Which Canon P&S?

My loyal Canon S40 recently died.

 

I am seeking a replacement. Unfortunately, NO Canon P&S features RAW mode

anymore. . .so I have little clue what to get.

 

I am thinking Canon merely out of misplaced brand loyalty. I have a Canon

dSLR. Anything "important" will be taken with that camera.

 

But a dSLR will not fit in a pocket. Pocketability is the ONLY reason I am

buying a P&S camera.

 

I am drawn to the A630 and A640, because they have Aperture and Shutter

Priority controls. And they are reasonably small. Flip out screen seems really

cool. One is 10mp. The other 8mp. Are there any REAL reviews out there that

compare image quality? Which has less noise? Or do they both s*ck? Do all the

8MP+ cameras s*ck equally?

 

The Canon G7 has an appeal. . .but picking one up in the store reveals that

this camera cannot be safely handled single handed. This camera just seems to

come up short (What was Canon thinking?).

 

Is image quality of the G7 and A640 identical?

 

The S3 and S2 are out due to size.

_ _ _ _ _

 

I have eliminated the SD900 and other similar cameras because they lack any

manual controls. grrrr.

 

_ _ _ _ _ _

 

Should I be looking at other brands? (here we go. . .opening pandora's box)

Dpreview.com just reviewed the A710 IS and it performed quite well. I can understand your complaints regarding the G7, but keep in mind that you could throw one of your DSLR flash units onto it if you needed to (and if you have any of the said flash units.) Regardless of the individual model it seems like the current line of Canon P+S cameras can perform admirably even at ISO 400, an ability at which other manufactures are still having only limited success. The obvious exception to that is the Fuji F30, which is a camera you might also wish to consider due to its small size, manual controls, and low light abilities. Wow, that's a lot of commas in one sentence.

<<I am drawn to the A630 and A640, because they have Aperture and Shutter Priority controls. And they are reasonably small. Flip out screen seems really cool. One is 10mp. The other 8mp. Are there any REAL reviews out there that compare image quality? Which has less noise? Or do they both s*ck? Do all the 8MP+ cameras s*ck equally?>>

 

The A640 has less noise despite the higher pixel count. dcresource did a dual review of both of them. The rotating LCD is a fantastic tool (current Canon A80 owner).

 

I'd buy the A640 over the A630. Image quality is fine and with 10MP you can crop a little more.

Jim,

 

I carry a G7 as backup or in lieue of my 5D. It is a superb beast that produces great images even without RAW and a moveable LCD.

 

The camera has full manual with loads of features.

 

I have a load of photos taken with this camera, you can view them under Gallery/Presentations/Powershot G7.

 

Enjoy

Ah. . . thanks for that link. Very illuminating.

 

So. . .the A710 eh? From dpreview, I see that the physical sensor is smaller (1/2.5 vs 1/1.8). . and doesn't have the cool LCD. . but it has IS and longer zoom for the same price as the a640. Hmmmm.

 

I think the Fuji F30 does warrent a look. Not like I can use the common Canon software for image processing anymore. . . .

 

I think the only thing I have ruled out is the G7.

Ironically my S40 just died as well. I replaced with the A710is about two weeks ago. I borrowed an S80, a630, sd800, S3 and a710is for a weekend and put them throught there paces.

 

The S3 is too big to be pocketable so was eliminated. The sd800 was too small be comfortably held was gone as well.

 

Optically in decent light, all where very similar with very little to choose between them (The S80 was marginally better in my opinion but nothing you would really notice in a final print)

 

Image stabilization in a P&S makes a huge difference. The built in flash can be more as fill rather than a primary light source in AV mode. That eliminated the S80 and a630.

 

In my opinion the a710is offer the best balance of size, features including manual control. It is great little camera.

 

Now if there was a Canon P&S that had both RAW and image stabilization....

I recently got the SD800 IS. It's a pretty nice pocket camera. Has image stabilization. Does not have full manual controls, but it does have a manual mode in which you can set some of the controls. For it's size, I am really impressed.

 

My next choice was going to be finding a Canon G6, which shoots RAW, has a swivel screen, and can take an external flash. Some stores still have new ones, and of course there's always that auction place for slighty used ones.

Hi Jim, I am in the same boat was about to ask same Q. some of these cameras are reviewed with samples on `Steves Digicams`, I bought and paid for a G7 here in Oz now Canon can`t get them past customs and are saying mid jan07.

 

I liked the A640 but fell iffy with its build quality features similar to G6 but have not seen one if someone can enlighten on this point, will look into th 710is, my wife likes the S3IS, but it looks noisy compared to the others. I have an ol IXUS 2meg, but zooms are limited although they are shirt pocket rockets. The SD900ti, is very impressive if you are into movie mode. Hopefully get some more info like build Q & noise level. Thanks for asking the question, I`ll get my money back toomorrow and get something else

 

cheers.

Chris JB: From what I see, build quality of all these cameras are about the same, but the G7 is probably a cut above (at a price premium).

 

The swivel LCD of the A630 and A640 is probably a structural weak point. . . afterall, it ain't titanium and you could probably snap it off if you do something stupid like stepping on it. But in my case. . .dropping the camera into the ocean is **far** more likely, so swivel will not deter me.

 

Everyone else: Thank you for your feedback! I don't know which way I will go yet. . .but the A640 seems to be speaking to me.

<<The swivel LCD of the A630 and A640 is probably a structural weak point. . .>>

 

I can tell you from my experience, it's not. 3 years, 24,000 photos, and 3 major falls and the entire rotating LCD mechanism works perfectly. Of course, that's with the smaller LCD of the A80, but still, these things are not so fragile that you can't take them out and actually use them.

Jim, I notice the A640 has an optional water case, even has its own underwater mode so it will be quite at home in the ocean. heh heh