Canon PowerShot A4000 IS

Under the right conditions, the Canon PowerShot A4000 IS is a camera capable of capturing some very nice photos, although you'll quickly lose detail if you set its ISO too high.

The A4000's 3-inch rear LCD is packed with a modest 230k dots. It's decent enough for reviewing photos, but pales in comparison to the 460k dot screens found on more expensive cameras like the Elph 310 HS.

An 8x zoom lens, covering a 28-224mm (35mm equivalent) field of view, is one of the highlights of the camera.

We shot our standard studio scene with the A4000 IS. The lens was set at its widest setting and the ISO was set to 100.

This 100 percent crop shows you the level of detail and noise that you can expect from the PowerShot A4000 IS at ISO 100.

Despite its presence in Canon's entry-level A series, the A4000 boasts a metal body, which feels much more solid than competing cameras with plastic exteriors.

The A4000 isn't the fastest camera in the world—but it is by no means the slowest. It can start up and shoot in 2.2 seconds, requires you to wait 1.4 seconds between shots, and records a modest 0.2 second shutter lag.

If you're on a budget, the Canon PowerShot A4000 IS isn't a bad camera—as long as you are aware of its limitations. Image quality is quite good as long as you keep the ISO set at 400 and below, which will require you to use the flash in poorer light.