Canon PowerShot A2400 IS Digital Camera Review

If you’re a beginner looking for a practical and easy to use point and shoot camera, then the Canon PowerShot A2400 IS may be the camera for you. The price of this entry level digicam from Canon won’t break your bank, so that’s another reason to check out the gadget.

Canon introduced several pocket cameras in its “A” series Powershot line early this year. There were six “A” series digicams with a price tag between US$100 and US$200. The A series Powershot targets beginning photographer. The middle of that range is the Canon PowerShot A2400 with a $159.99 price tag.

In spite the price, the Canon PowerShot A2400 has optical image stabilization and it’s a great feature to have for beginners as it helps avoid camera shake in lower lighting or when optical zoom is maximized by the user. The optical image stabilization is plus feature for this budget digicam considering others in its price range only offer digital stabilization which is inferior to true optical IS like found on the A2400.

The body of the Canon PowerShot A2400 is slim and it is available in blue, pink, silver or black.

DIGICAM CONTROL

Canon has designed the camera so that it is easy to use as possible. There’s hardly any manual control which is great because it is less confusing for first-time camera owners or for people who want to just point and shoot. The Auto mode and Live mode are the only two options available at first glance, although you can reach a Program mode by drilling down through the Live mode menu.

The Canon point and shoot camera employs a 16 megapixel camera but of course we all know pixel number in cameras today are just marketing ploys. The camera uses 5x optical zoom and the LCD measures 2.7 inches. The LCD size is a bit small and the control buttons are not as comfortable to use given that it’s pretty small and crowded in the back panel.

The lens fully retracts into the body of the A2400 IS when the camera is powered down, and the lens glass is protected by a panel when the camera isn’t in use.

RESPONS TIME

As expected, this Canon budget camera has some shutter lag issues and users have to patient because there will be some delays. This is especially true for low light shots or when the built-in flash is not used. To be able to focus and take sharp photos, you have to pre-focus as often as possible by pressing the shutter button halfway. For mums out there thinking of buying this to capture photos of your hyper kids, well this may not be the best camera to do that. The A2400 IS has a burst mode, but it’s only going to shoot about one image per second.

IMAGE QUALITY

Canon’s point and shoot cameras have a reputation for taking quality images. The Canon PowerShot A2400 IS won’t disappoint users. The color is realistic thought a bit bright especially when shot outdoors. For indoor shooting the color accuracy is great whether you use the flash or not. The autofocus works pretty well in all types of shooting conditions. You’ll notice a bit of softness when you view the images at large sizes on your computer screen, but this is a common problem for beginner-level cameras like the A2400 IS. As long as you just archive photos online or print in rations like a 4×6 or 5×7, there won’t be any issues with the photo quality.

BOTTOM LINE

For a budget camera with a $160 price tag, Canon PowerShot A2400 IS is good-enough. Take note that we emphasize on good-enough because it certainly is not the best. If you’re looking for a true point and shoot camera that’s slim then this will not disappoint. However, a few more dollars and you can get a better camera with better features and faster speed. Perhaps you should consider investing a little bit more.