Strengths: Picture quality has to be the primary strength of this little point and shoot. Having no previous experience with a digital camera, I was fairly well stunned when I examined my early exposures with this camera. The detail and color are exceptionally true to life. Battery life is tremendous with rechargeables. The two 2500 mAh aa's I use last for, well, I don't really know how many camera uses, as it takes several DAYS of occasional shooting to expend the batteries' power.
The camera is exceptionally easy to use. Canon packs a "Quick Start Guide" with the camera that gets one started using the camera without having to wade through the entire manual. VERY helpful.
Weaknesses: I am not wild about the little rubber flap that covers the connecting ports for transferring data to computers, TV, etc.
The materials the camera is built from generally will probably not take much abuse, but, then again, we are not discussing a crowbar here, now, are we? This is a precision instrument as much as any other computer. I always carry mine in one of those crafty little soft cases designed like a miniature piece of carry-on luggage, with lots of small compartments and "secret" pockets.
One general weakness of this technology is that it is obselete as soon as it gets to market. Therefore, this camera probably will be hard to find, as its upgrade, the A410, is already on the shelves. And I bought the A400 in September (2005) on closeout!
Bottom Line:
Well, let us see...
With the Canon A400 we have a compact, handy, feature-rich camera that happens to take finely detailed, vibrant photos.
The camera lies naturally in the hand, which is helpful in snapping quick, spontaneous candids.
The controls are simply arranged on the camera body. The view screen is located on the left side of the camera back. The lens has an automatic cover that retracts when the camera is turned on and recovers the lens when power is shut off. The cover operates even when the camera indicates battery power is exhausted. The camera shuts itself off and the lens cover is extended. The camera even displays a message that the batteries are depleted. I like that.
