit ACK800 (sold separately)
- Operating Temperatures
- 0–40°C (32–104°F) (0–35°C (32–95°F) when NB-3AH is used.)
- Operating Humidity
- 10–90%
- Dimensions (excluding protrusions)
- 94.3 x 64.7 x 40.8 mm (3.7 x 2.6 x 1.6 in.)
- Weight (camera body only)
- Approx. 175 g (6.2 oz.)
02 / INDEPENDENT COVERAGE
Reviews and field reports
An independent review has not yet been added to this record.
03 / PROVENANCE
Sources and dates
A catalogue year identifies the year held in the source dataset. Announcement dates and retail months are labelled separately. Specifications can vary by region, firmware and recording mode; use the linked manufacturer documentation for those conditions.
Archive updated 2026-10-04. Archive coverage and dataset credits →