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Canon PowerShot A40 2MP Digital Camera w/ 3x Optical Zoom

Canon PowerShot A40 2MP Digital Camera w/ 3x Optical Zoom

List Price: $399.99
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Mostly okay, but one major disappointment...
Review: No complaints about picture quality, ease of use, or software. But one big disappointment...

When I saw this camera had a built-in microphone I naturally assumed it was for voice annotation of pictures. It's not. Despite having a built-in mike and even having an icon on the display to represent a picture with an audio attachment, you cannot do voice annotation. The microphone is only for "movies" - low-resolution, 10-second, video clips. Something I don't think I will ever use.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great Investment - now at a cheaper price
Review: I was a first-timer with digital cameras, but I bought this camera in May after reading many reviews on Amazon and other sites. We love this camera and have already taken over 400 pictures! The color quality of each is truly excellent (example: I took it on a business trip and my pictures came out richer than my boss's professional grade digicam). Even in dark areas the pictures come out clear, although the viewfinder may not show it that way. The software that is included is confusing to install but easy to use. I definitely recommend upgrading memory (128 mb) and buying rechargable batteries.

I'm bummed that the camera price only dropped now!! It was such a great investment as it was, it is a steal at this lower price.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great camera!
Review: Having been an SLR camera buff for well over 25 yrs, it was tough for me to jump into the digital camera era. After much research and reading many different reviews like this one, I bit the bullet and bought the Canon Powershot A40 sight unseen (well without having put my hands on one and trying one out!) I was going on a trip and needed something that I could share my pictures with everyone quickly. This camera really fit the bill! I have had so much fun playing with it and the best part of it is that you can delete the pictures that you don't want and only print the ones you do... What a change from printing all the pictures and then having ones that you don't want either hanging around or even throwing them away. I also like the 'mini movies' that you can make and everyone is totally amazed that this camera can do what it does! I definitely would recommend this camera to even the novice. I also recommend that you invest in rechargeable batteries, I used up the ones that came with the camera the same day I got the camera!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: weird nobody mentions the notoriuos out of focus problem
Review: This camera has more features than any digital camera... However, it seems ALL canon powershot A40 has an out of focus problem in zoom mode at focal length 13.4mm in auto focus mode. (The second to largest zoom setting). At this focal length the camera will set focus fixed at distance of 66m (roughly 200 feet) no matter how far your intended objects are. This often causes out of focus problems.

Canon admits this problem and it says their new firmware would solve this problem. However many customer mentioned the only thing the new firmware does is remove the "distance" information from the jpeg exif info. And that hides the fact that the camera is still focusing at a fixed 66m at 13.4mm focal length.

I don't know if the firmware fix is really aimed at hiding the problem only. Anyway I hope Canon will make this issue public and give some detailed explanation to clear things up.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Canon is King
Review: I've bought 1-2 megapixel digital cameras from Kodak, Olympus, Polaroid, and Fuji as well as the Canon A20 and A40. The Canons are easily the best of the bunch in both image quality and product reliability. That's why I now have the A40 as my primary camera and the earlier A20 model as my backup. The others have been given away to less discriminating friends and family members. When my office finally got around to buying a digital camera, it bought the A40 based on my recommendation and the quality of the photos I took while on vacations in Utah, Arizona, and Wyoming. Despite heavy use and occasional drops, the Canons have never malfunctioned (unlike the Fuji 2600 I gave my daughter that has been repaired twice in nine months). What a treat it is to have photos that look this good whether printed out in albums or used as PC screensavers.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Couldn't be happier.
Review: I love this camera and can't imagine living without it. I upgraded from the A20 which I also loved. The A40 offers more power to adjust the camera settings than the A20, as well as adding a cool but modest movie mode. It exceeded my expectations.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: amazing pictures, great features, but big
Review: even with the extra accessories you'll need (you definitely NEED a case, NiMH batteries & charger, & larger flash memory), this camera is a value. it takes amazing pictures, can't fault them for a 2MP camera, and the manual options are fun even for an amateur to experiment with. it's big flaw is its size: it is heavy (about 1 lb) with the batteries installed and too big to keep in a pocket. thinking about going with the much more portable elphs.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Hands down -- Best in Class!
Review: I did extensive research, as most entering into the digi photography realm, and have found the 2mp, sub [price] digicam catagory is crowded with many very good cameras (Fuji 2600, Olympus D520, etc.). However, only one truely shines as an "enthusiast's" camera with all the features ... the Canon Powershot A40. It has everything - manual mode, movie mode with audio, burst mode (2.5 shots/second), output to TV, accessories (underwater housing, lenses, etc.), and on and on - but most importantly it takes stunning photographs! But one need not be a shutterbug to properly utilize the power of this camera -- as most of my (excellent) shots have been taken in full Auto mode. I just frame, shoot, and the camera returns a beautiful capture. I am passionate about all of my hobbies and "toys" (cars, motorcycles, boats, skiing, electronics, A/V equipment, interior design) and have a high threshold of acceptance for all of my purchases. The A40 does not fall short. I would highly recommend this camera to anyone without reservation!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Bought it over the S330 and S200...
Review: You should all know that Canon makes the best 2X Megapixel cameras in [that price] range. Above that range - I would buy Nikon or Fuji.

I was looking at: Canon S330, S200, A40 - in that order. I went to [2 different camera stores] for all my information and learned a lot. I threw out the S200 because of the 2X zoom rather than the 3x optical zoom of the A40 and S330. I looked at the S330 and A40 and went with the A40 since it was [less expensive] and the features the S330 had over the A40 was not enough for me to spend [that much] more. Here are the differences:

* The S330 is the ELPH model and smaller than the A40. The A40 sits in your hand better with the curve. The S330 was easy to drop and not any lighter.
* The A40 uses AA batteries. The S330 uses rechargebale Lithium ion batteries. I use rechargeables AA already. The S330 also comes with a charger and the A40 does not.
* Both view screens are the same on the back - 1.5 inches. Both can use AUTO, Manual, Macro, Portrait, and Landscape.
* Both have the same flash functions - red eye, off, auto.
* Both cameras can shoot 30 second movies with AUDIO.
* The S330 has the ability to set personal settings, like when you turn it self-timer - you can record yourself saying" Get Ready!". The A40 does not.
* I don't think the A40 lets you record AUDIO per picture like the S330 does. For example, the S330 you can record your memories of the photo while you take it. Not on the A40.
* Both have same software - it's very good for downloading. It uses USB to the PC (I have XP) and auto downloads new photos. A snap to set up.
* Both have same resolution - Large, Med, Small. Same Compression - Normal, Fine, SuperFine.
* Both come with 8 MB card - not enough - get a 64MB.
* Both come with all cords

Good luck. For me the voice controls and smallness were not worth [the extra money]. The A40 works great. The pictures are very clear, sharp, and easy to load into the PC.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Not Quite "Out of the Box" Easy
Review: I just got this camera Friday. I put in the batteries and the memory and started shooting. Transferred the shots to my PC... It seemed easy.

But then I took it on a VERY important trip Saturday (my fiancee and I getting our parents together for the first time). I had it set on the best photo quality (lowest compression), auto everything mode, and about 1/3 of the photos ended up out of focus or grainy.

The problem is that the little preview LCD doesn't show that. Everything looks fine. It's only when you get the photos downloaded to your PC that you see the problems.

That means some shots my fiancee and I loved and were looking forward to making prints of for our parents are now USELESS.

Overall, it's a good camera for the money and when the shots come out, they're gorgeous. But I would seriously suggest taking the time to learn its quirks and some of its more advanced features before taking any shots it will be heartbreaking to lose when you find out they came out poorly.

I think I've got the bumps smoothed out now and will have good experiences in the future. But it's sad that we had to lose those once-in-a-lifetime shots because this camera wasn't quite as point-and-shoot as promised.


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