what I have is the canon powershot A 410, which is an upgrade to the A400.I bought this for 8k, and 1.2k for a 256 mb memory card as the camera has only a 16mb card bundled along with it.Picture quality is decent for a camera of this budget.This one uses two AA batteries, and I consider this as a good as built in- rechargeable batteries as on sony cams tend to drain out always at the wrong time when u r outdoors(I ve gone thru such situations many time with my friends sony cam).The pixel rating is 3.2MP, 3.2x optical zoom, has 1.5" LCD display.User manual is presented in a neat and uncluttered manner and the controls are easy to use.The battery life is also good, and connecting the cam with ur PC is a breeze.Canon cams have a two year warranty and the customer support is dependable(according to some of my friends) which are the reasons ive gone for this one.
The gripes I have with this cam are small LCD, movie clips do not record sound, flash is not very bright..........but no one cares as these are features one cannot expect from a camera at the budget end of the market.