The Canon PowerShot A460 digital camera is another new entrant to Canon's PowerShot A-Series. The digicam is ideal for first timers and casual users. In fact the A460 is actually an upgrade to last year’s PowerShot A430 model and features a 5.0 megapixel resolution with a 4x optical zoom lens and a 2-inch LCD screen.

The Canon PowerShot A460 may be point and shoot but that doesn't mean Canon has cut corners. Thus one comes across the proprietary DIGIC II image processor for superior performance and compatibility with MMC, SD and SDHC memory cards. There are about 10 Scene Modes in the Canon A460 including Full Auto, Auto with manual adjustment of exposure compensation and white balance, Portrait, Night Snapshot, Kids and Pets, and other Special Scene modes. It can also record movies with sound which is usually not found on budgeted cameras.

The Canon Powershot A460 has the AiAF “Smart” auto-focus system with Canon’s patented iSAPS intelligent scene analysis algorithm to determine optimum settings for focusing, exposure and white balance. The packaging includes; a USB cable, an audio/video cable, a wrist strap, a 16MB MultiMediaCard and AA-size alkaline batteries as well as the Canon Digital Camera Solution Disc Version 30, featuring the latest versions of Canon’s powerful software. The digicam should be available by February for around $149.99.

“The new PowerShot A550 and Canon A460 digital cameras deliver an exceptional value to the consumer,” says Yuichi Ishizuka, senior vice president and general manager of the Consumer Imaging Group at Canon U.S.A., Inc. “They provide enhanced features and high image quality, while at the same time remaining compact, affordable and easy-to-use. Users are going to love taking pictures with Canon’s new PowerShot cameras and capturing moments that they can continue to enjoy for generations.”