Canon Powershot A40
© 2002 Canon USA, Inc.
This camera is heavy and complex to use, but takes nice pictures. It is not a good choice for children, primarily because of the "traditional" camera dials (with cryptic symbols of a 35MM camera), multi-layer menus, and complexity of changing batteries. Testers found that they had to hold the button down too long -- and didn't know when the camera was going to fire. This led to a lot of wasted shots. The kit we reviewed includes a camera, an 8 MB CompactFlash Card, 4AA batteries, a wrist strap, an AV cable, and a CD containing software and drivers for Mac and Windows computers. Here are the notes from our comparison tests. Resolution/Capacity --2 Megapixels, 8MB storage, or 24 pictures Batteries--poor. 4 AA batteries must be manually changed, and add a lot of weight. An additional charger is available. Transfer process--fair (requires software with Windows XP) Responsive? --poor, two step button is hard for children to press Preview--good, but not in default setting. Quality--good. Menu Design-- fair. Takes some getting used to. Features--Mac/Windows, 3x optical zoom, The only camera to take movies with sounds. AV out to standard VCR, The only camera to offer different lenses.
$250, Win, Mac
Teaches: creativity, photography, language, art