The Canon PowerShot SD900 Digital ELPH

When people shop for digital cameras, they usually fall into one of two categories: those who want good picture quality at a low price, and those who want exceptional picture quality, period. The Canon PowerShot SD900 Digital ELPH, though not the least expensive digital camera out there, is still affordable for most digital photographers. It has been described as being worth every penny of its moderate price. It would make a wonderful gift for a budding photographer or new parents who want to document their child's early years in clear, vivid color.

The Canon PowerShot SD900 Digital ELPH is a 10 megapixel digital camera. It has an optical zoom of 3x and a digital zoom of 4x. The camera's LCD is quite large, at 2.5 inches. The Canon PowerShot SD900 Digital ELPH uses the following recording methods: SDHC Memory Card, MultiMediaCard, and SD card. It even comes with frame movie mode and a self-timer for maximum fun.

With a generous 32MB of internal flash memory, this camera is ready to point and shoot the moment you remove it from its wrappings and charge up the battery. It comes with A/V and USB cables, as well as a wrist strap to help keep the camera in hand. At a slender 5.8oz and 2.4 in x 3.6 in x 1.1 in (HxWxD), the Canon PowerShot SD900 Digital ELPH has been described as especially pocket-friendly. This is a camera you can take anywhere. Users praise its photo quality. Some use it for everyday picture-taking, while others bring it out for special events.

Though this camera is the most highly rated on many Internet shopping sites, is has a few downfalls. For one thing, the Canon PowerShot SD900 Digital ELPH uses a proprietary battery. Some users complain that the battery life is too short. Others point out that the camera does not have a battery indicator, which can be problematic to say the least. Also, this is not a plug-and-play device. The camera must have its own software installed before Windows will communicate with it. With so many competitors churning out Windows-ready digital cameras, one has to wonder why Canon didn’t follow suit.

The Canon PowerShot SD900 Digital ELPH comes with a time and date stamp feature, but, curiously, this seems to be available only at high resolutions. And, of course, the camera is not cheap. Those users who want a quick point-and-shoot digital camera with average quality photos could save a lot of money by going with another brand. But serious hobbyists will enjoy the high quality and many features that come with the Canon PowerShot SD900 Digital ELPH.

The PowerShot SD900 retails for about $350-$400 US, and can be purchased wherever digital cameras are sold.