Product Reviews (12)
A Superb Camera!
Strengths: Superb picture quality, swivel lcd screen, almost every function you could ask for. Low image noise and still plenty of details in the pictures.
Weakness: Lack of I.S. (image stabilisation). Maybe a bit pricy.
I bought this camera 2 days ago and sold my old PowerShot a620 to a friend. Compared to the a620 this camera has made small improvements in many areas.
Feels sturdier and more solid then the a620. The memorycard is under the battery-cover now - the cover also feels more solid.
This camera really shines when it comes to picture quality. Colors are nice and saturated and pictures are tack sharp and well exposed. Images noise is low (much lower than Samsung NV 10) and still there's no smudging or loss of details due to over-aggressive noise suppression (like the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX2 or Casio Ex-Z1000).
Images feels tack sharp. The a620's images could be somewhat soft to my eyes at times. Now you also got the possibility to alter the sharpness directly in 5 steps, this goes for the contrast and saturation as well - good!
This would be the perfect camera for me if they incoperated IS. For now I think many costumers will buy the a710is instead - 6X zoom and IS for a few buck less - that's quite a bargain! On the other hand you loose the extra MPs in resolution and above all, the swivel LCD screen - a must for me...
Bottom Line: The best compact 10MP. camera out there by far! I just wish the next model comes with I.S.
By onkelthomp - Sep 29, 2006
The best I have used so far
Strengths: 10M pixels; Twistable 2.5" LCD; First class quality pictures.
Weakness: Maybe the absence of Image Stabilization (does not bother me).
My former camera was Nikon Coolpix 4500; my daughter uses canon PS S2 IS; my son uses Olympus E-330, so I am a bit familiar with Canon and beyond. I am not really a professional, and have some experience working with PhotoShop and Aperture. I have just purchased the A640, and the first impression is fantastic, in full accord with previous reports here and elsewhere. Easy to use, law noise, and an astonishing blend of vivid colors. The price is quite reasonable given its amazing 10M pixel. The latter feature is crucial, in particular if one wants to keep the A3 (and unbelievable even A2, just in case) printing option, and for this, I was ready to give up the maybe better zooming of (say) A710. The pictures are of first class quality, vivid and sharp. Contrary to some claims, even the law light pictures are quite impressive. In summary, I love my Canon PowerShot A640. Highly recommended.
By ProfAD - Oct 4, 2006
Basically an A610 with twice the MP and 8x the storage
Strengths: ...it's an A610 with twice the MP :) and a few more features, a cleaner ISO400, PC control, SDHD.
Weakness: The 10MP with 3x zoom is a poor mans' substitute for a real 6x zoom 5MP camera. Will tolerate mild cropping at best.
I own an A610 (which I love) and I got my hands on an A640 today. It's the same camera just with more pixels. Images look almost exactly the same ignoring the digital magnification, ISO400 is a little cleaner on the A640, but it is definitely slower than the A610. 1-100s vs 1-125s at ISO100, for example. This will get worse as you decrease EV or increase ISO. Of course you get a major magnification benefit from the A640 (plus the ability to shoot from a PC, and ISO800, and SDHD)...but other than that I really couldn't see any difference, even at 100%. It doesn't have the same exposure problem as the A620, the exposure was fine, with the noise grain more obvious of course because of the increased resolution. The files were 75% bigger at the same image-quality setting and it was black instead of silver. The motor whine was the same, but I had to open the battery door to get the SD card out (and that is a pain as it is much harder to open the battery door than the dedicated card door on the A610/A620). If you are a casual shooter I don't see much reason to get it and not the A630. With the A630 you get SDHD and ISO800 too, and the A620 is cheaper and the images are about the same size. The A-series Canons are really made for landscape shooting, they can put a lot of pixels on a subject and they will give great landscape shots, but you would not want to use it as a substitute for a long zoom on a camera with only 5MP, say. I'll post some high-zoom crops...you'll get the picture.
I rated it as "very good-would purchase again" only because it's not actually mine...I purposely avoided buying this camera, I bought an A610 off eBay and then an A620 from (an Internet store which shall go nameless), for under $400 total. Why? So I could have a backup for my A610, which I got for $185 on eBay 6 months ago, but with approximately the same image size as the A640, without paying too much of a price in terms of shooting speed. The A610 is that good at what it does well, and what it doesn't do well, I don't really need to do. I suspect that if you take a lot of landscape shots and if you don't mind shooting from a rest when it gets dark, the A610 will do just fine for you. I really have no idea if the extra MP of the A640 has any benefit in a print, I don't have access to a printer capable of anything larger than 8x10 (and if I did, I wouldn't print anything larger, anyway) and I doubt that I could see a difference at that size. On screen, at 100%, the size difference is obvious, but at full-screen they are they same camera, with less noise at ISO400 for the A640. To me this camera really only makes sense if you are going to print very large prints, you have a 10MP display (like, a 2x2 array of 1600x1200 monitors...another reason to buy the A630 instead), or you intend to control it by computer. Or, if someone gave it to me :) But I am going to return my A620 as I am not happy with the images coming off of it...they are ok...but the exposure is not all that great. The A640 seems to work better (maybe that is why the A620 that I bought was refurbed). If you want to see test shots, go look at my A610 review. I put up a *LOT* of test shots there.
By touristguy87 - May 22, 2007
Good, but not great camera.
Strengths: Swivel LCD screen, good picture.
Weakness: I expected at least more sharpness.
As a long time Canon user I had high expectations on this camera. I needed to replace my Canon PowerShot S50 that went kaput after about 3 years of careful use. I was upset at Canon because I expected a longer life for my S50 -after all I paid more than $600 for it brand new- and I took great care of it. Canon costumer service is a joke, they couldn't care less for you and your camera, so I decided not to buy another Canon product. Unfortunately after much looking around I could not find another camera that met the requirements I wanted. I read dozens of reviews and looked at hundreds of samples of pictures taken by other manufacturer's cameras and I decided to give Canon a second chance. Well I can tell you frankly that I am not impressed at all with this camera. I consider myself an advanced amateur photographer with over 30 years of taking pictures of all kinds. I did a very careful comparison of the pictures taken with my old S50 with the pictures that I've been taking with my new A640 and I can tell you that I am honestly inclined to say without hesitation that my old S50 produced overall better, sharper, with more color accuracy, and balanced lighting.
If you think you're going to get better, sharper pictures because of the 10 megapixels sensor, I can assure you that you won't. You will get bigger pictures in size, very big indeed, but not sharper. So this is my humble opinion. The Canon PowerShot A640 is still a good camera, just don't think more megapixels means sharper pictures.
By Sherkan1 - Nov 24, 2006
BRILLIANT
Strengths: EXCELLENT
Weakness: NONE THAT I CAN THINK OFF
THIS IS A FABULOUS LITTLE DIGITAL CAMERA WITH A MASSIVE 10 MEGAPIXELLS
IT IS SO SIMPLE TO USE IN BOTH AUTO AND MANUAL MODES, AND THE 10 MEGA QUALITY
IS SIMPLY FANTASTIC, IT HAS A BRILLIANT ARRAY OF FEATURES AND IT HAS NEVER CEASED TO AMAZE
ME SINCE I PURCHASED IT RECENTLY.........OH!!!! AND THE VIDEO QUALITY IS OF A VERY HIGH STANDARD
GET RID OF ALL THOSE OLD FASHIONED 5-6 MEGA CAMERAS, DO YOURSELF A FAVOUR, AND GET THIS
LITTLE BEAUTY, THIS CAMERA IS SECOND ONLY TO MY DIGITAL SLR, WELL DONE CANON.
ALLAN.
By 1VOYAGER1 - Sep 28, 2006
Canon PowerShot A640
Testseek.com has collected 36 expert reviews for Canon PowerShot A640 and the average expert rating is 79 of 100. The average score reflects the expert community’s view on this product. Click below and use Testseek.com to see all ratings, product awards and conclusions.
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By testseek.com - Feb 9, 2009
Canon Powershot A640
Canon Powershot A640 receives an overall TopTenREVIEWS score of 2.91 out of 4.00. It is ranked the #72 standard digital camera of all time. The overall rating represents an intelligent balance of features, value as a function of price to features, and a summary of reviews from a variety of sources. The TopTen REVIEWS' formula gives a picture of important consumer features, market value, and a...
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By TopTenREVIEWS.com - Jul 16, 2008
Canon PowerShot A640
The Canon PowerShot A640 is an excellent digital compact camera that can be used by beginners, but which will also give them the opportunity to learn and maybe take the next step to a digital reflex camera. A great camera, really excellent!
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By letsgodigital.org - Mar 20, 2007
Canon PowerShot A640
Canon PowerShots have always been reader favorites, valued for their user-friendly design, excellent photo characteristics, and good build quality. The Canon PowerShot A640 combines all the best of the A-series, with an impressive 10 megapixel CCD, a very good quality 4x optical zoom lens, and a big articulated LCD. The Canon A640 offers everything from full automatic to full manual exposure...
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By Imaging Resource - Nov 15, 2006
Camera Labs – Canon PowerShot A640 review
What really separates the A640 from most compacts is its degree of manual and creative control. It gives you full access to the aperture and shutter, along with quick and easy adjustments of all settings including a broad range of flash options. The lens is also slightly longer than average 3x zooms and the 1cm macro facility is remarkable. The increase to 10 megapixels genuinely records more...
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By cameralabs.com - Nov 9, 2006
DCRP Review: Canon PowerShot A630/A640
The Canon PowerShot A630 and A640 are two very capable digital cameras that are suitable to beginners and advanced users alike. They offer far more than most cameras in this price range, which is why they earn my enthusiastic recommendation. I would recommend the A630 for most people, as it performs as well as the A640 in most situations, and it costs $100 less. The only reason to get the A640...
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By DCResource - Oct 24, 2006
Canon PowerShot A640 Digital Camera Review
The Canon PowerShot A640 was introduced this fall as a 10-megapixel prospect for the holiday season. It replaces the 7.1-megapixel Canon A620 and is the first A-series camera to include a whopping 10 megapixels. The PowerShot A640 has a Digic II image processor, a 4x optical zoom lens, and 21 shooting modes with a range of manual and automatic modes. The A640 also has a 2.5-inch LCD screen that...
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By Digitalcamerainfo.com - Nov 30, -0001