Canon PowerShot ELPH 300 HS 12.1 MP CMOS Digital Camera with 5x Wide-Angle Optical Zoom and Full 1080p HD Video (Silver)
by CanonList Price:$229.00
Price:$189.00 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping. Details
Technical Details
Color: Silver
- World's thinnest digital camera with a 24mm ultra Wide-Angle lens and 5x Optical Zoom and Optical Image Stabilizer.
- Canon's HS SYSTEM with a 12.1 MP CMOS and DIGIC 4 Image Processor improves shooting in low-light situations without the need for a flash
- Full 1080p HD Video for exceptional quality with stereo sound, plus a dedicated movie button for easy access.
- Get high-speed shooting in a point-and-shoot camera: High-speed Burst Mode captures 8.0fps
- Smart AUTO intelligently selects the proper settings for the camera based on 32 predefined shooting situations.
- And lowers noise levels at higher ISO settings.
- Super Slow Motion Movie records video at high speeds to allow slow motion playback.
- Zoom optically while shooting video and keep footage stabilized with Dynamic IS.
- 12.1 effective megapixels, 1/2.3-inch high-sensitivity CMOS; 5x optical zoom and 4x digital zoom
- 2.7 in. TFT color LCD display with wide angle viewing; Built-in flash; Full 1080p HD video with stereo sound
- Optical Image Stabilizer; DIGIC 4 Image Processor; High-speed Burst Mode
- Smart AUTO (32 scenes); Movie Digest Mode; Toy Camera Effect; Monochrome; Face Detection; Red-eye Correction
- USB 2.0 Hi-Speed; HDMI; SD card slot (card not included)
Product Description
Color: Silver
From the Manufacturer
Don't let the PowerShot ELPH 300 HS digital camera's slim profile and good looks fool you. This slick little device may stand out from the crowd, but it'll also deliver brilliant still images, ultra-detailed 1080p Full HD video, serious functionality, and a wealth of effects and automatic settings. You'll be surprised how much is packed into such a slim point-and-shoot. Let your imagination run wild, and let Canon's HS SYSTEM, a 24mm lens, 5x Optical Zoom, and 12.1 Megapixels help you snap great photos everywhere.
The ELPH 300 HS is less than an inch deep and weighs less than 5 ounces.
Ultra wide-angle 24mm lens and 5x optical zoom on board.
Canon's HS SYSTEM improves shooting in low-light situations without the need for a flash, and lowers noise levels at higher ISO settings.
Incredibly Thin. Incredibly Powerful.
Thin Is In
At less than an inch deep and weighing just under five ounces, the PowerShot 300 HS will fit right in your pocket, but it packs plenty of power into its sleek point-and-shoot body. A 24mm ultra wide-angle lens with a powerful 5x optical zoom gives you the versatility to shoot in any number of situations, and the optical image stabilizer keeps things from getting too shaky when you're zoomed in tight. Whether you're out partying or just walking around town, you don't need to sacrifice style for power--the PowerShot ELPH 300 HS has got you covered for capturing great photos effortlessly.
No More Dark Photos
Canon's HS SYSTEM improves shooting in low-light situations without the need for a flash, and lowers noise levels at higher ISO settings.
The Canon HS SYSTEM takes the frustration out of low-light shooting, delivering clear, blur-free shots with all the ambiance intact, and freeing you from the sometimes unwanted effects of using the flash. Beautiful low-light shots are possible at both low and high ISO speeds, and the dynamic range is expanded to retain maximum detail in highlight and shadow areas.
The system is the result of two technologies brought together in this compact PowerShot. The first is the 12.1 Megapixel CMOS Sensor, which positions the light-receiving surface for optimal light reception. More light means clearer, blur-free images with plenty of detail and nuance, even in dark areas. Working together with the CMOS sensor to deliver the HS SYSTEM is Canon's advanced DIGIC 4 Image Processor, which actively reduces noise and delivers high speed image processing.
Canon’s HS System provides dramatically greater sensitivity than your average camera with identical or greater megapixel counts.
Click here for a larger image
The HS Megapixel Advantage
There's more to megapixels. Canon's HS System provides dramatically greater sensitivity than your average camera with identical or greater megapixel counts. That means you don't need excessive megapixels to achieve spectacular images with minimal noise, and you get equally impressive results out of the 12.1 megapixel ELPH 300 HS.
Memorable Moments in Full HD
Experiencing the brilliance of HD video in a Canon PowerShot ELPH digital camera has never been easier. With the convenient dedicated movie button, you'll be able to instantly record everyday moments in high-definition detail at the push of a button. Record in Full 1080p HD with stereo sound, and pick up the optional HTC-100 HDMI cable for viewing your footage directly on your HDTV.
You can also use the optical zoom while shooting video, so you can get in nice and close--plus, no need to worry about shaky footage thanks to dynamic image stabilization to keep your videos steady!
Capture video in Full 1080p HD resolution, and add an optional HDMI cable for enjoying directly on your HDTV.
A PowerShot that Keeps Up with the Action
Sometimes, the action just won't stop for you. The PowerShot ELPH 300 HS comes equipped with a High-Speed Burst Mode that can capture eight frames per second. Just hold down the shutter button and catch rapid-fire action sequences--perfect for sporting events!
You can also add a fun slow motion effect to your videos, using Super Slow Motion Movie. Super Slow Motion Movie will record your clips at a high speed, so that when you watch your videos, they'll play back in slow motion--a great feature for analyzing sports play-by-play, or just for creating fun visual effects.
Advanced Smart AUTO for Stills and Videos that Shine
The PowerShot ELPH 300 HS digital camera takes the quality of your still images and videos to a whole new level--automatically. The camera's advanced Smart AUTO system detects a wealth of information about the scene you're shooting, then automatically selects the optimal settings for you. Now with an expanded range of 32 shooting scenarios, the camera handles a wide variety of situations, freeing you up to concentrate on composing your shot and capturing the moment you're looking for. From portraits to landscapes to action scenes, the PowerShot ELPH 300 HS digital camera has you covered, whether you're shooting stills or videos.
Movie Capabilities
The PowerShot ELPH 300 HS gives you a variety of resolution options for shooting movies, depending on your needs. Shoot in Full HD (1920 x 1080) at 30 fps for up to 14 min. 34 sec. or 4GB per clip. Shoot in HD (1280 x 720) at 24 fps for up to 20 min. and 43 sec. or 4GB per clip. Shoot in VGA (640 x 480) at 30 fps for up to 43 min. and 43 sec. or 4GB per clip and QVGA (320 x 240 at 30 fps) for up to 1 hour 58 min. and 19 sec. or 4GB per clip.
Record your clips in high speed (approx. 240fps), and then watch your videos in slow motion. (Watch a video of Super Slow Motion Movie Mode at the top of the page, just below the product image.)
Miniature Movie Mode enhances perspective to make large scenes like cityscapes or landscapes appear to be in miniature proportions. (Watch a video of Miniature Movie Mode at the top of the page, just below the product image.)
Easily Turn Your Memories into Videos
Putting together a video containing highlights from family vacations, important occasions and other special events is now easier than you might imagine. Using the Movie Digest Mode, you can have the camera automatically record a short video clip (up to approximately 4 seconds) every time you shoot a still image. The camera will then combine an entire day's worth of clips into a single video. No editing required--Movie Digest Mode does all the work, so you can sit back and enjoy your video!
Add Some Fun to Your Photos
Two new scene modes, Toy Camera Effect and Monochrome, add an artistic look to your photos.
Toy Camera Effect
Add some vintage nostalgia with Toy Camera Effect, which recreates the classic look by darkening the edges to make them appear as if they were photographed through a pinhole lens, and amping up the contrast.
Monochrome
Monochrome lets you stray from the usual black and white, letting you choose from three single-toned effects: Black & White, Sepia, or Blue, to really give your photos the effect you're looking for.
What's in the Box
PowerShot ELPH 300 HS (Black), Battery Pack, Battery Charger, Wrist Strap, AV Cable, USB Interface Cable, Digital Camera Solution CD-ROM, Documentation
738 of 746 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful compact camera with hd video,March 19, 2011
By
J. Gebauer - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Canon PowerShot ELPH 300 HS 12.1 MP Digital Camera (Black) (Electronics)
I'm a DSLR photographer who shoots professionally and has managed a camera store in the past. I wanted something I can take with me everywhere but still produces good quality shots. I also wanted a camera that could shoot good looking videos. I researched several models and after much deliberation decided on the Canon 300 HS. I'm very happy I did.
Image Quality:
I tested cameras and lenses all the time while managing the camera store so whenever I purchase a new camera or lens I always test it. The Canon 300 HS doesn't produce the quality of images my Nikon D7000 does but I didn't expect it to. The edges get a little soft with the 300 HS when looking at the image at 100% whereas the D7000 images are almost tact sharp.
Comparing the 300 HS to the Canon Powershot SD1000 from a few years ago, the 300 HS blows it out of the water. The SD1000 is a 7 MP camera. Shooting the same shots on a tripod with the same focal length on the lens the 300 HS uses its extra MPs well. When looking at the images from each camera at 100%, at the wide angle zoom setting and normal zoom setting both cameras have about the same relative slight softness on the edges. However the 300 HS has more MP so it actually produces much more detail in the image. I think it was smart for Canon to keep the MP at 12 because last years models while being 14 MP (SD1400) didn't give any extra detail from what I could tell than the 12 MP version (SD1300). The SD1400 was basically just creating larger files. When zooming in the telephoto setting the 300 HS clearly produced a sharper image than the SD1000. Often cameras have sweet spots in the zoom range in which it will produce crisper images. The 300 HS has consistently good sharpness throughout it's zoom range.
HS system and ISO:
The image processing with the HS system truly works to reduce noise at higher ISOs enabling people to produce better quality images in low light. The improvement in image quality gets more and more visible the greater and greater the ISO. ISO 400 with the 300 HS was almost as good as ISO 200 on the SD1000. ISO 800 on the 300 HS was a tad better than ISO 400 on the SD1000. ISO 1600 on the 300 HS was between ISO 400 and 800 on the SD1000. ISO 3200 on the 300 HS produced the same quality of image (noise) as ISO 800 on the SD1000. A 2 stop in film speed improvement is big.
1080p video and slow motion:
With good light, the 300 HS produces wonderful smooth 1080 videos. If you look at a lot of HD videos from compact cameras the video often looks jumpy. From what I've seen it wasn't until you got to the Canon G12 or Panasonic LX5 that the video looked smooth. Both of those cameras only shoot 720p whereas this camera shoots 1080p. The video also very good detail. It truly looks HD.
If you are wanting zoom and continuous AF with your video this camera is the one you want compared to the 100 HS which doesn't allow you to zoom. The continuous AF with face recognition is stellar with this camera in video mode. I was videoing my wife while she was driving. It focused on her face. I switched to the scenery outside. It immediately focused on that. I then went back to my wife and it found her face and focused on it right away. I even videoed her reflection in the rear view mirror and it found her face in the mirror no problem and focused on it. AMAZING!!!!
Commenting on a complaint I've read about the zoom being slow in video mode. If you like getting motion sickness whenever someone rapidly zooms in or out during their video this is not your camera. As smooth looking as the video is, the zoom is also. The smooth zoom creates nice looking transitions instead of warp speed ahead looks.
The slow motion is a fun feature that works well. You need to have good lighting though. In low light even with high ISO's it produced very dark videos. In a review someone commented that it should have sound with the slow motion video. I honestly don't know how that could work unless you want to listen to everything at 1/5 it's normal speed. I think it's a good thing that it doesn't have sound with the slow motion videos.
AF:
I commented on AF partially in the video portion of the review. It does have several AF modes for various situations. The face detection works great. If you have a person in the picture but want something other than the person to be in focus you will need to change AF modes from face detection. The reviewer that had the problem with the 300 HS focusing on things he didn't want the camera to focus on likely didn't have the correct AF mode for the shooting situations. The 300 HS does have a center AF if you prefer that.
Areas for Canon to improve on with the 300 HS:
The camera is so well thought out that I'm surprised Canon let this slip. I love having a wide angle zoom go down to 24mm. It's great for scenery and photojournalist type shots. If you shoot at the widest angle zoom and use the flash, the lens on the 300 HS blocks the flash's exposure on the bottom right corner of the image. The corner is completely black. If you zoom in a bit so you aren't at the widest angle setting when using the flash you will be fine. Still all Canon had to do is not put the flash so close to the lens.
When shooting video in lower light situations the video does start to get noisy and grainy quicker than some other cameras.
Conclusion:
All in all this is a wonderfully thought out camera with great image quality and image processing and it shoots stellar videos for it's compact size.
Awesome Point and Shoot, March 14, 2011
By
Keith Corbin - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Canon PowerShot ELPH 300 HS 12.1 MP CMOS Digital Camera with 5x Wide-Angle Optical Zoom and Full 1080p HD Video (Red) (Electronics)
This is a point and shoot class camera, if you understand that going in, you are going to be more than impressed with it. I'm going from an SD630 and hands down, this beats it. I even had an SX210IS and these images are on par with it, if not better. I had to return my SX210IS as it had issues with dust on the image sensor and I've been waiting for a new P&S class to come out. I bit the bullet on this, well, the black version Canon PowerShot ELPH 300 HS 12 MP CMOS Digital Camera with Full 1080p HD Video (Black) and what can I say - I am happy!
300HS vs 500HS:
There is a 500HS version of the camera, which is approx $50 more. To this point, the only differences I can tell are the LCD on the back as well as aperture priority and shutter priority, while the 300hs does not. The touch screen on the 500hs can also be used to focus on a particular subject. The 500hs also has a wider aperture at 2.0, the 300hs has 2.7.
Form Factor/Display:
Small. Awesome. There is a texture on the camera, I really like this as it seems like it will help if you hands are wet (sweat, snow, etc). Easy to operate one hand and if using both hands, flash isn't in a horrible place. Display is very bright and button seem intuitive as with other Canon cameras. Battery and SD are on the bottom door, USB and HDMI are in a covered side port. Comes with a wrist strap if you desire a little extra security.
Boot Time/Software:
Camera is ready to take photos very fast. From the time you press the button, it's pretty much set to catch the action. Time between photos wasn't terrible (about 1.5 seconds) and if you need it, there is continuous shot mode. Had no problem with the Canon software on Windows 7. I've used the Canon Photo Window import for a while, does a good job of getting photos off the camera without duplicates. I use Picasa to then manage my photo library (I skip the Zoom Browser, but it's really not bad if you want to use it, I'm just a slave to Google/gmail)
Computer Connectivity:
I didn't find this anywhere in the specs, so if you're looking, the camera uses mini-USB, similar to all Canon's that have come out over the last few years.
Optical Zoom:
You're going to be impressed with the form factor of this camera and it's 5x OPTICAL zoom. I immediately disabled digital zoom as 12.1MP + 5x Optical will get you very close to the action. You're better off digitally enhancing the photos later on.
Battery + Memory Card:
This uses the NBL-4 (again, I found confusion on this and accessories) - so if you have some of those laying around keep them as they'll work just fine in this camera. This is nice as my SD630 uses the NBL-4 so now I have 2 chargers + 3 batteries. It took my 32GB SDHC without any issues and holds thousands of images. Images have tended to be between 2 and 3mb on the highest settings.
Image Quality:
Look, I'm no photo fanatic, I don't expect the people buying this camera are. I am looking for solid images and this camera delivers. There are a ton a feature you can delve into and I'm sure they are good. It has manual mode, so if you fancy that, you can go down that path. But I'm the type of person that knows when something looks good, OK or great. This camera consistently delivers GREAT photos. I'm happy with the low light and images aren't blurry or grainy (within reasonable expectations).
Video:
FINALLY! Optical zoom on a Canon during video! 1080p brings this camera up to par with others in its class and it does a decent job. I didn't notice any major noise when zooming in and out while recording video. I know this is the excuse Canon has used in the past as to why they never had this feature. It shoots nice clips for those quick moments. This will NOT replace a true DV cam, but hey, for a few minute clips here and there, you will simply not be dissapointed.
Video shaking zooming in at around 3.8x and 4.8x,April 19, 2011
By
T. Wang (San Jose, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Canon PowerShot ELPH 300 HS 12.1 MP Digital Camera (Black) (Electronics)
Length:: 0:53 Mins
I liked this camera very much especially the low light photo quality and 24mm ultra wide-angel lens until I received my Sandisk Extreme Pro 32gb memory card and started to play with the video functions of the camera. I found that when I was zooming in from 1x, the video was very smooth until it hited around 3.8x, it was shaking twice, and when I continued to zoom in to around 4.8x, it shaking once a little more, no matter what resolutions I used (1280, 1920, 640). Please take a look at the video. I zoomed in all the way from 1x to 5x, and zoomed out and in several times between 3x and 5x. Zooming out was no shaking at all, but zooming in was shaking at around 3.8x and 4.8x. Does anybody have this kind of problem? I don't know if I got a defective one or it is normal. Please let me know and appreciate any comment. Thanks!!
[Update (4/23/2011)]: Finally I returned it because I thought it is defective and just received the replacement one this afternoon. The only difference I noticed at first is the returned one is "Made in Japan", and the new one is "Made in China". I tried to record video by zooming-in with the new camera and very happy to find out the video got perfect zooming-in without any shaking. But later I played that video file on my computer, and heard some very loud knocking sounds when the zooming-in almost reaching to the end (5x). I tried several times and the results were the same. I listened very carefully when I recorded video by zooming-in the camera, and found out the knocking sounds came from the lens' motor. That didn't happan with the returned camera!! I think Canon must have some quality assurance problems. I bought this camera to replace my two and half years old Creative Labs Vado HD 720p Pocket Video Camcorder that only has poor digital zoom function, so I wanted to use this camera to record video mostly and expected much from its 5x optical zoom. I don't know if I would return this replacement one too. :(
[Update (4/25/2011)]: Found another person has the similar problem - clicking noise when zooming-in during video mode. Because Amazon doesn't allow to post the link directly. Please go to YouTube and put "Unboxing Canon Elph 300 HS" in the Search field. Go to the movie page posted by "whynot7891", and see the comments just below that movie.
[Updated (5/2/2011)]: Finally I returned my replacement camera. Before I did that, I went the local BestBuy, and bought another one that is made in Japan. I was happy to find out that one is free of problems. Though I still can hear the lens noise when zooming, but it is hardly audible. I am glad I didn't give up, because I really love this camera. It is very compact, fast to function, and creates great picture and video even in low light. I particularly love its 24mm wide and 5x lens. I would like to give it a 4 and a half stars if I can. Good luck to get your one!
[Updated (10/4/2011)]: For your information, there is a new model coming out - Canon PowerShot ELPH 310 HS 12.1 MP CMOS Digital Camera with Full 1080p HD Video (Silver). Price is $60 more as today, with same 12.1 MP, same DIGIC 4 processor, but higher 8x Optical Zoom (a plus), larger 3" LCD display (another plus), narrower 28mm lens (a minus), and with more body color options (no black though).
