thoughts on Canon A630 (8 MP) Vs A710 (7 MP)

"Paul Rubin" wrote in message
...
"SimonLW" writes:
I have the the A540 and A610. The A710 uses a similar sized (read tiny)
sensor as the A540. I find it to be noisy for my needs so I'm giving it
away
as a gift this Xmas. The A610/620, A630/640 is on a whole other level in
image quality.

Hmm, is the 710 noisier than the 540? I sometimes think of getting a
710 because of its IS, though it has too many pixels for my
preferences. I now have a 530 (fairly similar to 540) and its noise
levels are tolerable for the way I use it.

I can't say it is more noisy, but should be at least as noisy. In auto ISO
normal indoor shoots have noise in the mid to darker areas. The A610 looks
so much cleaner. If you can audition the camera in the store and take the
card home to view, you can get a good idea. That what I should have done.
-S

SimonLW wrote:
"Paul Rubin" wrote in message
...
"SimonLW" writes:
I have the the A540 and A610. The A710 uses a similar sized (read tiny)
sensor as the A540. I find it to be noisy for my needs so I'm giving it
away
as a gift this Xmas. The A610/620, A630/640 is on a whole other level in
image quality.
Hmm, is the 710 noisier than the 540? I sometimes think of getting a
710 because of its IS, though it has too many pixels for my
preferences. I now have a 530 (fairly similar to 540) and its noise
levels are tolerable for the way I use it.

I can't say it is more noisy, but should be at least as noisy. In auto ISO
normal indoor shoots have noise in the mid to darker areas. The A610 looks
so much cleaner. If you can audition the camera in the store and take the
card home to view, you can get a good idea. That what I should have done.
-S


I think bringing your own card in is a good idea. You could shoot
different canons models using the same card (I believe all the later A
models use sd cards.) By the by, I got 650 shots in an A95 (4 cells)
using never charged (by me) eneloop. I suspect the later models have
less drain than my camera. Although I like 600+ shots, I could settle
for half that if a model only used 2 cells, but based on my A95 I think
I would settle for the A630/640. I also suspect by the time I'm ready to
get another model there'll be 6x zoom version of these with IS.
Dave Cohen

ab sell:
any thoughts - the only difference between A630 (8 MP) Vs A710 (7 MP)
is:

4 vs 2 batteries
8 MP vs 7 MP

I've just bought a 710 IS. The results are fine compared to my 6 yr old Oly
4040 but the LCD is ABSOLUTELY ****E! No camera, even very cheap ones should
have displays this bad. It's not that the pixel count is low, that's a red
herring but its brightness varies far too much over relatively small angles.
My SE phone has a better LCD than this model! You cannot change the display
brightness either with the A710 IS. Manufacturers would be better off
fitting smaller displays of better quality than cutting corners.

Otherwise, it's a good camera. Not many have such a wide zoom range in such
a small camera. Do I regret buying it? No - I knew all this before
purchase - I preferred it it to the 4xAA A630 (the articulating display
panel didn't want to click securely back in position which didn't impress me
although the quality is better) .

The IS works well & the noise even at 800 ISO ain't that bad at all. As for
the bundled software package - the less said about that the better but the
A630 has that in common I suspect. I've just uninstalled all the Canon
bloatware & just use what's already in WinXP. Good luck with your decision.
As an aside, I looked at the Fuji Z30 'cos it has legendary low noise at
high ISOs - its was just too small.

I have a 640, and the battery life is very good. And I'm generally
very happy with the camera and its results.

Thanks again. How about the PSremote software capability. I believe
A630 does not have this...

wrote:
I have a 640, and the battery life is very good. And I'm generally
very happy with the camera and its results.

On 22 Dec 2006 05:43:32 -0800, ab sell wrote:

wrote:
I have a 640, and the battery life is very good. And I'm generally
very happy with the camera and its results.

Thanks again. How about the PSremote software capability. I believe
A630 does not have this...

I'm surprised that you're aware of this software capability, and
it doesn't square with your original question that indicated an
almost extreme ignorance of the features of Canon's P&S cameras.

I found out about this feature from a buddy just yesterday.

The problem is Canon has so many models and series that it is hard to
judge which one is better...all your answers have been very helpful. I
think I might go in for A630..




ASAAR wrote:
On 22 Dec 2006 05:43:32 -0800, ab sell wrote:

wrote:
I have a 640, and the battery life is very good. And I'm generally
very happy with the camera and its results.

Thanks again. How about the PSremote software capability. I believe
A630 does not have this...

I'm surprised that you're aware of this software capability, and
it doesn't square with your original question that indicated an
almost extreme ignorance of the features of Canon's P&S cameras.

On 22 Dec 2006 13:27:12 -0800, ab sell wrote:

I found out about this feature from a buddy just yesterday.

The problem is Canon has so many models and series that it is hard to
judge which one is better...all your answers have been very helpful. I
think I might go in for A630..

Then I'll add some other differences between the A630 and the
A640, some or most of which you may be aware of. The more costly
A640 should be the model that uses PSremote software, has a higher
resolution sensor, and most importantly (for some) its body is not
silver but black.