Users speak out about the Canon Powershot SD300

[Ben Stafford]

Would you like to find out what others are saying about the Canon Powershot SD300?  Well, here's your chance.  Every once in a while, we'll try to highlight some user-submitted opinions for a particular camera.  The opinions will be chosen based on the value of the information (in our opinion) to our readers.  We won't necessarily pick only the "positive" opinions or only the "negative" opinions.  We'll pick the opinions that we think will be most helpful to you as you shop for and compare cameras.   To see all opinions, click through to the product detail, and click the "View Opinions" link.

The Canon Powershot SD300 is an ultra-slim 4 megapixel camera with a 2 inch LCD and 3x optical zoom.  It is the first camera in the PowerShot line to use a DIGIC II Image Processor for even faster processing speed, excellent image quality, and crisp vibrant colors.

Here's what people are saying about it:

"Best pocket camera out there! - submitted by Crescentmage on 3/2/2005 3:31:58 PM

Rating: 8/10

Pros: I did a lot of research before buying this camera, and I am sure I made the best choice. I constantly have had people asking me questions about my camera, such as "where can I get one?" The picture quality is as good as I've found on larger mainstream automatic digicams, and the movie mode is excellent - both video and sound. The screen is large and clear, though this may put an extra drain on the battery life. Automatic modes work well, and the limited manual gives me the few features I would like. It may be small, but it fits well into my hands, and the menus and buttons are easy to use and uncluttered.

Cons: No battery indicator until it is almost dead. Coupled with a rather weak battery performance (though I still usually get nearly 200 pictures on a charge) and you have a minor problem, though you can find a generic battery on ebay fairly cheap. My other complaint would be red-eye. The "red-eye flash" function is nearly useless (just adds a little red light), and the software, while decent, often fails to clear up the glaring red-eye on close-up flash shots. Still, I find this to be a minor price to pay for such a small camera. "

"Great pics, Great movies, good Manual mode, SMALL size - submitted by rdalcanto on 2/5/2005 2:51:28 PM

Pros: I bought and tried the Sony DSC-P150, Canon S410, and the Canon S70. They were all returned in favor of this little gem. This has the best movie mode, taking 640x480 at 30fps, and even has a 60fps mode for golf swings, etc. The pictures were great, and actually show more detail than the 7MP Sony, whos images big but lacked fine detail. Manual mode works very well for adjusting exposure and other things. This ultracompact even has a custom white balance!

Cons: The A/V door hinge seems flimsy. Hopefully it will hold up well. Comes with small memory card, but they all do that. "

"Do yourself a favor and pick this up - submitted by dogville on 2/5/2005 2:51:28 PM

Pros: 1. Crisp and vivid colors that bring the pictures to life when printed - see to believe 2. Smooth video at 640 X 480 30fps - great on TV 3. Manual mode allows for great control over your shots; white balance metering is always accurate when you can't decide which of the available options to choose 4. Long shuttle mode for longer exposure 5. Kids/Pet scene mode is wonderful for capturing stills of fast moving children and animals 6. Night snaphot scene mode together with long shuttle mode turned on capture stunningly lit night shots 7. Small footprint

Cons: 1. Short battery life, averages 150 shots with flash used, movie recording and play review. On my vacation, it goes flat by the end of the day, sometimes 3/4 into the day 2. Lack of in camera trimming for photos although video editing is possible 3. No 8- or 16- pic frame continuous shooting though continuous shooting is available"

"Love this camera - submitted by dwnayl on 2/5/2005 2:51:28 PM

Pros: I did a ton of research and finally bought the Sony DSC P100. Loved the functionality and the feel of the camera, but the photos were horrible. Almost half were blurry. Returned it to Best Buy and got the Canon SD 300. Huge improvement on photos and loved the size of it. Love the continuous shots. Mostly use Kids and Pets mode and takes crips sharp photos indoors and out. Software was vastly improved over the Sony offering. Small enough to fit in cell phone pouch. Takes great video for a digial cam.

Cons: Wish it had a docking station. No battery meter until it gets low. You have to remove the battery to charge it. These are minor complaints compared to the great photos and awesome size. I definitely recommend it."

"Great pocketsize camera - submitted by Geoff Vaughan on 2/5/2005 2:51:28 PM

Pros: This camera is a great size and the picture quality is great. The features are easy to use. I spent a lot of time researching and dont regret this purchase at all

Cons: It is a little pricey for 4MP."

[Brian]

The SD300 is a nice camera and will certainly fall in price as the SD400 and SD500 hit the market. If you want more info on those 5 and 7 megapixel models check out this story. A few places are taking pre-orders now, they're not terribly expensive by comparison.

http://www.digitalcamerareview.com/d...sp?newsID=2386

[Gil T Pleasure]

Here's a detailed review of the SD300 from AnandTech.

[Ben Stafford]

There are a couple more reviews available from the following page:

Canon Powershot SD300 Review and Information

[Eliwood]

What I really enjoy about the SD300 is the fact that Canon stuck in DIGIC II in there. That leads to several improvements.

1) Image Processing
2) Huge boost in performance
3) Super movie mode
4) Less battery consumption

I'm very surprised that Canon hasn't let this gem of a processor find its way into its A series cameras yet.