List Price: $99.00
Sale Price: $89.00
Today's Bonus: 10% Off
Let me start with a little "complaint" here: People are unnecessarily ruining the reputation of a perfectly good camera because they don't know what they are talking about. So, if you haven't owned/used a range of photographic equipment or have some knowledge/skill/abilities in photography, don't write a review.
Quick summery: It's a great camera for the price range. It is reasonable rugged, easy to use, and has good picture quality. If you want to buy this camera as a beater, glovebox camera or as your pre-teen son/daughter's first camera it is excellent.
Rebuttal to the earlier reviewers:
-First, you are expected to get a new memory card as you get a new camera. They are very cheap nowadays. Expecting a new memory card is like expecting having a full tank of gas in new car as you pull it out of the dealer's lot. It's nice, but the maker has ZERO obligation to do so.
-Some complains about pictures being too big. That's like someone buys a new big house then complains about the front yard being too big! Big file size is the function of a high quality image. Get yourself a new bigger memory, hard driver, etc.... There's no free lunch.
-Even the best digital cameras (I'm talking about cameras costing about 20x of this one) has problems with dynamic range (the "distance" between the brightest and darkest parts of a photo). As a photographer, you are obligated to watch for bright, harsh lights and take measures to solve the problem. I used the camera under many different conditions and I don't see this camera being overly bad in terms of dynamic range.
-I'm using a 16GB card and I can hold 3700+ pictures (a 16GB can be had for about $25 nowadays) so that should be enough pictures for at least a day's shooting.
I have been a photographer since high school, and worked as one in various capacities (weddings, event coverage, portraits, etc...)since. My last point-and-shoot was stolen in a car break-in so I will need a replacement.
General comment:
-Picture/optical quality: It's very serviceable. Of course, for its price the picture quality aren't as good as more expensive point-and-shoot and my DSLR (Nikon D7000). However, it's superior to any phone camera. The zoom range is decent, and the macro works well.
-Video: It can make 720P (HD) video and it's a sufficient quality for most purpose.
-One set of fresh fully charged AA NiMH batteries last at least for a day of shooting. I haven't collect any data on number of pictures per charge so I can't give anything more precise.
-Indoor/low light shooting: This is the area where ALL point-and-shoot will suffer. If you don't want to use flash in those situations, be prepared for grainy images. Again, this is common to ALL point-and-shoot so it's not unique for this camera.
Thumbs up:
-Uses AA batteries: You can buy AA batteries anywhere and you can use rechargeables AA batteries. No expensive proprietary rechargeables batteries to buy.
-Small and light: It fits into a shirt pocket, cargo shorts pockets easily. It is bigger in terms of volume than the smallest cameras on the market but it is very light.
-Ergonomics: Buttons are big and legible. I can operate most controls even with my fingered cycling gloves on. The shutter button is big and feels good to the finger. All controls are where you expected them to be.
-Noise level: The motors operates almost silently so it's good when you have to use the camera in discreet environment.
-Menu layout: If you are previously a Canon user, it is the same as before. However, it added addition help statements to tell you want each function does.
-Auto-focus: As for any Canon, the auto-focus is fast and accurate.
Thumbs down (mostly very minor):
-The battery cover can come off if you handle the camera wrong once in a blue moon. You can always use some tape to tape the door down if that happens too often.
-Lacks Aperture Priority/Shutter Priority modes. Theses are more advanced functions that Canon took out for this entry level camera. That's a bummer for more advanced users. If you don't know what I am talking about, it's ok as it won't affect you one bit.
Final Words:
If you want a cheap, "beater" camera, or the first camera for a pre-teen that runs on AA batteries (highly recommend using rechargeables), it is a fantastic camera!
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