Canon PowerShot A400 3.2MP Digital Camera with 2.2x Optical Zoom (Silver)

Rating:
Summary: Best Quality Images for the Price - Period!
Review: A lot of people leave feedback who don't really know much about digital photography or equipment, and that's fine, and beneficial in many cases, but in other cases it can be very misleading. For instance, a woman said she took some photos in the gymnasium of her kids and the quality of the photos was very poor so she's returning the camera. I'll bet the gym had little or no sunlight, and she was shooting at a distance OUTSIDE OF THE CAMERA'S FLASH RANGE. Grain is created in by higher ISO speeds (film speeds). This camera's highest ISO speed is 400 which isn't really high enough to create grainy photos. So I'm assuming her photos turned out yellowish or blurry, which some people wrongly call grainy. You need to tell the camera what kind of light source you're shooting under. She should have switched the camera mode to "indoor lighting, florescent or tungsten depending on the lights in the gym", and I'll bet she would have been quite impressed with the results as long as there was plenty of artificial light available. If there wasn't enough light she could have played with the exposure setting a little (see the user manual for that advanced feature). Or she possibly could have used her flash, but the flash range is probably around 10 feet which could be a problem in a gym.

Ok, now another person left feedback saying there is a two second lag time between when you click the button and the shutter snaps. Please dont be concerned. There is no lag time, I can assure you. There is however a two second timer on the camera (and also a 10 or 20 second timer, not sure which one). Anyway, he has the two second timer selected which is causing the lag time. I hope he reads the manual and figures out what he's doing wrong before he returns this wonderful camera ;)

Bottom line, this is a great camera. Here is why:
1. This camera uses the DiGiC image processor. All you need to know is the image processor is crucial for a high quality digital reproduction for any digital camera. Canon's DiGiC processor is the best compact camera image processor on the market and this is the same one they use in their high end compact cameras costing 100s of dollars or more.
2. This camera is very flexible because it allows you to shoot in different modes by basically flipping a switch to the proper setting - indoor lighting, portrait, landscape, and so on. These settings make any photographer take great pictures. Yes, these modes are standard on pretty much any good compact camera. But this camera costs a lot less so the point is you're still getting tons of high end features.
3. The auto focus capabilities are great. Make sure you understand when your subject is in focus. This camera does all the complex focusing work for you. You just need to understand what the camera is telling you about the subject it's focusing in on. That's true for any camera, but this camera has 9 point evaluative metering, and that's an advanced focusing mode perfected by canon in even their high end cameras.
4. Automatic Exposures vs. Manual - This camera ships with automated settings selected (for best exposures without you having to understand all the technicalities of photography) to make your life easier. Yet if you want control over your exposure the camera allows you lots of flexibility for the price.
5. Display - The display on the back of the camera is superb and more expensive cameras on the market do not have as good a display.
6. *3.2 Mega pixels - Some people think more is better, but that's not true. Photos taken with this camera can be printed at 5x7 size with photo quality. If you want to print 8x10s with this camera, the quality is still excellent. That's basically true for any 3.2 mega pixel camera. However, the quality of the DiGiC image processor combined with 3.2 mega pixel resolution means this camera will make up to 5x7 prints with better color quality, clarity, sharpness etc than that $600.00 compact camera offered by another brand (because other brands don't have Canon's DiGiX image processor and optics). If you want to print really large photos, 11x14 or larger then this camera is not for you. But generally... anyone who's interested in those sized prints is going to buy a higher end SLR for at least $1,000.

This camera defies the old saying, "you get what you pay for". This is a high quality camera that Canon is able to offer for far less cost because they've limited it to 3.2 mega pixels. But most consumers don't understand that it's totally irrelevant unless they're trying to print really large prints (11x14 or larger)

Everyone should buy this camera (and learn how to use it before leaving feedback ;)


Cons:
1. Small memory card. You'll need to buy a 128MB or higher card. You'll pay $20 + for that depending on what kind of deal you can find.
2. Batteries. Your batteries will start dying after about an hour of use or so. You should get 4 NiCad rechargeable batteries and a charging unit. That way when one pair dies the other pair is fully charged. I bought a charger kit w/ four AA batteries for about $30.00.
3. Plastic - This camera is fairly sturdy and can probably take a little banging around, but its plastic so be careful. The plastic battery door is connected to the body with hinges which is great for not misplacing/losing it, but I'm concerned about the plastic hinge breaking.
4. Speed of things - The speed of this camera is fine. When you click the button a photo is take fairly quickly. If you bought a more expensive camera it would be faster. Most people just take a picture and that's it, so it doesn't really matter if the camera is super fast. When was the last time you needed to take 10 pictures in 3 seconds? Even more advanced photographers will pay more for speed and then never really need it. Yet, this camera would be improved if it was faster, but then it would probably cost more ;)

So there you go. My advice to beginners - read the manual. Try to understand when your image is in focus, and how to select for indoor and outdoor lighting. And learn the different picture modes for taking portraits, landscapes, close-up of things like a flower or insect, etc. Don't worry about complex features because the camera is smart, and can automatically choose the best complex settings for you.




Rating:
Summary: MAGNIFICENT Digi-Cam & Stylish too!
Review: After months of research, I finally made up my mind and bought this camera! I'm so glad I did! It has so many great features and the metallic blue color I got it in is just so nice! I love how you can personalize it w/ your own sounds & images too! The battery life isn't the best but that won't be a problem because you can always purchase rechargeable batteries!

Rating:
Summary: a good camera in my opinion.
Review: i am not a professional photographer and i dont know alot about cameras, but what ever i have taken photos of so far have been fantastic. once i read the instructions and played with it for a while, i got to know which settings are right for each situations. i have taken pics of hockey players flying down the ice and they come out looking as if he were not moving at all, i print them out 8.5 by 11 and get them autograped and framed, they look professional. indoor pics are superb and outdoor pics are superb. the zoom is great also, the pic looks grainy and not to good sometimes on the camera screen, but when i get it on the computer, its great. your going to need good batteries for it thoughi bought some duracell rechargeble batteries, it came with 4 batts. and the charger for 40.00 at best buy, they also have a car adapter for it to.

Rating:
Summary: Bad experience
Review: I purchased this camera and then took some pictures inside Gym fo my sons Taekwondo programs. Results were bad all the pictures were grainy with flash also.

I am returning this camera.



Rating:
Summary: Great camera...slow shutter speed
Review: I sold my Canon A60 and decided to buy this Canon A400 instead. Canon's product never disappointed me.

Pros:
Great printing quality
Compact size
Movie mode at 640*480 with sound
Manual control
Great battery life (2AA battries last over 100 pics with flash and screen on at all time, 2200mAh recharable battery recommended)
Little mirror in the front allows you to do portrait mode

Cons:
Very lag of shutter speed (up to 6 seconds with flash)
Battery door is very breakable

Overall, buy it. It's great cam for the price and you won't regret it!

Rating:
Summary: as good as any profesisonal camera
Review: I use these cameras professionally in the Architectural Forensic Business this is a great no-nonsense machine at an affordable price.

Canon cameras are like Nokia phones; once you get used to them and their Software they become very reliable. I have had this Camera for approximately 6 months and I use it a lot, its easy to carry and quick to activate it also proves sturdy and reliable (I have dropped mine a few times).

The only faults I can find with this particular model as a good all-rounder is that the on off button sometime demonstrates to be a little delicate and over responsive it is easy to turn the thing on and off again at the same time. Large cards e.g above 250mb take a while to save especially when you have over 200 snaps at 1mb each. The stitch assist feature takes a while to master.

This Camera makes high definition professional prints up to A4 and that is enough for most of the most demanding picture takers!

Rating:
Summary: A word on picture quality
Review: Just a note, standard monitors from manufacturers like Dell, Compaq, etc... are incapable of displaying pictures with photo quality colors. You can only judge the quality of the photos taken once you have had them developed or printed from a high quality printer at home. I found that the pictures looked terrible on my monitor, (I have a typical 15 inch dell monitor that comes with most of their computers) yet when I had them developed at a local walgreens, the colors were vivid and the detail sharp. In addition, since this is a 3 megapixel camera, if you blow up the image to the maximum resolution while viewing it on your computer, the quality of the pictures will not look that great. Only when the pictures are reduced to 4x6 or 5x7 measurements will the photo quality drastically improve. From my own personal experience, a 3 megapixel camera prints excellent 4x6 and 5x7 pictures but is incapable of printing good pictures above those measurements. If you want to print out 8x10 pictures, get a 4 megapixel camera. I realize that a lot of sites online will claim that a 3 megapixel camera is good for 8x10 but it is best to to get one megapixel higher than you intend to use to be on the safe side. Lastly, I would encourage everyone to seek out professional reviews on the internet when looking to buy a camera. One excellent site is www.steves-digicams.com in which the author dedicates several pages to each camera he reviews. There are also a variety of other sites that average out the professional reviews and give each camera a score based on those reviews. I would advise anyone looking to buy a digital camera to do some extensive research before buying the one that fits your needs.


AND NOW FOR MY ACTUAL REVIEW


PROS


1. Picture quality is excellent for making 4x6 and 5x7 pictures. Colors are well balanced and detail is fairly sharp. 8x10 pictures come out okay but you can see some artifacts and anomalies in your picture.

2. Camera menu is well organized and easily understood. Within a few minutes, you should be able to master most of the modes because everything is self explanatory.

3. LCD monitor is very high quality and can be used even in sunlight without there being much of a glare on the screen. I believe the stats from the website state that the LCD monitor displays somewhere around 115,000 pixels while most digital cameras in this price range display 70-90,000.

4. Price is good for the number of features and the picture quality you get for this camera. I paid $159 from circuit city. I won't list some of the manual features here as you can see them on the main page for this camera.

5. If you have Windows XP, I have found that you don't even need the software included with your camera to upload pictures to your computer. When you click on the start menu, there should be an option entitled control panel. In the control panel, there should be an option that says scanners and camera. When your camera is hooked up to your computer with the camera setting on review pictures (the dial on the back should be turned to the image of a Play button), click the scanners and cameras icon and just follow the directions to upload your pictures.

6. The manual included with your camera covers everything you need to know about your camera and is easy to understand.


CONS


1. Although this is a problem with most cameras, battery life is pretty low. I was able to take only 20-25 pictures with alkaline batteries (half the pictures i took with the flash on). I recommend buying rechargeable batteries because you can take 3 times the number of pictures as alkaline batteries and you can recharge them up to 1,000 times.

2. The photoimpressions software that comes with your computer is pretty worthless. There really isn't much you can do other than crop your pictures and remove red-eye. There is a mode where you can change the hue, sharpness contrast etc... of your picture but basically any digital imaging software has this option. There is also a paint mode but I found it difficult to use and many of the options are not very practical and simply a waste of time. Try looking online for a better digital imaging software, I am sure you can find one that is far better than the one included with your camera.

3. The flash is pretty weak and you will only be able to take good pictures indoors if the subject is at least within 6 feet of the camera. Personally, I use this camera mostly for outdoor landscape and architectural shots, but for those people who will be taking many pictures indoors, this camera may not be ideal for you.


ONE LAST NOTE


the shutter speed of the camera is pretty slow when you first turn the camera on. It took about 3 seconds before the shutter clicked and took the picture. However, once I took a few more pictures, the shutter speed improved drastically and is now operating at less than a quarter of a second. In addition, I did not make any changes while taking those pictures that would have affected the shutter speed. So, don't get impatient, once you take a few pictures, the shutter speed of the camera will improve automatically.





Rating:
Summary: Good camera, one small irritation
Review: Overall, a really good camera. Easy to use (some functions are a little difficult to get to, but nothing a little getting used to won't solve). Picture quality is great. It feels solid and well made, even has some metal parts.

Con:
Time between shots is pretty long. Like another reviewer mentioned something like 6 seconds if you are using the flash. Everything else gets a big thumbs up.

Rating:
Summary: AWESOME!
Review: This camera has features I never even knew existed! It's awesome. Every picture comes out perfectly clear...you can take a picture of a car flying by and it'll look like it was parked in a parking space, you can take a picture of a ceiling fan on high and it'll look like the fan was turned off......It's Great!!

Rating:
Summary: date stamping only in post card mode!!
Review: This is a big mistake by canon. In this day and age why canon does not let you date stamp on all image resolution is beyond me. For some strange reason, Canon restricts date stamping only in the postcard mode (1600x1200 fine) which is 2 megapixel resolution. To many people this is an very important feature as we are not professional photographers. We just want to have snapshots of memories and date stamping is very important. If I want date stamping, then this A400 is not a 3 megapixel but only a 2 megapixel camera. At first I thought only the A400 does not date stamp as it is the cheapest, I was very suprised to find out the A75 and A95 also lack full-range date stamping. Nikon, Kodak and Sony all offer the unrestricted date stamping option. Why is Canon lagging behind the competition in this department? For this reason alone, I am returning this camera and buying something else.

While the shots are not blurry, they can do better. They are not as sharp as the photos I took with the sony DSC-W1 .