Canon PowerShot A2300 First Impressions Review

Conclusion

Point-and-shoot sales are falling fast, which is why we find it surprising that so many cheap compacts are still coming out. There's still room for a few simple, entry-level cameras, but manufacturers should show some restraint. Flooding the market with lookalikes just confuses the remaining buyers.

Canon is usually one more of the more logical and conservative camera companies, but they've actually increased the number of low-end point-and-shoots that they're releasing this year. Of the six new A-series shooters, the PowerShot A2300 is the most worthless model the bunch.

Spend an extra $10, and you can buy the otherwise identical A2400 IS, with optical image stabilization—always worth the extra money. Save a few bucks, and you'll end up with the AA-powered A810 or A1300. Their rounded battery bulges improve handling greatly, and the A1300 even has an eye-level viewfinder. (It's also a better deal to spend $30 on a big set of rechargeable, high-capacity lithium AAs than it is to pony up for a camera with a proprietary battery.)

The A2300's image quality should be fine, but honestly, we probably won't bother with a full review of this camera. The price will probably drop significantly by the end of the year, but even if you do have your heart set on a low-cost Canon PowerShot, literally any one of them will be a better option than the A2300.