Canon PowerShot A630, 8.0 Megapixel, 4x Optical/4x Digital Zoom, Digital Camera

Comments about Canon PowerShot A630 Digital Camera:

I paid less than $200 here at B&H for this plastic 5-star beauty. Time is certainly on the side of bargain hunters - I had paid $500 for my aging S70 but the new A630 outshoots it, retaining most manual features except RAW, and having the fully articulating LCD finder which was the primary reason for my interest. I also own the Rebel XTI, but it can't get the awkward framing that's so easy with the A630.Q: Why not the A640? A: about $90 and doubts about the extra 2 million pixels on the same sized sensor. The A630 noise levels are quite good and far below the S70 at ISO 400, and the ISO 800 is still usable (not possible on the S70). ISO 80 & 100 are simply silky. I don't know what the A640 can do, but images from the A630 will be almost impossible to beat.The LCD itself is of the bland, lower res variety, but as a viewfinder it is large enough to do the job of framing. And, Oh! the angles you can get. Whatever you like. Enough said.The body is very sturdy plastic and has proven its durability several times already. (I'm rough on equipment.) It fits securely in my large sized hands, starts quickly, and does whatever a thoughtful user can want. Shutter lag is still there however. So use your SLR for action, and this for difficult angles.My advice, and again after using it for several hundred shots including a couple of competition winners against the likes of the Canon 5D and lessor models is that whatever, camera you currently use, if it lacks the articulating LCD VF, buy it now and get those impossible shots accurately framed.

Expertise: Busy amateur for many years.

Problems Encountered: Absolutely none.

Previous Equivalent Item Owned: Various SLRs, Canon S70, Fujifilm F401 and F40fd.

Items I Recommend: 58mm adaptor and wide angle converter work well.

Comments about Canon PowerShot A630 Digital Camera:

Have only had this Powershot 5 months & recently took it on a week long trip to Canada. Came back with over 200 pictures and can only say WOW!Battery life is excellent. Still using the same batteries from the trip.Picture quality is INCREDIBLE! Didn't matter if I was shooting at night with or without the flash, indoors in low light w/out flash or outdoors in daylight. Color saturation was right on majority of time and almost no noise in all speeds (never went past 800). Very little if any correction was needed in PhotoShop. Many of the still shots came out just as good or better than what I've taken with my Canon XT DSLR. Made a couple of 16 x 20 prints and was very impressed.I like being able to use the advanced shooting modes rather than leaving the camera in auto or program all of the time.Camera is a comfortable fit in the hand and controls are easy to use, especially if you have used other Canon cameras.I have shot almost exclusively with Canon film and digital 35 mm SLR cameras. My only regret is that I did not buy a Canon point & shoot digital camera first. This camera blows the other point & shoots I have owned out of the water!

Expertise: 23 years film, 5 years digital

Problems Encountered: Only concern is that the tripod socket is plastic. Since there are a few situations that I prefer to shoot with a tripod, will see how it holds up.

Previous Equivalent Item Owned: HP, Kodak, Fuji point & shoot digital cameras

Items I Recommend: Scandisk 2 G memory card & Canon PSC-60 Deluxe Soft Case

Comments about Canon PowerShot A630 Digital Camera:

I have two Canon 20D SLR digital camera's and needed something small for situations where the large slr isn't practical. With the flip out screen I can actually take pictures at angles I can't get with my 20d. While this camera is a little noisy in dark situations when compared to my 20d my 20d is also thousands or dollars more! Many pictures I can't tell the difference in my 20d and this camera. I'm very pleased with this camera.

Problems Encountered: Very little, no battery meter it just informs you when the battery is low.

Comments about Canon PowerShot A630 Digital Camera:

This is my upgrade from the A430. On opening the box myinitial thought was 'who wants all those settings? (... on apoint and shoot camera)' ... after a week, the answer isme!. As other reviewers have written, this is a greatdeal more than just a simple point and shoot machine.I love being able to over-ride the auto and do all the manualstuff, just like a real camera: going for minimum apertureto maximize depth of field. I love the 1/3 & 2/3 grid linesto get the horizon level: the A430 has these too. I amecstatic over the every-which-way screen for low level shotson a beach,leaning out over a river-bank and distortion free at arm'slength above my head.The print quality of an uncropped image on European A3 paper(USA equivalent is Super B) is excellent: cropping down to 75%would probably be acceptable too.

Problems Encountered: The upload button on the camera does not light when I pluginto the computer ... this could be a compatibility issuewith the A430 software which may not have been over-writtencorrectly.As a point-and-shoot camera on auto it is greatout-of-the-box: finding all the menus for the advanced modeslooses it one star on my ease-of-use rating.

Previous Equivalent Items Owned: Canon PowerShot A430

Items I Recommend: 58mm Adapter (LA-DC58F)

Comments about Canon PowerShot A630 Digital Camera:

My first digital camera purchase. I had used other cameras before and was not impressed. What I like most about this camera is that it feels like a camera. I don't feel like I'm trying to take a picture with a credit card.Took me about two days to learn how to navigate through the menus but now it's all good. I like being able to see the changes in settings in the LCD. I would say this camera is somewhere between a point and shoot and a pro camera.Loving it and cannot wait to take more pictures.

Problems Encountered: Very petty stuff: I would have wanted a full neck strap since it is a larger camera. The tripod mount is plastic which may cause problems later.

Previous Equivalent Items Owned: none though I have tried various sony and nikon

Items I Recommend: sd memory card.

Comments about Canon PowerShot A630 Digital Camera:

My first impression of the A630 was less than stellar. After a year plus squinting through the viewfinder of my Rebel XT, I was really looking forward to composing my shots in a big, beautiful LCD again. Unfortunately, the LCD on the A630 may be big, but it's not beautiful. It does a fine job helping you review what's already been captured and presenting menu options legibly, but a mediocre job of rendering what's coming through the lens. The color is inaccurate and interference frequently appeared on the screen when half-clicking to freeze the focus. It still beats a viewfinder for composing an image but, frankly, I'd rather have the smaller LCD on my daughter's A620. Ultimately, though, picture quality is everything to me, and here the A630 excels. I took 60+ pictures on a recent trip to Door County, WI and not one of them was a clunker, including several taken in very tricky lighting situations. Shooting modes worked as advertised although, with good lighting, the auto mode produced identical results. Indoors, flash pictures were perfectly exposed and the flash had a surprisingly good range. On average, and I know this is heresy, the A630 took better pictures than my Rebel XT, and I didn't feel the need to Photoshop a single one of them. If I cared more about the LCD, I would have given this camera a lower rating, but a lower rating would not have done justice to the quality of the images this camera produces.

Previous Equivalent Items Owned: Canon A620

Items I Recommend: AC Adapter

Comments about Canon PowerShot A630 Digital Camera:

This camera produces exceptional results under a wide range of lighting conditions. With easy to use intuitive controls, this camera should be a hit with anyone.Another plus is the large (2.5) adjustable display.Canon has certainly hit a home run with this one!!!

Problems Encountered: None

Previous Equivalent Items Owned: Canon EOS 3 / Canon SD500

Items I Recommend: 1GB Media Card / (4) Lithium batteries / Carrying case