Canon ELPH APS
Canon ELPH APS
[Jan 03, 2002]
Dave Barber
Intermediate
Strength:
Size (it does go everywhere with me) build (it''s quite sturdy, metal case) picture at times is fantastic
Weakness:
Speed of focusing picture not as good as Elph Jr flash range close range focusing sucks I''ve been using the Ixus/Elph for about 4 years, it''s never missed a beat in all that time. Had an Elph Jr/Ixus L-1 before that. It''s been dropped from fair heights (figure 20 ft), and still worked ok. Flash has occasionally stuck, but just needed a tap. You''ve got to be careful with the processing labs - I had chronic results with a 1 hour place (needed the pictures quick), and they came out worse than anything I''ve ever seen before. It also seems to be sensitive to film types as well, which is awkward .... but it really can do a surprisingly good job at times. It''s handy having the remote as well, which can make a fair difference on quality (zero shake helps!). Having said that, I still prefer my AE-1/28mm f2.8 combo for pictures/portraits. Similar Products Used: Fuji Af APS Ixus L-1/Elph Jr |
[Dec 31, 2001]
Daniel Lindsay
Expert
Strength:
Design features permit simple amateur point and shoot usage, or some overriding (through a few tricks). Durable SS body, compact package
Weakness:
Weak flash design (will fail in time) and lousy repair support from Canon. (They damaged it during servicing). No slide film YET in the USA,--not a Canon issue, however. Leather case too thin, causing on switch to activate unintentionally. Solution was thin homemade titanium plate glued into case on the front side. Now bulletproof, too! The reason the APS format continues to survive,--the ELPH! Coupled with ISO 200 Kodacolor film, this thing easily rivals 35mm. Great design,--will go down in history as a monumental product in photography. Customer Service Uugh! Expensive. Might as well trash the camera and buy another. It is coming to that. Similar Products Used: Use the whole range from Hasselblad to Minox with Leica and Nikon F5 inbetween. |
[Dec 28, 2001]
alanadad
Intermediate
Strength:
SIZE, picture quality for snapshots, construction quality of stainless steel body.
Weakness:
Battery life. APS is horible in panoramic mode and enlargements greater than 4"x6"(not enough size even using ASA 100 film). SHUTTER problems ruining entire rolls of film. Absolutely LOVED the camera for the first 18 months. Then began noticing significant vignetting at all focal lengths. Also, seemed to run through batteries after 4-5 rolls. The last year I have seen some strange distortions that have gone from a couple exposures on a roll to the entire roll; I think the problem is the shutter. Used on a trip to Greece this summer and had bad results (good thing I took along my Contax G2 for brilliant results). I have bought a Rollei Prego 70 and will use this from now on for snapshots. Customer Service POOR. Canaon will only fix if you pay up front. Rather than spend any money to fix, I am going back to 35mm P&S. Similar Products Used: None |
[Nov 09, 2001]
nopcbs
Intermediate
Strength:
Small, cute, handy wrist strap.
Weakness:
Expensive-to-fix, guaranteed-to break flash, mediocre exposure capability, stupid control placement. Canon should be ashamed they build this camera. The designed-to-fail flash was a needless complication that just ends up pissing off the owner when it fails (and it ALWAYS does). Whoever approved the design at Canon is a complete moron with no respect for the customer. None. The design of the onn/off switch is also ridiculous. It''s very easy to turn the camera on while it is in its case in your pocket. Further, the picture-taking quality of the camera is mediocre at best. It can handle simple exposure situations OK, anything beyond that and it throws up its hands in dispair...and gives you a bad exposure. A recent trip to Hawaii resulted in one case in only three properly exposed shots in a full roll of film. Its single saving grace is the nice-looking and compact stainless case...until the flash fails to retract. Similar Products Used: Lots of real cameras, but nothing nearly this bad. |
[Oct 26, 2001]
finephotos
Professional
Strength:
small
Weakness:
pop flash will break sometime Just want comment about the pop up flash. Expect it to break! Expensive to repair. Extraordinary stupid design flaw! Customer Service Thank goodness I haven''t broken the flash so haven''t needed it yet. Similar Products Used: I bought the Konica Revio Z3. I love it. Same size and better. See my review on this site for that camera. |
[Sep 17, 2001]
timgraney
Casual
Strength:
Size
Weakness:
Picture Quality The size of this camera is fantastic, its solid and has survived a few mishaps (including a puddle ...) but the picture quality has always been poor. Thought it might be the film format, but my mother has a very cheap kodak APS and the picture quality is much better than our elph. Customer Service N/A Similar Products Used: Kodak APS - |
[Sep 06, 2001]
ModelerLarry
Intermediate
Strength:
Really, really tiny! Great quality photos, easy handling, lots ''o features.
Weakness:
i wish it had a wider angle lens. I would happily sacrifice some tele function for wider. This is a truly great camera for it''s intended purpose. It is the only camera we took on our first trip to Europe, and nobody believes that the photos we got are from such a small gem. We then bought one for my sister-in-law and it is the only camera she uses. Finally, my mother-in-law bought one, and now she is hooked on the camera too. That''s 3 out of 3. Does it shoot as well as my Pro quality 35 equipment? Of course not! Is it there when you need it? You bet! The little case with its belt loop makes it the most practical travel camera this side of a Minox spy camera, but the photos are infinitely better. I have owned two other APS cameras, and this one is the keeper. I have shot approximately 50 rolls of film with not a glitch in the cameras functions. I would buy another in a minute if I needed to. The Fuji SLR had a slightly better lens and much wider zoom range, but was HUGE by comparison, might as well carry a full 35mm SLR and get the extra quality. My Nikon Nuvis 160i was a disaster, see my review. Definitely an ELPH fan. Customer Service Never needed it! Similar Products Used: Olympus Pen D, Yashica 16, Minox spy camera, Nikon Nuvis 160i, Fuji APS SLR, Olympus Infinity Stylus, Yashica T4 |
[Aug 17, 2000]
John
Casual
Strength:
Small size
Weakness:
Poor results It's a horrible, horrible thing. Don't buy one, even second hand. I bought one in the Uk on the day it was released and was disappointed by the blurred and grainy pictures it took. The flash mechanism broke when someone tried to push it back into place and never returned properly after that. Customer Service Never used Similar Products Used: None |
[Jul 28, 2000]
Joshua Cohen
Casual
Strength:
small and compact, great party camera, non-intrusive
Weakness:
picture quality not so great, grainy sometimes, especially with the panoramic nice compact camera, but not for quality prints Customer Service none needed so far Similar Products Used: none |
[Jul 13, 2000]
Shawn Vu
Intermediate
Model Reviewed:
ELPH
Strength:
Stainless steel case
Weakness:
Mechanic movement parts The ELPH is terrible, the picture definition, really bad! NO DEPTH. I got when if first introduced in the market and I've kicking myself for being a SUCKER. You buy camera for the pictures and its quality, this camera didn't give neither. Although it has a sexy compact design but the picture quality was realy bad. If you take close up (within 6 feet) the picture is OK but not great. If you take landscape picture then you can forget it...its really that bad, picture quality wise. IT'S SUCK. The view finder is unclearly P,H,C. If you ask a friend to take a Paroramic format for a group a people and if that person in not familar with the camera, he/she will chopped the heads and legs off in the picture because of the view finder not clearly marked. I've spend $300 for this fancy camera but is give me even worst picture quality than if I buy a disposable camera for $12. My advice is " DON'T BUY IT" you will hate it like I did. Similar Products Used: Minolta Extreme |