Canon Powershot A710 IS, Powershot A640 and Powershot A630 Digital Cameras Announced

[Ben Stafford]

Canon has added three new cameras to their Powershot "A" line of digital cameras, named for their use of AA batteries.  The Canon Powershot A710 IS features image stabilization and more resolution than it's younger sibling, the A700.  To replace the A620 and A610 models, that have flip-out, rotating LCDs, Canon has introduced the Canon Powershot A640 and A630.  These cameras will be in stores in October.  The A710 IS and A640 will retail for $399, while the A630 will retail at $299.

Canon Powershot A710 IS

The A710 IS is the first A-series cameras to include image stabilization.  It's very similar to the A700 with same 2.5 inch LCD and 6x optical zoom, but increases the resolution to 7.1 megapixels and adds the IS.

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Canon Powershot A710 IS Features

• 7.1 megapixels
• 2.5 inch LCD
• 6x optical zoom with image stabilization
• Safety zoom - digital zoom with losing image quality
• Digital Tele-converter - emulates having a tele-converter attached to the camera
• Exposure modes: auto, program auto, shutter priority, aperture priority, full manual, and complement of scene modes
• 9 point AiAF autofocus system
• capture 640x480 (VGA) movies at 3 fps up to 36 minutes long with 4GB SDHC media
• MyColors features can now be applied after capturing, where previously they were applied at the catpure time

Canon Powershot A640

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Canon Powershot A640 Features

• 10 megapixels
• 2.5 inch LCD
• 4x optical zoom
• Safety zoom - digital zoom with losing image quality
• Digital Tele-converter - emulates having a tele-converter attached to the camera
• Exposure modes: auto, program auto, shutter priority, aperture priority, full manual, and complement of scene modes
• 9 point AiAF autofocus system
• capture 640x480 (VGA) movies at 3 fps up to 36 minutes long with 4GB SDHC media
• MyColors features can now be applied after capturing, where previously they were applied at the catpure time

Canon Powershot A630

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Canon Powershot A630 Features

• 8 megapixels
• 2.5 inch LCD
• 4x optical zoom
• Safety zoom - digital zoom with losing image quality
• Digital Tele-converter - emulates having a tele-converter attached to the camera
• Exposure modes: auto, program auto, shutter priority, aperture priority, full manual, and complement of scene modes
• 9 point AiAF autofocus system
• capture 640x480 (VGA) movies at 3 fps up to 36 minutes long with 4GB SDHC media
• MyColors features can now be applied after capturing, where previously they were applied at the catpure time

More info: full press release

[bTaryag]

Wow, the new A6xx modesl look great. What I like about them, over my A620:

1 - Safe digital zoom, to ensure that I won't get unclear pictures when zooming digitally. (I assume this works by setting the max amount of digital zoom in accordance with the picture resolution. I.e., the less MP you use, the more digital zoom you can use).
2 - Longer video times (not limited to 1 gig)
3 - Bigger LCD screen
4 - Higher ISO for better pictures in dark settings, (and without having to use the flash, and reducing blur).

The question is, are there any downsides to these two models as opposed to the A620.....

Does anyone want to buy my A620?...... When I can get the A630 or A640, buy A620 will merrily make it's way to ebay....

[Ben Stafford]

I don't really see any downside, as long as the greater resolution sensors perform well. The larger LCD is a HUGE improvement, in my opinion.