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Pros
- Big, bright articulating 2.5-inch LCD.
- Easy-to-use manual controls.
- Direct-vision viewfinder.
- 4X optical zoom.
- Lots of manual controls.
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Cons
- A little pricey for a compact.
- Video could be smoother.
- Slightly bulky.
Canon PowerShot A630 Specs
| 35-mm Equivalent (Telephoto): | 140 mm |
| 35-mm Equivalent (Wide): | 35 mm |
| Battery Type Supported: | AA |
| Boot time: | 2.5 seconds |
| LCD size: | 2.5 inches |
| Media Format: | Secure Digital |
| Megapixels: | 8 MP |
| Recycle time: | 2.4 seconds |
| Type: | Compact |
This slightly pricey, 8-megapixel compact isn't super-trim and sexy, but it works very well in lots of situations. The PowerShot A630 packs an amazing array of useful features and is incredibly simple to operate. Despite the cost, there is plenty to love.
Two features make the Canon PowerShot A630 particularly easy to use and like: an articulating LCD and a glass viewfinder. Neither affects picture quality directly, but they have a lot to do with how you capture your pictures. And they are pretty rare finds in a compact camera.
For those who don't know, an articulating LCD is one that can be pulled out from the camera and swiveled and tilted in various directions. Often found on camcorders, this type of LCD can also rotate so that it faces in the same direction that your camera lens is pointing—invaluable for taking self-portraits or keeping toddlers entertained for hours.
A glass viewfinder, or more accurately put, a direct-vision viewfinder, does not give you WYSIWYG viewing, but it nevertheless gives you a general idea of what you're photographing. That's because it's not in the exact same place as the lens, so when you're shooting very close-up pictures, what you see through the viewfinder is different from what you're capturing—an effect called parallax error.
These two features come in handy on bright sunny outings or on days with a lot of glare-producing snow all around you. Under those conditions, even the brightest LCDs appear washed out. But with an articulating LCD, you can angle the PowerShot's 2.5-inch LCD for better viewing. Or simply look through the glass viewfinder, which always displays your subject no matter how bright your scene may be.
There are many other reasons for which I like this camera. It comes with a 4X optical zoom lens with a 7.3mm-to-29.2mm range, which is equivalent to a 35mm lens with a 35mm-140mm zoom. It has corresponding maximum f-stops of f/2.8 to f/4.1. I also love the well-labeled manual control dials, which let you quickly access the settings you need and keep you from getting lost in the camera's menus. This makes it easy to switch modes, say, from full auto to shutter priority, aperture priority to full manual, or among other scene or specialty modes.
In addition, I was quite impressed with the A630's macro function, which lets you shoot subjects up close and, in effect, create images that are almost larger than life. (Macro photography is anything that is shot at a 1:1 ratio or greater magnification.) In my informal tests, I found the camera's macro or close-up functions worked very well. All you eBay shooters, listen up: The combination of the PowerShot's articulating LCD (which makes it easy to use on a light stand) and worthy macro feature makes it an inexpensive alternative to more expensive D-SLR setups. And you get lots of control over manual functions, the way you would with an SLR camera.
Performance was pleasing too. During lab testing, bootup took just 2.5 seconds, which was very good. The camera also had a respectable 2.4-second recycle time, and I found hardly any shutter lag. I noticed, as I have with many recent Canon cameras, that the A630 has a great burst mode as well. You can snap scores of shots, and the images keep getting captured. The camera is powered by four double-A batteries, a type that can be purchased virtually anywhere.
Despite these many wonderful qualities, the PowerShot A630 isn't quite perfect. Some might be put off by the camera's slightly bulky size. Video quality was merely okay. Outdoor exposures were generally okay, but fast-motion clips images were a bit jerky. Indoors there was quite a bit of video noise. Sound quality was just so-so too, and tended to be trebly. Although the A630 captures VGA clips at 30 frames per second to the capacity of the card, it could use some image stabilization to make footage less jumpy.
In my daylight test shots, I noticed some noise, and more was evident in my flash image. Both shots had excellent color, were quite sharp, and displayed very little fringing. I saw a bit more of this fringing in my real-world shot of tree branches against the bright sky, but it wasn't terrible. In my flash test shot, the coverage was pretty good and evenly illuminated. There was good detail in the highlights, but it was just a tad underexposed. Because of the nicely designed physical controls, however, you can adjust the level of the flash quickly and easily.
In my resolution test, the A630 averaged 1,850 lines, which is very good for an 8MP camera. I found no pincushion distortion at the telephoto end of the zoom range and just the usual bit of barrel distortion at the wide-angle end.
Put simply, the Canon PowerShot A630 is a balanced, well-featured compact digital camera. It may not be the cheapest on the market, but it's well worth the investment. Because of its great versatility and dependability, it's my newest EC for a compact digital camera.
Benchmark Test Results
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