Canon PowerShot Elph 300 Hs Digital Camera Silver 12.1MP 1080P 5X Optical Zoom 2.7IN LCD SDHC

Comment:
My wife gave me this camera several weeks ago as a birthday present. Originally she had purchased the Fuji FinePix JZ300, but the image quality was terrible so we took it back and bought the Canon ELPH 300 HS instead. I have to say I couldn't be happier. It is the first compact digital camera I've ever owned. It is also my first video camera. All I have to compare it with is my Canon EOS 10D, which I hope to soon replace with a 60D. Prior to the digital revolution, I used slide film and a scanner to do all my work.The image quality is definitely superior to CCD thanks to Canon's long standing tried and true CMOS sensor technology. While I know a compact digital camera will never beat a good DSLR, I still wanted something at least half decent and the 300 HS totally exceeded my expectations. Where the sensor really shines in in low light. While it does have some luminance noise, chroma noise is virtually non-existent. The ability to shoot high def video was a must for me and it does this extremely well too. The Patriot 32GB SDHC card I got for it from NCIX, which I also just reviewed, has no problems keeping up; no dropped frames or stutter at all. Some reviews mention poor flash output, but I have to say that they are wrong. Besides video capabilities, I also wanted something small and light that could go with me anywhere and everywhere. A DSLR is nice to have, but gets pretty heavy to cart around after a while.The only issues I've found with it are those I listed above. The microphone catches zoom noise and rumble due to its high sensitivity, but I think I can mitigate this during the editing stage with the right software. More control over aperture, shutter speed, and ISO would be nice too, but I suppose if I really want that I should use my DSLR. It isn't really limiting in any way, which makes it a non-issue I suppose. Same with rolling shutter, which admittedly I rarely notice. This kind of visual artifact affects all digital cameras to some degree, so I can't really complain. The only thing that is annoying is the light fall off when zooming in. It is quite noticeable and the camera doesn't compensate very well. Even this likely has a software solution. Video editing is new to me, but I'm slowly learning and totally enjoying the process.If you're thinking about buying this camera, but aren't quite sure whether you'll be happy with it, let me finish this review by saying that I would buy it again even if money wasn't a restriction. While it does have a few minor cons, they aren't enough to detract from this cameras excellent quality. It gets a solid five stars from me.