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An excellent tiny camera.

Started Jul 29, 2018 | User reviews
djohnfot Junior Member • Posts: 27
An excellent tiny camera.
1

The ELPH 300HS is a fine little camera that pretty much hits the sweet spot for small P&S cameras.  It has a good quality lens with a usable 5X range.  It has 12 megapixels, which is about enough for such a small sensor and is capable of very good image quality with little noise, as long as you don't shoot at high ISOs (over ISO 800).  The camera is very quick with almost zero shutter lag.

The only negatives are its tiny size, which may make it difficult for some, and its fairly short battery life.  Alas, the later problem is par for the course with small P&S cameras and the 300HS battery life is pretty average.

In short, a great pocketable camera for the money.

 djohnfot's gear list:djohnfot's gear list
Canon PowerShot A720 IS Canon PowerShot S30 Canon ELPH 300 HS Canon PowerShot A4000 IS Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX300 +9 more
Canon ELPH 300 HS (IXUS 220 HS)
12 megapixels • 2.7 screen • 24 – 120 mm (5×)
Announced: Feb 7, 2011
djohnfot's score
4.5
Average community score
4.4
bad for good for
Kids / pets
okay
Action / sports
good
Landscapes / scenery
great
Portraits
great
Low light (without flash)
good
Flash photography (social)
great
Studio / still life
great
= community average
romphotog
romphotog Contributing Member • Posts: 743
Re: An excellent tiny camera.

I just got me a PowerShot ELPH 180.

Good price for 8x zoom, 20mp.

 romphotog's gear list:romphotog's gear list
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H300
johnf_ma Junior Member • Posts: 38
Re: An excellent tiny camera.

I bought this camera 7 years ago and it's the one I traveled across the country with. Makes me happy to see a review for it in 2018 It was billed as the thinnest camera in the world and that makes it easy to love. You get better capability than your phone and it's so small there's never a reason to leave it home.

Although I've added bigger and better cameras to the team, I don't think this one is on the bench just yet. I see it as a camera I can bring along "just in case" a lucky photo opportunity pops up. It's so small you barely know it's there in your pocket but the photos it takes are quite good.

I do wonder what the future holds for the ELPH line. The new one has a good 12X zoom at the expense of lens aperture. It appears Canon and Nikon may be abandoning the "mid range" compact.

-- hide signature --

Panasonic LX100 & ZS60
Canon Powershot ELPH 300HS

PGH423 Contributing Member • Posts: 534
Re: An excellent tiny camera.

How is the cycle time (time between shots)? Almost anywhere I go, I want to get shots of dogs, and can't tolerate a cycle time above about half a second.

 PGH423's gear list:PGH423's gear list
Sony RX10 IV Canon EOS Rebel SL1 Canon EOS 7D Mark II Canon EOS Rebel SL2
sueanne
sueanne Forum Pro • Posts: 21,078
Re: An excellent tiny camera.

I like my SD880 

djohnfot wrote:

The ELPH 300HS is a fine little camera that pretty much hits the sweet spot for small P&S cameras. It has a good quality lens with a usable 5X range. It has 12 megapixels, which is about enough for such a small sensor and is capable of very good image quality with little noise, as long as you don't shoot at high ISOs (over ISO 800). The camera is very quick with almost zero shutter lag.

The only negatives are its tiny size, which may make it difficult for some, and its fairly short battery life. Alas, the later problem is par for the course with small P&S cameras and the 300HS battery life is pretty average.

In short, a great pocketable camera for the money.

 sueanne's gear list:sueanne's gear list
Canon PowerShot A510 Canon PowerShot A650 IS Canon PowerShot SD880 IS Canon PowerShot S3 IS Canon PowerShot S110 +3 more
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