Review: Canon power shot a400



Canon powershot a 400

Well, the box contained
-camera
- pouch
-digital camera solution disk
- software cd
-usb interface cable
-av out cable.
-2 AA disposable batteries
-16MB SD card

First impression:


It looks like a rectangular box, with length much larger compared to nikon coolpix 4100. i give much importance to features than size n weight.. but i dint feel the camera was heavy or some thing like tat. It differs for persons..
The back side is good. The LCD monitor is supposed to be 1.5" size. Its resolution is high. The pictures are very clear.About menu, all i can say is that once you are familiar with the icons and the functions, it is easy to deal with it.. So u hav to read the manual!
The camera like a phone has different color covers as an overcoat : i chose silver: There was only copper at my place. But there is also blue, yellow, green, orange etc in site descriptions.

Features:

Well, its a 3.2 mega pixel (digital zoom) cam with 2.2x optical zoom.
There are 4 major modes of operation:
-normal shoot
-special scene mode
-playback
-video
Normal Shoot:

4 modes: auto, manual, stitch assist 1 (left to right) and 2( right to left)
In auto, you dont worry about anything, just change the flash modes as required, and then shoot. The cam will do the focus lock,( when the shutter button is clickd halfway, auto focus lock takes place n then when u press it fully, the actual image is taken).
You can change the resolution of image and the quality too(like normal, fine and superfine)..

Resolutions:

Large: 2048 x 1536 pixels
Medium1: 1600 x 1200 pixels
Medium2: 1024 x 768 pixels
Small: 640 x 480 pixels

In manual, you can adjust the ISO and exposure settings. Havent done this, so not familiar with the mode..

The stitch assist mode is used for taking panaromic views, u can use these photos to stitch using software; each picture can be retaken as necessary.

Special Scene Shooting Mode you can find many, actually 8, inbuilt modes
- portrait
-indoors
-night scene
-beach
-underwater
-snow
-foliage(for shooting with more colors as in flowers)
-fireworks

The flash modes include flash on(auto,red eye reduction on/off), flash off(red eye on/off), manual

Then there are the macro/infinity modes..macro mode for focusin on certain objects and infinity mode for landscapes.

Video:

- 640x480 up to 30 secs, 320x240 up to 3 min(extends based on memory)
-voice recording possible

Playback:

-displays the snaps.
-you can zoom in and pan the images.
-there is an index mode, where you can select which picture to preview. it will look like browsing images in acdsee.
- sound memo can be attached to all images
-you can protect any image, so tat they are not deleted while formatting memory card .

Self timer :

you can program the cam to take pics after 2 sec or 10 sec interval.
General:

Only 16MB SD card is provided with camera. The images are stored in JPEG format while the movies are in AVI format.

You have TV video out put too which i havent checked till now. For transferring images to computer, you hav to keep the cam on, transferring can be done thru pc or thru camera. Also only new images can alone be downloaded.You can set the theme and sounds for camera. like shutter sound, self timer sound, startup image n sound. The battery charger and rechargeable batteries hav to be bought separately.

Summary

* 3.2-Megapixel CCD for images up to 2048 x 1536 pixels.
* 2.2x optical zoom 45mm - 100mm (35mm equivalent)
* 1.5-inch TFT color LCD, approx. 115,000 pixels
* Compact (4.2 x 2.1 x 1.4 in.) and lightweight (5.8 oz)
* 9-point AiAF system with single-point center focus and focus lock
* Low-light focus assist illuminator
* Exposure modes: Auto/ Manual/ Stitch Assist/ Special Scene/ Movie
* 8 Scene modes (Portrait, Night Scene, Foliage, Snow, Beach, Fireworks, Underwater, Indoor
* Motion video w/audio, 640x480 up to 30 secs, 320x240 up to 3 min
* White balance options: Auto, daylight, cloudy, tungsten, fluorescent, fluorescent H, or custom
* Shutter speeds from 1 second to 1/1500 second
* Evaluative metering linked to the focus point
* ISO settings: Auto, 50, 100, 200, 400
* Photo Effects: Vivid, Neutral, Low Sharpening, Sepia, B&W
* Built-in flash with Auto, Forced on, Red-eye on, and forced off (Red-eye reduction On or Off)
* 2x-10x enlarged playback function with scrolling
* Direct Print to PictBridge compliant printers
* Video output (NTSC or PAL)
* SD memory card storage
* Canon's exclusive Print/Share button
* USB driverless downloads
* Powered by two AA type batteries

Price: 12.5k for camera+ battery charger kit(2 rechargeable batteries)+ 128MB SD card

:)
That was a very simple one i know, but at this point i cud only give this short review..about photos..i cant guarantee when, but wil do one day.
 
pics will be added or can be added only after som days :9 no photos in stock!
@head: anyway i dont know much abt photography, so i read thru whole manual, ran thru the various options, tried some test photos, videos, copied onto pc etc..and all in one evenin, within hrs.. as several may notice, the actual specifications(summary) are a rip off ;), and the others wat i understood. :D
 
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Good review here :) do post some pictures and if possible , shoot using the various Special Scene Shooting Mode , a request .
 
I only meant to point out the price difference. But I don't know whether that means anything bcos quality cud be quite different. I know nothing of digital cameras.
why all are hijackeing my thread
As far as I can tell, I am the only one.
 
good job there blue

an icing on cake would be a few pic when your exams are over and you are free.

photography tips : take special care while shooting that direct sunlight does not fall on your lens so that it preserves the sharpness of the lens this is generally true for all cameras but specialy for digital ones.

go on shooting the same image with different settings so that you can learn and find the best mode for a particular setting for a pic.

while transferring the images to pc use the native windows xp camera and scanner wizard its much faster than the canon zoom browser ex provided with the camera.

the movie recording is in AVI as per manual but actually is is MJPEG (motion jpeg and it is not played except the photography softwares I checked it with QT, Poerdvd, and many more then i converted it to mpeg and saw it.

the pc to tv viewing is just great you can share everything photos, video quickly with your family especially the pc is not nearby. i would recommend kepping the av cable handy when on trip.

batteries to last longer with a single charge and on a trip use the camera with lcd off that will save a lot of power. (but while doing these you will have to take care that actual image will have more area in it then you see in viewfinder so while shooting keep this in mind.

happy shooting and enjoy.
 
bluediamond said:
-camera
- pouch
-digital camera solution disk
- software cd
-usb interface cable
-av out cable.
-2 AA disposable batteries
-16MB SD card



Throw the aa batteries n get 2 nimh rechargeable batteries from sony n a recharger. digicams suck power very fast.
 
@Hacker
I agree with hacker even my digi cam needs a 1.5 v 800 MAH +
Actually bluediamond if u intend to take lot of pics at a time go for rechargeable batteries greater than 2000 MAH the 800 MAH ake abt a night 2 charge fully whereas 2000 n greater take 2-2.5 hrs

@ KingKrool
if ur ready 2 shell out that much then better go 4 Canon,Olympus or Nikon give ur 1st preference 2 them
 
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