Canon Powershot SD400 5MP Digital Elph Camera with 3x Optical Zoom

Manufacturer:	Canon
List price:	~~$449.99~~
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Canon Powershot SD400 5MP Digital Elph Camera with 3x Optical Zoom

Average rating: Stars

Small and great

I was intimidated when I first took this out of the box - it was SO small, how could I manage to use it? But in fact, the controls are easy to use and the camera is small enough so that I take it with me everywhere (as opposed to my previous digital camera, which was bulky enough to discourage my taking it places). The pictures are great, the features are great and easy to use.

Canon Powershot SD400 5MP Digital Elph Camera with 3x Optical Zoom - Canon

PowerShot SD400: Shoddy, Cheaply Made Piece of Garbage

I purchased this camera 6 weeks ago. It is my fourth digital camera, but my first (and last) Canon product. To say that I am dissatisfied with this product is a huge understatement. Never have I purchased such a piece of garbage in my life.

After purchasing it I noticed the "Spotlight" review for this product which says:

"-The LCD is very fragile. Read the SD200 and SD300 reviews to see lots of unhappy people whose LCDs broke. Canon's warranty does NOT cover this either."

The reviewer is absolutely correct. I'm yet another one of those unhappy people. The LCD on this camera is a ridiculously delicate. Despite incredibly careful handling and very limited use the LDC broke within weeks. Again, I've had four digital cameras before this one (two by Kodak, two by Olympus) and have never had any of them break or malfunction in any way. In fact, I still have no idea whatsoever what "incident" caused the Canon LDC to break.

I sent the camera in for warranty repair assuming it would be covered...no, not so much.

In addition to the shoddy construction of the camera, dealing with Canon customer service was a complete nightmare. They were utterly indifferent and unwilling to help. They just kept saying that if it the LCD was broken then it must automatically mean that I did something to it, oh and by the way "your warranty is now voided." To them there was absolutely no possibility that they are selling a sub-standard product, or that the LCD might have been damaged before I got it. We're perfect, you're not, now pay up.

What they did tell me-over and over again-was how fragile the LCD on this camera is and how you must take "extreme" care when using it. Excuse me, but "extreme" care? What in the world do these people think their customers do with these cameras, leave them in a box somewhere? Apparently this is the only appropriate operating environment for their cameras. I mean, it's a TRAVEL-SIZED camera...you're going to take it places.

Anyway, after bumping my complaint up to a supervisor I was able to get a whopping 20 percent reduction on the repair, but it will still cost over $100 (which is about 1/3 of the cost of the purchase price of the camera). I was also told repeatedly by the supervisor that it is against "Canon policy" to waive LCD repairs and that, again, I must have used it in an incorrect manner.

Despite the admitted positives of this camera with regard to image quality, I strongly urge that you buy a more robustly built camera if you intend to use it as any reasonable person would; after all, what good are pretty images if the camera doesn't work?

Canon - Canon Powershot SD400 5MP Digital Elph Camera with 3x Optical Zoom

Love the form factor but pics are too soft

I've owned a Canon since the days of the 2.1MP S10. I then upgraded to the 3.2MP S30 and love its pictures in terms of sharpness and vibrant colors. Due to a recent good deal on an SD400 I had to take the plunge and upgrade.

First of all, SD400 is a piece of art as much as technology. I was pleasantly surprised by its dimunitive form factor then I was surprised again with its operating performance. This is one FAST camera compared to my S30. Starts up in an instant and autofocus is quick due to the new DIGIC II chip. In contrast, S30 has no DIGIC(not even DIGIC I) and you can definitely notice the slower performance compared to the SD400. However, while SD400 excels in operating speed it lacks in picture quality. I've noticed photos taken so far are softer than the ones from the S30(taken of the same subject with S30 sharpness set to middle setting). Also colors from the SD400 are not as vibrant as on the S30 (again saturation set to middle setting). I know some might say SD400 might have more 'accurate' colors but I (like most people) prefer vibrant colors even if they're bit exagerated. There is no sharpness setting on the SD400 but it does have custom color setting where you can adjust the saturation but it only works when in My Colors mode. I know sharpness can be applied on the PC but I don't want to mess with the picture again if I don't have to. Also looking at indoor pictures, SD400 definitely has more noise compared to the S30 with both cameras set to auto mode. Noise is more prominent in darker areas of the picture.

That said, S30 is more then twice(3x ?) the size and weight of the SD400 so obviously Canon had to make some sacrifices. Lens quality is lacking compared to the bigger lens of the S30. Also SD400 uses the smaller 1/2.5" CCD compared to the 1/1.8" on the S30. Squeezing in 37% more pixels into a smaller CCD does create room for more noise. Think of it like speakers. For example, a miniature BOSE system has decent sound but there are larger speakers that will give you better sound for less money. I'm not saying in any way SD400 is a bad camera and most folks will not notice these issues unless they make the effort to compare the pictures side by side with another camera. This goes without saying and its a great camera for portability but if you're serious about photography you might want to look elsewhere. Even an A510 or 520 will give you better pictures if you don't mind the size.

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