Canon PowerShot SD40 Easy Digital Camera Review

The Digital Elph line continues its trendy reputation in the Canon PowerShot SD40 which is a 7.1-megapixel digital camera that comes in four colors and has a slim pocket-sized body. The SD40 was introduced in late 2006 with a batch of Canon cameras equipped with the manufacturer’s new image processor. What’s so cool about this? It has face detection technology that can automatically find faces and focus on them. Translation: never mess up a portrait again.

 

The SD40’s face detection system can quickly recognize up to 9 faces in a frame. It then focuses and adjusts the exposure accordingly. This cool feature isn’t the only thing the Digital Elph has to offer. It has more ISO sensitivity up to 1600 for better pictures in low light, a self-timer mode that snaps up to 10 pictures in a row, and lots of color modes that can be applied before or after taking the picture.

 

The My Colors mode adds color filters and can even tweak skin tones to make subjects look tanner or lighter. Pictures can be taken with the auto or 13 scene modes. There is also a “manual” mode that doesn’t allow the exposure settings to be changed, but it provides other manual controls like white balance and ISO.

 

 

The cell phone-sized Canon PowerShot SD40 has a tiny 2.4x optical zoom lens and a 1.8-inch LCD screen. Both of these components are smaller than average. The flash is also small, and this shows in how effective it is: which is not very. The flash can only reach 6.6 ft at best so subjects will have to be close enough for you to smell their breath (yuck). If you don’t care for such closeness, you can buy the accessory flash that Canon sells for $99 that extends the flash power to 30 ft.

 

The SD40 is constructed from stainless steel and measures 3.8 x 1.8 x 0.9 inches. Its body is boxy with few rounded edges, and there aren’t many handling features to speak of. The SD40 is available in the following colors: Precious Rose, Twilight Sepia, Olive Gray, and Noble Blue. It also comes with a remote control and a dock that can charge the battery while transferring pictures to computers, printers, or televisions. The SD40 may have to sit in there often; its battery only lasts 190 shots and that isn’t much when compared to the competition.

 

The Canon PowerShot SD40 was run through a series of tests where its 7.1-megapixel resolution proved very effective, and its burst mode showed serious endurance. It shot 1.6 frames per second – and did so until the memory card filled up. Unfortunately, its colors weren’t as vibrant as previous PowerShot cameras. Noise in images was a problem when the camera automatically set the ISO – especially when snapping shots in low light.

 

The SD40 has a decent selection of automatic modes and its videos look decent too – but only in optimal lighting. If you shoot mainly outdoors or in good lighting, the Canon SD40 is a tempting purchase. If you shoot lots of portraits or candids of people, the face detection system may be the only reason you buy this camera. The biggest drawbacks of the SD40 are the wimpy components and the relatively large price tag of $349. For that price, you shouldn’t have to deal with noisy pictures, poor handling, and a sorry flash.

 

 

Canon PowerShot SD40 - THE BOTTOM LINE.... Rating: 346.08

Likes

- Effective face detection technology - Slim stainless steel body - Nicely organized menus - Good movie mode - Unlimited burst mode - Wide ISO range - Fun My Colors effects

Dislikes

- Small LCD screen - LCD collects fingerprints - Non-intuitive navigational/zoom control - Tiny ineffective flash - Small 2.4x lens with insensitive control - Slow burst mode - 190-shot battery

Canon PowerShot SD30 Rating: N/A	Casio Exilim EX-Z700 Rating: 310.14	Kodak EasyShare V705 Rating: 370.10	Nikon Coolpix S7c Rating: N/A	Pentax Optio S7 Rating: N/A
Better	Better	Better	Better	Better
- Cheaper at under $250 online	- Skinnier 0.8-inch body - 2.7-inch LCD screen - 3x optical zoom lens - Digital image stabilization - Vast numbers of scene modes - Tracking AF mode - Incredible 460-shot battery life - Cheaper $299 retail - More accurate color reproduction - Less shutter lag at 0.18 sec.	- 5x optical zoom lens with very wide 23mm angle - 22 scene modes - 32 MB internal memory - 2.5-inch LCD with 230k - Digital image stabilization - Panorama mode stitches in-camera instead of in software - Perfect Touch technology automatically fixes pictures in playback mode - 0.8-inch thick - More powerful flash	- 3x internal zoom lens - Digital vibration reduction - 3-inch LCD with 230k - Thin metal body with wavy design for better handling - Framing assists on 4 of its scene modes - 15 scene modes - Pictmotion mode plays slide shows with music - Wireless CoolPix Connect feature - Comes with one-year membership to T-Mobile’s Hot Spot service - Stores up to 30 email addresses - Much more powerful flash	- 2.5-inch LCD screen - 0.8 inches thick - More powerful flash - 3x optical zoom lens - Records DivX videos - 23 MB internal memory
Equal	Equal	Equal	Equal	Equal
- 2.4x optical zoom lens - Compact Digital Elph style - Aperture and shutter speeds - 1.8-inch LCD screen with 118k pixels - Metering, white balance options - Scene modes - Same measurements and weight - Same camera station and remote control included - Comes in several trendy colors	- 7.2 megapixels - Camera cradle included - Available in a few different colors - SD card compatibility	- Same $349 price tag - 7.1 megapixels - VGA movie mode - Limited manual control - Organize pictures into albums and tag as favorites - SD card compatibility - Strongly rectangular shape - Available in several colors: black, silver, pink	- 7.1 megapixels - ISO sensitivity up to 1600 - Mainly automatic modes and controls - Same $349 retail price - VGA movies at 30 or 15 fps - Similar 200-shot battery life - Accepts SD cards	- 7 megapixels - Face recognition technology - Clean, trendy design - Same 640 x 480 and 320 x 240 video resolutions - Manual focus mode - Similar 180-shot battery life - Compatible with SD cards - $349 retail price
Worse	Worse	Worse	Worse	Worse
- 5 megapixels - Older Digic II image processor - No face detection technology - 1.3 fps burst mode - ISO only to 400 - Can’t accept SDHC cards - Battery only gets 160 shots per charge	- No face detection technology - Resolution isn’t as effective; doesn’t capture as much detail - More noise in pictures - Truly awful in low light	- Jump in the zoom between 23mm and 39mm doesn’t look smooth - Only 3 color modes - Manual ISO to 1000 - No custom white balance	- Face Priority AF is very slow and only recognizes one face; it doesn’t track well either - No video editing - 1.4 fps burst mode doesn’t last as long - Short 2-1/500 shutter speed range	- Blue reduction mode shrinks resolution - No manual white balance - ISO only to 400 in full resolution