Canon PowerShot A40 2MP Digital Camera w/ 3x Optical Zoom

This is my first digital camera and I have been very intimidated about finally buying one, but I have always owned and loved my Canons, so this was an easy choice for me. I also read many reviews and this camera was at the top of the list in every category including durability. I love that this camera looks and feels like a normal camera. You can use the viewfinder just like the olden days. It is larger and has the heft of a camera, not tiny like some digital cameras.Out of the box set up time was about 10 minutes. The instruction book begins at the beginning and is written in plain English with illustrations. No wonk-y mumbo-jumbo. Basically, you slap the batteries in, put the little memory card in its slot, turn it on and point and shoot. Auto focusing and flash make it SIMPLE!I was in a quandry about megapixels. I wondered if 2.1 was too low for the pics to be sharp. A couple of years ago, that was the top of the line, now, 2.1 is prehistoric. I decided to go with the A40 and 2.1 as a learning experience because the price is so low and Canons are so great. I figured after a couple of years, I'd junk the A40 and get a super megapixel camera. WRONG! This is a keeper! The photos are absolutely beautiful and crisp, even up to 8"X10". The color is absolutely accurate! My dad is a Nikon snob and even he admitted that my Canon A40 did a much better job than his Nikon 2.1 megapixel!You have the option of using the Auto mode, where the camera does everything but push its own button or you can use it like a conventional camera where you set the exposure, shutter speed, etc.There are a lot of other settings to play with if you want to, like making the colors more vivid.I did invest in a 256MG memory card because I read that the 8MG one the camera comes with doesn't hold many photos. I have shot 200 photos without a glitch or erasing any to free up memory space.I think that this is the greatest value and quality in a digital camera for any level of user that anyone could want. If you've hesitated buying a digital camera, I encourage you to make this your first digital camera. I expect to keep this baby forever!

I've had my eye on getting a digital camera for quite a while, but I waited until now for the right combination features to get within my price range. The Canon A40 was well worth the wait. Within five minutes of opening the box, I was taking great pictures with this camera. I wouldn't call the more complex features of the A40 intuitive, but with 3-4 hours of experimenting, I had figured out almost everything without opening the manual (although the manual is handy for picking up the details).Installation of the software on my XP system was a breeze. I still don't have everything figured out yet, but the basics were self-explanatory without the manual.Along with the camera, I bought 2 sets of Maha 1800mAh NiMH rechargeable batteries and the Maha fast charger. I guess I can't really say how well the batteries work because I haven't managed to run through the first charge yet! ;) I also picked up the 128 MB SanDisk flash card.The only real problem I have with the A40 is in getting the autofocus to lock correctly and consistently. The problem is especially bad indoors, where I miss a lot of easy shots that my point-and-shoot Fuji 35mm could handle easily. The camera is unable to get a focus lock on anything about 10% of the time. When it does claim that it has a lock, about 5% of the time it was actually focusing on a spot about a foot below the squares in the LCD that are supposed to show what the autofocus is locked on. The focus difficulties were almost enough for me to give the camera 4 stars, but when you consider this rare problem against the price, the features, and all of the fantastic pictures I've taken already, it's clear that this camera deserves the highest rating.One thing that I would like to see on future generations of this camera is a 4-way thumb pad like the S330 has. This would be useful when you're changing the settings, looking at thumbnails, or reviewing a picture in the viewfinder.All in all, there's no camera in this price range that comes close to the A40. The A40 is a fantastic camera with great features and gives anyone the ability to take sharp and clear digital pictures.

product has great features - and would be of great value for the price if I didn't experience major problems with camera and Canon tech center. At first, the camera worked great/great pictures. Over the course of a few weeks, picture quality continued to decline until it got to a point where picture quality was aweful. I thought perhaps I wasn't using it correctly...that I had dialed in wrong settings, etc. The Canon tech center refused to believe there was a camera problem. Finally found a person at Canon who fully agreed that Camera (specifically lens mechanism)was defective...but that Canon would "fix" camera and not replace it. ... I'll get another digital camera, possibly a Sony....but do not wish to give my business to Canon, except that I've invested money in flash card reader and other Canon-related accessories. ...

The Canon A40 is simple to operate and takes decent images with its 2 megapixel/3x zoom features. It's compatible with a Macintosh OS/X and the digital imaging edit software is easy to use. After six months, the lens jammed and the camera did not function properly. I mailed the camera back to Canon for repair and less than six months later, the lens broke again while I was changing batteries. I googled the Canon A40 and learned that other consumers have experienced the same lens jam problem with their Canon A40. If you buy it, be sure to read the warranty details and have the 800-number ready to call. Good luck.