Canon PowerShot A3000 IS

Focal length: 6.2mm
Aperture: f/4.0
Shutter: 1/640 second
ISO:160

This shot of the local statuary was taken in the full auto mode of the camera, where the auto focus of the camera decided to pick the cyclist as the target, rather than the face.

Focal length: 24.8mm
Aperture: f/5.6
Shutter: 1/640 second
ISO:100

This shot of a local sculpture taken at the maximum telephoto length of the camera shows how the images get a little soft. There is also a fair amount of noise visible in the areas of flat texture on the base of the statue.

Focal length: 16.77mm
Aperture: f/4.5
Shutter: 1/50 second
ISO:400

This shot of our consumer still life shot in full auto mode shows a few things. One is that it is nearly lunchtime, but the other is that this is a rather noisy camera. Although the auto mode of the camera set the ISO to just 400, the image it captured is rather noisy, with noise clearly visible in the various logos and text of the products on show. There is also a slight white balance error in this scene that is lit by both flourescent and incandescent light sources, with the image having a slight orange cast.

Aperture: f/4
Shutter: 1 second
ISO:100

This image was shot in low light (around 40 lux) with the camera on a tripod in program mode. In this mode, the camera made the intelligent decision to keep the ISO low and use a logn shutter speed (1 second). The result looks good, with decent colors and relatively low noise. However, it is worth remembering that this long shutter speed will produce very blurry results without a tripod.

Focal length: 13.79mm
Aperture: f/4
Shutter: 1/13 second
ISO:3200

The low light scene mode increases the ISO range to a maximum of 3200, which the camera used in this shot (taken in identical conditions to the one above). However, there are consequences of this increased sensitivity: the image is rather noisy, and the resolution is reduced to 2 megapixels. It does, however, allow the camera to use a shutter speed of 1/13 of a second, which means you could probably get away with shooting hand held images.