An expensive way to get street-cred (Canon Digital Ixus 400)

Member Name: chickunmun

Product:	Canon Digital Ixus 400
Date:	11/04/04 (326 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: High resolution

Disadvantages: No carrying case supplied

Yep! Guilty! Of choosing a camera just because of its brand name. Canon has long been recognised for its quality cameras, and this is no different.

The canon ixus 400 can be carried anywhere ? measuring only 2.0 * 5.0 * 8.0cm ? it is extremely light and portable and is great to just keep in your pocket to catch that rare shot.
Camera picture quality is generally defined by the number of megapixels that the camera is able to catch the shot in. Top of the range cameras can produce over 10 megapixels, but above 3 will produce a good quality photograph. The canon ixus 400, being 4 megapixels, produces a quality high resolution image, meaning that you can also enlarge the photo if you like, without losing a lot of picture quality.

I have to say that one of my favourite features of the camera is the LCD screen (I have a thing for gadgets) ? you get to see the shot after it is taken, and can choose whether to keep it or not. Of course, you have the option to turn the LCD screen off, to save battery power. There is also an automatic power-off feature to save battery power.

Zooming
The camera has both optical and digital zoom ? optical by 3x and digital by 3.6x. Again, excellent features.

The age-old question?Mac or PC?
The camera caters for everyone! It can be used both on the mac and the PC, (via a USB cable), and is compatible with a range of operating systems. The camera also has an AV (audiovisual) connection point which can either connect it to the computer, or?and this is a really cool part?a virtual reality headset with which to view photos / video clips.


Memory
One good feature is that the camera memory is removeable ? this means that depending on how many photos you take, you can always put in another memory card which stores more pictures ? so will last longer. A rechargeable Li-ion battery is supplied ? which incidentally doesn?t have to be in the camera to keep the memory, meaning that you can rec
harge the camera any time you like. Pictures are saved in JPEG format ? one of the most compressed ways of saving them ? so you get more pictures for a given amount of memory.

Continuous Shots
If the button is pressed down, the camera can shoot one shot after another ? an excellent feature for capturing a sports event.


Self-Timer
One good feature which allows those full family shots to be taken is the self-timer ? the flash flashes a set number of times before the picture is taken, to let you know how long you have less.
AutoFocus
The Camera supports autofocus, kind of useful for the beginner who doesn?t actually have a clue how to focus yet (yes, another thing I was guilty of) ? even though the manual is very detailed when you read it.

Extras
I have omitted the very common features like those of red-eye reduction (simply because they are found with most cameras). Some that I particularly like are the following:
Special creative effect modes (5 in total)
Voice recording facility with built in speaker to replay

For more information on this excellent little camera, including a full list of manufacturer?s specifications, check out the manufacturers website at:

http://www.canon-europe.com/For_Home/Product_F inder/Cameras/Digital/Digital_IX US_400/index.asp?ComponentID=37151&SourcePageID=26 181

Exceptionally well built, with an astonishing range of features, just the appearance of this camera will get you some serious street-cred! If you have money to throw around, then this camera is definitely the one to get, but if you're just looking for a good camera with good features, there are plenty more cameras in the sea, and this particular camera costs more than it's worth.

Thanks for reading and I hope that you have found this review helpful.

Summary: