Before you buy this camera, consider that you will have to account for the cost of a bigger SD card in your budget, the supplied 32MB lacking severely in capacity. In the highest resolution (3072 x 2304 pixels) and quality (Superfine mode - utilisting all 7.1 megapixels - which is a lot), a photo averages at about 2.5 MB in size when saved in the JPEG format.
The camera is strong ergonomically and its large 2.5" LCD screen allows easy reviewing of saved images. The only complaint I have with the screen is that its actual quality isn't that great, it can be hard to spot if your image is out of focus without connecting the camera to the PC.
There are many ways to take a picture - 15 different presets I believe - which may seem confusing to the complete novice, however the camera is perfectly suited to a 'point and shoot' minded individual. Equally, the novice would find it easy to change these presets, and it is this ease of use that will appeal to many potential customers. The only problem with such an approach is that more advanced users may find it frustrating at the lack of customisation, if you want to tweak with every individual setting - this is not the camera for you.
A full list of features can be found on Canon's website, so I am going to leave you with a few of the good and bad points I have found with the camera.
(the camera records video but I have not really used this feature much so cannot comment on it)
Advantages - Ease of use. As mentioned earlier you really do just point and shoot. - Speed of capture. The camera takes the picture very quickly compared to other amateur digital cameras I have used. - Size of LCD. Really helps when using as a viewfinder and zooming in on objects. - The zoom. The zoom is good and easy to use. - Size of camera. The camera is extremely portable and great to carry everywhere - a major advantage over the SLRs and larger digital cameras on the market.
Disadvantages - The autofocus. You cannot turn it off, and it occasionally gets the focal point of an image wrong - take each picture twice if possible. - SD card size. 32MB is atrocious in a camera if this quality. Get youself at 512MB card as a minimum. - Blurring. Although it is a 7.1 megapixel camera, the clarity is not perfect, leave it in superfine mode to overcome this as best you can.
To conclude, the camera is clearly aimed at a fairly novice audience, and fufils its purpose well. The more advanced user may find the lack of customisation frustrating, and the focus and clarity is occasionally slightly out. However its good points do outweigh the bad ones, and coupled with its portablitly leads me to reccomend this camera to any amateur user.
More details
Durability
Good
Reliability
Good
Size
Very Small
Weight
Very Light
Instruction Manual
Excellent
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