Canon 12.1 Megapixels PowerShot ELPH 300 HS Review by DigitalReview

On February 7 2011, Canon announced four new PowerShot Digital cameras - the PowerShot SX230 HS, ELPH 500 HS (aka IXUS 310 HS), ELPH 300 HS (aka IXUS 220 HS) and ELPH 100 HS (aka IXUS 115 HS) models. 

The PowerShot ELPH 300 HS is the world's thinnest 24mm wide angle, 5x Optical zoom model, along with 12.1 Megapixels High-Sensitivity CMOS sensor and a 2.7-inch LCD screen. It comes equipped with Canon's HS SYSTEM for exceptional shooting in low-light, Full 1080p HD video, new Movie Digest Mode and 32 Smart AUTO scenes.

The PowerShot ELPH 300 HS is available in red, black and silver and is currently selling at around $230 (dropped from $246 about 3 weeks ago). Here is the summary of review by DigitalReview:

"We were pleased with the performance of the Canon PowerShot ELPH 300 HS in our tests. The camera powers up responsively, and the comfortably positioned zoom lever next to the shutter button makes framing images a simple step. Buttons and controls are well laid out and are easy to operate. The 5x image stabilized zoom lens incorporated into the Canon ELPH 300 HS provides good image quality. Edge to edge image detail is generally quite good, although some corner softness can be noticed especially at the wide angle position. We did observe some barrel distortion (curvature) when shooting at the wide angle setting, although this is fairly common with cameras in this category. The optical image stabilizer lens technology did a good job during our tests, offering up to 3 steps compensation, allowing us to hand hold the camera under lower light conditions and get blur free images were normally a tripod would have been required. The 2.7-inch 230,000 dot resolution LCD monitor offers easy composition and playback capabilities. The cameras menu system is easy to read and navigate, and images are vibrantly displayed in playback mode. The brightness of the monitor can be adjusted in 5 steps depending on viewing conditions. The Canon ELPH 300 HS movie recording feature works well providing good quality HD movies at 1080p resolution. The camera did a good job at maintaining auto focus in both still and movie mode, and the auto white balance setting delivered above average results in mixed lighting conditions. The stereo audio microphone also performed well.

Overall we found the Canon PowerShot ELPH 300 performed above average in terms of image quality for its class. The 12.1 megapixel sensor offers good image quality, and combined with the new Canon HS system, the Powershot ELPH 300 HS is able to deliver very usable image quality at the higher ISO settings. The camera does experience approximately 0.6 sec shutter lag (the time from when you press the shutter button to the time the camera takes the picture), so a little forethought and anticipation is required to capture the exact movement when dealing with action shots. If you are looking for a sleek take anywhere type of compact camera that offers a practical wide angle zoom range, provides dependable performance, and delivers sharp and well exposed images under most conditions, we have no hesitation in recommending the Canon PowerShot ELPH 300 HS. Check out the latest offers on the Canon ELPH 300 HS. (US) "