Rating: 
Summary: Buyer Beware! Temperature Changes May Kill This Camera!
Review: I bought an S400 seven months ago and was very happy with it. Recently, however, it stopped working without warning. When I sent it in to the factory service center, I discovered something very troubling about the camera that had I known earlier would have caused me to not purchase it.It turns out that this model--as well as many other Canon digital cameras, the tech told me--has an aluminum body. If you subject the camera to temperature changes (and it only takes a change of 10-15 degrees, I was told) condensation will form inside the camera, and the camera will start to corrode, eventually rendering it unusable. This is what had happened to me. What misuse had I subjected my camera to that caused this to happen? I took it on vacation to the beach with me. Carrying it from the hot and humid beach into an air conditioned car was enough to destroy the camera! The tech told me that he sees this all the time. He didn't know the percent of all Canon cameras that suffer this fate, but he said a lot of them do. He told me he gets lots of cameras back from people who have taken them on vacation to Arizona, Mexico, and Hawaii. He even saw one that had stopped working because the owner kept it stored in a stuffy closet. When the owner eventually took it out to use it, the temperature change back to normal room temperature was enough to fry the camera. I was told that this damage is not covered under warranty and that the manual cautions users not to subject their cameras to this sort of treatment. Canon will not provide service on cameras that suffer this fate. I hope anyone interested in purchasing a Canon digital camera will learn from my very expensive mistake in purchasing this model. The camera is very nicely designed, but it's poorly engineered. If you plan to use the camera indoors only this is a great model. But if you plan to use the camera both outdoors and indoors, if there is a difference in humidity and temperature between the two where you live, and if you don't want to run the risk of totally losing your investment in the camera, this isn't the model or brand for you.
Rating: 
Summary: Great value, especially outdoors
Review: I bought this camera last year after my beloved S100 died after two years of faithful service. The S100 was a prime example of how more megapixels does not equal better quality photos. I took some panoramas while skiing in Banff. One I blew up to 11x14 and it's simply breathtaking, always commented on by people who see it in my apartment. And that was with a 2MP camera. The S400 is similar to its predecessors, except for the higher resolution and 9 point autofocus & DIGIC processor. For well-lit situations, this camera simply can't be beat. You can also use the photo-stitch feature to take huge panoramas. Enough can't be said about the fact that this camera is truly portable. It's only a little more obtrusive than a cell phone sitting in your pocket, and it's right there for you if you ever need to capture a moment, either with a still shot or video (which is surprisingly high quality). The battery is great - easily lasts a day of shooting photos - just recharge overnight and you're good to go. It uses CF cards, which can be had dirt cheap these days, and work with almost any adaptor. (This comes in handy if, say, you run out of room while on vacation and need to download to a CD - most internet cafe's will have a CF-cardreader, while the same cannot be said of, say, a memory stick.) Drawbacks of this model are:
(1) Slow response time between pressing the shutter button and taking the picture. It's hard to capture those moments that require split-second response (baby smiling, etc.) unless you use continuous shooting. To be fair, this is a drawback of nearly any consumer-level digital cam.
(2) Poor performance in low light. For some reason, pictures tend to get grainy when taken in low light. This can often be made up for using photo editing software, and I've gotten big compliments on wedding photos I've taken in very dark settings. However, the graininess comes out even in outdoor/cloudy situations. A drawback. Some things I've figured out after using this camera for awhile:
(1) You don't have to use the (included) TV adaptor to watch your photos on TV. All you need is a stereo headphone jack to RCA cable adaptor, available at any Radio Shack. Using this solution allows you to show/browse your photos on TV while sitting farther away. Video goes to the red/right channel, audio goes to the white/left channel.
(2) Battery charges very quickly.
(3) Included photo software is the best of any I've seen yet at getting out red-eye. On Macs, is OSX-native. Pics are easily imported into iPhoto. Use GraphicConverter for manipulating contrast/brightness/quality/etc. All in all, this is a great camera. You won't be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: Camera Good- Repair Service Bad
Review: I purchased this camera in January of 2004 and by Easter 2004 it had been sent back in three times for repair. Canon's Factory Service Center in Elk Grove Village, IL is very poor. There is no toll free number to call and you're often left to wait on hold (long distance). The camera had a problem with the pins in the CF memory slot which subsequently ruined three CF memory cards. The manager at the Factory Service Center told me you should only use Canon compact flash cards or you could invalidate the warranty. However, when the camera worked I liked it's features and size.
Rating: 
Summary: You'll take it with you everywhere!
Review: First things first. I LOVE this camera! This is my third digital camera and the first one that didn't have me thinking about what I would want in my next one. I had been researching a number of cameras including the Canon G3 and subsequently the G4 - both excellent as well. And then a friend and an avid digital photographer (anyone who will spend entire weekends adjusting, tweaking etc their photos in Photoshop is pretty avid to me) suggested I take a good look at his S400 and read some of the reviews. And then he said something to me that, once I thought about it, really hit home. He said ... "because this camera is so small (about the size of a deck of cards) you will take it with you everywhere. You'll leave the house with it in situations where you would not "pack up" another larger camera. It's like taking your wallet." The more I thought about this the more I remembered myself having to "decide" if I was going to bring my current and prior cameras with me and liking the idea of not having to "decide".
Well ... I've had it for more than a year and my friend was absolutely correct. I bring it with me everywhere without a thought. There is no "packing up" the camera and it is not an inconvenience to have it in my pocket. The Canon leather case actually has a belt loop so you can carry it that way as well. Over the past year or so I've taken great pix that I never would have taken otherwise because my camera would not have been with me otherwise. The quality is outstanding and there are more than enough manual adjustments to suit most. Even though I have an excellent Canon Camcorder I find myself using the S400 for short 10-15 second clips of my daughter, my pets, co-workers behaving foolishly etc. I even like the software that came with the package - something very rare for me.
Bravo Canon!
Rating:
Summary: Size does matter
Review: If you're buying a digital camera, you should really consider size and form. Too small, and you have to compromise with features such as screen size. Too big and you lose the convenience of being able to drop the camera in your pocket on the way out the door. I found this camera to be the perfect blend of size, style, and function. It takes great pictures, decent video, and the battery life is as good as any other camera I've had before (although it doesn't give much notice before giving out). Canon is putting out great products these days, and this is one of them. I highly reccomend it.
Rating:
Summary: Good camera with one major shortcoming
Review: This is a pretty decent camera. BUT one thing you REALLY need to get is a spare battery. Why? You never know when you're going to lose the juice! It gives you about two picture warning before it goes dead. I consider this to be a MAJOR design flaw. Soooo, heed my warning and get a spare battery for this one. You can get good alternative to OEM batteries on eBay for 3-bucks!
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful gadget at a really good price!
Review: The first time I played with this great camera I was concerned about its tiny size... But once I played with it... I was so happy I decided to bought it! PROS: 1. SIZE: the smallest 4mp camera you can find.
2. SPEED: unbeatable start-up velocity!
3. MENUS: they are really easy to navigate.
4. BATTERY: last longer than AA's.
5. PORTABLE: (pocketable!) you can take it anywhere!
6. PRICE: going down!
7. CHARGER: no cables at all!
8. DESIGN: its clean. only the buttons you really need.
9. LENS: retractable, well protected.
10. PICTURE Q: the quality of its pictures is superb... I had a canon G2 and they are not to far from each other... I miss the tilt screen but now I can put it on my pocket. CONS: 1. LCD: small, unprotected. U have to be carefull with it.
2. BATTERY: can't recharge it inside of the camera.
3. NOTHING ELSE!
Rating:
Summary: A ziplock bag is all you need.
Review: I can say that the canon was definitely worth the $$ that I spent on it. Just like all cameras, there are pros and cons. PROS: -DURABLE:
I took the camera up on the ski slopes of vermont to
take action shots and it held up to the beating I gave
it when I took a spill. Now I don't know if I'd
recommend this to anyone else, but I just wrapped it
up in some toilet paper to absorb any moisture and
put it into a ZIPLOCK bag and placed the camera in my
front pocket of my ski pants. Dangerous I know. But
nothing broke. Still works fine. -BATTERY LIFE:
Now I don't have a spare battery, but the battery did
last a full week of taking about 100 pictures w/o
recharging at all while I was down in Dominican
Republic. Granted I didn't scroll through the pictures
that I had taken to conserve battery life only b/c I
forgot to bring the charger with me. I did have the
lcd on while I took my pictures. -PORTABLE:
The camera is small enough to fit inside your pants
pocket and fits nicely in the inside part of your
sports jacket for those occasions that require
suit and tie. I didn't want to carry my camera
in one of those small camera bags b/c then I would
either have to put it on a belt (which isnt' to my
taste) or it would be too bulky for the pocket. So
I decided to just use a ZIPLOCK bag to keep the dirt
and water out, which worked out fine when I was
shoveling sand and rocks into the cement mixer. -PICTURE QUALITY:
Overall the quality is good. I've used the camera w/o
the flash several times to get the same light
contrasts that you would see in real life instead of
lighting up the object and having a darker
background (just my preference). That normally works
out fine, but sometimes I have to lighten the picture
up a little after downloading the picture. I've had
no problems w/using the flash in my pictures. CONS: -LCD:
This probably occurs w/ other cameras, but just as a
heads up, watch out for the plastic piece on the camera
wrist strap. If positioned right (or rather not right),
the plastic piece can scratch up the lcd when stored in
the pocket or wherever you store it b/c it could rub
against the screen. -I'm sure there are other cons, but that's all that sticks out
right now. -COMMENTS:
I normally use the superfine, small picture mode so
that the file is small enough for my friends and
family who have hotmail accounts. They can get
several pictures w/o completely filling up their
mailboxes.
Downloading to computer is quick and easy. I haven't
upgraded to a larger memory card, but I would if I
was going to be taking several pictures and videos
before downloading, which I isn't a problem for me.
Videos is where it starts to eat up the memory.
Anyway, hopefully this review helped. Good luck
shopping.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome product - Canon S400
Review: I purchased 2x of the S200s. My first died in a rafting trip trying to escape the undertow of Idaho's Selway River "
The Ladle", a Class IV rapid. Never again. Needless to say, water and electronics don't mix. Immediately after returning, I purchased another S200. Now I own an S400 and what a great camera. Big tip. Get the Mizar Gallery scope. It fits over the S400 lens and takes 10x zoom photos....and 30x microscope photos. Wow!
Rating:
Summary: IT'S AMAZON.COM
Review: I'm gonna make this very short. Order surely received in 7 (seven) days by UPS ground as it claimed. This is the second time I shop at Amazon.com and so far the service is 5-stars, and moreover the price+S/H are just right compared to others such as pricegrabber.com or mysimon.com. Keep the good service, Amazon!
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