Canon PowerShot ELPH 310 HS 12.1 MP CMOS Digital Camera with 8x Wide-Angle Optical Zoom Lens and Full 1080p HD Video (Purple)

I had an old canon camera (PowerShot A520 for historians) for 8 years, and it was finally time for a new one. I spent way too long agonizing over which camera to get, but I knew I wanted a Canon without a touchscreen. I hemmed and hawwed over the ELPH 310 vs ELPH 300 and finally choose this one because it can zoom in more, and it was a newer model. Amazon had a great deal on it, so I got quite a chunk of the list price, which was great! I choose purple because it was the most on sale with the pink and yellow color. I wanted the blue, but it was full price. I also bought rooCASE Neoprene Sleeve (Lilac) Carrying Case for Canon ELPH 310 HS Digital Camera which looks very nice with it! Anyway, on to the review!PROS:Takes quality pictures. Really. Some are even comparable to my DSLR camera. I'm not kidding, I was impressed!Color of the camera looks great. It's a matte plastic, that won't show finger marks from holding it.Takes fast picturesYou can easily change from auto to manual settings. I love the manual settings, I love to play around with vivid color and toy camera effect and so forth.Super easy, user friendly, everyone can figure out my camera quickly.CONS:The fish eye setting is weak. It doesn't look at all like a real fish eye lens would make an image. However, its not exactly a deal breaker, I don't need Fish Eye anyway.My friends called my camera "heavy" and "bigger than expected." I am used to holding a brick camera that took AA batteries, so this thing is tiny to me. I also don't care if its heavy, because its actually lighter and smaller than my cell phone. It fits easily in my pocket with the sleeve case.I wish it had some grips on it, right where the Canon logo is on the front. It feels like I could easily drop it.Really with these petty excuse for cons, I love my new camera, and I can't believe I waited 8 years to get a new one. If you are on the fence about buying this, wait till it goes on sale (the prices changes daily) to a price you can live with, and get it! It is a great camera.

I am a camera junkie and this is the 12th digital camera I've owned. I have a DSLR, but like to keep a small camera on me since my phone doesn't take the greatest pictures. I had to replace my PowerShot SD1300 (piece of crap!) because the pictures were so terrible. A friend of mine had the Elph 310 on a recent trip and I was blown away at the quality of pictures & videos, so I bought it also.I've had over a month to test it out so here is what I think:This is the 3rd best camera I've owned (DSLR & G Series are #1 & #2) I love the size of it! I love how many options it has and different modes. My absolute favorite feature is the low light setting! The shutter speed is faster than my DSLR. Granted, the pictures are only 3mp on that setting, but they all come out gorgeous. Really beyond my expectations. I've also had a chance to play around with the different night settings and the quality is amazing. Everything is in focus, crisp & clear. The zoom is great.. alittle grainy, but that is to be expected. Regular auto setting pictures come out beautiful & bright, never blurry.Video quality is the best I have seen so far on any digital camera..Battery life is not the greatest, especially when you take pictures and videos in one shoot. I've found I can easily drain the battery in a day or 2 which can be frustrating. The high burst setting which allows you to take a ton of pictures with one click of the shutter is not the greatest. I've tried it on different subjects and they all come out alittle blurry..All in all, I highly recommend this camera! I'm very impressed and would buy it again.

First, let me say this camera does take some great pictures and it is very easy to use. My complaint comes in by how plastic it feels. It just doesn't feel solid like all the other Canon cameras we have purchased in the past. I love my husband's Canon Powershot 300HS, but I wanted a bit higher zoom. So, I purchased this one. I also purchased the Powershot 510 as well to see which one I would like better. I must say, I am swaying towards returning both of them. This camera feels flimsy compared to the other Canon Powershot cameras. I prefer the non-touch screen of this one vs. the Powershot 510, but overall, the 510 just feels a lot more solid for only around $75 more. The touchscreen on the 510 drains the battery too fast, but this one just doesn't seem to be that durable. As for the zoom comparisons, on the 510 it zooms to 12x, but it is extremely difficult to keep it steady. On this one, the 8x seems about right. So, I am not quite sure which one to keep. I love the new settings for vivid, foliage, miniature, fireworks, fisheye, etc. If it weren't for all these new settings and a higher power zoom, I wouldn't even consider trading up from the 300HS for this one. So, I am torn as to what to do.UPDATE 10/30/2011 - So, I decided to keep this one instead of the 510. It still feels kind of plastic to me compared to older models we have. However, I have been thoroughly impressed with the video, picture and color quality. The battery longevity helped to make this decision as well.