Alonso Perez
Well-known member
I've had the SD300 (IXUS 40, purchased in Europe) for about a month and I'm very happy with it. I bought it specifically as a 24x7 camera, hence the size was critical. I meant to get an SD200, but could not find one reasonably priced with respect to the 400.
Resolution is fine and lens performance is good and quite acceptable out to the edges even in wideangle. The 640x480 movie mode is great, but you need a big memory card to film for any length of time. Sound is quite adequate, and the camera lets you shorten a clip if you just want to keep a part of it.
The user interface is very good. My one nit is that you must go to the setup menu to switch from 2 to 10 second self-timer. The two second option is useful for low-light shots with a tripod or other solid support (I also carry around a mini-tripod), while the 10 is for getting into the picture. This should be a simple mode change, but it's a minor point.
This is my second digicam and it is fast, fast, fast. Practically no shutter lag, and starts filming right away as well. Focuses quickly, too. I do have a high-speed 512 MB card, however, so I can't vouch for performance with a standard SD card. I have never used the included 16 MB card.
Exposure accuracy is good, and I've shot with very strong backlight in the center of the frame. With +1.5 exposure compensation (easy to set), it did a good job. For more normal situations it basically never misses by much. Lens flare is less than I expected, though the purple fringing is certainly there when you blow out highlights. I knew about this from reading the review here, and was willing to live with it as this is not my SLR replacement. Noise is a bit high at ISO 200 and 400, but you get a useable shot.
Battery life surprised me in two ways: it is more than enough for all the shooting I have done in a day, including filming and review but, on the other hand, the battery quits with almost no warning. So if you have a lot of pictures ahead that day, start with a fresh charge because there is no real indication what you have left. I use no flash and I don't know what effect flash use has on battery life.
The feature set is great. Only missing is an MPEG movie mode and speed/aperture indication while in "manual", if not the outright ability to set them. Because the camera exposes so well, however, this is only an issue for slow shutter speeds.
Problems:
No real problems, but both the battery/memory door and the AV/USB door are flimsy and feel easy to break when being opened. I'm careful and have broken neither, but if you tend to brek these kinds of things, you might want a tougher camera.
The stainless steel finish is easy to smudge with fingerprints and also scratches easily. I knew this too and this is one reason I wanted the 200, which has an aluminum finish that seems more fingerprint resistant while being less slippery. I may still get a 200 at some point.
The screen scratches easily too, so I put some plastic wrap on it, which will not protect it from serious injury but is basically invisible if well applied (that takes some patience).
Resolution is fine and lens performance is good and quite acceptable out to the edges even in wideangle. The 640x480 movie mode is great, but you need a big memory card to film for any length of time. Sound is quite adequate, and the camera lets you shorten a clip if you just want to keep a part of it.
The user interface is very good. My one nit is that you must go to the setup menu to switch from 2 to 10 second self-timer. The two second option is useful for low-light shots with a tripod or other solid support (I also carry around a mini-tripod), while the 10 is for getting into the picture. This should be a simple mode change, but it's a minor point.
This is my second digicam and it is fast, fast, fast. Practically no shutter lag, and starts filming right away as well. Focuses quickly, too. I do have a high-speed 512 MB card, however, so I can't vouch for performance with a standard SD card. I have never used the included 16 MB card.
Exposure accuracy is good, and I've shot with very strong backlight in the center of the frame. With +1.5 exposure compensation (easy to set), it did a good job. For more normal situations it basically never misses by much. Lens flare is less than I expected, though the purple fringing is certainly there when you blow out highlights. I knew about this from reading the review here, and was willing to live with it as this is not my SLR replacement. Noise is a bit high at ISO 200 and 400, but you get a useable shot.
Battery life surprised me in two ways: it is more than enough for all the shooting I have done in a day, including filming and review but, on the other hand, the battery quits with almost no warning. So if you have a lot of pictures ahead that day, start with a fresh charge because there is no real indication what you have left. I use no flash and I don't know what effect flash use has on battery life.
The feature set is great. Only missing is an MPEG movie mode and speed/aperture indication while in "manual", if not the outright ability to set them. Because the camera exposes so well, however, this is only an issue for slow shutter speeds.
Problems:
No real problems, but both the battery/memory door and the AV/USB door are flimsy and feel easy to break when being opened. I'm careful and have broken neither, but if you tend to brek these kinds of things, you might want a tougher camera.
The stainless steel finish is easy to smudge with fingerprints and also scratches easily. I knew this too and this is one reason I wanted the 200, which has an aluminum finish that seems more fingerprint resistant while being less slippery. I may still get a 200 at some point.
The screen scratches easily too, so I put some plastic wrap on it, which will not protect it from serious injury but is basically invisible if well applied (that takes some patience).