"You can't beat the price, megapixels, and name!"
Here it is in a nutshell. I bought this camera for photos of my students' activities at school, and trusted the Canon name to give me more than my money's worth in a [$...] camera.

The positives are:
1. It's [relatively inexpensive], 3.2 megapixels, and it IS a Canon!
2. It has a focus assist light, which helps in low light.
3. It's simple to use, though with many advanced features such as white balance adjustments, manual exposure, sound effects, etc.
4. It takes really good photos (excellent color saturation).
5. It takes two AA batteries with pretty good battery life.
6. It's small enough to slip in a pocket!
7. It uses inexpensive compact flash memory.
8. It's easy to transfer to your computer via USB cable and Canon software.

The negatives:
1. Onlydigital zoom--very handy, but degrades quality.
2. Flash is only average.
3. If you do any cropping or enlarging, quality degrades quickly.
4. Not attractive, but is sturdy (I've dropped it a few times!)

I like this camera--there's not much NOT to like. It does not have the enduring 'draw' of the Nikon 2500/3500 (see my review), but it has many more features, and the pedigree of the legendary G3, and S-50 Canon cameras.

If you want just a basic, compact, point & shoot digital camera that's [relatively inexpensive] for a 3 megapixel unit, this one is THE one. As a bonus, you find it offers a whole lot more under that generic, unspectacular appearance!

Mediocre at best
I bought a Canon A300 to replace a lost Sony. I found the camera to be adequate except for two things: Battery life and delay upon hitting the photo button. Simply stated, the same type of batteries that last 18 hours in my mp3 player last 5 minutes in this camera. Battery life was consistent over several sets of batteries. Secondly, this camera is completely inadequate for taking pictures of small children because the children will have moved by the time the picture is processed. While the camera takes adequate pictures, I would not recommend it.

muito boa realmente
moro no brasil e comprei esta camera numa viajam aos EUA, e nao me arrependo... muito boa mesmo... nao deixando a desejar para as similares.

You Get What You Pay For...and You Should Pay More...
Camera feels [sub-standard], has a flimsy mechanics, eats batteries all day long. I put in the original batteries and the camera lasted for exactly two (2!!) pictures. Replaced the batteries and upon using the LCD screen the camera IMMEDIATELY told me the batteries were low. (Hadn't so much as TRIED to take a picture!) Subsequent batteries lasted a bit longer, but buy this camera WITH a MONSTER pack of NiMH batts. Photos are fine, features are NOT easy to figure, there's nothing intuitive about the menu. In short, buy an Olympus, this camera was intended to replace the same and except for it's ability to shoot movies, it doesn't.

Not perfect, but a great value for the price.
The jury is still out on this one. I purchased this with high expectations of Canon's experience and reputation for digital cameras. I grew up in a family of professional photographers so I am fussy.

PROS:
1) You can't beat the price considering this is 3.2 megapixel camera.
2) Picture quality is excellent.
3) This can take short movies, with sound. Again, excellent quality.

CONS:
1) No optical zoom. The 5.1x digital zoom is fine if that's what you want. However, there is a huge difference. If zooming is not important to you, then this is fine.
2) The button choosing between still pictures and the movie setting is a hair trigger and can be easily shifted by accident. Both my father and I inadvertently took movies when we wanted to take stills. We didn't know it until we downloaded the images.
3) Buy stock in a battery company. At least you'll get some of your money back in dividends when you become the company's best customer. Digitals consume batteries like water, but this one devours batteries like Niagara Falls. In fact, this is probably the single biggest limitation of this camera. Getting a rechargeable package is the way to go, and you'll be using it a lot. Also, be careful of battery consumption when connected to the computer -- it's a killer.
4) The instructions in the manual, and the controls on the camera itself, are very complicated. Plan to spend a lot of time reading the manual over and over again, and practicing with the camera to get the hang of things. This is far from a "take it out of the box and start taking pictures" kind of camera. The function and display controls on the camera are, in my opinion, very frustrating. If you have patience and can spend some time concentrating and practicing, you can master it.

All in all, while you may never use half of the cameras capabilities (either because you don't need them, or will never understand how to use them), you can take great pictures. The primary decision making factor here is price. Why spend $500 when you can get this camera for less than half?

More than Adequate!
I won't spend a lot on a camera that I use for Ebay, Email,classroom, and web photos. The A300 is a lot better than what I need. The video mode is handy for power point presentations. Don't use the zoom and flash together if you can help it and you'll get great shots that you won't need to sharpen. For [this price range] there is no other choice. I love it!

Very nice for the money
If I had realized that this camera's zoom was digital-only, I might not have bought it. Other than that, it's great for the money.

Best Camera in the $200-$250 price range
I sold digital cameras for a living. Take my word for it. This is a great camera! It is very simple to operate and it has some cool features. The camera does not have optical zoom, but I was willing to give up the optical zoom to get the 3.2MP resolution. Most 3.2MP cameras are in the $300 plus price range. I will be taking most of my photos of people and I do not need the optical zoom. No camera in the $200-$250 comes close to this camera. Even the Sony needs improvement to compete.

Battery Killer
I purchased this camera for my mom for mother's day. We played with if for about 5 minutes before the batteries that came with the camera were dead. We changed batteries and have exchanged the camera the bateries still only last for a few shots. I would either purchase a set of rechargable batteries or try another camera.
The pictures that we have taken do turn out very well.

Batteries?!?
My first digital camera, so I'm learning all the basics. I love it so far except for one MAJOR drawback. I have gone through SIX AA batteries so far. It goes through batteries in about 10 minutes of photography. The ones that came with it lasted about five minutes. I then bought a pack of Duracell M3 and it burned through them too. I now bought a Monster AA rechargable pack...we'll see how those work. Am I not supposed to use the LCD screen for shooting and viewing all the time? Should I just use the viewfinder for pictures and then use the LCD screen for viewing/editing later? Can anyone help me? Should I return it for another one? Is it defective? I love Amazon, gadgets and computers...but I'm baffled here.

Canon PowerShot A300
This is our first experience with a digital camera. It is a camera easy to use for the novice and has the bells and whistles the experienced or serious digital camera user demands. Super easy to connect to the computer with the USB cable supplied. We think this gives more bang for the buck than any we have looked at. Love it.

Fantastic
The Powershot A300 was my first digital camera. In that sense, it's like your first car. You knew you weren't going to win any points for style or speed, but it got you from point A to point B and introduced you to what you knew you wanted in future cars.

The picture quality is, in a word, superb. I took a picture of my daughter at the 2 megapixel equivalent setting (1600 x 1200), and I was stunned. I had that photo blown up to 8 x 10 and you cannot tell it was taken with a digital camera (no pixellation). The colors are rich, and the only down side to that shot was that it made me realize that my little girl is becoming a young woman. My wife, who does not give out compliments easily, said that the picture rivaled what you'd pay for in a studio shoot.

I have not had the battery life problems others have mentioned. In fact, AA usage is pretty good, all things considered. This is the ideal point and shoot camera for travel, but as battery life erodes, writing the picture to the compact flash card becomes noticeably slower.

This camera now goes with me everywhere. It is much more convenient to use than my EOS Rebel 2000, but I miss the creative zone controls on the Rebel. These same controls are on such Canon Powershot models as the A60, A70, S45, S50, G3 and G5.

The manual is comprehensive, and from what I've seen, most of the complaints addressed in this board can be solved or addressed by reading the manual.

All in all, this camera yields dynamite pictures and you cannot beat the price. If you're thinking about trying out digital, or you want a durable camera you can take with you on your travels and have a ready access to power (AA batteries are almost worldwide universal), get the A300. You will not be disappointed. It won't make you Ansel Adams, but if you've done even 30 seconds of homework before you make your purchase, you'll know this going in.

Great deal!
I did quite a bit of research looking for a great point and shoot for my significant other.

I really like this camera. Also, I found it ate batteries the first day...but I read somewhere to wipe off the terminals and the batteries will last longer. I get hours of use out of my batteries now. I also have rechargables....but have only needed 4. Two in camera...two for backup. So, ever since reading that about wiping off the terminals my battery life has increased 10 fold.

Pro: Great performance on the video
Con: Digital zoom stinks...but I knew that before I bought the camera and still really like it.

Also....got a great buy here at Amazon on the Viking 256MB CompactFlash Card........

Nice features and good photos. Batteries a deal breaker
You may notice other reviews mentioning the battery problem. They are not exagerating, We used up a set of batteries just setting the preferences. I thought it was just cheap batteries that came with the unit. We got it going and took about six pictures before the battery light came on and the screen went black. After the second set died after 7 pictures, we knew this wasn't going to work as a nice point and shoot digital. Too bad. The price is nice and the pictures came out very crisp and full of detail. But who can carry four sets of batteries to take as many pictures as a roll of film? Sorry Canon. Nice idea, but AA's do not power this piece of equipment. Go back to the drawing board.

Great Camera with some minor drawbacks...
I love it...It is my first digital camera but for the price it really has more features than you would expect. I would like if it were a little smaller so it could fit in my pocket, but I guess thats why you pay hundreds more to get an elph. The photo quality is excellent however it declines when doing work to the photos on the computer. The movie function is AMAZING. The quality is excellent and it is like having a home movie camera! I sometimes have trouble taking the pictures when i have to hold the button down half way and wait for the camera to focus - it takes a few seconds and sometimes doesnt focus at all and wont let you take the picture. The only really bad part about the camera is that the batteries die VERY VERY VERY VERY quickly. Definitely invest in duracell stock when you purchase this camera or NEVER use the LCD screen! Overall the camera is GREAT and I love it. Hope this helped...

Canon PowerShot A300- An outstanding camera!
Let me tell you, if you are looking for a camera with a good photo quality and video, this is it! The day I bought this camera i was so excited. My excitement really paid off with a good looking and good working digital camera. Sure, it may eat up the batteries at first, but if you have the right batteries for it, for example: Monster Rechargeable Batteries, it will work out. Amazing photo quality can be achieved easily with it's MENU OPTIONS. Great white-balance! I recommend Canon for any camera proffesional or just as a hobby. I myself prefer Canon more than any other brand for cameras. Hope you enjoy the A300.( I sure did!)
~Nice job Canon! You hit it big.~

Sicerely,
Canon Consumer

can be dropped
Dropped it from about 1 meter to concrete floor, battery lock, a small piece of plastic broke but camera worked like before.

1st Time digital user
I read the available customer reviews about the Canon A300 digital camera and noted the complaint about the lack of battery power. (eats batteries). I ordered the A300 based on recommendations from others about the machine being a good place to start. Now that I have had a few days to play with the A300, I can say in my experience the machine lives up to the manufactures claims. It is still on the supplied AA batteries after initial set up, 25 Shots and download time to my computer. For the price I cannot see how a novice could go wrong for a still digital camera with sound and movie options. My recommendation? If your new to digital and want to get your feet wet, try the Canon A300. Downside... could use optical zoom. However, keep your resolution high, and go easy on digital zoom and you will still get a quality shot.

Excellent camera at a very reasonable price!
I bought the Canon A300 knowing full well that it doesn't have optical zoom. To me, a typical 3X optical zoom simply doesn't do much. Further, the added moving lens of a zoom camera is prone to mechanical problems. It is simply NOT worth the [money amount]or more for this feature. What the Canon A300 offers is a compact camera that takes shockingly detailed pictures, especially in outdoor light. In macro mode, the fine detail that I see in the pics is astounding! They are better than my Nikon SLR film camera. Indoor shots with flash do not turn out as sharp as outdoor shots, but still very good nevertheless. Sure there are negatives. Do not use this camera for action shots or sports photography. The auto-focus and light-metering will be too slow for that. However, for general use, such as scenic shots, this camera is more than adequate. Don't let the complaints about excessive battery drainage scare you away! It is simply not true! The original alkaline batteries did NOT last very long, but the NiMH batteries I got seems to last longer each time I recharge them! I can get at least 60 shots using these batteries with the camera in full function. One negative is the very tiny icons. They are hard to see and they are not very intuitive. Navigating the menus is also confusing at first. But once you get it, it is quite easy. Suggestion: go through the very long owner's manual first to see WHAT the camera can do, then go through it again to see HOW to do it! The software that comes with the camera is also very nice and easy to use. I did not have to read the manual for the software before using it. But I did later because I did not want to miss anything. In summary, this is a very competent camera and a great value. At [money amount], there is simply nothing close to it in terms of features, quality, and value.

Completely Satisfied
I just bought my Canon A300 yesterday, having done as much background research and comparison shopping as I could. Almost all of the reviews I read were positive, and I determined that nothing could touch it for the price.
I needed a digital camera with few "bells and whistles" but with excellent image quality, and I needed it cheap. Turns out it does has a few "bells and whistles" thrown in anyway.
The picture quality is stunning, and more than surpassed my expectations. Sure the operation of the camera is a little cryptic, but if you read the manual, it explains everything.
Nothing can touch it for the price at 3.2 mega pixels......I'm completely satisfied!!! I actually feel like I got more than I paid for.

A convert's opinion
I am a recent convert to digitial from an advantix camera. Ive had this camera for a month now, and it is the best thing i have ever bought. I knew that when I saw this in the flyer, we would be getting it.

Anyways, the batteries that it comes with are garbage. they didnt even last long enough to change the settings. I did buy 4 energizer rechargables though, and each pair has lasted me a good 2 or 3 days

I strongly recommend using the viewfinder to take shots and use the lcd to review shots to save on battery.

The digital zoom is not that good, but im surprised i can still catch the license plate of a car that almost hit me.

The movie mode is ok. its much better outdoors than indoors

The memory card lasted a while, but i really wanted to get better shots, so I got the 128 mb card. With the new space, I was able to catch a video of a flock of ducks crossing the road and holding up traffic for 10 minutes

i agree with many of the opinions here. If your a person that just likes to take average shots without paying too much, then this camera is for you. If you buy 2 pairs of rechargebles, you will be fine. I guess in a few years, ill probably stick to canon when the 10mpxl cameras come out

Fits budget with quality and features
An exceptional camera ..., takes excellent images and surprisingly clear and smooth video with sound!.

Uses the same DiGiC image processor as Canon's high-end EOS 10D. Color balance is excellent, skin tones look great. Easy to use with many features and options. The low light focus assist lamp is neat and photo-stitch feature for panoramic shots is really cool!

Does use batteries quickly but it is to be expected since it only uses 2AA's while most use 4 or proprietary. NiMh batteries perform much better. AA size batteries are a plus since they can be found virtually anywhere and probably even that nearby electronic gadget if needed.

Originally bought this camera to take photos of my two young children and discovered that the video works great to record those special moments, like my daughter's first bike ride without training wheels! The kids love to watch the clips over and over again. It will shoot up to 3min of video, the number of clips depends on the CF card size.

The only drawbacks I found are the fixed focal length, long recharge times after flash, and no TV hook up.

I definitely recommend this camera. After researching other digital cameras nothing else currently can compare to the Canon for the price.

excellent value 3MP compact camera, but no optical zoom
this camera is geared towards the casual photographer who is looking for good resolution (3MP) in a compact and lightweight package and doesn't want to spend a lot of money on a digicam.

pros:
- great resolution for the price - 3MP!
- uses the same DIGIC processor as Canon's high-end G3 and EOS 10D - great pictures!
- you can use this as a point and shoot but it still allows a degree of manual control when you want to be more creative with your shots
- focus assist light for low-light situations
- has exposure compensation
- two autofocus modes
- ISO 50-400 range
- the interface makes plenty of useful features quickly accessible - once you get the hang of it
- voice annotation available
- VGA movie mode with sound (limited to 30 seconds)
- uses non-proprietary AA batteries; i recommend buying rechargeables though
- reasonable shot to shot time for this class of camera
- USB connectivity
- and you can get all this for less than a couple of c-notes!

cons:
- no optical zoom; but if that's what you want, you should look at the next class up on cameras (there's a digital zoom, but it's better to take the picture un-zoomed and zoom in later in your computer)
- noticeable barrel distortion at the edges of the frame
- the camera is light but it's bulky, so it doesn't feel very solid
- no RAW or TIFF uncompressed format
- short flash range
- the included 16MB CF card is not enough; be prepared to shell out more $$ for more memory
- no composite video connection so you can't view on a TV

for the price and for its target audience, this is a very nice camera. just don't expect the higher end features you would find in the canon s50 or g5. enjoy!

A good low cost high quality camera
This is my first digital camera and while I was camera searching there are two very important things that you have to take into consideration. One is the type of media storage (CF or SD memory), and the other is the type of battery it uses. When I was deciding which one to buy it was between an Olympus and a Canon.
What I noticed about the Olympus camera that I didn't like was that it uses XD memory cards which is only made for Fuji, Olympus, and Toshiba cameras making it extremely expensive to purchase memory. The Canon uses CF memory which is the cheapest out there and can also be used in your PDA and MP3 player making it's versatility a plus.
Now with ALL digi cams that use AA batteries it will drain quickly if you use the LCD viewfinder and flash. If you use NiMH rechargable batteries then expect those batteries to drain a whole lot quicker. This is true for Nikon, Fugi, Kodak and ALL other cameras too.
Now even though the A300 doesn't have optical zoom it's digital zoom doesn't skimp on the quality. Made for XP users plug and play via USB cable. And the software that comes with it is okay but, if you use Windows XP then you might want to things simple and use the picture viewer to edit pics. And when your done with that head over to Snapfish to develope your edited pictures.

Great!
I love this camera. It is perfect for carrying along to catch those special moments, with either photo or movie clip. I do not enjoy carrying the larger movie cameras and this is just right for me. I love the pictures, they are very clear and have excellent color. I too would like the batteries to last longer, however I noticed the change battery pack message shows up before the power is actually gone. I just keep using it until it stops and then change the batteries. I plan to get rechargeables but for today, I am in love.

First Impressions: Excellent Value for money
Given that digital camera prices keep falling, and steeply for the higher end models, this camera is almost a steal. At under $200 for a 3.2 megapixels this camera is an excellent buy (at least in 2003!).

I have had this camera for less than a month and first impressions:
- Photo quality is excellent. Best results if you are shooting with lots of light, either daylight or indoors.
- ISO 50 mode gives you the best results.
- Consumes lots and lots of battery power. Trying to learn the camera controls used up a two AA pack in less than 90 mts. Go for the NiMH rechargeables. Will save $$$
- Most of the controls can be understood without reading the manual. The manual itself can be quite intimidating, so try to understand the controls by tinkering around with the camera itself.
- Best photo quality is to be had under the Superfine and Large settings. File sizes at this setting can be as large as 2MB.
- Get a 256 MB or larger flash card.
- File transfer with the usb connection seems a bit slow, especially when transfering a full 256 MB flash card worth of contents.
- Flash is quite difficult to use. At close distances it tends to whiten everything in its wake, and at moderate distances it seems too weak to do anything useful!
- Noise is considerable at ISO 400 setting. Therefore, shoot at 50 or 100.
- Videos are reasonably sharp. the 640x480 mode creates large files (approx 25MB) of ok sharpness.
- the images tend to be a bit on the softer side.

For the price this camera is an absolute steal. Of course you do not get an optical zoom, nor can you control the depth of field, or the shutter speed with this model, but this model is meant to be a starter model...

My thoughts on the Canon A300
It's great if you just need a point-and-shoot no fuss camera and optical zoom doesn't matter to you. It colors are gorgeous, especially outdoors during the day. Drains batteries like crazy, slightly over 20 photos and the battery was flat. Slightly bulkier that I'd like, but it's a Canon at a reasonable price. I use it primarily for email and web publishing so image quality is not very important to me.

Great camera, excellent for the price
I bought this camera for 200 bucks and can say that I am quite satisfied, and somewhat surprised at the quality. The pictures are great - the camera is 3.2 megapixels and it really does make a difference! The pictures come out so clear and bright! The camera has a good zoom on it, and is very easy to use. After a couple of hours of fidgeting around with it, I pretty much had all the basics and then some down. It was easy to set up the software in my computer - took about ten minutes. The only problems that I have with this camera are: 1. the battery life is short - but battery life is short on all digital cameras, so I guess compared to others this one isn't bad. 2.) If the lighting is not great, there will be a long delay before the picture takes. doesn't seem like that big of a deal but it can get annoying. 3.) I can only download the pics from my camera onto my computer once at a time. If I want to empty out som e more onto my computer later, I have to shut down the whole computer and start it back up again in order to download more pictures.
But, that's the only qualms I have. So, considering that I only paid 200 bucks, I am very, very happy with this camera.

Great Camera for the first time user
This is my first Digital Camera!

I got this camera for my 15th birthday from my dad, he is VERY picky about how well it works, how fast and if it works at all.

I read through the manual, which is kinda long, but you don't have to read all of it to figure it out. After finishing the manual, I took about 8 pictures, and 4 movies, the batteries seemed fine, but when it came time to cut the cake and sing happy birthday, I couldn't take pictures because the batteries were dead!

I just flipped them (took the batteries out, reversed them so the batteries were switched) and the camera worked fine again, I still have to figure out how to get the best quality.

Speaking of quality, the reviewers are lying! When I use the digial zoom to the fullest, it is not fuzzy, choppy or anything! The images are still great, and the quality on this camera is EXCELLENT!

When I loaded the images to my computer, the set up disks were very easy to follow, and very fast. and Loading was a piece of cake! It took less than 10 seconds to bring everything to my files.

This camera is so much fun, but to enjoy it to the fullest, I suggest these purchases:

1. A Camera Case (to keep this baby safe)
2. A 4 pack of rechargeable batteries (you'll need 4, two to use, and two to charge, then between times, you never have to wait. You'll always have one pair ready to go)
3. A battery Charger (Unfortunately these can be pricey but they are worth it)
4. An AC adapter (the thingie that plugs into the wall, they're useful while you charge batteries or to save you $$$)
5. A larger flash card (I find the 16MB just fine)
6. A Warrenty in case something goes wrong (the camera comes with a one year warrenty through canon already, but I suggest one through the store you buy the camera too)

I'm very lucky to have had all these things from my CD player, so I my dad only paid for the camera and warrenty, which was an excellent price for 3.2 MegaPixels. With other cameras, you are bound to pay more on flash cards, batteries, equipment etc...

Remember to enjoy this Camera :) It's loads of fun!

Highly Recommended!!!
I've had this camera for 5 months now, and it has survived rock climbing, ice climbing and few high altitude drops (about 20 feet), and this camera has still survived it all. My only complaint, which I guess more a comment then anything, is that I wish Canon had tried to compress the pictures a little. Anyway. The picture quality is excellent, but I noticed that when you zoom to anything, the picture clarity diminishes a little, and at sometimes, depending on the conditions, can come out blurry.
The good is that the camera is excellent for those people who go out and are the outdoors type person. This camera is a little light, and can be put into a camping bag or your car glove box. The media this camera uses is Compact Flash. Which by the way, is one of the cheapest media that is currently out in the market. So it will be easy for you to upgrade from the 16 mb card that comes with the camera. Trust me, don't be caught with 16mb, and run out when you are camping, or out somewhere and you're out of pictures. Done that, isn't pretty. The connection between camera and computer (threw the USB port connection) is moderate and batteries consuming. I would recommend a card reader for this camera, since at times, this camera can eat up batteries. If you want longevity for your camera using the batteries, I had best luck and longer usage using Energizer e2 Lithium Batteries. I tried the basic batteries, and after 5 shots, I would run out of battery usage. With the Energizer e2, I could make 5 long movies (14 sec's each) and still could take more pictures afterwards.

Everything except the battery
This is my first digital camera, a christmas gift from my sweetheart. It's great...it has great features...I agree with most of the other reviews that I've read. When I first opened it I was expecting to be able to use it with no problems as I'm pretty handy with things like this. However, I wasn't able to do so, I had to read quickly throught the manual. I wasn't able to take a picture until the next day. I took several videos the first night. The next day, the battery was dead...and I had only used it for 15-20 minutes max. I changed batteries and not too long after the same thing, dead batteries. Other than that the clarity is wonderful and once you've taken a read through of the manual you're good to go. I would recommend this for anyone young or anyone for a first digital camera. I'm planning on getting the rechargable battery pack as well as the AC adapter so that I don't have to get frustrated. These items are a bit pricey but less than continually buying batteries OR misisng a great shot due to battery failure. ENJOY...

It goes everywhere with me
I am as happy as Larry with this camera. It takes terrific shots, fits in my pocket, so goes everywhere with me.
No excuses for having missed a fantastic shot wherever I go.
It's "Quickdraw McGraw" with the best gun in town!

Useless piece of crap
Even with alkaline batteries you can only take 4 or 5 shots before the batteries die. Less if you play with the menus. Canon should send a check to everyone who bought this piece of crap.

My 1st Digi Camera
I rec'd this digi camera for X-mas and so far have been very happy with it. I'm an old school claims adjuster and very used to my Nikon 35mm camera that I have been using for 19 years. I can't believe all I need to do is take the mem card to Wal-Mart and have the pics processed in 15/20 minutes. NO more film, processing and having to wait for a day or two to return to PU the film. I did buy the 128K mem card ... and rechargeable battery ..., but I find these costs reasonable considering the films packs I used to buy and then the film processing costs and travel time to pick up the film. From what I hear battery life is not to great but again I have been lucky. Although I have 4 spare batteries in my camera bag; I'm still on the first set . My boss has an Olympus and he goes through a 10 pack in a day. The pics are great along with the photo detail (very sharp 4X6's).

Good luck with your camera. I'm very happy with mine.

Excellent camera for the money
I upgraded to this model from a polaroid pdc640, so its lightyears better than what I'm used to. I'm a bargain hunter so I got a good deal on this and a 256meg CF card. As mentioned by most all previous reviews, this thing EATS regular alkalines. Buy some decent NI-MH AAs and a charger...and save some benjamins, seriously. Here's a list of what I like about this camera:

-easy to switch to movie mode and back
-15fps movies are excellent quality and have SOUND!
-easy to change picture quality (hit FUNC>left or right>FUNC)
-no drivers needed with Windows XP (just plug it in and POOF!)
-excellent quality pictures even at low-res
-changable startup image/theme and sounds
-powerful flash lights up a pitch black room
-lens protector keeps the lens cleen/unscratched
-auto focus works well in good-light conditions and easy to use

Things that aren't as good
-auto focusing takes a while in low light, I turn AF off most times
-EATS batteries, buy rechargables. do it.

-digital zoom...what do you expect for the money (compare a 3.2mp sony)
-no TV-out (no complaint here)
-16mb card will last you about 20 pictures at the highest resolution (fortunately CF is cheaper than memory stick, SD, MMC...)

This camera is great for close-ups, short videos, any generally any type of picture that zoom is not a priority. Personally I love it, but if you want to be able to zoom in on your subjects, definitely pony up the cash and move up to a more expensive camera.

Canon A300 Digital - a decent starter digital camera
This is the second digital camera that I've owned. I had a Fuji
digital for the previous 5 years and it served me well for basic
photos, just a bit weak on the megapixs (1.3), and after the first couple of years; the controls became less dependable.

The Canon A300 has easy-to-use controls, takes digital movies with sound, stitches several pictures together to make a panoramic print, takes gorgeous closeups within a few inches of subject and transfers the pictures to a pc or other device in a snap with a excellent photo program that allows cropping, editing, etc...

There are drawbacks to this model - the digital telephoto isn't too good past 2.5X (goes up to 7.5x), no optical telephoto, uses AA alkaline batteries as if they were candy, the battery and compactflash card door isn't located right as I keep unlocking it when I turn the camera on with the protective lenscap that slides towards it. I would strongly suggest rechargable NIMH batteries and a recharger.
There are better digital cameras out there, but for the low price and features, I would recommend it to anyone who wants to
start digital photography with an inexpensive investment.

If battery life is an issue, don't buy this camera.
First, let me say that the camera features and quality of images are the best I have seen for a camera of this price. ....and then the batteries died.
The battery life is the worse that I have ever seen in any electronics device.....ever.

Supplied AA alkalines supplied with the camera got me about 5 photos and about 15 minutes of menu playing time. The manual states I should get 75 images with the supplied alkalines.

I installed Quest 1300mah NIMH rechargables, like everyone suggests, and got about 9 images and one movie before the batteries died. The manual states I should get 200 images with rechargables.

I'm thinking of buying the new 2200mah rechargables, but I'm already disappointed with the camera's use of power and I'm not sure the 2200s will even get me 20+ images.

I'm seriously thinking of returning this item.
...

UPDATE:(2/3/04)
I did buy some 2200 mAh batteries and with the LCD defaulting to off and using the eyepiece, I can say that the camera is usable, but only for occational use. I can't see using this camera on any long trips/vacations. I still wouldn't recommend the A300 to anyone without warning them of the extra cost of a good ($50) rechargeable battery kit.
Keep this in mind if you are evaluating Total Cost.
Hope I helped.
David

A great first digital camera
I've read most of the reviews about this camera. I will say for the price, it's worth every penny. The pictures are so clear. I wouldn't consider anything other than a Canon product. They last forever. This is my first digital camera. I've had this camera for almost a year and it fits my needs perfectly. Battery life(w/rechargeables) is decent. I love the included software for storing pic's and movies. My grandson (he's 2 1/2) sits on my knee and laughs and laughs when he sees himself in the movies and pictures stored in my PC. Printing digital pictures (8 x 10's ) off my Canon S-600 printer has decent quality and saves me time and money. For us older teenagers who lived in the film era of 35mm, this is a welcomed change. It's fun,versatile,and very easy to use. Highly recommended.

Nice Shots, but Eats Batteries!
The Canon PowerShot A300 takes some really awesome pictures. It has a lot of features that are easy to figure out and is user-friendly to those new to the digital cam world.

A couple pros:
-Takes great pictures, even when set to low quality (1 megapixel)
-ISO
-Great quality for price
-Many features

A couple cons:
-Eats through batteries in minutes. A suggestion would be to turn off the LCD when using the camera. The LCD isnt very necessary for taking pictures, anyways. Also, buy some Canon NIMH rechargable batteries. I found some at Circuit City for $35. If you dont get NIMH batteries, you'll go through a 12 pack of regular batteries in an hour.
-Flash doesnt reach far enough. Sometimes I find that using the camera in low-light situations is pointless because the flash wont even reach the object I'm taking a picture of.
-Sometimes "automatic" features (ISO, flash, etc) make the picture come out blurry or fuzzy. Try experimenting with the features to find something that suits you.

For the money, its a great camera, but dont expect miracles out of it.

Not happy
It takes good pictures, but I have absolutely no patience for this camera . . . it eats up batteries like CRAZY (I think one time a set of batteries ran out only after TEN minutes, ahhh!!). The other issue I had with it was that it takes FOREVER to snap a picture . . . everybody is sitting there smiling and waiting for the picture to take, and IT DOESN'T SNAP! I discovered quickly that I must be an impatient person, because I just don't have the time or money (on tons of batteries) to deal with this camera. I'm actually going to try to sell it on ebay or something, because it's in perfect condition, but yet I can't return it to the store anymore (anybody want to buy it?). I usually only buy canon and think it's an excellent brand and have some really nice higher-end cameras, but I just don't like this one very much and can't wait to get a different one . . .

Great Entry Camera
I bought this camera as a spare for taking pictures while on vacation. It is nothing like my 10D or Pro 1, but I only paid $150 for the A300. The pictures are very decent, and much better then most, if not all cameras in this price range and class. Simple to use, readily availble AA batteries, and it shares the same Compact Flash cards with my other cameras.

Great starter digicam even though no optical zoom
The other reviewers have covered this beginner's digital camera extensivesly. I just want to give you my two cents regarding two issues.

1. Lack of optical zoom. For my primary digital camera I demand optical zoom, and no less than 3x of optical zoom. If you travel a lot like I do, optical zoom is a must. If, on the other hand, you shoot a lot of party pictures, it's not as important. The A300 lacks optical zoom, so it's better used as a secondary camera, which is how I use it, kinda like a pocket camera. Two advantages of no optical zoom: 1) the camera operates more quickly, and 2) the lens mechanism won't break as fast.

2. Three megapixels. Nowadays even 5MP models have become immensely affordable. A lot of people overlook the facts that 1) most digital pictures never get printed, and 2) you can get great 6x4" prints from 2MP, not to mention 3MP. In fact, you can get great 5x7" or even larger prints from 3MP. On most photo printers, too many megapixels are wasted anyway. What's more important is the overall image quality. There are 5MP cameras that take underexposed and ugly pictures. The A300 continues Canon's tradition of superior image quality.

For this price, the A300 is a must-have for gadget lovers and people looking for an easy-to-use starter digicam.

Digital zoom == no zoom
Digital zoom is not worth anything -- any computer graphics program can give the same (or better, thanks to sophisticated algorithms which can't run on a camera) effect by cutting out a picture from a non-zoomed digital image.

Optical zooms are expensive (a few bucks!), so we see even expensive digital cams only have digita zoom, where in the past even el cheapo analog cams had optical zooms up to 30x. Nowadays you have to be grateful for a 3x optical zoom on a $700 videocam or digicam....

Buy stock in a battery company first
I got this camera a couple of months ago and I'm not real please with it. Althought it takes good pictures it eats up batteries even when your not using it. If I let it sit for a week the first thing I need to do is change batteries to get it working. I also have a problem importing pictures directly from the camera to my graphics program, it will only allow for one picture at a time to be imported, this is the first camera that has done this to me. So I'm pretty disappointed with the camera, expecially since it was a Canon.

Great camera
This camera takes beautiful pictures for use on the web. Printed versions are not nearly the quality as those you take with a regular film camera, but that's a given. We like the fact that this camera has video, but the video quality is nothing compared to the photo quality so I consider just a bonus to have that feature. If you want good video, I wouldn't get this camera. It's been well worth the money, and while some reviews I read while researching this camera said it sucked up batteries, I haven't experienced that. I use the monster rechargeable batteries and they last quite a while.

Great Digital Camera For Beginner!!!
This Canon PowerShot A300 3.2MP digital camera is great! For about $109 it is a bargain with 64MB of CF card. There may be no optical zoom lens but the digital zoom of 5.1x does a pretty good job. It may look de-pixilated at the zoom of 5.1x but when the pictures come out it is better looking with a bit blurry. There is a micro feature too that allow you to take picture of small stuff as close as 2 inch away.

Overall, I have it for about two weeks and I am pretty happy with it.

Takes forever to 'record' a picture
Takes absolutely forever to 'record' a picture. You click the 'shutter' button and then the thing just sits there for an interminably long period of time. Add to that the pitiful battery life managed out of the 2 AA's that will fit into this camera and you've got a product that really has reached the end of its useful life.

A couple years ago it would have been a fine camera, in 2004 its a dinosaur. I, stupidly, bought it last year thinking it would be comparable to some of the other higher-end Canon cameras on the market. I was sorely mistaken and deeply regret the purchase. Don't make my mistake, this isn't a significant improvement over a 98 Sony Mavica in anything except being able to use a flash card in lieu of a floppy disk.

SMALLEST CAMERA THAT TAKES PICS LIKE THE BIG LEAGUE
If you need small cameras, you have to typically settle for picture quality that LOOKS like it came from a tourist gadget.

Not this one! Despite its budget price (and what a steal it is) the colors are vivid and the pics sharp as crystal. Occasionally you could get overexposed results, but that's easily sorted out with white-balance settings.

The only potential negative is the legend of barrel distortion on small Canon cams, but I still have to see what that looks like (and I take several architecture pics).

A great steal of a small camera, it sure doesn't behave like one!

Price was right!
My first digital camera frustrated me initially. I kept having to wipe of the batteries and reload them for the power to stay on. Then they died permanently. These were the batteries that came with the camera. But, I had much better performance with some Rayovac alkalines.

As a beginner I also became frustrated with the myriad of settings viewed thru the LCD monitor.

Now that I am familiar with the camera, I am happy with it. It is easy to upload the pictures to a computer.

Most disappointing camera I've ever owned
The title says it all. SLOW. Slow to turn on, slow between photos, the only thing that's fast is the 2 seconds you have to see the shot on the screen before it vanishes.

Perfect entry level camera
I bought this for my mother for her birthday. Picture quality is outstanding and the videos you can take are great also. Very easy to use, and for 50 bucks you can add a larger Compact Flash card so you can take hundreds of pictures or more video. It does come with a 16mb card which isn't bad for starters. Of course, as with any digital camera, rechargeable batteries are a good investment. The only thing missing on this camera would be optical zoom. I got this for under 100 bucks...unbeleivable!

Good Stuff
This camera works great!!!! I love the picture quality and all the things you can do with this camera. I still use the memory card that came with my camera because it can hold up to 32 pictures. I purchased some Sony rechargeable batteries and charger so battery life is not a problem. All in all its a good buy!

Installing the software is an exercise in futility
Installing the software for this camera was a nightmare. It turns out there were conflicts with the Install Shield feature built into Windows. Contacting Canon thorugh e-mail and phone turned out to be an exercise in futility. I did a web search on the error message (1607), and found there are many others using Canon products having this problem. I ended up having to reinstall Windows. When I contacted Canon, I simply asked them if they knew of a downloadable patch to facilitate downloading their software. They told me to contact Install Shield. Install Shield's website refers you back to the manufacturer (Canon). Had I known about the level of hassle I would experience in advance, I would have purchased an Olympus.

Problems...problems
I am not a novice when it comes to digital cameras; but after following the instructions to the letter, I never got one picture from this camera. And, it devoured the batteries that came with it, plus the special Ni-MH Canon batteries that I purchased separately.

I LIKE IT!
I'd been wanting a digital camera for a long time, but I just knew that I'd kick myself when prices came down. (My best pal bought one for 599 last year that is going for 199 now!) But when I saw the price for this one, I thought "how can you lose?" I'd read the negative reviews, and decided to take them seriously, but not let them swing my opinion. When I got the camera, I was really pleased with the size. It's pretty small, but it doesn't feel like it'll fall apart in your hand. Granted, the batteries that came with it were used up after about 10 shots (shooting, viewing and downloading). But the $1.99 energizers I put in are still going strong after about 20 more shots (including the downloads)(It uses two plain old "AA"'s). I just try to remember to turn it right off after I'm done shooting or downloading. It takes a few moments to turn on and to actually snap the shot (it has the shutter has this half position where I assume it's taking a light reading?) but I can't imagine, unless you're shooting rapid action shots, like a race or something, that it'd be a huge detraction. A plus is that it comes with the cable you need for downloading. The Canon case for it is about five bucks separately, and is worth it. Anyway, if you are using the camera for more specialized kind of photography, you probably want something better, and aren't looking for an inexpensive all around camera. But if you want something small to take on vacation, take snaps of buildings and landscapes or to shoot posed shots of family and friends, this is a great choice.

Batteries & no flashcard included
I recently received my camera & am very pleased with the features. However, I was halfway thru setting up my camera when the batteries it came with started to go low & I was given the sign to "replace the battery pack". I am also disappointed with the fact that MY camera DID NOT come with a flashcard - I had to go out and purchase that from the store. It would have been nice to know that ahead of time!!!!

step up and invest more...
admittedly, this camera is very inexpensive for the feature set you get. but we needed to change batteries far too often to make this a worthwhile investment. Also the lack of optical zoom means you are essentially buying a 35 mm point and shoot, so great if that's what you want (and u r willing to spend $10/week on batteries for regular "vacation" usage). IF you want greater flexibility, and something u won't grow out of or tired of real fast, u should keep looking for something that may involve extra initially, but you will get more use of.
In short, great price, but serious shortfalls w. respect to battery life and camera capabilities. Also, the cycle time between shots (especially when using flash) is painfully sloooooooow.

Windows 98 install problem, weak flash
I bought this inexpensive camera for my young son and I to play around with, and it has met my needs and expectations. However...

* I had problems installing the software under Windows 98. I eventually solved the problem, but it was time-consuming and not fun. See below.

* The flash is pretty useless

My PC is running Windows 98, and I could not get the software to install. The installation process hung at "Please wait while installing ZoomBrowser EX", and after connecting the camera the PC could not find a driver to update.

I spent a fair amount of time tried many things (suspecting some sort of UCB conflict, and complications from preexisting problems with an external hard drive). I found one reference on the web to the same problem, without a resolution.

In the end, I found a relevant Canon page (see below), and carefully followed suggestions AND was careful to install only the TWAIN driver at first. The installation succeeded, and I uploaded the pictures to Microsoft "Picture It". I suspect the crucial step is that the camera must be connected both during the initial install-from-disc, AND during the subsequent reboot. This is not emphasized in the Canon material about installation problems.

After that I installed ZoomBrowser EX. I got the same hang, but after aborting the install the ZoomBrowser seems to be installed and functioning. Pretty good software, too. (...)

WONDERFUL BEGINNER'S CAMERA!!
I've had several digital cameras in the past, though some were cheap, others expensive. I've been amazed of how fast these digital cameras have dropped in price. This once was over $200, & now it's just over $100. Checking out the features low-cost, high quality (both camera and pictures), easy to handle,perfect for first time user. My daughter who was going away to school was never comfortable w/digitals, (she always wanted the kodak throwaways). I wanted her to capture some of her experiences & to be able to share & relive them at some future time. So when I loaded it up w/new batteries and a new CF card, I stuck it in her luggage w/the instructions and nothing else. A week later I had to pick her up for an appointment. Her priority was not bringing home laundry but to have her camera! She wanted to share, put online, etc. with both family and friends. So if you want something high quality, a no brainer, inexpensive, for yourself or your kids, you've found it!

Not particulary user friendly, memory card problem too
The camera offers a lot of features for the price. It is also compact, and the case is sturdy, and appears to be good quality. From the get-go I had problems with the memory card. It got stuck at first (needed pliars to remove) then it would not even read the card. According to Canon.com, my problem was due to a defect in the camera, which I recently sent back. (needless to say, Amazon returns/customer service is awesome!). Aside from the card problem, I found the camera not particularly user friendly. I read the long user manual, but had to continually consult it to operate the cameara, and do simple point and shoot shots. I began to forsee myself in the future on a vacation needing to bring the manual with me everywhere I went, in case I pressed one wrong button and was unable to figure out where to go next with it. In additon, I was unable to access one menu option even after reading and re-reading the particular section to address it. Since I had to return the camera since it was defective, I chose not to purchase a canon again, primarily because of the lack of "user friendly" buttons and method of accessing and changing the menus. Lastly it takes a pause before recording the image you are trying to capture, because of the auto focus. So if trying to photograph a moving child (like I was) I continually got blurry pictures, and often missed the shot I wanted because the auto focus caused such a delay (in other words you press the button to take the picture, and about a second or so later, it actually takes the picture). Hope this information helps. Except for the issues I mentioned, the picture clarity, resolution, and ease of uploading to computer etc were excellent. Using rechargable bateries also was fine, they did not drain very fast.

Barely average
This camera is extremely cheap. Although it is a bargain and not a bad camera, I found it too frustrating for regular use. I took the camera on an extended trip and discovered the following foibles:
1, It eats through a set of 2 AA batteries in 20 - 40 pictures, depending on how much the flash is used (using LCD screen for every shot but for minimum possible time).
2, If you close the cover before the yellow light has stopped flashing, the camera thinks the batteries are finished and needs to be re-set four times before it will behave properly. Note to Canon: why not just take pictures until there's no more juice?
3, It takes an age to take the picture. Whenever I pressed the button, it always took several seconds. Occasionally, the camera would just click and whir for 10 seconds without doing anything. I missed several great pictures because of this. If I asked anyone else to take a picture with the camera, I had to specifically warn them because this camera is UNUSUALLY slow.
4, There is no obvious "fill-in" flash and the regular flash was too aggressive. Under indoor daylight conditions, the performance was fine but indoor dark conditions were difficult.

On the plus side, the pictures turned out nice and sharp, pretty well exposed, except for the flash problems I've already noted. I guess that's all I could really ask for. My next camera will probably cost four times as much but at least I won't spend my whole vacation foaming at the mouth.

Nice Pictures, but Tragic Flaw
I purchased this camera a while ago, and while I was generally pleased with the picture quality and other functionality, the camera has an intolerable flaw: the slow shutter time. It takes an eternity between the time you press and hold down the button and the time the picture actually takes. This gets pretty embarrassing and frustrating when you're asking other people to take pictures of you and your friends. I got sick of saying "You have to hold it down for a long time...even longer...there we go" I gave up in the end, and bought a different camera.

OK, but that's it
This camera is affordable and I should perhaps not expect any better.

To sum up. It is qutie big, but that I knew when I bought it. But on the other hand it doesn't weigh that much. The quality of the pictures are good. The camera has a few times reset its clock. Making me having to set the clock before I could take the picture. There are also some troble taking the picture. You should press the button half down and wait for the camera to focus and be ready before you press it all the way down to take the picture. Otherwise it sometimes refuses to take the picture. It also takes a looooong time to take a picture. Making you miss some spescial moments. Otherwise however it works fine. It is easily installed, and used with the PC.

Good quality, bad performance.
I bougth this camera on January 2004 and I already sold it. Quality pictures was pretty good, but time between shots is really long. When you ask somebody to take a picture for you it is very very embarasing because many times the shutting button just doesn't work. I think this is not a good election to buy please check other trademarks since I have read this problem also occurs with other CANON cameras.

The Jury Is Still Out
I recently purchased this camera with high expections. So far the jury is still out. This is a good beginners camera, and beginners will love the picture quality vs that of 35 mm. I also love the fact of being able to print pictures directly from the camera (with the printer it comes with) without having to use a pc. The cons are this camera goes through batteries. I am thinking about buying stock in a battery company. After pressing the shutter button, the camera takes it's time to produce the image. The user's guide is wordy. I just sat down one weekend and read through the guide and practiced with the features on my camera, only to have my batteries die out twice during the process.

Sweet Camera!
This was a great first camera for me and I feel like I got WAY more than I paid for. 3.2MP and high resolution allowed me to touch up in Photoshop and still allowed fantastic print quality. Video recorder has audio. There is no Optical Zoom, which is why I decided to get another camera after I felt like I've "graduated" from this one. Buy, Ni-MH rechargeable batteries. They last WAY longer and this way, you won't have to own your own battery company to like this camera.
Oh, and since Canon cameras all have digic chip processor and pretty much the same operating format, after you're done with this camera, you won't have any trouble when you upgrade to any of the fancier Canon models.

Don't buy it!
I'm still wondering how could Canon create such a bad product. I was stupid enough for not read customer reviews before buying it.
The A300 will eat a pair of batteries (even those with more than 2000 mAh) every 10 to 20 minutes, if you're lucky and keep LCD and flash off. It will take a century to respond after you press the shot button and another century to process the picture.
I tried to contact Canon but I guess their customer support is just like their camera - it doesn't work!
Do yourself a favor: don't buy a Cannon A300.
Paulo May - Brazil

A few words for fellow adventurers:
I have found this camera to be surprisingly resilient to the repeated abuse I have given it. It's not been left completely untarnished, but it still KIND OF works.

When I left it outside in the sand during a thunderstorm in the fair town of Dirt, Louisiana, it woke up in the morning QUITE gritty and the buttons were a little stubborn, but it still worked perfectly. Photos are of beautiful quality.

I've banged it around the Caribbean without a care in the world, and while it was always a bit too slow to take successive photos of Puerto Rican farmers getting into a bar fight, it held up quite well.

Real problems came after I dropped the poor thing into a hot spring in the Andes of Venezuela. Luckily, I was able to retrieve it, but it would never be the same again. The LCD is completely trashed and unusable and the flash is now nonexistent, but the durn thing still takes pictures!! I can't believe it, either. As long as I'm outside in the sun, photos and video turn out great and transfer effortlessly to my computer.

In short, this camera will take a lot of wear. It's a great camera to take on adventures (especially to places that don't have lithium batteries!), but go easy on the hot springs.

A SUPER DIGITAL CAMERA, ESP. FOR BEGINNERS!
Sure, this camera has its drawbacks, but you'll never find a digital camera that is perfect. I wish it was more compact, I wish it always took perfect, in-focus pictures without me putting in any effort, and I wish it was faster, but one might say that about any digital camera. This is my first digital camera and I'm now ready to move on to a more modern camera that's more compact with better zoom and possibly more megapixels. But I'm not sorry that I bought this camera and when I bought it, it cost me about $300 or so. I am not an optimist and am by far the most cynical person I know and I still say this camera is a good buy, especially now that the price has plummeted.

My main reason for liking this camera is its durability. I've dropped it countless times (hard) and it remains in perfect physical & working condition. Many people complain about the FlashCard/battery door breaking on other models but this camera is a rock! The worst that happened when I dropped it is that the door swung open and the batteries came tumbling out. Each time, I thought "Oh, no! I broke it!" but soon realized it was intact and still working like normal. And most of the time, I toss it into my knapsack without putting it in a case first (tsk, tsk) and the camera is still going strong.

Also, with Canon cameras, many people get the E-18 error message or whatever it is on their screen and then their camera stops working completely. I believe this is caused by sand getting into the camera. I've never brought my camera onto the beach or anything, but I've had it not-so-clean places before and I never got that message with my trusty A300.

Many people have said that this camera eats batteries like crazy, and that's true, if you use regular AA Duracells or Energizers or what have you. I highly recommend you buy a set of 1 hour rechargeable batteries meant especially for digital cameras. I bought a charger that came with two sets of batteries for $20 and these digital camera batteries last MUCH longer than normal AAs. It's great! You can use one set of batteries while the other set charges (it only takes an hour!) So I have to wonder what kind of batteries these people who complain about the battery-eating are using.

Size: it is a bit bigger than you might hope for but it never mattered much to me. It won't fit in your pockets (unless you wear very baggy pants) but it fits just fine in my knapsack. But ladies, if you carry around a tiny purse, this will take up a lot of room in it. It would also be nice if it was a tad lighter.

I've gotten many great photos out of this camera. I would say about half come out good, half come out not-so-good. Two pictures I took with it came out so well that they won photo contests. I think it was fun to experiment with the 'flower' button and flash button, etc. I wish the mini-movies it takes didn't come out so dark. But it got the job done. It's pretty easy to use, too. I figured out how to use the camera quickly. I didn't even need the manual until it came time to download the pictures from my camera onto my computer (which also turned out to be easy).

The only thing that really bothers me is the very slow reaction time. Don't expect get any photos of your cat yawning, for example, or anything that happens that fast or faster. It takes a little while to load when you first turn the camera on before you can start taking pictures but I've gotten used to it. I would say that this is the A300's only major drawback. If you're in a hurry to snap a photo or if you want to take a picture of something fleeting (like a yawn), you might get very frustrated by the delay time (I have). But other than this problem, this sturdy camera was a breeze to use and I am happy to pass it on to my sister when I get a newer model.

See my two contest-winning photos that were taken by my A300 in the photo gallery ('Customer Images') for this product! They are the two rat pictures... Thanks for reading this and good luck!

Great camera for beginners
This little camera is a great camera for someone who is new to photography. The settings that this little things has is wonderful. You can either run on autopilot and have it do the work for you or you can set the manual settings to your little hearts content. There are a few fun settings that you can add the background startup photo to one that you have taken or you can add your own sound tot he startup as well. The only downside that I found with this camera is that it is a little fragile and if you drop it you better pray that you can pick i up in one peice. The pictures I took with this are awesome and pleased me until I moved onto bigger and better things, I highly recommend this camera to anyone who would like a cheap camera that has excellent results.

Don't buy this!!!
Think SUV is a gas guzzler? Well, this camera is WORSE. We knew about its short battery life, but we bought it anyway. If you have to replace batteries after about 20 pictures w/ flash, that is NOT a minor flaw! Had we known just exactly how short the battery life was, we wouldn't have bought this camera. Forget about its user-friendliness. Don't make the same mistake as we did!

Please don't buy this!!!!
It might take ok pictures, it might be an entry level camera, but..IT'S CUMBERSOME TO USE AND THE BATTERIES DON'T LAST MORE THAN 15 MINUTES. PLEASE, DON'T BUY THIS PRODUCT....AVOID IT LIKE THE PLAGUE!!!!!!

Great for the money!!!
I had it for few years and worked great for what I paied for it. I bought the new Canon SD700 and very happy form Canon stuff.

Don't expect $100.00 camera to do a $1000.00 camera's Job!!!!