Canon PowerShot SD 600 6.0 MegaPixels Digital Camera Review

I purchased my Canon PowerShot SD600 Digital Elph Camera with 6.0 Mega Pixels, this past October 2006. At the time, I was looking for a digital camera that was sleek, compact, and elegant in design, but of course I also wanted something that was powerful and offered enough features for basic wildlife, vacation, and family photography. In my best interest, I hoped to spend under $300. I was familiar with the camera name brands of Canon, Olympus, and Nikon. All of these camera companies are producing unique digital cameras. In my research, I discovered some key elements to a digital camera that I also wanted to have included with the purchase of my own new camera.

I realized that there are digital cameras that have rechargeable battery packs and some that do not and would need to have their AA batteries replaced on a regular basis. I thought about how expensive batteries can become overtime, and I knew I was going to be using my new camera frequently. Although, the cameras with rechargeable battery packs were more expensive than those that used basic batteries, I opted to choose a digital camera with a more economical rechargeable battery pack.

I gathered that the second most important feature of the modern digital camera is the size of the LCD preview screen. The most recent cameras on the market have larger viewing screens than their previous models. A large viewing screen is important in that it allows for proper preview of the shot prior to taking it and then allows the user to view the photo after it has been taken to assure that the shot is everything that it should be.

After learning the basics of digital cameras in my research, I began to compare digital cameras made by Canon, Olympus, and Nikon. I discovered that they all had something unique to offer, but ultimately I chose my Canon PowerShot SD600, and I'm glad! Just visit Amazon.com to read its rave reviews!

The Canon PowerShot has all the basic features I need, and then some! This cute little camera weighs in at just under 5 oz. so it is extra sleek and compact in its design. It comes with a slim easy to load and unload rechargeable battery pack. This battery pack comes complete with its own light weight personal charger that simply can be plugged into any outlet. When the light changes from red to green (in about 10-15 minutes)...you're ready to start snapping photos again! It has a large viewing 2.5" LCD screen. I have been using the camera for EBay photos shoots over the past several months. The photos come out crisp, clear, and vivid. There are many additional lens features which allow you to enhance various colors in your photography elements, and change the lighting etc. One of my favorite features is the "macro" feature which allows users to take beautiful close-up image snapshots. It's great for Ebayers who want to show fine detail to their items. It's also terrific for wildlife and artistic photographers who would like to capture that perfect close-up of a butterfly or daffodil. This camera is great for taking photos at night as well. It has a night-time feature which will capture clear faces and smiles in even the darkest of settings. The features abound from there. There is even a video recording feature that I have personally used to record segments of my husband's band practice. Even in a dark basement, the video imaging is clear and astonishingly professional looking. If you want to make artistic black and white film grain short films, you can even do that too with this camera! Furthermore, the camera is very easy to use. I was able to take photos at a concert the night after it arrived in the mail. I was able to learn about new features simply by using it more and more. There are still additional features that I haven't even used yet, and I'm learning more about it all the time.

And yes, the price was under $300. At the time I paid $245 with free shipping from Amazon, but now I have seen these cameras even cheaper. Just be careful where you make your purchase from.

My husband received a Nikon CoolPix Camera for Christmas, a couple months after my purchase of the Canon. The Nikon CoolPix at the time was selling for the same price if not more than my Canon, and to be honest, we hardly use the Nikon. It does not have a rechargeable battery pack and we find that we constantly need to replace the batteries after a short period of use. The flash lighting on the Nikon also tends to be too severe and overexposed no matter where we are taking photos. Faces in photos tend to have too much red-tone, or orange tone. I have yet to figure out most of the Nikon's features. Nikon tried to make a camera that was more affordable, and compact as opposed to its pricey professional series, but I don't think they have quite measured up to their own standards with their digital models. As a result the Nikon CoolPix have received mixed reviews from buyers.

I have yet to see a bad review for the Canon PowerShot! I love this little thing and I take it everywhere and will do so for many years.