Canon Powershot SD40 Review

Review posted 12/8/2006
Click to take a QTVR tour of the SD40 The fashion plate of Canon's Digital ELPH line, the PowerShot SD40 packs 7.1 megapixels of resolution into a
![]() Similar in design to its 5.0 megapixel predecessor (the SD30), this
Canon also supplied the SD40 with an easy to use camera station that serves as a charger,
Thanks to the DIGIC III chip's more aggressive noise reduction, this model is able to shoot at
Canon's new Face Detection AF/AE technology (working in concert with the SD40's 9-point Powershot SD40 Features:
The PowerShot SD40 Digital ELPH camera is available now for an estimated street price of US$399.99, |
Physical Views






The SD40 compared to a standard CD disc.

The Powershot SD40 and the 10-megapixel Powershot SD900
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Features & Controls
PowerShot SD40 Specifications
Camera Effective Pixels | Approx. 7.1 million |
Image Sensor | 1/2.5-inch CCD (Total number of pixels: Approx.7.4 million) |
Lens | 6.3 (W)-14.9 (T) mm (35mm film equivalent: 38 (W)-90 (T) mm) f/3.2 (W)-f/5.4 (T) |
Digital Zoom | Approx. 2.4x |
LCD Monitor | 1.8-inch, low-temperature polycrystalline silicon TFT color LCD, approx. 118,000 pixels (Picture coverage 100%) |
AF System | TTL autofocus Focusing frame: 9-point AiAF/1-point AF (fixed to center) |
Shooting Distance (From the front of the lens) |
Normal: 1.0 ft. (30 cm)-infinity Macro: 1-1.6 ft./30-50cm (WIDE), 3.9 in.-1.6 ft./10-50cm (TELE) |
Shutter | Mechanical shutter + electronic shutter |
Shutter Speeds | 15-1/1600 sec. The shutter speed varies according to the shooting mode. Slow shutter speeds of 1.3 sec. or slower operate with noise reduction. |
Metering System | Evaluative, Center-weighted average or Spot (fixed to center) |
Exposure Compensation | ± 2 stops in 1/3-stop increments |
ISO Speed | Auto, High ISO Auto, ISO 80/100/200/400/800/1600 (Standard Output Sensitivity/Recommended Exposure Index) |
White Balance | TTL auto, pre-set (available settings: Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H) or custom |
Built-in Flash | Auto, Auto w/ Red-Eye Reduction, Auto w/ Slow Synchro, Flash On, Flash On w/ Red-Eye Reduction, Flash On w/ Slow Synchro, Flash Off |
Flash Range | Normal: 1-6.6 ft./30cm - 2.0m (W), 1-4.3 ft./30cm - 1.3m (T) Macro: 1-1.6 ft./30-50cm (when sensitivity is set to ISO Auto) |
Shooting Modes | Auto, Camera M, Portrait, Landscape, Night Snapshot, Special Scene (Foliage, Snow, Beach, Fireworks, Aquarium, Underwater, Indoor, Kids & Pets), Color Accent, Color Swap, Stitch Assist, Movie |
Continuous Shooting | Approx. 1.6 shots/sec. (Large/Fine mode) |
Self-timer | Activates shutter after an approx. 10-sec./approx. 2-sec. delay, Custom Timer |
Recording Media | SD Memory Card, SDHC Memory Card, MultiMediaCard |
File Format | Design rule for camera file system and DPOF compliant |
Data Type |
Still images: Exif 2.2 (JPEG) Movie: AVI (Image data: Motion JPEG; Audio data: WAVE (monaural))
This digital camera supports Exif 2.2 (also called "Exif Print"). Exif Print is a standard for enhancing the communication between digital cameras and printers. By connecting to an Exif Print-compliant printer, the camera's image data at the time of shooting is used and optimized, yielding extremely high quality prints. |
Compression | Superfine, Fine, Normal |
Number of Recording Pixels (Still Images) | 640 × 480 (Small), 1,600 × 1,200 (Medium 3), 2,048 × 1,536 (Medium 2), 2,592 × 1,944 (Medium 1), 3,072 × 2,304 (Large), 3,072 × 1,728 (Widescreen) |
Number of Recording Pixels (Movies) | 640 × 480 / 320 × 240 (30 fps/15 fps) available up to 4GB, 320 × 240 (1 min. at 60 fps), 160 × 120 (3 min. at 15 fps) |
Playback Modes | Still Image: Single, Magnification (approx. 2x-10x), Jump, Auto Rotate, Rotate, Resume Playback, My Category, Histogram, Index (9 thumbnails), Sound Memos, Slide Show Movie: Normal Playback, Special Playback, Editing |
Erase modes | Still Image: single image, by date, by category, by folder, all images Movie: part of movie, all of movie |
My Camera Settings | Start-up image, start-up sound, operation sound, Self-timer sound, and shutter sound. |
Interface | USB 2.0 Hi-Speed (mini-B), PTP (Picture Transfer Protocol) Audio/Video output (NTSC or PAL selectable, monaural audio) |
Power Source | Battery Pack NB-4L (Lithium-ion Rechargeable battery) Compact Power Adapter CA-DC20 Camera Station CS-DC1a |
Shooting capacity | Still image: approx. 190 Shots |
Playback time | Approx. 300 min. |
Operating Temperature | 0-40°C (32-104°F) |
Operating Humidity | 10-90 % |
Dimensions | 3.78 × 1.78 × 0.94 in. / 96.1 × 45.1 × 23.9mm (excluding protrusions) |
Weight | Approx. 3.70 oz. / 105g (camera body only) |
Other | Camera Station with Wireless Controller for playback |
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Features & Controls
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