Update April 20, 2005

While using the camera last week I took a picture, looked at the image and all was fine. I went to turn the camera on just moments later and it opened but would not stay on. I thought that it may have been a problem of week batteries even though I knew I had fresh ones in it.

To make a long story short, I missed my photo opportunities that day. My mom was in the Ms. Sr. New York Pageant. She did take the second runner-up position but unfortunately I could not get any pictures during the event of afterward at the presentation.

Tomorrow I am off on a vacation. My camera will not be coming with me. I went to the Canon Email for technical help center. The camera was showing a code (E18) in the window and they advised me that I must send the camera to them for repair.

So there goes all the wonderful hype I have given this camera in the rest of this review. I will mail the camera today and soon after I return from my vacation, the camera should be back in my possession. I'll let you know what happened, how long it took and any other pertinent information at that time.

I am disappointed that I received barely four months of use on a camera I used very carefully and gently.

End update

New Update

While on vacation my camera came back and it's working fine. The process was very quick. about 8 days and there was no charge. Though I was disappointed in not having it for my vacation, I am happy to have it back. It's so easy to use and takes great shots.

End Update


I have been one of those "ol' timers" that has resisted all those newfangled contraptions, doodads, and thingamajigs. I did finally break down and get into the www a few years ago. No not world-wide-wrestling but being connected to the world via a computer.

The Box

The compact box was quite heavy. When I opened it I found a lot of literature. This scared me. The contents list told me that I had the following inside.

Digital Camera PowerShot A400
Wrist Strap WS 200
2AA Type Alkaline Batteries
AV Cable AVC-DC300
Interface Cable IFC -400PCU
SD Memory Card SDC-16M
Software (CD ROM)

I also read as per the top of the box that I had a
Compact digital camera with 3.2 Megapixel CCD and high-quality Canon 2.2x optical zoom lens.
.8 special scene models and advanced 9 point AIAF
.New PRINT/SHARE BUTTON for one touch Direct Printing* and easy downloading to Windows computers
.*PictBridge compliant
.Powerful integrated software for windows and Macintosh computers.

Reading that this was compatible to Windows gave me a little confidence because I work with Windows XP.

I also found a NOTICE Be sure to install the driver software from the Canon Digital Camera Solution Disc before connecting the camera to your computer. Software instructions are available in your camera's Software Starter Guide.

First Impressions

I received this camera as a generous and unexpected gift. After opening the box I first picked up the camera. It was very light weight and small. It reminded me of a miniature Minolta camera that I had for years. The mat silver finish on what seemed to be a rather uncluttered face makes it a handsome looking piece. The lens is protected behind a cover and comes out when the camera is turned on.

When I looked at the back of the camera I noted all those little buttons and settings and that is what has held me back from purchasing one of these digital cameras. I was a bit apprehensive about my ability to learn how to use it.

Looking to see if I could take a picture right away I went and found the instructions that were printed out for quick basic directions. This was called the Quick Start Guide. The camera also comes with a very detailed book. The fact is the camera came with two sets of books and instructions. One in English and the other I believe Spanish. I chucked the Spanish as I didn't want the clutter. I liked that I did not have to have a bulky book with two or more languages in it.

The one large sheet leaflet that is the Quick Start Guide is well illustrated and surprisingly for this high tech challenged guy very easy to follow. The drawings are large and the print is easy to read. This is important to a guy who has to switch glasses when reading small print. I am also slightly dyslexic and see things slightly differently at times.

Following the directions, I opened the side compartment of the battery compartment lock that took a little bit of coordination to open and insert two AA batteries that came with the camera. It closes easily and locks into place. While the panel was opened I place the SD card in too. It comes with a SD Memory Card SDC 16M. Though I haven't just yet, I have been told to upgrade the card so that I can have many more images on the card.

One thing for sure. The way that little door opens, it won't happen by accident. These big fingers had to work at getting the motion just right. After a few times I have it down pat.

The second step was to set the Mode switch. There are three positions. The one for taking pictures (Still Image) has an illustration of a camera in its place. The switch is small but I can easily manage to put it into position.
The next thing was to open the camera by pressing the On/Off button on top. Another tiny button but doable.

Then came the tricky part for me. I had to add the date and time. Actually once the camera was on it sort of prompted me and after moving the arrows the figures were set into the camera.

Next began the fun part, taking photos. I aimed the camera at the subject. It was my grand daughter fifth birthday and I wanted her as my first image. I looked through the viewfinder, I don't know if I'll ever take pictures by using the LCD screen, and I zoomed to where I wanted the proper composition.

Quick note, I like the zoom feature and it is in an easy to use spot. My right thumb goes naturally to it on the back of the camera and it's a sort of rocker switch that easily zooms in and out. No problem at all with my "fat fingers".

Once I was set to take the picture I pressed down on the shutter button halfway as per the instructions. This shutter button too is also in the "natural" spot but on top of the camera. It's easy to feel without having to eyeball it. The Quick start Guide told me that pressing half way down puts the camera in a mode that will focus the picture. I listened for the two beeps sounds. Ha, even this hard of hearing guy heard it, and then I pressed all the way.

I looked at the LCD screen and there was the picture. It shut off pretty quickly so I really didn't get a good view of it. I have found that I could adjust the image feature to stay on for up to ten seconds. This does however use up more battery life.

As per the quick guide I set the mode switch up to "Playback" and there was my first picture!! My grand daughter looked like a princess. I was a happy man.

More About the Quick Start Guide

This was an important piece of paper to me because it simplified. I go nuts trying to read detail. The fact is, even though I should know all about this camera and its capabilities, this guy will probably use it for basic functions and as possibly add to it as I learn more. I have had VHS Cameras for years and never learned much about all the functions they had either. I use my cameras for the basic point and shoot. I don't use much of the other functions unless I suddenly get into an "artistic" mood. This camera seems to have many of them.

The Quick Start Guide continued to give me basics in a clear and concise way. The next step was how to erase an image. Now here I really had my eyes and ears open. I have heard of people inadvertently erasing every picture that was on the card. Yikes! That would bother the heck out of me.

To erase a single image seemed pretty easy. The fact is you have to go to to the menu to erase all and then a confirmation screen comes up asking "Erase All Images". Hey you gotta answer that question in order to erase them all. Maybe this is a newer kind of feature on cameras. It seems that accidental erasures should not happen. BUT

This camera also has a feature that can protect particular images. Now this you won't find in the Quick Start Guide but if you follow along with the guide and the book in hand you'll see little notes etc in the book giving more detailed info. Protected Images cannot be erased with the erase function pg 86.

I did go to this function and found it as simple as when I used to put lock-outs on certain channels of cable TV so my young children did not have access.

After seeing all that has to be done and can be done with this camera, It would only be my fault if anything were ever erased inadvertently. It really seems hard to do.

The Quick Start Guide gives no more info on picture taking. It does however give a detailed look at the camera, its buttons and what they do. Again it's large print and simplified.

It's in this area where the red eye functions are discussed

The Guide then goes through a few different other directions like Printing with a direct Print Compatible Printer, Preparing to Download Images to a Computer, Downloading Images to a computer, and last Getting the most out of software.

These are some of the areas that start to fill me with fear but I was able to get through it step by step. I followed the directions and, now that I know a little bit about computers, I was able to get everything installed without any problem.

It was exciting to see my first pictures come up on the monitor. Yes, it was my grand daughters picture.

More To The Camera

I didn't mention that there is another one page sheet that is the System Map. This showed what comes with the camera and how they interact with each other. Believe me a picture is worth a thousand words. This one page answers a lot of questions right away. Its kind of having a puzzle without knowing what the picture is. Once you look at the picture you can get right to work.

Again Canon makes things easy to see and understand with this document. It also gives information about battery and charging kits as well as AC adapters.

As a beginner in this field I'll have to learn so much step by step. Some of the things that happen to be of great interest to me are the shooting modes of Auto/Manual/Stitch assist/Special Scenes and Movie

I like that I could just set it on Auto and the image taking was all done for me. At the same time, as I get to know the camera, I expect to use the manual settings so I can "play" with the camera and the images a bit more to my personal liking.

The Stitch Assist is very cool. This is where you can take a few overlapping images and "stitch" them together. I used to do this with my regular camera and then cut out pictures for my photo album so they gave a panoramic view. Now the camera does it for me!

The Special Scenes is much like I had on my other regular cameras but has a few more scenes. The total list is

Portrait
Night Scene
Foliage
Snow
Beach
Fireworks
Underwater
Indoor

I have yet to use them all or experiment with them but I look forward to it.

Though I haven't tried the movie mode yet, I do find it a delight that I can shoot clips with what looks to be a still camera. I do understand there are limited capabilities depending on the SD card and other factors but all the same, it's a pretty neat feature. I also have read that I can attach "Sound memos" to the movie. There is still so much to learn about this camera but the great thing is that I don't need to know everything right away and I can get to all the little "toys" within the camera at my leisure.

I do want to mention that the camera has a screw in port underneath for a tripod shoe.

Like my regular cameras it also has a timer where I can set it and jump into the picture myself.

In reading a bit more about the camera I learned how to magnify images in the playback mode. I found this particularly useful in checking detail in the faces of people in the images I have taken. I also learned that I can have up to nine images that can be viewed at one time. This was helpful when scanning the shots and is easy to set up.

I found that there is a trouble shooting guide in the back of the book. It was there that I learned much about what the camera could do. I know its kind of looking at things backward, hey I am a bit dyslexic, but it did open my eyes to other functions of the camera.

I went to the Canon web site to see if I could learn the exact size and weight of the camera. I couldn't find it. My measurements say it's 4 1/8"w x 2"h x 1 3/8"d. I also measured the LCD monitor at 1'x1 1/4". Canon did have this to say about the camera.

Digital Photography with a Colorful New Attitude

The powerful PowerShot A400 brings a striking new look to digital photography. Yours in a choice of four dashing colors: Silver, Sky Blue, Lime Green or Sunset Gold, this is a camera that will get you noticed. Plus a host of impressive new features make the world of digital pictures amazingly easy - from your very first shot.

New Contemporary Design 3.2 Megapixel Camera with 2.2x Optical/3.2x Digital/7.0x Combined Zoom
Exclusive Canon DiG!C Image Processor and iSAPS Technology for Superior Image Quality and Faster Processing Speed
Quick Shot Function for Super Fast Shutter Release
9-point AiAF and Special Scene Modes for Spectacular Shots in Special Situations
Available in 4 Colors: Silver, Sky Blue, Lime Green, Sunset Gold
Print/Share Button plus ID Photo Print and Movie Print; Direct Print and PictBridge Support

Much More To Learn

I have a love and fear of this camera right now. I love that it really is easy to use after doing some basic reading and it has all the functions I really need. What I am still apprehensive of is learning about things like changing the resolution and compression and how that will affect printing pictures, sending Email images and so much more. This is important to me. I suppose it all will come easily if I just take my time step by step and understand what it is I'm doing and why.

I want to experiment with the quick shot function too. It reduces shutter lag time and like with any camera I have ever used, I want to learn about all the flash functions including a couple of red eye settings.

There are some Macro setting I will someday play with too. This camera can shoot an image just two inches away at the wide angle end and one foot away at the telephoto end. That's pretty darn good for my needs.

A Couple of Negatives

I found that the life of the original batteries was quite short. Maybe I was doing a lot of fiddling with the camera at first and didn't even realize how much I used it.

I then put in Duracell Alkaline Batteries. These seem to last much longer. It's hard to tell how many shots they were good for but I was happy enough with their life. It seems there are many factors. By shutting off the LCD monitor you can get many many more pictures. The guide tells me that I should get about 100 pictures with it on and 400 with it off. It's easy enough to shut it off. I have found that most of the time I do not need to see the image I just took and have used the camera with it off many times. It's easy enough to turn it on when needed. Usually it's with pictures of people that I use it to be sure there were no blinking eyes or "funny" looks. Most scenic shots I take do not need to be check out right away.

On a positive note I do want to mention that I am very happy this camera uses AA batteries that are so easy to get most anywhere. The other cameras I have owned,(not digital), used specialized batteries that were expensive and sometimes hard to find.

The other negative is that the little rubber cover that protects and hides the ports for Digital/DC IN/ A/V Out slips off easily. I can't lose it because it is attached on one end but I do find it annoying at times.

I still have to get myself another SD card so I can take many more images with greater detail. It's my feeling that I should take the best I can at all times. I'll never know which will become my "winner" picture. We have pictures in our home on calenders that have been enlarged. I do not want grainy pictures if I can help it. I do understand that at 3.2 megapixels I don't have the finest of cameras out there but I was told it is a step up from some of the low end cameras on the market now and it certainly seems good for my basic needs. I'm learning a bit about the capacities of the cards and will make that purchase soon.

Final Thoughts

If I had not received this camera as a gift I probably would be in the "old world" of photo equipment for many more years.

I don't think I can say enough about the Quick Start Guide and how it gave me confidence with the digital functions. I have found that with the Quick Start Guide and the System Map I learned the basics of this camera pretty easily. I like the guide and I know I have the instruction book that it follows for more detailed information.

I happen to like the overall feel of this small camera. Though some of the buttons are small for my hand, I like its light weight and size. The camera does not come with a case. I'll have to look into getting something to help protect it a bit.

I rated this camera as excellent. I'm sure there are better digital cameras out there that can get more detailed pictures but that's not what I am looking for. I stayed away from digital because of being complacent with what I had and my fear of learning something new.

This Canon A400 changed things for me. I was comfortable with it immediately because I had easy to follow directions and illustrations.

I know I still have much more to learn about in this new digital camera world but now I can say I have boarded the ship and I'm ready to travel using the Quick Start material as my Guide.

Update Oct 3rd 2005

After using this camera for nearly a year and also having been using the A520 and other cameras I am now a bit more critical as to the camera screen. It is too small as compared to many others. I shopping now I would go for the Canon Powershot A520.


Looking for some excellent subject matter to take images of? Click here.





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Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): gift $160?
This Camera is a Good Choice if You Want Something... Easy Enough for Anyone to Use