Canon Powershot SD400 5MP Digital Elph Camera with 3x Optical Zoom

This was the 2nd Canon Elph that I owned after the first one served me well for many years. I upgraded to this one for more megapixels and I was very happy with it.

It takes great photos, especially outdoors. I don't think it does as well with redeye as it could, but that's really my only complaint. The other thing to remember is it's VERY sensitive to pressure on the lens when it's open. I had the dreaded "E18" error once...and was able to fix it on my own thanks to finding some instructions out on the 'net. Unfortunately, my son dropped it another time and this time it was not as easily fixed. However it served for a good year (after I got rid of it after a year) as a great camera for my 3 kids to use. They loved to shoot videos and take photos.

As for the fragile lcd, I was proactive and bought a screen protector and applied it immediately so I never worried about jamming this camera in my pocket for trips. I can't say enough good things about the after marker protector as well.

Another great thing about Canon is the battery life is OUTSTANDING. I takes tons of video and shots on one battery charge. That being said, I bought an after-market non-Canon batter as a spare which I carried around with me. It was much easier than carrying around much heavier AA or rechargables.

I purchased this refurbished camera about three years ago. I needed a pocket sized digital camera I could use when it was impractical to use my Canon Rebel. This camera has been with me as I sailed along the Florida coast in tropical humidity and motorcycled through Colorado and camped in Minnesota. It has been used in desert sun, rain, and snow. I've dropped it several times and it has been bumped into countless hard things. It never fails to boot right up and take excellent photos, every time.
Initially, I had some doubts about the flimsy, little cover for the cable port but it has held up. I applied a screen protector immediately and no problems with the LCD screen to date. When taking photos in the snow it's important to keep the camera warm between shots or the battery won't be there for you. The flash is weak and too close to the lens to do much good. It has the viewfinder so I can still preview a shot in bright sunlight and the lens is easy to clean with a Q tip. The photo quality sometimes borders on the exceptional.
This camera has met or exceeded all of my expectations for a point and shoot camera and when I've finally abused it beyond repair I'll be shopping for another SD series Canon.

Sensitive lens mechanism rendered entire camera useless. Common problem, more costly than replacement. Would not buy again.

Now I have had it for 3 years, great pictures of outside spaces, not so good on the inside or dark areas. The best is that you can fit it everywhere, I always carry it with me (I used to forget my cameras and never take pics, does not happen with this one). Now there are better resolution cameras for the price that I paid, but Canon is the best for leisure use.

I've owned this camera now for a few years. As a Computer Engineer and Computer Tech I am required to work a lot with digital cameras. I must say that this camera exceed all my expectations. Great quality, small, long battery life, great flash and many options. When I print the images at local stores (Walmart, CVS, Walgreens, etc.) the images are so sharp, some people think they are post cards.

Even though it's a bit outdated, I still recommend this camera. Don't let the megapixels fool you, it's all marketing techniques. Even though it is only 5MP, this is more than what most people need. I take most of my pictures at 1600x1200 which is not even using the full potential of the camera which goes up to 2592x1944, and still the images and printed photos come out spectacular. For those of you experiencing the "Memory Card Error", save your pictures first on the computer, you can use an SD adapter or if you have a memory card reader just plug it in. Once you have saved all of your pictures on the chip, perform a format of the chip on the camera, it is located after hitting the Menu button, point to Tools icon, then scroll down. The option to format is right under "Clock/Display". If you still continue to experience problems try a different brand of SD cards. I use Sandisk, RiData, and Kingston which work very well. Some of you have also been wondering about how to reset your camera to factory settings. Turn the camera on and press the Menu button for about 6 seconds. You will then be asked if you wish to reset to default settings, select yes. This solves a lot of out of focus problems or incorrect settings applied to the camera. If you have any problems with your camera just contact me, I'm willing to help.

Joshua Marius
www.letheonline.net