mgs333's Full Review: Pentax Optio A40 Digital Camera
This is my first digital camera, when I was researching prior to my purchase, I did a LOT of research on the internet on different camera review sites and discussion forums. (www.dpreview.com, www.steves-digicams.com, www.dcresource.com, www.megapixel.net, www.imaging-resource.com amongst others)
My budget was $300 or less and wanted a movie mode with sound and 2MP resolution. After reading about all the positive reviews about the A40, as compared to other cameras in the similar price range, I went ahead and bought one.
I have been using it for about 2 months and so far it's been an excellent camera. compared to other 2MP cameras, this camera takes excellent pictures with good color.
There are 4 photo modes and 1 movie mode. The 4 photo modes are 'Auto', which is pretty self-explanatory, where the camera controls most functions automatically based on conditions, and a 'P' mode, which allows the user to control the exposure, white balance, and photo effects (such as sepia, vivid, and b&w) and a 'M' manual mode which allows control over the f-stop and aperture settings.. There is also a stitch-assist mode (stitching pictures means you take a series of pictures horizontally, and later merge the pictures to create a 'panoramic' shot, example here, http://mgs333.tripod.com/pics/lakearrowhead.jpg ). And lastly, there is the movie mode, you can take '320x240' shots which last around 10-15 seconds depending on what you're filming and a '160x120' mode which allows 30 second movie clips.. there is no speaker on the camera so you can't hear the sound when you play back the movies, but there is a microphone which records sound as you record movies.
The manual controls are what really sets this camera apart from others within this price range, most (if not all) cameras in this price range not to mention many costing much more lack this feature (manual controls), while being somewhat limited (there are only 2 available f-stop setting for any given zoom setting) this feature really adds a new dimension to what would have been otherwise a typical 'point-and-shoot' digicam. The A40 allows up to a 15 second exposure which allows decent nightshots.
1 area of disappointment is the macro shots (close-up shots). The closest you can get for a close-up shot is around 6 inches, which is not as close as I'd like, some other digital cameras allow as close as 1 inch close-up shots.. Canon's as a general are pretty poor for macro shots, but there's an extra optional macro lens available.
The camera comes with a set of software, which includes Canon's ZoomBrowser EX which I use for downloading the pictures onto the computer, but you can use a CompactFlash type I card reader as well), Canon's Card Photo Printer which allows direct printing to Canon's CP-10 printer, PhotoRecord (which allows adding backgrounds and borders as well as titles and comments and allows you to place pictures on the page and print them out), PhotoStitch (which automatically merges the 'panoramic' shots), RemoteCapture which allows the camera to take pictures while being connected to the computer, as well as a Arcsoft photosuite program for editing your photographs. Similar software for Macs is included as well.
It should be noted that the camera only connects to PCs through USB (with the included USB cable). Also the camera is skimpy on accessories, and as many others have said, you will spend a good deal of money on buying rechargeable batteries/charger and a good sized CompactFlash card. I personally spent ~$100 for a 128mb card and 8 Maha 1800mAH NiMH rechargable batteries (2 sets, the A40 uses 4 at a time) and a Maha MH-C204F 'smart' charger.. This is not a problem unique to the A40, most cameras sold these days, you have to at least buy a bigger memory card, some cameras such as the Canon S330 include rechargable batteries and a charger but cost almost ~$80 more than the A40
I recommend buying the aforementioned Maha batteries and the charger from www.thomas-distributing.com I'm happy with the batteries and the charger.
Also, recently, Canon has released a 'firmware update' for a focus problem image at the 13.4mm zoon setting.. it's available on Canon Usa's website, brand new cameras should already have the problem fixed, but on Canon's website, you can put in your serial number and it will determine whether or not you need the fix.
Overall, I've been very happy with this camera, you can see some sample pictures at my picture site.. http://users.adelphia.net/~mgs333 The pictures have all had 'unsharp mask' done to them, so they're have been sharpened up a bit, as the pictures straight from the camera are a bit 'soft' for my tastes.. The manual mode allowed me to take those 'fireworks' shots.
And a good community of Canon Powershot A-series camera users can be found at www.powershot-a.com my username on there is 'Matt'
I highly recommend this camera to anyone looking for a digital camera under $300. In the 'auto' setting it's easy enough for almost everyone to use, and when (and if) you decide to dabble with the more complicated manual controls, it allows you to experiment, which most cameras in this price range lack.
3x optical, 6x digital zoom, 2.5" LCD, triple anti shake, face recognition, digital zoom enhancement, 21MB internal plus SD/SDHC slot, MPEG4 movie mod...More at eCOST.com
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