Rating: 
Summary: MAJOR PROBLEMS WITH SKIN TONES AND FLASH
Review: Look, a great number of people I know exclaim about how great Canon's are in general, especially the S400. I am going to talk about why the Sony DSC P10 destroys the Canon S400 and to address the gripes of other reviewers. The only advantages the Canon S400 has over the Sony P10 are as follows:
1. Flash is more centered over lens of camera to avoid "shadow" effect
2. Compactflash memory is cheaper
3. Double sided memory sticks are "bad"
4. The S400 has 9 points of autofocus, compared to the P10's 3 Yes, I know the flash on the Sony is not centered over the lens, thus in theory it would cast shadows over the subject, BUT in practice, THIS HARDLY MAKES A DIFFERENCE. For the most part, I have not even noticed that this was possible, but in those small instances if I payed extremely close attention, I could notice that something small and insignificant placed in a very specific way in front of the subject was casting a slight shadow on the subject in like 1 in 100 of the night pictures I take. This is FAR outweighed by the fact that Canon's in general, and this PARTICULAR Canon, has THE WORST lighting problems I have ever seen. SKIN TONES, COMPLETELY wrong. Canon has a history of problems with underexposing color tones and this camera is no different. Using TWO different A400's, the skin tones of people in the pictures often comes out terrible. People's skin often comes out EXTRAORDINARILY yellow and fuzzy. I am not sure what causes this problem, but this ALONE renders the camera completely useless in mild light conditions. Go develop some night pictures off the A400 before you buy it and you'll see what I'm talking about. The skin tones come out all wrong and it is obvious to almost everybody. Especially if you are Asian! They're not THAT yellow! Compare the pictures side by side to the Sony P10 and I guarantee you can tell. First of all, compactflash memory is only cheaper than memory sticks if you don't know how to shop. Sure, if you buy a Viking Compactflash card then it'll be cheaper, but then again you shouldn't be doing that anyways since Viking makes dangerously terrible cards. Furthermore, if you shop on amazon.com, you can buy a 256MB SONY brand memory stick for practically the same price as a reputable maker of a CF card! I agree, that memory stick pros are not that great since they have that really odd copyright protection, but if you plan to only put pictures on this card, then that should not even be an issue. Also, people have complained about the "double-sided" memory sticks and how inconvenient they are. Both me and my dad have one and we actually think it's better than a conventional 256MB stick. First of all, if you have an MP3 player then it would be nice to keep MP3's on one side of the card and pictures on the other. You don't want to mix the two, and it's a great way of dividing it. Why would you not want to mix the two? Say you wanted to format the card to delete all your pictures so that you can take a whole new round of pictures. If you had a 256MB compactflash, you would delete all your MP3's as well, or you would have to delete each of your 100 pictures one by one.
With the double sided stick, you can just delete one side at a time, leaving all your MP3's. The same holds true if you are just taking only pictures as well. If you want to keep some pictures or movies on your card for a presentation or demonstration on a TV, then you can keep those pictures on one side of the card, and then continue formatting and taking pictures on the other side freely. And when you do have to switch the sides, it really isn't annoying at all. You just take out the card and move one button. This is far easier than tying your shoes. So one reviewer named tmchow complained on switching sides to the memory stick that it was "Far too much hassle for me.. sounds easy in theory, but in real life, you will hate it"
He must wear velcro shoes or something, because if you can do simple things like tie your shoes, SURELY you can press one button, really it's not hard at all. And WHY on EARTH would a non-professional photographer need NINE points of autofocus?!? That would mean you would like to focus on an object NOT in the center of the picture and leave everything else blurry. So this spectacular feature would come in handy in the following situation, you are taking a picture of two people at a restaurant but you would like to focus on the salt shaker, but leave the two people fuzzy. USELESS. So basically if you would ever like to focus on something completely outside the center of the picture but leave the remaining 90% of the picture fuzzy, buy this Canon for the wonderful autofocus flexibility. So let's look at why the Sony P10 is clearly better:
1. I like people's skin to look like how it does in real life.
that ALONE should be enough, but let's carry on
2. Sony P10 is 5 megapixel
3. 20% longer battery life, VERY important in digital photography
4. Takes great pictures in the dark, and even has a solid night mode Some people get completely lost in megapixels and think that more megapixels is better and forget the rest of the camera. Not true, megapixels only matter if you are blowing up your pictures to uncommon and extravagant sizes like 20 X 30. In this case, the Sony P10 takes far better night pictures as well as having more megapixels. But if you really insist on messing up everyone's skin tones, go right ahead and buy this camera. People keep talking about how compact the A400 is. Well, in my experience, pants pockets generally are rectangular, not square. Making the Sony P10 a far better fit when it comes to a conventional pocket. Overall, Canon cameras are completely overrated by all those blind Canon lovers. Don't be biased!
Rating: 
Summary: Old model, but still excellent
Review: Before you buy the S400, you should know it's already over one and a half years old, so it's in the process of being discontinued -- hence the low price on Amazon and elsewhere, even though this list price is still high. That said, this is still probably the best consumer-grade digital camera on the market today. Let me expound. First, 4-MP is the perfect resolution for day-to-day photography. That is, if you are a pro photographer and need the best resolution, you probably want 5+ megapixels. But for us normal mortals, 4MP is already more than enough. You can crop your pictures and still make great 8"x10" blow-up prints. A year ago I would have recommended a 3-MP camera, but right now you can get this 4-MP camera for cheaper than a 3-MP a year ago, so go for this one. Is more pixels always better? Not necessarily. More pixels mean bigger files as well as slower save speed, so it's best to strike a balance between resolution and speed, and 4 MP should be good enough. Second, the picture quality on this Canon is just excellent. Earlier models of Canon (esp. the Digital Elph line) tended to underexpose and yield cold color tones, but the S400 does a very good job of keeping a natural, slightly warmer color range. The pictures are still a little bit softer than sharp images captured by Nikon SLR's, but overall you'll be pleased by the picture quality, both indoors and outdoors. The flash range could be longer, but the same can be said of all built-in flash units. The camera is easy to set up and use, and transfering pictures to Windows XP is a piece of cake. The build quality is top-notch. I highly recommend this camera.
Rating:
Summary: This camera is AMAZING!
Review: You would not believe everything this camera does, and yet in such a small package! I bought it to take snap-shots and to play around with the video feature - but there is so much more! There is a manual setting which lets you control just about every aspect of the shot - whether you want a flash or no flash, if the conditions are cloudy, sunlight, or even fluorescent light! You can even chose between various "special effects" like "amber", "vivid" and "black and white" to add to the photo. The zoom feature is amazing - with the combined optical and digital, you can zoom up to 11x - and the photo did not seem "grainy" to me at all! Plus there are automatic controls which help you take a better picture - with the auto-focus, auto-flash, and low-light(camera shake) warning - you can be sure that every picutre you take will come out great. All the photographs I've taken have come out sharp, in focus, and true to color. There is also a slide-show in playback mode, and this neat feature which lets you take a panoramic series of shots. And I'm not even half-way through the owner's manual! This is the best money I have ever spent on a camera. EXCELLENT BUY!!!
Rating:
Summary: This is "the" camera
Review: I have bough this camera after extensive research. A very good review site is at http://www.dpreview.com/. I got this camera because it the perfect balance of quality, reliability,compactness and simplicity. These are enough to make it a "winner" traveller's camera. It is the perfect design. I carry it in my front pocket, not bothersome at all. If you are looking for more controls, go for bigger models like A80 in the same price range. This camera still has many essential controls you would need. One thing I wish it had is fast shutter. This can only be achieved in continous mode. It can picture a 40 mph moving car as it was still. Extremely user friendly, very good material. Not perfect battery life. May need extra battery for trips. I would strongly recommend it to every traveller who wants to take good pictures with minimum hassle %90 of the time. The conclusion is, Canon rules the digital camera world. This camera rules the ultra compact world.
Rating: 
Summary: Overall I'm happy.
Review: I just got a new s400 after giving up my s200. The finish on the s400 is far less durable than the titanium-like finish on the s200. The s200 seems to focus faster in spot mode than the s400, possibly because of the more advanced sensors and programming in the s400. The s200 was a great camera and produced superb results. I'm still very impressed with the s400. I like the Canon digitals far better than the others at this price point. I considered the s45, s50, G5, and A80 cameras. I may still have to exchange this for the A80 because of the pivoting display which I think is a fantastic feature. I will do some more testing and pass on my conclusions.
Rating:
Summary: Best Canon So Far
Review: After having gone through countless Kodak brank cameras (each one broke) I deceded to go for the ultra sleek Canon Elf series. While this advantax film camera served me well for many years (and is stil in great condition) I got tired of developing my film only to find that that my favorite picture wasn't quite right. So I decided to step out into the 21st century and go digital... AND I AM NEVER GOING BACK AGAIN!! This little camera easily fits in my purse or pocket, has a great zoom and lots of extra fun features to play around with. I would definitely recommend this camera to anyone who wants a small, sleek, great performing, easy to use, brand name digital camera. NOTE: before checking out buy a larger memory card and the PSC-50 soft leather case since it comes with no case and only a 32MB card.
Rating:
Summary: Looking for an easy to use compact digicam?
Review: Then look no further. The S400 is so small you can practically take it anywhere. It will easily fit in a jacket pocket. You'll barely notice the weight in your backpack or purse. A friend of mine wears it on a lanyard around his neck. I've even carried mine in the front pocket of my jeans! Yes, the S400 is a small digicam. As a result, it leaves out many features that might be desired by more advanced photographers (manual focus, aperture/shutter priority, flash exposure compensation,...). But for the majority of people, the S400 is an excellent point-and-shoot digicam. If you don't need 4MP, then consider the 3MP Canon S300. Sure, there are smaller digicams out there, made by various manufacturers, but most of the smaller digicams lack an optical zoom. If you can live without the optical zoom and you want something smaller, consider the 5MP Canon SD10 or a camera from the credit card-sized Casio Elixim series. If you do not need a small digicam, you may want to save some money and go with a Canon A70 or A80. These cameras, which have larger grips, are especially a good choice for people with larger hands. Where the S400 feels like it might slip out of the hands, the A70/A80 provide an excellent grip. One final note: if you like water activities, Canon makes a waterproof housing for many of their cameras (S400, A70/A80, etc.). I don't currently own a waterproof housing, but I am considering one to use when I go fishing. These housings are also excellent for snorkeling.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic - not much else to add to what's already been said
Review: I'm very happy with this camera. It works just as the specifications provided says it should, and the quality of my pictures is outstanding. The unit is compact and solid in my hand, and all functions are easy to use and adjust quickly after only a small amount of practice. There are many different shooting options and you can manually adjust many exposure settings. Most of the photos I've taken so far have a very "snapshot"-ish quality to them--nothing very impressive, artistically speaking. The flash washes out colors up close (like flashes do) and shooting in low light is difficult if you don't have a steady surface to rest the camera; however, when the settings are properly adjusted to the environment, you can get some amazing pictures. Sometimes I'll come across a shot and say, "Holy cow! Did *I* take this? It's beautiful!" My only real gripe with this camera is that it didn't come with any helpful extras. One battery, charger and 32MB memory card--that's it. It would have been nice if they at least included a little cloth bag to keep it in until you purchase a case for it--and yes, you WILL want a case for this camera. The 32MB compactflash card is good for starters, but it will fill up very quickly, and unless you're not going to use the video capture and you're willing to constantly do on-the-fly image selection--i.e. deleting pictures directly from the camera before you download them to your computer in order to make room for more (this is not difficult, but a nusiance when you would rather take pictures)--you will definitely want an upgrade. Not much can be said for the proprietary battery except that it lasts about as long as you would expect it to. A second battery is a must if you're out taking pictures all day long. The charger is conveniently cord-free and plugs directly into the wall. You can easily grab the whole unit and stuff it in a small bag with your camera for travelling. And to the reviewer who complained that the flash mode isn't saved when you power-down: True, if you leave your camera in the normal, automatic mode, the flash will default to "on" every time you power-up your camera--but if you use the "manual" mode, it will remember the flash setting, even when you take out the battery. I usually shoot in the manual mode, then when I need to take a really quick picture and I'm just not sure about the settings, I flip over to automatic and point and shoot. I recommend this camera, but be aware that you'll probably want to spend at least another $50 - $100 on the following accessories right away: Small case - I found one locally that fit the whole kit perfectly for less than $10 Spare battery - Use the genuine Canon part--people have reported problems with 3rd party batteries Large CF memory card - 256MB seems to be the gold standard, but don't forget that write/access speed is almost as important as size
Rating:
Summary: This camera is simply exquisite!
Review: I own a 10D which I absolutely love and was getting tired of using my old Olympus Epic (a GREAT film camera) and was looking for a good digital point and shoot. My two major candidates were the S400 and the S50. If you follow the photography boards at all you realize that this is a fairly common dilemma - the S400 vs the S50. The S50 offers excellent manual controls while the S400 is significantly smaller without any manual control whatsoever other than exposure compensation. I just LOVE the look and feel of the S400 though if anything it could be argued that it is TOO small. If you feel it is and you are looking for a carry everywhere camera it is well worth the effort to get used to the small size because the camera takes beautiful pictures. The S400 is simply beautiful. I can live without all the manual controls since I own the 10D and since this camera is primarily for my wife and for me when I don't want to lug the 10D around. Several have pointed out that since this camera is so small it will always be with you whereas the S50 would be less likely to be carried along because of its increased size. This is a very good argument! The camera is SUBSTANTIALLY smaller than its bigger brother the S50. The form and size factors are what finally won me over. One criticism of the camera. Low light focusing is less than ideal. You need to work with the camera to understand its limitations indoors. I am a huge fan of the Canon cameras and I would advise anyone looking for a camera, whether a point and shoot or a DSLR to carefully consider the Canon line since, in my opinion, Canon currently represents the state of the art.
Rating:
Summary: A great digital camera for a casual user like me!
Review: Simple to use, yet produces great quality photos. I was also considering SD-10 because of its size. I personally think that SD-10 is a bit too small. For some people, it may be a little difficult to hold SD-10 steady when using it. That was the case for me and instead, I decided to get S400. Importing the images to my Mac was so easy. It comes with the software for both Windows and Mac, but if you use iPhoto, no need to install the included software. The iPhoto will automatically recognizes the camera. As so many people have recommended here, you should consider getting a larger CF card. At the maximum resolution of 2272 x 1704, each image will be 1.2 to 1.5 MB. At 1600 x 1200, it will be about 800 to 900 KB. It is a great digital camera for someone like me, a casual point-and-shoot user.
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