Canon Powershot SX400 is 16.0 MP Digital Camera with 30x Optical Zoom and 720p HD Video (Black)

It was Mother’s Day when I found out that I needed a new camera. My husband owns a Sony Cybershot camera which is around 6 or maybe 7 years old. I used to used that a lot and I was happy with it but Mother’s Day when I was trying to take a picture of the food I ordered in the restaurant where my husband and my son took me, I found out the camera needs a new replacement. I tried to take a picture of my son eating his food and the picture was grainy and dark despite me changing the settings and trying to shoot with the flash on. So I looked and I found this camera by Canon Powershot SX400 IS, well I figured i wanted a nice camera, and it was on sale as well. I check the reviews and although there are some 1 review out there saying it was difficult to use, I took my chance, I’m not exactly new to digital, so I resigned myself to learning once the camera is delivered. And I found out that just like any other digital camera, it is quite easy to use. It came with a manual that I am not really sure where I put, but I downloaded their digital manual as well, and tried to learn as much. I know I will need a little bit of getting used to if I want to use all the features of the camera. You can set it to fisheye, monochrome, miniature, landscape, portrait, toy camera, poster, night or long shutter, fireworks, snow, vivid or live settings, you can even fix your own colors. I didn't mess with that, since I'm not familiar with those, maybe someday. But there’s also automatic settings if you just want a much simpler shot. This came with a battery, a charger, the camera itself which is in a frustration free packaging, a lens protector and a wrist strap. I don't like the wrist strap because they are just the standard ones, I bought one that I can put in my neck. There's also a much better wrist strap there that you can use to stabilize your pictures. I bought a 32 GB SD card to use, they are not included, I have an 8 GB that I can use but i figured to get something bigger for a much higher storage. The battery took about 2 hours to charge before I was able to use and play with the camera. It doesn't come with a cord for your camera to TV or your computer. I take the SD card to put the pictures in my computer. The moment I opened it, it asked me to set the time and date and my time zone. It doesn’t have my actual time zone but I put it in the nearest time zone. The monitor looks a little bit grainy but when I took my first picture and check it out on my computer after I transfered it, the quality of the picture is quite great. It also takes great video. I also like the way my hand curls unto it. Makes holding the camera easy and more stable. At the bottom you can also set it up to be out in a tripod. I am quite happy with the purchase and it was well worth the money I paid for. I am not a professional photographer and at most times my hands are shaky but I added a few pictures that I have taken with this camera.

picked the perfect camera

I was able to take this camera with me on a trip to the beach right after receiving it. It was a bit larger than the 10 year old Canon it was replacing so I was wondering how I would deal with that. I found it was still compact enough to fit into my purse or pockets so it was easy to carry with me. I am a casual photographer, use it mostly with my artwork. It takes very good pictures, I found it very easy to use and it has a downloadable manual that is a huge improvement over the manual that came with my 10 year old Canon Powershot A510. It takes all camera cards and the included rechargeable battery is very nice. It comes with its own charger. The zoom is awesome compared to my previous Canon. I was able to get a very great closeup of an eagle on a distant tree. I was sad to lose my previous Canon, but feel this one will truly take its place.

Pros: * Zoom is superb for a camera this small and inexpensive * Quality of pictures is outstanding Cons: *Cheap, flimsy design. Camera feels like it would shattered if it were ever dropped * Focusing the camera is tricky and takes some getting used to * Battery life is pretty poor. Not terrible, but I was suprised how often you have to recharge it Verdict: *If you're limited to $100, look no further. The quality of the pictures will delight you, and you're getting a zoom that is featured on cameras that are vastly more expensive. IMO it is the best camera in the $100 price range. However, the flimsy design is worrisome. If you have $200, you would be better off getting one of the upper tier Canon or Nikon cameras.

I'm not a student of cameras by any means. I use them for work and for me, it's all about function, ease of use and quality of pictures, particularly when using the zoom. For the money, I couldn't be more pleased with this camera. The pictures are sharp, even when maxing out the zoom lens, it's not a battery pig allowing me many days of use before I even think to charge it, and it's quick and easy to use in Auto. If I have one complaint, it's the location of the video record button. Because I generally shoot one handed, my thumb tends to come to rest on the top right corner of any camera I use to stabilize it for the shot, and that just happens to be where the video record button is. It's happened on more than one occasion where an attempted picture failed because I was video recording my subject unintentionally. Whether it's me or the phone design, I can't say because perhaps my natural tendency to place my thumb there is my own idiosyncrasy and won't happen to others.

Before I wrote a review I wanted to let at least six months go by so I could work with all the features and rate the camera fairly. I am incredibly disappointed for the amount of money I spent, especially (from a personal point of view) it took time to save for what I wanted to be a good, quality camera. The only way to view the shot you want to take is on a flat screen which has a glare or does not give you an honest impression of what will be included in the photo. There are so many instructions/options for setting up a shot or series of shots, it is difficult to understand and difficult to maneuver through. The flash is horrible quality and more often the shot I took without the flash, while poor quality, was better than the one with the flash. Plastic pieces that hold the battery in that doesn't give a lot of confidence it will hold for years to come. I thought I did sufficient research, especially with a Canon, and I did the research because it took time for me to save up for a camera that I wanted to love. This was not it. I've actually gone back to using my 15 year old digital camera by Olympia, a far better camera than this one despite its age. Very, very disappointed with this purchase and product.

I ordered this camera to replace an older digital camera that I was increasingly getting fed up with, as it never took a nice photo, and the zoom was basically non-existant. I was so excited to see that this had arrived, earlier than was expected, and couldn't wait to try it out! It was packaged really well, and came in very good condition. I took a few practice shots and experimented with some of the different settings and I absolutely loved the quality of the pictures and the ease of use. I even zoomed in on a coin jar clear across the room and was able to capture the details of the coins in perfect clarity, which would've been impossible with my old camera. So far I don't have any complaints! I absolutely love it and would reccomend it to anyone else looking for a good digital camera.

Bought this for my 15 year old daughters birthday she wanted a good camera. She is happy with it, but the videos on youtube and the commercials make it look like if it would take professional pics and it does not. The pictures are nice better than a cheap 50-70 dollar camera for sure, but nothing like a wow factor. I am still not sure if we have not discovered the right way to use it to get the best colors out there, but she did take a pic of a flower with the zoom factor and it did wowed us out. It looks like a postal. I think this camera is great for taking pics of flowers, birds and trees the only thing I don't like is when taking pics of people. I see it the same as my iPhone camera when compared to pics to people, otherwise it takes beautiful pics of nature.