Rating: 
Summary: Great, Affordable Camera
Review: Though 3 and 4 megapixel cameras are becoming more popular, this affordable 2 megapixel camera is worthwhile for people on a budget. It easily pays for itself in film and processing costs. It is best for smaller pictures. I print 5x7's and they come out wonderfully. It's the only camera I use! I recommend buying rechargable batteries and a larger CompactFlash card to get the best from this camera.
Rating: 
Summary: A Mistake!
Review: A Big Mistake
Reviewer: MellAKA from Maryland, USA
After doing a lot of research on the Net, I thought; "ok the lighting is not good and the display is dark, but a lot of people really liked the camera", plus Radio Shack has them on sale this week for $.... Well I should have taken these reviews more seriously.
I bought the Fuji 2800 camera to replace my old trusted Kodak 240 digital camera. I wanted better zoom and a newer camera with the cool new features.What I got was a camera that did not take low light pictures very well at all and many of my pictures were out of focus. You might say, well I can live with the low light, I COULD NOT! I need a camera that produces quality pictures regardless of light. And my pictures were fuzzy. NOT good Fuji! Did you rush this one out the door or what. After calling Fuji's Customer service they told me that I had a defective product and to return it.(Being in denial I thought, maybe I was doing something wrong, because this camera had the zoom I really wanted.) I did not really want to look at another Fuji after that dissappointing ordeal. I got back on the Net and this time I noticed the Canon PowerShot A40. (It has 3x optical and 2.5 digital zoom, not the greatest, but decent). I really liked its reviews and decided I could live with the difficult manual and operation until I learned the camera if it meant I would be getting a good camera. PLUS, this camera has "MOVIE capabilty, Sound and 4 different picture modes. I went into ... and they demo'ed it for me and even printed off pictures for me. I had them set it for me for an event this evening and I was able to use it right out of the box, tonight I'm learning the ins and outs. I LOVE THIS CAMERA! It is so cool being able to get a 30 second video on my camera without tugging along my hefty camcorder. It really is great for short movie clips. I plan to email them to friends tomorrow. And the picture quality is excellent, when I took my pictures earlier today I did not like the way a couple of them came out so I called ...and they told me I could adjust the color by adjusting the setting (choice of lighting about 6 settings from cloudy, flouresent, etc), worked like a charm. And the prints are just awesome. What I learned: Listen to the negative comments from owners, they can be right. Then ask yourself, if your camera turns out to have those problem, can you live with it and be satisfied? More importantly, go to a camera store to demo and buy a camera! I had never did this before because I felt they would be more expensive based on the expensive models I saw in Sunday's papers, my camera cost $..., which is about what I can get it off the Net. BUT, in the store (given you have a knowledgable sales person helping you), you can get quick information and demo's to help you make your decision. And getting the pictures printed off in ... was just too sweet! BTW; if you do this and your prints do not come out right, the store model settings have probably been played with by shoppers like you and me -lol. So its great to have someone there who KNOWS camera's and is not just SELLING them! Regardless to what you get, be flexible and be ready to quickly return the camera if you are not satisfied to find what you really want! Cuz it's your dime after all.
Rating:
Summary: Good point-and-shoot and good value, compact camera
Review: Pros:
* Good price, good value
* Compact, easy to carry along
* AA batteries (use rechargeables)
* Easy to hold grip
* Prints on 8.5x11 Epson paper and Canon i850 wonderfully
* 2MP cameras are good enough for up to 8x10 picture print-outs; and this A40 is the one of the bests according to Consumer Reports and cnet.com Cons:
* Take too long to focus, i.e. when I have the camera focused and flash ready, my composed pictures disappear, I missed many good picture compositions. I guess this is the drawback of digital cameras vs. film cameras.
* The frame you see when composing a picture is not exactly what you get when the pictures taken. Users have to get used to it to have the good composed pictures. Overall: I like my Canon A40. I've taken so many pictures since I have my camera. I taught my 8 year old nephew to use the camera. Then, he took more than 100 pictures in one hour, faily well. This camera is easy to use and produce excellent pictures. I usually carry this Canon A40 with me for casual shots. For formal shots, I use my Canon EOS Elan II with 28-80mm lens. After having this A40 for a while, I researched on cnet.com, tried to upgrade my A40. I could not find other better choices, better values.
Rating: 
Summary: Fantastic All-Purpose Camera!
Review: I just got this camera a week ago and I love it! Wow... it takes great pictures for the point and click photographer in Automatic or Program mode (which offers simple adjustments). Yet offers great features for the more advanced photographer in Manual mode. In Automatic mode it takes great shots outdoors, indoors with flash, even low light without a flash. For instance, I was sitting at our dining room table, with just candlelight and Christmas lights and it took a beautiful, balanced picture. Like what you'd see on a greeting card. Flame from candles not too bright, while darker details were in perfect balance. It's easy to use, with a very intuitive menu system and clear LCD. The Manual mode is great for getting even more control as far as shutter speed, exposure control, etc. The camera focuses quite well, whether landscape, normal distance, even close/up macro. I took a picture in Macro mode of a lit ornament on our Christmas tree from about 12" away. It captured the picture beautifully and in sharp focus! Then there's neat features like PhotoStitch Assist, to create some amazing panorama shots. I've even done a 360, then using the PhotoStitch software created a really cool QuickTime VR surround shot! And the camera comes with *2* CD-ROMS loaded with great software. Including PhoteExpression which does a fantastic job of red-eye removal, retouching, calendar and card creators. Even Photo Fantasy! The camera looks and feels solid. I have no complaints. The Canon A40 is absolutely light years beyond anything else in the 2MP range. Boy, we're sure glad we got the A40. It's an incredible camera to capture memories! My only complaint... I wish I had this camera years ago!
Rating:
Summary: I got this camera for Christmas...
Review: .. and I just love it. I had been looking to get a digital camera for some time to help me with my work in Photoshop and Web Design. Getting pictures developed 1-hour and scanning was time consuming, expensive and wasteful (with discarded images that weren't useful). I look at several cameras in just about every store witin 60 miles around me that sells them and decided I wanted this one for price/performance. Many cameras were the same price or slightly cheaper but they didn't have the 2MP that I wanted or an actual optical Zoom. A lot of cameras seem cheaper because they substitute digital zoom (which only enlarges part of an image) for optical zoom (which actually focuses on part of an image). This camera has both and the optical zoom is vvery nice and the digital zoom is adequate. The price is good, the performance and picture quality is excellent and it can take movies! I love it! Oh yeah, mine didn't spark or catch on fire either...
Rating:
Summary: Perfect balance
Review: Nice sturdy feel to this camera. Two words: BUY IT
Rating:
Summary: Easy, great photos even for beginners
Review: This is my first digital camera and I have been very intimidated about finally buying one, but I have always owned and loved my Canons, so this was an easy choice for me. I also read many reviews and this camera was at the top of the list in every category including durability. I love that this camera looks and feels like a normal camera. You can use the viewfinder just like the olden days. It is larger and has the heft of a camera, not tiny like some digital cameras.
Out of the box set up time was about 10 minutes. The instruction book begins at the beginning and is written in plain English with illustrations. No wonk-y mumbo-jumbo. Basically, you slap the batteries in, put the little memory card in its slot, turn it on and point and shoot. Auto focusing and flash make it SIMPLE!
I was in a quandry about megapixels. I wondered if 2.1 was too low for the pics to be sharp. A couple of years ago, that was the top of the line, now, 2.1 is prehistoric. I decided to go with the A40 and 2.1 as a learning experience because the price is so low and Canons are so great. I figured after a couple of years, I'd junk the A40 and get a super megapixel camera. WRONG! This is a keeper! The photos are absolutely beautiful and crisp, even up to 8"X10". The color is absolutely accurate! My dad is a Nikon snob and even he admitted that my Canon A40 did a much better job than his Nikon 2.1 megapixel!
You have the option of using the Auto mode, where the camera does everything but push its own button or you can use it like a conventional camera where you set the exposure, shutter speed, etc.
There are a lot of other settings to play with if you want to, like making the colors more vivid.
I did invest in a 256MG memory card because I read that the 8MG one the camera comes with doesn't hold many photos. I have shot 200 photos without a glitch or erasing any to free up memory space.
I think that this is the greatest value and quality in a digital camera for any level of user that anyone could want. If you've hesitated buying a digital camera, I encourage you to make this your first digital camera. I expect to keep this baby forever!
Rating:
Summary: Great Easy to Use Camera
Review: When I saw how perfect digital cameras were for my needs, I knew I needed one. After weeks of research on which one to get, I finally decided on the Canon Powershot A40. A friend had recomended this one to me and its features seemed to fit my needs almost perfectly. I bought the camera at Best Buy with 4 accesories. I got the 128 MB memory card, a case, rechargable batteries, and a memory card reader. After 20 minutes of opening the box, I knew how to work the camera. It's incredible! With the memory card (which is completely necessary!) I can take more pictures than I will ever need, as well as a 30 second video clip. I am really ejoying this camera...the only complaint I have (which is minor) is the short battery life. Make sure you get rechargable battaries! The camera eats them up very fast.
Rating:
Summary: Wow! Simplicity and Performance Right Out of the Box!
Review: After reading numerous reviews and magazines, I bought this little jewel. I am a total digital novice. All I did was put the batteries in, turn the camera to 'auto' and snap off 2-3 pics of my dogs. I removed the memory card, inserted into my new Epson 925 Photo Printer, hit a couple buttons (single, glossy 8x10) and 'print'. I got an 8x10 that is incredible! No touch ups, no reading either of the manuals as yet and detail/color you wouldn't believe! I've shown them to various people who have 3 and 4 megapixel cameras and they are astounded also. I compared to a print developed on an HP printer with a 3.3 Sony DSC75 and mine were more detailed, deeper and richer in color. ... I'm hooked.
Rating:
Summary: There are better choices!
Review: This camera was given to me as a gift from my 3rd cousin. When I first opened it I was overjoyed to be receiving this camera. I briefly scanned the manual and began to turn it on. Right after I switched it on, sparks began to fly from the camera and it caught on fire. I was fortunate not to get burnt and regret ever having used this camera.
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