Canon Powershot SD400 5MP Digital Elph Camera with 3x Optical Zoom by Canon
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Digital camera reviews of Canon Powershot SD400 5MP Digital Elph Camera with 3x Optical Zoom
Digital camera Review: Great camera
Summary: 4 Stars
However fragile - mine broke when I dropped it, thankfully bought it with AMEX and am getting reimbursed.Digital camera Review: digital elph
Summary: 5 Stars
The camera works great. I have taken close to a thousand pics with it in the month and a half I have had it. 5 MP is enough for daily shooting. Though it isn't great for night shooting. I would suggest at large storage card or you will be uploading to your computer daily.Digital camera Review: Great point and shoot camera
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a very good camera to have on you to take quick photos with.
Good Points:
-Quick power up to start taking pictures time
-Very small and easy to fit with in any pocket
-Fast shutter speed
-Very good sound quality on the video's
-Long battery life
-Great resoultion
Bad Points:
-Not good for dusk/low light shots
-Zoom leaves much to be desired
-Only a point and shoot camera not for anything more advanced.
In the end this is a great camera, as long as you are not trying for manual control or prfessional settings. For point and shoot and a good pocket camera it does not get any better than this. I am extremely fond of it and plan on keeping it for a long time.
Digital camera Review: Good camera
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a good camera, but sometimes does not perform as good as I expected. It takes excellent pictures outdoor, but very poor indoor, especially pretty dark areas with variable lighting. This Cannon SD400 takes better pictures outside than my Sony F717, more precise in color. But it is a little slower than Sony, especially when the object is moving, and the picture is usually blur in this case. Sony captures the image faster and no blur (both in auto mode). The tone of Sony is not as good as Cannon, but it takes better pictures indoor for sure. I would suggest use Cannon for outdoor, Sony for indoor, if you want to have both. Digital camera Review: SD400 is THE perfect camera - Great quality Pics - movies - and a Macro mode!
Summary: 5 Stars
First, know that I'm very picky and tough to please.
(Note that this review also applies to the new SD450 which mainly has a larger screen.)
I had a Canon SD110 (2MP) camera for 3.5 years and I loved it. I took a while and did a lot of research to find it. I had been waiting for the right new camera and I finally found it, the SD400. I've had it for over 6 months and I've been meaning to write up this review.
I had taken over 9,000 photos with my SD110 in 3.5 years. With the SD400 in only 6 months, I've already taken over 1000 shots.
Back when I got the SD110 Canon was not as well known. Now people recognize that Canon is a top-tier digital camera brand.
My wishes for improvement over the SD110 were:
- longer movie clips (only 15 seconds) - now unlimited
- zoom in movie mode - YES
- limited close-up range - new Digital Macro mode
- higher resolution - YES
- better zoom - YES
The SD400 has all of this. The one thing it doesn't have enough of for my taste is zoom, but what can you expect from a camera .75 inches thick? I wanted zoom, but I didn't want to sacrifice portability. (I hate having a lens sitcking out of the camera.) In any case, it has a 3 x optical zoom which is pretty good.
The best feature of the SD110 was it's compact size. The SD400 delivers more in less space. I take it with me everywhere I go. If I see a shot, I can take it. If I see a moment, I can capture it in a movie. And no hassle with carrying a separate case. It fits in my front pocket, even my tight jeans. (Just be careful not to put anything else in there or you might scratch the screen or even crack it.)
One of the best features of the SD110 was the movie mode. It took great little clips of super high quality with sound too! Way better than any other camera. The only problem was they were limited to about 15 seconds in length. With the SD400, they are unlimited. You can trim them in the camera to save space too. It also can take 60 FPS for a high-speed camera effect. When you play it back at 30 FPS you get slow motion. The only issue is that you need to brace yourself to minimize camera shake. These movies are better than standard video recorder quality. They're close to HD TV quality if you use the 640 mode. There is no jumpiness period.
The other big advancement is the Macro mode. This thing is practically a microscope. It can take shots at under 1 inch from the subject assuming you have good lighting that close. Add to that the digital macro zoom and you can photograph a mosquito so close that you can count the hairs on its legs!
I love taking photos of flowers and always wanted to get closer. Now I can get as close as I want.
Lots of people will say you need more than 5 MP to go over 8x10. It's not true. I did decent 8x10 prints (with the bundled Canon software) using my old 2 MP SD110. With the SD 400's 5 MP I have done enlargements to 12x18 that are excellent.
The range of new settings on the SD400 are great. I would like more but they options are good. The best one is the ability to set the ISO speed. There's a focus lock and an exposure lock feature. I wouldn't know it if I didn't read the manual. Nice extras for sure. They're very useful if you're into photography.
The least satisfying thing is the auto-focus. It's odd, but I've gotten used to it.
Now, to be sure it's not perfect, but it is really good. I think it's better than 99% of the cameras out there.
I chose it over the SD500 because the 500 was thicker and I didn't feel I needed the extra resolution of a 7 MP camera. It was the right choice.
Note the following:
- battery life is excellent, and the charger is tiny, but if you don't want to be caught short on vacation or when you're out on a long hike, get a spare battery and charge them both. I did this for the SD110 and I never ran out of juice. The battery is so slim, you can carry it easily.
- do get a big memory card. I recommend the SanDisk Ultra II 1 GB. I have two of them.
CRITICAL - get something to cover the screen. It's large and easy to scratch in your pocket. Also in your pocket be careful to put the screen against your body to prevent it from getting poked and cracked. I would not put it in a back pocket either.
The biggest problem is holding still in low-light. I don't like flash and I like taking low-light shots. You will want a tripod or a mini-tripod if you do much of that.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!