The Powershot ELPH 310 HS is 1 of 2 new Digital Compact Cameras by Canon and it is the successor to the Powershot ELPH 300 HS model. Canon is, of course, always making wonderful photo and video cameras and this camera is no exception.
(Picture Source: Amazon)
If you haven’t already you can watch my unboxing and video review:
This blog post will cover the same things mentioned in the video review, but in a little more detail.
Basic Features
Here are all the basic features you can find right on the Canon website:
- Slim and lightweight
- 28mm Wide-Angle lens
- 12.1 Megapixel
- 8x Optical Zoom
- Optical Image Stabilizer
- Full 1080p Video
- High-Speed Burst Mode
- Slow Motion Video Mode
- Intelligent IS automatically chooses from six different modes to optimize image stabilization for the shooting condition
- 3.0-inch LCD Screen
- Face Detection (for auto focus)
- Special Scene Modes (filters and shot modes)
Overall
There honestly isn’t much bad I can say about this camera because I think it is pretty fantastic. The Canon Powershot ELPH 310 HS takes great pictures, great video, has a wonderful wide angle lens, and is very portable. Now, all that is fine and good, but is this camera suited for you?
What is this Camera Good For?
While it might be obvious (seeing as how it is a compact camera), this camera is really best for personal use. What I mean by that is that it works great for taking spontaneous photos, taking photos with friends, taking photos of scenery, taking video of almost anything, and vlogging (video blogging). You aren’t limited to those, but those are basically the ways I use it and have proven successful for me.
It may not need to be said, but this camera is certainly not suited for professional use. You may as well get an expensive Canon camera if you need to take professional photographs!
Pros and Cons
Some Pros
- Great Pictures in Low Light
This picture, for example, was taken on a very cloudy and somewhat overcast day. This is a picture of my hallway and as you can probably tell, it is mostly lit by the windows. It was very dark when I took this picture, however, and the flash made up for the lack of light. The result was a very well lit picture!
This is a very interesting picture. What makes it interesting is not the mess but that ALL the lights were off in this room when I took it. The flash alone lit up the entire room and the result was a really good picture. You may not take a lot of pictures like this… but I still think it’s pretty cool to note!
- Wide-angle lens
For such a small camera, it has a very wide-angle lens (28mm). This is a pro for both photos and video. You can get a lot more depth and width to your shots without sacrificing quality or height. Vlogging especially benefits from the wide-angle lens. When you have the camera pointed to yourself you’ll have a lot more than just your head in a frame making the video a lot more interesting.
- Full 1080p HD video
Along with a lot of cameras Canon makes now a days, this camera takes full 1080p HD video. It’s size and weight makes it very easy to take video while you’re on the go and with it’s impressive speed you can turn the camera on and start taking video within seconds.
- Face Detection and Auto Focus
The camera is intelligent enough to detect when there is a face in the shot. A little icon will appear in the corner and the camera will automagically focus on that face (or faces). This makes focusing pictures of people simple and makes video smoother when switching from one subject to another (whether person or an object) hardly an issue.
The auto focus doesn’t just detect people, though. The auto focus will try to find the best thing to focus on (usually what’s in the center of the frame, but not always). You can use the manual focus, however, if you are having issue focusing on your desired subject, but in general the auto focus will be your best option.
Some Cons
- Does NOT Take Good Action Shots.
One of the problems I’ve noticed is that this camera does not take good action shots (this applies only to photos). Even subjects with little movement will result in somewhat blurry pictures. You’ll have to try your best when taking shots of things in motion. This is somewhat unfortunate, but still doesn’t change my view of the camera overall, however.
- Films in 24 FPS Rather than 30.
This may not so much be a con, but more something to keep in mind if you edit video you take with this camera. Most editing software will default to 30 frames per second (fps) when exporting so you’ll want to remember to change it. I made this mistake for the 1st 2 vlogs I made with this camera.
Also keep in mind, the fact that it films in 24fps really doesn’t effect the video quality much if at all. 24fps is actually the standard for most films.
In Summary
The Canon Powershot ELPH 310 HS is a fantastic camera overall. It can take not only great photos but also great video, and with it’s wide-angle lens you wont miss a thing! It is very slim and lightweight which makes it very portal and great for personal use. I would recommend it highly to anyone who wants to use it for ways such like myself (vlogging especially).
Links
- Canon: http://usa.canon.com/cusa/consumer/products/cameras/digital_cameras/powershot_elph_310_hs
- Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Canon-PowerShot-Digital-Camera-1080p/dp/B005I6DUYE/ref=lh_ni_t (Pro-Tip: cheaper here!)
- Unboxing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNFjN-yt-qE
- Video Review: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAsulC2oW1A
- Tech channel: http://www.youtube.com/Davie3Tech
- Vlogging channel: http://www.youtube.com/ItsDavie3
Share this Review with Others!
I hope you enjoyed this review and I hope it was helpful to you in some way! If it was, the best way you can show your appreciation is to share it with others or refer back to it! There are social buttons below and also at the top of the post.
Thanks for reading and until next time!