Happy photographer. (Canon Digital Ixus 400)

Member Name: kxjan

Product:	Canon Digital Ixus 400
Date:	28/08/03 (875 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: High definition photos., Compact., Versatile and easy to use.

Disadvantages: None really., Not very wide angle.

We've had had our Ixus 400 for about 4 months now and we're very happy with it.

The quality of photos is excellent. The automatic mode, where the camera chooses all settings generally makes the best photos though there are also plenty of facilities to experiment with different aperture, colour and speed etc. when you want.

The only dissappointment was that the Ixus 400 doesn't have as wide angle lense as its non-digital predecessor, which I have used for years and was accustomed to.

Other criticism came from my father, that it was too small! That the small buttons make it hard for him to use and he found it hard to hold it steady because he couldn't get a grip on it like he could with his SLR. Personally this isn't an issue for me and I find it very easy to use.

The Ixus is very compact so you can carry and use it more discretely, hide it easily; it is lightweight and doesn't buldge too much in pocket or backpack.

After much reading and shopping around, the Ixus 400 seemed like the obvious choice for me. There are few cameras at the moment that offer 4 megapixels. And the price, though not cheap, is more affordable than its competitors.

We use the video feature a lot. The Ixus 400 takes video clips up to 3 minutes long at 320x200pixel (low resolution, but same as tv!).

Also nice is that the Ixus 400 plugs into your TV, so you can see you photos and videos immediately, on the big screen.

The battery life was a big issue for my choice of camera, because I plan to use it in more wild places where there's no plug sockets. Seems to last about 3 or 4 days of regular shooting.

We've bought a heap of cheap 256Mb Compact Flash Cards. By the way www.ebuyer.co.uk has the cheapest ones we've found in England. To upload a full card of 256Mb from the camera to my (old slow) pc takes about 45minutes. That's a lot of photos!

Cheapest places to buy one ar
e Amazon and PC World (summer 2003).

Also - see the site "Digital Photography Review" http://www.dpreview.com has masses of technical information and reviews about digital cameras.

I wrote this review because I while shopping around for the best digital camera I found other reviews useful.

Peace to you.

Summary: