Canon Powershot A300 Review

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Canon Powershot A300

Review posted 4/12/03


Click to take a QuickTime VR tour of the Canon Powershot A300
Click to take a QTVR tour of the Powershot A300


The PowerShot A300 is an entry-level, 3.2 megapixel camera with an all-glass 33mm equivalent fixed focal length Canon lens and 5.1x digital zoom. This compact and affordable camera incorporates advanced features such as a 5-point AiAF focus system, an enhanced Movie Mode that captures up to 3-minutes of video with sound, direct connect printing with the Canon CP-100 and Canon BJ Photo Direct printers, user selectable ISO speeds and light metering options.

The shutter speed range of the A300 is among the widest in its class with a maximum shutter speed of 1/2000 second. Combining this speed with the lens's f/5.6 minimum aperture setting makes the A300 ideal for daylight photography and fast-moving objects. Alternatively, when the one-second slow shutter speed is combined with the camera's maximum aperture and optional ISO 400 setting, photos taken in low light conditions can be captured easily.

The A300 also incorporates a number of high-end features including the popular Photo Effects mode originally introduced in the highly advanced PowerShot G2 camera. A low sharpening mode has been added to the Vivid, Neutral, Sepia and Black-and-White modes for a total of five separate effects for greater creativity.

The A300 is powered by two AA-size batteries and is compatible with CompactFlash Type I removable media. Like all other 2003 PowerShot camerass, it completely supports driverless downloads via PTP with Windows XP and Mac OS X, as well as EXIF 2.2, and DPOF 1.1.


Powershot A300 Features

  • 3.2-Megapixel CCD for images up to 2048 x 1536 pixels.
  • 33mm (equivalent) F3.6 optical lens, 5.1x digital zoom
  • 1.5-inch TFT color LCD, approx. 67,000 pixels
  • 5-point AiAF system with single-point center focus and focus lock
  • Low-light focus assist illuminator
  • Exposure modes: Auto/ manual/ stitch assist/ movie
  • Motion video w/audio, 640x480 up to 30 secs, 320x240 up to 3 mins
  • White balance options: Auto, daylight, cloudy, tungsten, fluorescent, fluorescent H
  • Shutter speeds from 1 second to 1/2000 second
  • Evaluative metering linked to the focus point
  • ISO settings: 50, 100, 200, 400 and Auto (50-150)
  • Photo Effects: Vivid, Neutral, Low Sharpening, Sepia, B&W
  • Built-in flash with Auto, Red-eye reduction auto, Forced on, Red-eye on, forced off and slow-synchro
  • 2x-10x enlarged playback function with scrolling
  • Direct Print to CP-100 and BJ Photo Direct printers
  • CompactFlash Type I removable storage
  • USB driverless downloads
  • Powered by two AA type batteries
  • Small (4.3 x 2.3 x 1.4 in.) and lightweight (6.2 oz)


The PowerShot A300 is available now, at a price of about $199.





Physical Views

Canon Powershot A300

Canon Powershot A300

Canon Powershot A300

Canon Powershot A300 Canon Powershot A300

Canon Powershot A300

Canon Powershot A300





Canon Powershot A300

The Powershot A300 and a standard CD for size comparison.









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Powershot A300 Specifications

Image sensor: 1/ 2.7 in. CCD (Total number of pixels: approx. 3.3 million)
Effective Pixels: Approx. 3.2 million
Lens: 5 mm (35 mm film equivalent: 33 mm), F3.6
Digital Zoom: Maximum Approx. 5.1x
Optical Viewfinder: Inverted Galilean viewfinder
LCD monitor: 1.5 inch TFT color LCD, approx. 67,000 pixels
Autofocus: TTL 5-point AiAF / 1-point AF (Fixed to center), Focus lock possible
Focusing Range:
 Normal: 20 cm (7.9 in.) - infinity

Macro: AF: 5 - 20 cm (2 - 7.9 in.)

Shutter: Mechanical + electronic
Shutter Speed:

1 - 1 / 2000 sec.
* 1 - 1 / 6 sec. in manual mode with the flash off or in slow synchro mode.
* Noise reduction processing on speeds between 1 - 1 / 6 sec.

Light Metering Method: Evaluative metering / Center-weighted average metering / Spot metering
Exposure Control: Program AE
Exposure Compensation: +/-2 stops in 1/3-stop increments
Sensitivity : AUTO / ISO 50 / 100 / 200 / 400 equivalent
White Balance: TTL auto / preset (daylight, cloudy, tungsten, fluorescent, fluorescent H) or Custom white balance
Flash : Red-eye reduction auto / auto / on / off / slow-syncro
Flash Range: 20 cm - 2.0 m (0.67 - 6.7 ft.) (When sensitivity is set to AUTO)
Shooting Modes: Auto / manual / Stitch assist / movie
Continuous Shooting: Approx. 2.2 images / sec. (Large / Fine mode, LCD monitor off)
Self-Timer : Shoots after approx. 2 sec. or approx. 10 sec.
PC Connected Shooting: Available (USB connection only. Exclusive software program
"RemoteCapture" is included in the camera kit.)
Recording Media: CompactFlash card (Type I)
File Format: Design rule for Camera File system, DPOF compliant
Image Recording Format: Still images: JPEG (Exif 2.2)*,
Movies: AVI (Image data: Motion JPEG, Audio data: WAVE [monaural])
Compression : Superfine/ fine/ normal
Resolutions :
Still Images:
Large: 2048 x 1536 pixels
Medium1: 1600 x 1200 pixels
Medium2: 1024 x 768 pixels
Small: 640 x 480 pixels
Movies:
640 x 480 pixels (Approx. 30 sec.)**
320 x 240 pixels (Approx. 3 min.)**
160 x 120 pixels (Approx. 3 min.)**
Approx 15 frames/ sec.
** The data in parentheses refer to the maximum movie per clip.
Replay Modes: Single image replay / index replay (9 thumbnails) / zoomed view (LCD monitor zooms images up to maximum of approx. 10x) / auto play / sound memos (up to 60 sec.) /
Image output to Card Photo Printer CP-100 / CP-10 and Bubble Jet Printer with the direct print function
My Camera Settings
(customizing)		 The Start-up image, Start-up Sound, Shutter Sound, Operation Sound and Selftimer Sound can be customized using the following methods.
1. Using the images and sounds recorded on the camera.
2. Using downloaded data from your computer using the supplied software.
Interface: Universal Serial Bus (mini-B, PTP [Picture Transfer Protocol])
Power Source:
Two AA-size alkaline batteries (included)
Two AA rechargeable NiMH batteries (optional)
AC adapter kit ACK800 (optional)
Operating Temperatures : 0 - 40 °C (32 - 104 °F)
Operating Humidity : 10 - 90 %
Dimensions
(W x H x D):		 110 x 58 x 36.6 mm (4.3 x 2.3 x 1.4 in.) (excluding protrusions)
Weight: Approx. 175 g (6.2 oz.) (excluding batteries and CF Card)
Specifications are as represented by the manufacturer.





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