Here we show the ELPH 300 HS in the Smart Auto record mode, with the different display options available. In auto mode the camera will select the best settings for your shot, along with choosing the best Scene settings based on 32 different pre-loaded situations. Icons on screen indicate the exposure mode being used (AUTO), Flash is set to off, the battery level is full, Video mode (1920), etc.

Program exposure mode gives the user more access to camera settings. In program mode the camera selects both the shutter speed and aperture for a correct exposure, but here you have access to a multitude of more advanced Function and Menu options; like metering, ISO, White balance, etc.

Half-pressing the shutter release shows which of the nine AF points (green rectangles) are going to be used for focus. If not able to focus the camera will not display the AF point/s. The ISO, aperture and shutter speed values are also shown along the bottom once the focus and exposure are locked.

Program mode Function options:

• Metering - Evaluative, Center Weighted Avg., Spot
• My Colors - Off, Vivid, Neutral, Sepia, B&W, Positive Film, Lighter Skin Tone, Darker Skin Tone, Vivid Blue, Vivid Green, Vivid Red, or Custom Color
• White Balance - Auto, Day Light, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H, Custom
  
• ISO - Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200
  
• Exposure Mode - Program, Movie Digest, Portrait, Kits&Pets, Smart Shutter, High Speed Bursts, Best Image Selection, Handheld Night Scene, Low Light, Fish-eye Effect, Miniature Effect, Toy Camera Effect, Monochrome, Super Vivid, Poster Effect, Color Accent, Color Swap, Beach, Underwater (with optional housing), Foliage, Snow, Long Shutter, Stitch Assist 1&2, and Super Slow Motion Movie
• Self Timer - Off, 10sec, 2sec, or Custom
• Drive Mode - Single or Continuous
  
• Still Image Aspect Ratio - 16:9, 3:2, 4:3, 1:1
• Recording Pixels - L, M1, M2, S
• Compression - Fine or Normal
• Movie Quality - 1920x1080, 1280x720, 640x480, 320x240
  

Program mode MENU options:

• AF Frame - Face AiAF, Tracking AF, or Center
• AF Frame Size - Small or Normal (Center Frame mode only)
• Digital Zoom - Off, Standard, 1.5x, 2.0x
• AF-Point Zoom - On or Off
• Servo AF - On or Off
  
• AF Assist Beam - On or Off
• Flash Settings - Red-Eye Correction and Red-Eye Lamp On or Off
• i-Contrast - Off or Auto
• Review - Off, Hold or 2 - 10 secs
• Review Info - Off, Detailed, Focus Check
• Blink Detection - On or Off
• Grid Lines - On or Off
  
• IS Mode - Continuous, Shoot Only, Panning, Off
• Date Stamp - Off, Date or Date & Time
  

Shown above are the screens displayed when pressing the 4-way pad in record mode. Up will display the exposure options, left is the focus mode options, right is the flash mode options, and down will change the information displayed while photographing an image.

The ELPH 300 HS can record movie clips with audio at a variety of resolutions. Canon offers Standard Definition movies at resolutions of 640x480 or 320x240, as well as, a High Definition mode at 1280x720 or Full HD at 1920x1080. The frame rate is 30fps, with the exception of the Full HD option which uses a cinematic like rate of 24fps. The Optical zoom can be used while recording, however you may here the noise of the zoom and AF motors in playback. These clips are captured in QuickTime format and saved as .MOV files.

Both the video and audio portion of movies can be replayed on the camera thanks to the built-in speaker. Full audio-video playback is also possible when connected to a TV monitor or a compatible PC after downloading.