This camera could be much better. Although there are good aspects of it, with the good comes the bad. It's good in the terms that it's fairly simple to operate, both the camera and the software. It has a timer, different flashes, good zoom, and a 30 second video clip. Although, the video clip, if used without a card, will fill most of the memory. The software is easy to set-up, and when the camera is detected, will direct you straight to the pictures so you can copy them into a separate folder.

Previously I had many problems with it. I had it for a couple months and it would hold about 18-24 pictures normally (I don't have a card for more storage just yet), but then it began to hold only 7-9 pictures. I'm still not entirely clear on why that was but I formatted it on the advice of a friend and it's now back to normal. I did lose the pictures I had on it after I formatted it but that was expected. Rechargable batteries are generally a must need for any digital camera unless you enjoy watching batteries be eaten away within an hour.

The software has given me problems also. I selected a few pictures from a large selection out of the immediate download folder, copied them, went over to another folder, pasted them, returned to the main folder where my pictures taken should have been, and everything was gone. Checked all over my hard drive in case I somehow selected all the files unknowingly, found nothing. From now on I copy them all from the root folder into a single folder on my hard drive at the same time and move/rename them from there.

In short, this is an alright camera. It can be tempermental at times, but it's good for beginners so long as they don't encounter the same problems I've had. User friendly and all that. Everything's pretty simple to find. Nice zoom, good selection of flashes.. Definately better with rechargable batteries and a charger though. I also wouldn't reccomend buying it if the feature that you like the most is the video clip since that uses all the memory and has no sound. There's no flash available for the clip as far as I know so the quality's horrible if you're indoors with little light.

Finding a digital camera in the under $200 range is not easy. After doing a bit of research, I finally purchased the Samsung 240. It takes only two double "A" batteries, keeping the unit light and compact; easy to fit in a coat-pocket or bag. Do not make the mistake however of trying to use standard batteries with digital cameras. Buy a set of rechargeables and an AC adaptor for home computer hook-up. One set of NiMh batteries easily lasted me through eighty-two photos and seven avi files on a a busy birthday weekend.
If you are familiar with the use of computer, electronics, and cell phone menus so prevalent with today's devices you'll have no problem with the screens and menus (though the screen is hard to see in brilliant daylight). If, however you are not comfortable with electronic devices ask a friend who is, to walk you through the menus as the manual is cumbersome and stiffly worded. The software that comes with the camera is passable, but most computers have something that will allow you to manage your photos more readily.
A memory card is a must, but in a pinch, the on-board memory is fine for ten or so shots at medium quality resolution. There are three photo qualities available. The middle resolution is fine for just about everything. I have even been able to take shots of architectural drawings and e-mail then to contractors for review within the span of a few minutes. 2.0 pixels is more than adequate for most applications. The avi movie files are a fun addition, reminiscent of old 8mm footage, but great for catching the sense of space in a landscape or two children playing in a treehouse. And like 8mm there is no sound.
Some points for improvement: A built-in lense cover would have been nice. The rubber AC adaptor-cover needs to be pressed firmly in place to make a good seal (difficult if you have poor dexterity in your hands). Flash recharge is a bit slow, about three to four seconds which doesn't sound like much until you have all the grandchildren lined up for a group shot. :)
All in all a nice camera to take you into the world of digital photography and at a price that won't make you worry about taking it everywhere with you!

I am Drew Corey, a small time travel writer (you wouldn't have heard of me). I am only 25 years old, but I have 15(!)digital cameras, including this 1.

This was my 10th digicam, to be precise. I have taken this with me to Kenya, New Zealand and Mexico. All 3 times, I have got fabulous photos, whichi magazines have accepted.

True, this IS a beginner's camera, but one easily gets fooled by the looks, style, price and brandname. I got fooled, to tell you the truth. But even a professional photographer would be amazed at the quality of these photos;they come out ACE!! I mean, they ALWAYS come out ACE!!

So the bottomline:
THIS CAMERA IS A SNATCH. IT'LL BE THE ENVY OF YOUR FRIENDS, AND YOU'LL BE WOWED BY IT TOO. SO DON'T HESITATE:GO AHEAD AND BUY IT;YOU CAN WORK WONDERS WITH IT!!

Before buying this camera (my first digital camera), I consulted with my friends who have been using various digital cameras for months, if not years. I hesitated on buying Digimax 240 due to horrible comments made by the Amazon.com folks below. Also, I saw how much people raved about Canon A40 in Amazon.com. So I was strongly leaning toward buying a Canon A40 which also has 2.0 M Pixels. Then, I decided to take a chance after seeing sample photos taken by Digimax 240 from the potential sellers who took time to share their photos with me. (My sample photos from Digimax 240: http://photos.yahoo.com/brianmustbecrazy) In the end, I was able to pay less than half of what Canon A40 would have cost.

2-M Pixles from Digimax 240 is more than sufficient for photo sizes of 4 X 6 or 5 X 7 as it gives superb photo quality & sharpness. I find that it is good enough for larger photo sizes as well when the best performance settings are chosen when taking shots.

I see that a lot of people complained about the short battery life. But I conclude the reason is that Digimax 240 operates on 2 AA batteries whereas most other 2 MP digital cameras need 4 AA batteries. It is a trade-off because 2 AA batteries give you shorter life, but 4-battery-operated cameras look and feel funny (also bulky and heavier) because they have to house 4 AA batteries. Digimax 240 has an attractive shape without any funny contour since it only houses two AA batteries - makes it easier to pack and carry. Also, see my comment on rechargeable batteries at the bottom.

Here are good and bad of my Digimax 240.

Very good: Excellent photo quality, sharpness / Ergonomics & easiness of camera operation / Easy to follow manual / Light weight-wise / Comes with a quality pouch / Solid construction / Easy software installation / Different settings for different weather situation - cloudy, sunny, sunset and more / Different settings for fineness and sharpness - 1200 X 1600, 600 X 800 and more. This allows you to control the size of the file - sometimes you don't want the photo to be too big in file size. / Automatically (but also manually) able to change the level of light exposure (separate feature from the aforementioned weather settings) - this helps you to get quality photos in darker and brighter environment. Usually the camera will automatically adjust the settings according to different environment, but you can do it manually as well, over-riding the automatic settings. Being able to manually adjust the weather and light exposure really made improvement in my photo outputs in extreme conditions.

Good: Flash reload time / Flash power - could be stronger as the flash recommended range in dark indoor space is about 8 feet. But then, this is what the photo-editors are for. Also, talking to and seeing photos from many friends with fancy digital cameras, I found out that shooting, focusing and getting quality photo product in darker environment is a challenge for any digital camera. In other words, conventional film camera is still the way to go for photos in darker settings.

Bad: Fairly short battery life - but my friends with other digital camera brands told me that they can't really use theirs without rechargeable batteries and AC adaptor... Besides, the manual strongly recommends using AC adaptor when connecting to PC, where the batteries really get used up. I recommend NiMH type rechargeable batteries and an AC adaptor - I bought them and they work very well. With the first two AA size rechargeable batteries I have shot close to 100 shots with flash and I still didn't have to recharge the batteries.

I bought this camera a few months ago and I returned it because it did not seem to be very good. Some of the promotional materials for the camera represent that it has adjustable ISO to 400 speed. The camera I purchased did not have that feature. The pictures I took with the camera seemed ok, but the battery use was unaccaptable. After just taking a few pictures the batteries went dead and the performance was not much better using more expensive lithium batteries. The plastic cover over the external power jack did not fit and kept falling out, certaily symbolic of poor quality construction.

I returned the camera and spent a little more to buy a Cannon A40. I love the Cannon A40. It really does have adjustable ISO along with many other mannuel controls, including a variety of special effects, such as black and white. It takes good pictures under all conditions, even in low light, and comes with better software than the Digimax 240. Battery life is also much better. The A40 still uses batteries relatively quickly when campared with other devices, but it can nevertheless take 50 to 100 pictures or more before the batteries die, and that is with inexpensive store brand alkaline batteries.

My choice for buying either of these cameras was based on the limited RAM in my computer, 32 megabytes. Most of the cameras out there required 64 megs, but these cameras could run on less. If I had 64 or more megs on my computer, I would have purchased a Cannon A-60 camera that has even more features than the A-40.