The Canon PowerShot S410 is a slightly upgraded version of the immensely popular S400 model, which has been discontinued and can be found for close to three-hundred bux. I think since the S410 is only slightly improved -- it is slightly faster than the S400 and sports a new print/share button which I'm not sure you'll be using a lot if you are the typical user -- the S400 is a much better buy.

That said, the S410 will be the new standard bearer for 4MP digital cameras. It has a compact form factor, although not as small or light as offerings from Minolta or Pentax or Casio, and it's a bit heavier than you might have expected from the size. It puzzles me why Canon continues to use the older CompactFlash memory card as opposed to the more-standard Secure Digital format. Maybe they simply wanted to save money in upgrading the S4xx series. The plus side is, CF cards are a lot cheaper than SD ones for the same capacity, although the difference is shrinking as expected.

Like the S400, the S410 produces excellent image qualities, both indoors and outdoors. It's got the best color and exposure balance from automatic programs among all the cameras I have tested/used. The S410 is slightly faster in taking pictures than the S400, but image quality is largely the same. You won't be disappointed.

And as before, the S410 is easy to use, with buttons that aren't too small like on ultra-subcompact cameras from Casio or Pentax. Battery life is about the same as before, which is pretty good and should last you a whole day of moderate shooting. As always, turning off the LCD (via a simple press of the Disp button), turning off the flash, avoid zooming in and out frequently, and using a lower resolution and lower quality will all help preserve battery life (this comes in handy when you realize the battery is about to run out).

I wish Canon had increased the optical zoom. 3X is standard but not adequate in a lot of situations, e.g., shooting a stage play your kid's in. But this is only a minor complaint for a camera in this price class.

For another hundred bux more, you can get the 5MP S500 model. Should you go for this or the S500? I think for most consumers 4MP is plenty enough, with room for cropping and enlargements. 5MP is only necessary if you really crop a lot. The S410 strikes a great balance between pixel count and price -- it's a good value.



Link: Canon PowerShot S410 camera - $249.99