Canon PowerShot A1300 Digital Camera Review

Conclusion

For those who absolutely must own a AA-powered camera, you could do worse than the Canon PowerShot A1300. We like the small optical viewfinder, especially how it actually magnifies along with optical zoom. The oversized battery compartment has the side effect of creating a thick right hand grip, which compensates for the poorly-designed buttons on the rear panel. The color accuracy of this camera is also quite amazing, our test returned a score that could compete with models ten times the price of this one.

As for the rest of our performance metrics...well they're pretty much what we expected. After all, you do get what you pay for. Resolution is rather terrible at all focal lengths, despite the 16 megapixel sensor, and all zones fall victim to fringing and distortion. Image noise is also a severe problem, and will detract from shots at ISO 200 and beyond. This camera is also a slow shooter and lacks many secondary features, other than those that have already been mentioned.

But for many consumers these drawback won't matter. Plus, we have to admit, we did enjoy ourselves while shooting with the A1300, probably due to Canon's excellent menu system. As long as you know what you're buying, and don't have any illusions about the capabilities of this 120-dollar camera, the A1300 will not disappoint.