Editorial Review

Despite its entry-level designation in Canon's digital lineup, the2-megapixel A40 is a surprisingly advanced model with excellent picture qualityand more manual features than you'll find on most digital point-and-shoots.

Resolution
With resolutions of up to 5 megapixels now available in other cameras, the2-megapixel chip in the A40 may seem wimpy, but for the camera's intended user,2 million pixels is a great balance between performance and price. Thisresolution means gorgeous full-screen images on your computer (even with a19-inch monitor) and prints that look great at sizes up to 8 by 10 inches. Ifyou're hoping for a camera that captures even detail in each photo, considerCanon's 3-megapixel S30 or 4-megapixel S40.

Optics
A 3x optical zoom lens (35-105mm equivalent) aids in photo composition, and anadditional 2.5x digital zoom (7.5x total) further magnifies your image.Remember, however, that digital zoom reduces the sharpness and detail of yourimage, so it's best used sparingly. Two systems help ensure your pictures willbe perfectly focused, even in challenging conditions: a multizone autofocusworks even when the subject of your photo isn't in the center of the scene, andin low-light situations (a particular weakness of many digital cameras), afocus-assist lamp sends out a small patterned beam to help the camera accuratelydetermine distance.

More Features
Though it's primarily designed as a point-and-shoot, the A40 includes asurprising number of advanced features for photographers who want more creativecontrol, including aperture priority, shutter priority, and full manual modes,exposure compensation, low-light manual shutter speeds, manual ISO and whitebalance, and stitch assist, plus black-and-white, sepia, vivid, and neutralmodes.

A movie mode captures video clips with sound. Depending upon resolution, theseclips can last from 10 to 30 seconds. The limited length and resolution of theseclips guarantees that this feature won't replace your camcorder, but it'sperfect for when you just want to capture a quick movie and e-mail it to afriend or relative.

The A40 is the successor to last year's A20. Physically, the two cameras arenearly identical, but the new model has substantially more manual controls and amovie mode.

Power
The A40 uses four AA batteries, and a set of alkalines is included. We don'trecommend using alkaline batteries in digital cameras unless you have noalternative, since the high power demands of digital cameras drain alkalinebatteries ridiculously quickly. Instead, we prefer lithium batteries foroccasional users, since these last much longer and also stay fresh if yourcamera sits unused for months at a time. If you use the camera more than onceevery couple of weeks, we strongly recommend getting a set of rechargeable NiMHbatteries and a charger. These can be recharged hundreds of times and hold anexcellent charge, but will lose their power in as little as a month of disuse.Many people solve this problem by purchasing a charger with two sets ofbatteries, keeping one set in the camera and the other in the charger at alltimes.

Storage and Transfer
Images are stored on standard Type I CompactFlash cards. Consider the included 8MB card a starter capacity, since its 12-picture limit means you'll need toreturn to your computer often to transfer images and free up the card for morepictures. A 128 MB card is a great size for this camera, storing around 200images. To transfer images to your computer, simply attach the included USBcable between your PC and your camera. Your computer should automaticallyrecognize your camera and let you move the pictures to your hard drive.

Printing
Canon has introduced a series of printers designed to work directly with theA40. Using these printers, no computer is required--simply connect the camera tothe printer and start printing. The CP-10 produces credit-card-sized prints, andthe CP-100 makes 4-by-6-inch prints. Both use continuous-tone technology forresults that are indistinguishable from traditional photos. Of course, photosfrom your camera can also be printed on any home computer system with an inkjetprinter, sent off for online processing, or simply enjoyed on your computerscreen.

Size
Dimensions of 4.3 by 2.8 by 1.5 inches put the A40 in the middle of thecompact-camera pack. The plastic body keeps weight down to 8.8 ounces.

Contents and Recommended Accessories

The package includes the A40 camera, AV and USB cables, wrist strap, printedmanual, software suite, four AA batteries, and an 8 MB memory card.

Features

• Optimized for use in PDAs, MP3 players, or digital cameras
• Write speed guaranteed to exceed 1.2 MB per second (8X) with independent test results exceeding 2.25 MB per second (15X)
• High quality components guarantee steady performance, the utmost durability, and breadth of compatibility
• Individually tested to ensure each product works the first time, everytime
• Five year replacement warranty and 30-day money-back guarantee

Reviews (18)

A great deal!
This is a quality product that holds up. I've been using Viking products for a couple of years now (modems, memory, etc..) and I have had no complaints about any of their products. Amazon's price on this 32 mb card makes it a steal! Don't pass up on this great deal.

Great Replacement CF Card!
This is my first Compact Flash purchase outside of the CF card that came with my Kodak DC215 Zoom camera. I can get 115 pictures with this size CF card, at the highest quality and largest size -- that alone pleases me much. I should note to other first timers that you may need to format the card when you first pop it in your camera. The card otherwise has given me no problems.

Features

• Optimized for use in PDAs, MP3 players, or digital cameras
• Write speed guaranteed to exceed 1.2 MB per second (8X) with independent test results exceeding 2.25 MB per second (15X)
• High quality components guarantee steady performance, the utmost durability, and breadth of compatibility
• Individually tested to ensure each product works the first time, everytime
• Five year replacement warranty and 30-day money-back guarantee

Reviews (34)

64MB card - 155 pictures for a 1MP Kodak DC240 camera
Well, I had no idea how much room a 1 MP picture would take up on a CF card. I know it is a combination of compression and format, but I never really did the math.

GREAT PRICE: I bought this card, number one, because the price was great. Now the price is even greater when you get it for about 2MB for $1.

NUMBER OF PICTURES THAT CAN BE STORED:
155 in a DC240 with 1MP.
55 in a DX3900 with 3.1 MP.
I never knew the MP versus MB formula, this practical application helped me out. I understand however, much depends on your compression and format. This was all .jpg files and on Kodak cameras.

SEEMS COMPATIBLE FOR PDA AND PC:
I know one of the concerns on these cards is compatibility. Since I have had it, I have put it in an @migo Pocket PC, on the PCMCIA card on an IBM laptop and a Kodak DX3600 and a HP315. It worked great.

Nice card and a nice size, I'm set for awhile now.

Great value and good performance
I've used Viking components in the past and never had any negative experiences with their products. When I got a digital camera, I shopped the local computer and mall stores for Compact Flash memory cards before turning to Amazon.com. I was pleasantly surprised to find an affordable Compact Flash card in the capacity I was looking for made by Viking. The card works great with my Kodak digital camera and Sandisk CF reader. A top notch product at an affordable price.

Features

• Optimized for use in PDAs, MP3 players, or digital cameras
• Write speed guaranteed to exceed 1.2 MB per second (8X) with independent test results exceeding 2.25 MB per second (15X)
• High quality components guarantee steady performance, the utmost durability, and breadth of compatibility
• Individually tested to ensure each product works the first time, everytime
• Five year replacement warranty and 30-day money-back guarantee

Reviews (188)

good solid card/brand
I have a 2 megapixel canon elph and own two other CF cards, (Sandisk 64mb and Fuji64mb) Reason I got another CF card was the price as of Feb 2003, was the lowest I've seen ever, and I did abit more research than before. check dpreview.com they have a section of CF card ratings and this particular card did very good, as far as speed and reliability.

I did my own amateur testing and noticed "slight" differences, the Viking and Sandisk cards were abit faster in taking multiple shots. (but this is a matter of miliseconds) reliability, I have had the two other cards for about 6 months and have not had a problem with data loss of any kind. On my 2 megapixel camera, the Viking 128mb CF card shot about 360-400 images "high quality" (depending on image size, each image can be a different file size, depending on the information each one requires)

So, I would just stick with a big name like Viking or Sandisk and you really cant go wrong.

Zab
I love this card. I keep my Canon Digital Elph S110 set on the highest resolution/highest quality and have never filled this card up on a weekend trip. One day I took 120+ pictures, it is so easy to delete the ones you don't want afterwards. With the holidays and longer trips coming up I am purchasing a second 128mb card to double my capacity, you can't beat this price.... I also have the Viking card reader to speed up downloading and save wear and tear on the camera. I am very pleased with it. It works just like an external hard drive... It was a good deal then andit is an even better value now. Go with it! The best thing is thatyou will have comfort in knowing that you have the capacity to takethe pictures when you need to (you'll not miss out on those preciousmoments that will never repeat themselves). END

Features

• Optimized for use in PDAs, MP3 players, or digital cameras
• Write speed guaranteed to exceed 1.2 MB per second (8X) with independent test results exceeding 2.25 MB per second (15X)
• High quality components guarantee steady performance, the utmost durability, and breadth of compatibility
• Individually tested to ensure each product works the first time, everytime
• Five year replacement warranty and 30-day money-back guarantee

Reviews (153)

More memory than I know what to do with.
I popped this into my Canon S100 and with the default resolution, got a reading of 1478 shots available! That's an incredible amt of space and for someone heading off on an extended trip, it should be quite a boon. I have been following CF costs on a dollar-per-meg basis for some time, and while the newest & largest cards have tended to carry a premium, this one does not. It is roughly fifty cents per meg, less than 1/4 of what it cost per meg only 18 months ago!

REBATE ...
Read the fine print on the REBATE. you MUST send the rebate within 15 day of purchase. so I would not recommend the free shipping that amazon has to offer. It may take too long for it to reach your place. Good Luck. I had this Compactflash for a year now and it works just fine. People complaint about speeds of the download, but what do they want when they tranfer hundreds of picture and video. Go get a drink of water in between tranfer. Its not really bad at all, and its cheap.

According to Viking's Rules...
In my informal comparison of the transfer rate of 256MB compact flash cards by Viking, SimpleTech, and Kingston, the Viking card came in a distant third. The Viking card took about 40% longer to transfer identical data. My card at least, did not meet the stated specified transfer rate.

So where speed of transfer is important, the Viking card may not be the best choice. For other less critical tasks, the Viking card has proven perfectly adequate.

Features

• Optimized for use in PDAs, MP3 players, or digital cameras
• Write speed guaranteed to exceed 1.2 MB per second (8X) with independent test results exceeding 2.25 MB per second (15X)
• High quality components guarantee steady performance, the utmost durability, and breadth of compatibility
• Individually tested to ensure each product works the first time, everytime
• Five year replacement warranty and 30-day money-back guarantee

Reviews (50)

Nothing better than a half-gig hard drive for your Pocket PC
It's probably a little early in the CF card's lifespan to write this review, but I'll focus on potential uses rather than reliability.

I basically bought the card for my HP Jornada 567 Pocket PC 2002. It already had 64 megs of memory, but I wanted more. I also already had a 256 MB card for my Nikon Coolpix 775, so this one was more for the handheld than anything else.

My HP can playback MP3's directly off the CF card without modification, and with drag-and-drop functionality from my notebook's hard drive, which is nice. That way I can store around a hundred songs for music on the go, which I typically listen to in the car, using a cassette adapter through the HP's headphone jack.

I also enjoy watching movies on the go, and with the downloadable Windows Media Encoder, I can reformat almost any movie file into .WMA format, and bring it with me. The card could conceivably store three full-length feature films at 192 x 144 resolution without much problem.

It's also great for carrying large text documents with you wherever you go...like, say, your novel, technical manuals, the Bible, as well as a couple dozen songs, and still have room for a movie or two...amazing! I don't know how I got around without this baby.

Another plus is that you will *never* run out of space while taking photos on vacation with your digital camera, even at the highest settings, unless you do field work for National Geographic.

So far, this card has changed my definition for personal entertainment and functionality. Viking makes pretty good hardware, too. Just watch out for any rebates they offer (there was no offer on *this* card, but be careful).

Now I'm just waiting for the Gigabyte card...

Problem with card or camera?
After reading some of these reviews, I thought I would add my two cents. I had some of the same problems with error corruption. I lost a few pictures after several weeks of use. I thought that it was due to the CF card. I actually got a quick response from Viking and after trying what they suggested (and failing to resolve the problem), they issued an RMA number and I had a new card within the week. Today, while perusing through some reviews of my camera (Canon Powershot s400), I read a review that suggested that the camera corrupts images with CF cards above 256MB. I don't know if this is true, but I don't have any other CF device to test this theory. So far, I have started using my card again, but I haven't reached above 256MB (the problem apparently occurs above 256MB of storage).

I hope it was only the CF card that I had and that the problem will not be an issue for the camera. As for the customer service, it was great for me, but I can speak for the service for Canadian customers as with the previous post.

Editorial Review

Features

• Reads and writes to: ATA Flash, CompactFlash, and SmartMedia
• Reads and writes at 1.5 MB per second (10X) allowing fast file transfer to and from your flash card
• Compatible with most Windows and Macintosh environments
• Computer recognizes the card reader as multiple additional drives on your computer; allowing the utmost in flexibility and convenience
• One year replacement warranty and 30-day money-back guarantee

Reviews (111)

More than what's advertised
I first bought (and have reviewed) the ScanDisk reader, with which I had too many drive conflicts and installation problems. The Viking unit is better thought out, and this is apparent from the moment you open the box and notice how it is neatly and carefully packaged. I installed the Viking software (30 seconds, no options), rebooted and plugged the drive into my USB port. It was recognized by the OS and the correct drivers were installed and, voila, I was in business! I seems to read a little faster than the ScanDisk drive, has better indicator lights for on/active & reading, and includes an adapter that allows you to use the CompactFlash card in your laptop without need of the larger drive. As a last little bonus, the drive can also read SmartMedia cards!

Satisfy your need for speed!
Assuming that spending the bucks on a memory reader isn't going to cause any heartburn, you won't be disappointed by the USB Flash Memory Reader.

Essentially, what you are buying is speed. The USB Flash Memory Reader is fast, fast, fast. I've experienced a screaming 25-50X improvement! Transferring jpeg images files from my Nikon CoolPix to my Windows laptop previously took many minutes via a serial cable connection. Comparable transfers now require just a few seconds.

The USB device is plug-and-play and pretty funky looking (think: iMac cool). The drivers for Windows and MacOS are available.

CAUTION: I'm told there are unique technical issues surrounding the Diamond Rio MP3 Player's proprietary audio files.

In summary, the USB Flash Memory Reader will satisfy your need for speed! (Well, at least, temporarily.)

Viking IntelliFlash USB Flash Memory Reader is excellent.
This device reads Smartmedia [which is what I use it for] Compact Flash and ATA Flash Cards.

One barely needs to look at the User's Guide - this USB device is so easy to set-up. On a Mac, the software install is very quick. Once complete, the next and last step is to plug the unit into a USB port on your CPU or to a powered USB hub. That's it!

Features

• Optimized for use in PDAs, MP3 players, or digital cameras
• Lightning fast read and write speeds allow you to get the best performance from your PDA, MP3 player, or digital camera
• High quality components guarantee steady performance, the utmost durability, and breadth of compatibility
• Individually tested to ensure each product works the first time, everytime
• Five year replacement warranty and 30-day money-back guarantee

Reviews (28)

Want to know how many pictures a smart media can hold?
Here is general guidline of about how many pictures a smart media card can hold. This list was made up using a 2.1 mega pixel camera at 1600x1200 resolution. (The Fuji Finepix 2300). So if you have a higher mega pixel camera the amount of pictures it can hold will decrease and you will be able to hold a few more pictures with a lower mega pixel model. But these numbers will give you a basic idea so you will know what capacity of smart media card is for you. (1600x1200 resolution) Example: Listed is the card capacity with the amount of photos it can hold in the camera's Fine (best mode), Normal, and Basic photo modes. (Fine,Normal,Basic)

8 MB (9,19,39) 16 MB (19,39,75) 32 MB (40,82,155) 64 MB (82,170,330) 128 MB (168,350,700)

*Most camera's normal mode takes pictures of good enough quality for most photos you will take, unless the camera is under 1.3 mega pixels.

*Many cameras come with a 8MB memory card. But that usually isn't enough memory for most people, here is what I would suggest purchasing:

My suggestions:

1-1.9 mega pixel camera - 8MB or 16 MB

2-2.9 mega pixel camera - 32 MB

3 mega pixels and up - 64 MB

Great Deal, Great Product
If I were you I would ignore any negative review about this SmartMedia card. The only negative review I've seen about this product came from someone who tried to stick this 32MB card in an old Digital Camera that only takes up to 16MB cards. A quick check on Kingston's or your camera manufacturer's website could clue you into this. After you know this capacity of card will work in your electronic device, buy this card. It is the best deal going and it comes with a nice little case (not some flimsy soft sleeve). I am pretty sure I will buy another.

Works great
I've ordered three of these things. They work great. Never had any problems. They come with a nice plastic case that is perfect for storing the cards in my camera bag.

Features

• Optimized for use in PDAs, MP3 players, or digital cameras
• Lightning fast read and write speeds allow you to get the best performance from your PDA, MP3 player, or digital camera
• High quality components guarantee steady performance, the utmost durability, and breadth of compatibility
• Individually tested to ensure each product works the first time, everytime
• Five year replacement warranty and 30-day money-back guarantee

Reviews (68)

Heavy EBAY auction lister gives "Two Thumbs Up" to this card
Between listing items at home and at a high-volume bookstore, we probably list about 300 items a week. And for that, I take sometimes 1,000s of pictures - each week! This card has been continually used for some two years now, working five days a week - with not a single problem.

Each of our images is under 350k for EBAY aauctions and I can save 292 high quality images at a time - and they always turn out well. I highly recommend this card. For our day-to-day jobs - we will only use this Viking card. It has never failed us. I use it at home. It's taken in and out of the camera many, many times, and it just keeps on working. It really is our workhorse.

BE AWARE
I went on vacation, made 81 photos with my 3020 Olympus camera and then when I wanted to transfer my photos, the card gave me a formating error. So now all my pictures are lost. Will not buy this product again!

Skeptical at first, but...a definite value!
I purchased my 64MB Viking SmartMedia card along w/my (2MP) Olympus D-510 Zoom digital camera. For the past year, I've used both products w/out problem. While I was initially skeptical of the Viking product (due to the comparably low price), I've been extremely satisfied. I've never lost pictures (or video) or had any trouble w/data transfer. It does its job. In fact, I'm so satisfied w/my experience that I've just ordered an additional 128MB Viking SmartMedia card (for additional storage on an upcoming photo-intensive vacation). While experiences w/different cameras may vary, I definitely recommend this product.

Features

• Optimized for use in PDAs, MP3 players, or digital cameras
• Lightning fast read and write speeds allow you to get the best performance from your PDA, MP3 player, or digital camera
• High quality components guarantee steady performance, the utmost durability, and breadth of compatibility
• Individually tested to ensure each product works the first time, everytime
• Five year replacement warranty and 30-day money-back guarantee

Reviews (67)

Great Value
Have owned 4 months. Bought 2 128MB cards. no problems for 3 months. camera stopped recognizing 1 of the cards, but Viking promptly replaced. Best customer service I,ve seen for a long time. rebate was extra slow to arrive, took about 3 months.

500 pics and still rolling!
I am using this in my Olympus 3000 and it works great. I read lots of hype about Smartmedia being very corruptable. So, to be on the safe side, I decided that I would just buy a 128MB card and leave it in the camera all the time. The corruption we read about probably comes from mishandling the smartmedia cards and sliding them in/out and/or getting fingerprints on them. They are very thin and look flimsy, handle with care!

The 128MB card holds 169 images at the HQ (High Quaility 3 MegaPixel setting) in the Olympus 3000/3030 and so far so good, but I am still waiting on that rebate check from Viking. :(

Also, there is a "hack" to enable the panaorama feature of the Olympus camera's... It has to do with formatting with "Olympus PAN" in the header :) ....

From research, I found that there are only two companies that produce smartmedia cards and that the only difference between the two is the country in which they are produced. The Viking media comes from Japan, which is supposedly better.