Canon PowerShot A540 Digital Camera

[mtwalleye]

I am looking to buy a new digital camera. Does anyone have any experience or feedback on the Canon models? I am not a photo expert. Just looking for a good all purpose camera. Thanks for your help.

[MARINERMAGNUM]

i don't think you could go wrong with the canon s3is. it has a powerful zoom and takes good shots. i just got my wife one and we enjoy it.

Steve,if you read this,i scored a 20d now all i have to do is learn how to run it!

[Steve Foss]

mt, mm is right on the recommendation.

mm, way to go! Go ahead and just set the dial on "P", the iso to 400, the image mode to the largest jpeg and shoot until you learn the fine points.

[18 inch Crappie]

I have the A540 and love it. I had a A70 before that and that's why I stayed with Canon. The price is under $200 now I paid $279 . They have a new one out that has 10X zoom and image stabilization. For around $300 and change. FYI

[DTro]

Just bought this yesterday.....see my post in "Expert Information" forum.

I was able to get this at Circuit City for $159 with free 1 GIG SD card!

I haven't had a lot of time to play with it but so far so good.

The only thing I don't like so far is that there is no rechargeable battery that you can keep juiced up while in the unit. My Kodak has that with a dock. I just keep it docked and grab it when I head out.

I'll probably stick to Lithium AA's now. NimH AA's seem to always let me down when I need it most. They drain if idle.

[mtwalleye]

Thanks for the info. Dtro how do I find the Circuit City coupon?

[DTro]

Go to FatWallet and search $40 cc coupon.

Also, I just found out that CC is offering a $10 gift card as well starting today. Technically brings it down to $149.

I missed out on that one.....oh well.

[DTro]

BTW, here's a simple Point, Shoot, and Upload taken with the A540 today.

[CrappieAttitude]

Hey guys,

I just purchased the A540 last night after reading different things about them. My question is this, As far as the AA batteries are concerned do you guys go the rechargeable route, or do you just keep a pocketful of regular alkalines along with you. I have been burned in the past with cheap rechargeable batteries. Are there some that work better than others.

Thanks,

CA

[Steve Foss]

Rechargeables are the way to go. Cheaper in the long run and much more environmentlly friendly, unless a person recycles all those dead alkaline batteries.

I have an insert for my DSLR that allows it to take AA batteries in an emergency, but I generally limit my AA battery use to my flash and GPS and small flashlights. I have six sets of four AA rechargeables. I use UltraLast brand, which I buy at the local camera store here. Inexpensive, have worked quite well for me, and they recharge from totally dead to full charge in a couple hours in gangs of four on the charger.

[Guest]

For my SB-800 flash, I use 4 Sanyo Eneloop NiMH Rechargeable AA Batteries. They last forever!

[buzzsaw]

Web, full credit! I also have the SB800 speedlight, it's the best flash out there bar none... get yourself a Better Beamer to attach to that bad boy if you really want to extend the flash.

[DTro]

Here's the thing to remember about rechargeables. They will slowly drain when idle.

If I don't have any NiMh's ready to go. I use the lithiums.

Just don't use regular alkaline AA's.

[Guest]

Quote:

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Web, full credit! I also have the SB800 speedlight, it's the best flash out there bar none... get yourself a Better Beamer to attach to that bad boy if you really want to extend the flash.

---

Yeah, that flash coupled with my D80 is nice.. I had the SB-600 but really wanted the extra flash "5th battery option for faster recycle time" is also a nice feature" but I checked out the SB-800 and it did what I wanted it to do.. Love it and wouldn't change / trade it...

[Augusta]

Dtro,

I have been searching for that $40 CC coupon and am having no luck. Could you give me a hand in finding it? Thanks

[Augusta]

Found it.

[PierBridge]

Make sure it is not the expired one.....

[DTro]

If you look at CC's HSOforum now they have lowered the price to 179 so you might not be able to use the coupon.......$199 or greater.

[PierBridge]

Actually it's $169 now in the CC stores.....a friend of mine bought the camera along with some rechargeable batteries which brought him up to $199 so he used the coupon and received $40 off.....no SD card though.....

[Augusta]

Thanks for all the tips guys, great idea Pier. I plan on picking one up for my "fishing partner" tomorrow.

[Augusta]

One more quick question. Did you guys just print off the $40 coupon on a black and white printer and use it that way?

I'm just concerned that they might not accept it. Thanks again.

[PierBridge]

Just print it out, make sure it's the valid one.

[Augusta]

Thanks Pier, I do have the valid one. Thanks all for the help everyone, I really do appreciate it!

[CrappieAttitude]

I am still learning how to use this camera, but wanted to know what mode you guys (as a rule) generally use for everyday photos? Is there one mode that works better for quick consecutive shots over another. I have been taking pictures, but after each one it seems like it takes a while before I can take another one. Any suggestions?

Thanks,

CA

[HawgMan]

Bought an A540 for my wife in October for birthday and shes loves it. Easy to use in auto mode or you can play with the settings and have some fun.

Does go through the batteries though. I'd recommend getting rechargables.