The camera comes with two AA batteries and a 16 MB memory card. Pop these in, and you are ready to start taking pictures. There is also an included wrist-strap which is easily attached to the camera. Hooking the camera up to a TV is very simple, with the included A/V cable (RCA connectors for video and mono sound).

To start downloading images to the computer, simply attach the camera to a USB port with the included cable, and put the camera in playback mode. With OS X, you can use iPhoto to download the images, as the camera is automatically recognized. For some advanced features, and the ability to download movies from the camera, install the included software via the CD, which takes about 5-10 minutes to complete. ArcSoft's PhotoStudio (image editing) software is a separate installation for those who wish to use it.

When I was searching for a new digital camera, I put various features into four categories: important, useful but not as important, nice to have but not something to base the decision based on, and completely useless. I have structured the review in the same way, as many other people likely feel the same way about the following aspects of digital cameras.

• Quality of photos - First and foremost, a digital camera MUST take good pictures, or it's really not worth keeping. The PowerShot A520 takes some spectacular shots, as long as there is enough light available. It includes an auto-assist focus lamp that is supposed to help with low light conditions, but it is still hard to take a perfect picture in a dark room or after the sun sets. Two things that can help you take better low light pictures are using a tripod, and setting the camera to shoot after a 2 second delay (so the camera movement caused by pressing the button has no effect on the picture). It would be helpful if there was some anti-shake circuitry to reduce some blurriness, but still nearly every picture you take with this camera could be suitable for an 8x10 printout.
• Size and weight - Consumer cameras these days need to be small and light, so the average person doesn't have to pack an extra bag while going on vacation, or get tired of carrying the camera around the forrest. This particular camera is about average sized. Not as small as some of the ultra-compacts, but much smaller than many $300+ cameras. I can almost completely conceal the camera in one hand, which is the perfect size for me. Plus, at only half a pound (about 0.25 kilograms), it's light enough to haul around all day long.
• Speed - There are four chief areas used to measure the performance of a digital camera: startup time, image write time, flash recharge time, and shutter time. This camera excels in three of the areas, but is fairly slow at recharging the flash. The time it's turned on, until it's ready to shoot, is under 2 seconds; images (even the highest quality) are written in about half a second; and the time from shutter button getting pressed to when the picture is taken is just over a second, which is (sadly) fast for a digital camera. However, recharging the flash after a picture takes about 8 to 9 seconds, no matter how fresh the batteries are. Nonetheless, I feel the general speed of this camera is fairly fast, but could still use some improvement.
• Optical zoom - The Canon PowerShot A520 includes a 4x optical zoom mechanism, which is 1x greater than almost any other camera in it's range. That extra zoom may not seem like much, until the time comes when you really want to take a picture of an object far in the distance. Personally, I think all cameras should have a minimum of 10x optical zoom, but that's wishful thinking (for now anyhow).
• LCD size/brightness - One main reason we have digital cameras is the ability to review and delete those pictures you don't want. Therefore, it makes sense to get a camera with as big of an LCD as possible. This camera comes with a 1.8 inch screen, which isn't huge, but I feel it helps keep the overall size of the camera down, and the drain on the battery less. As for the brightness of the screen, it's very good. There is no manual adjustment, but it will automatically adjust according to how much light hits the sensor.
• Manual options - For many users, this may not be all that important. That is, until they need to take a picture using certain settings to have it come out right. This camera provides more options than any other in its price range. You can set the aperture (f-mode), shutter speed, white balance, ISO speed, exposure, light metering, flash brightness, focus, and more. All of this combines to give you the ability to create perfect pictures for every shot. It will take some practice to appropriately setup the camera for some shots, but it's definitely worth it. Note: There is a fully automatic mode that allows you to take pictures without any thought process.
• Battery type - I feel that the cameras which have proprietary batteries have a huge disadvantage to those such as the PowerShot A520, which have standard batteries. AA batteries do add a bit more weight than most proprietary types, but if you ever get stuck with a dead battery, you can pick up a fresh set for cheap almost anywhere. I suggest that you get high mAh rated Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) batteries for the longest battery life. With 2500 mAh batteries, 300 photos between recharges is not uncommon.
• Dock requirements - One aspect of Kodak digital cameras that I absolutely hate is the requirement to have a dock to download pictures to your computer. Such a device may be easy to use, put it is completely un-portable, and adds extra cost to the camera. Therefore, not having a dock is one feature that I require in a digital camera before I buy. As expected, this camera includes a USB cable to hook up the camera to the computer, which takes up very little space in any camera bag.

• Included memory - This doesn't seem like a big deal, until you realize that the 16 MB card included with the camera is only enough to take a handful of pictures. To really make full use of the camera, you will need a larger SD or MMC card, which will add money to the overall price of the camera.
• Shooting modes - The PowerShot A520 has a multitude of shooting modes: fully manual, aperture priority, shutter speed priority, program mode, fully auto, portrait/landscape, night time, slow/fast shutter, movie mode, panoramic stitch, and scenes. The scenes are further broken down into foliage, snow, beach, fireworks, underwater, indoor, kids & pets, and night snapshot. Using these scenes will automatically set the camera for optimal shots in various settings. Moreover, the macro mode is available for close up shots of your subjects to record every detail. Macro mode is easily accessible from the four way directional pad, while the rest of the shooting modes are achieved through the mode dial on top of the camera.
• Software - Most software included with peripherals is junk, and never makes it to my hard drive. This is certainly not the case with this camera. I have installed the software (and latest updates from the website), so I can easily download movies, and even basic photo editing. I am very surprised at the quality of this software.
• Image format/compression - If I were in the market for a very high end camera, this category would be higher on the list. For the real shutter-bugs, things like low compression rates and RAW/TIFF images are very important. However, for the average Joe, these things aren't all that important. I will mention that the only image format supported by this camera is JPEG, and the lowest compression available is 5:1 (which is very good), but I certainly won't dwell on the subject.
• Available accessories - This camera can accept a nice variety of accessories that many other cameras in the same price range could only wish for. The ring around the lens mechanism twists off to allow for different lenses (telephoto, wide angle, etc) to be easily attached to the camera for even more stunning images. Furthermore, there is a high power flash device which can boost the flash performance, especially for objects in the distance. These are not something a point and shoot user would use, but the intermediate photographer will certainly be interested in their availability.
• Continuous shooting/Timer modes - The PowerShot A520 is obviously very customizable, and this is no exception when it comes to taking consecutive or timed photos. As will most cameras you can set a 2 or 10 second timer to delay the shot, or hold own the shutter button to take as many pictures as your memory card can handle. But the camera will also allow you to take up to 10 consecutive pictures with 3 to 10 second delay between them, without user interaction. This way, you can get everyone ready for the family portrait, and take multiple photos just in case someone is making a face or blinking. It really is a handy feature.
• Panoramic image stitching - I didn't actually realize this camera had the ability to take back-to-back images, and stitch them together (through software), to make one super wide photograph. But after using it a few times, I am certainly glad it's available. There are often times where just one photograph cannot capture everything in a scene. So, you take multiple, and end up with several of the same scene. But, if you stitch them together, you can have one photo show everything. Just be sure to keep the camera on a central pivot point, or level across a horizontal surface to get a good, seamless stitch.
• Movies (with sound) - A couple years ago, when the first still cameras came out with the ability to shoot videos, I thought it was the dumbest idea ever. Now that I have a camera with this feature, I am glad I have it. I already have created a couple videos, and edited them in iMovie to make a nice little movie. The camera even has a microphone so you get the sounds as well as the sights in the video.

• A/V hookup - Like most digital cameras these days, the PowerShot A520 has a port and an included cable to hook it up to a TV. This way, you can view photos or movies on a larger screen, without first downloading them to a computer. Great for sharing your latest trip with family and friends.
• Direct to printer/computer connection (DPOF) - This camera has the ability to hook up to a printer, and print out selected photos. I don't have a compatible printer to test this on, but it seems pretty simple. Pick the images you want to print, hook it up to a compatible printer, and press a button. You can also set the order in which the photos will download to a computer. While I don't really see the point in setting a download order, maybe someone has a need to do that.
• Image effects - This camera can take pictures with various effects applied to produce widely different results. These effects include vivid (bolder colors), neutral (neutral hues), low sharpening (softer outlines), sepia (sepia tones), and black & white. While you can also create these effects with many image editing programs, it's kind of cool seeing what your photo will look like before taking it (the LCD screen shows the effect applied live).
• Remote control - Some camera manufactures aren't content with the 10 second delay before taking a picture to get yourself in the family shot. Those companies include a little infrared remote control which activates the shutter on demand. Canon decided that this camera did not need such a feature. Personally, I don't mind, as it's just that much less equipment to carry around.
• Red eye reduction - Ever since the invention of the flash, photographers have been trying to get rid of the phenomenon known as red eye. Of course, this camera has the ability to flash once before the picture is actually taken to reduce the occurrence of red eyes. Surprisingly, this option is only available through the menus, and not via the flash part of the four way directional pad. Nevertheless, most users will either leave it on all the time, or turn it off to conserve battery power.

• Sound bite annotations - While you are playing back the images on the camera, you can attach up to 60 seconds of audio to the image. I assume this feature is used to remind yourself why you took a picture, but you have to go through a bunch of menus in playback mode (not available in shooting mode), and the sound clips won't even stick if you use iPhoto. They may stay attached if you use the software provided with the camera, but it's such a useless feature, I didn't even try it.
• Automatic picture rotation - This camera has a sensor in it which can tell if you are taking a horizontal or vertical photo. If you take a vertical photo, you can set it up to automatically rotate the picture. The problem is, only some software supports this feature, so you will likely end up rotating the picture after downloading to your computer anyhow. I would easily trade in this feature for better low light photos.

There is more to this camera than I could mention in this review. It really is a full featured digital camera for the price of an entry level model. To see everything this camera can do, I suggest you take a look at the manual.

I encountered no issues with the camera or the included software.

This camera is one of the best, if not the best, in the $200 price range. You won't get all the extra features of a higher end camera, but you will get a camera that takes great pictures in almost any situation (if you use the right settings). This is the first Canon camera (film or digital) that I have owned, and I must say, I am very impressed.

Pros	Cons
4x Optical zoom Large assortment of manual settings Over a dozen shooting modes for easy point and click Small form factor Weighs only about half a pound AA batteries can take up to 300 photos (with NiHM rechargeable) Can run silently (no annoying beeps) Direct to printer mode Includes photo effects and auto-rotate Half-shutter button shows valuable info before the shot Easy to use menu system Microphone included for sound pickup while shooting video	USB 1.1 Plastic housing (not as strong as some cameras) ISO 400 should be avoided at all costs Slow flash recharge No shaky hands compensator
9/10 stars