mr._smith

Chrysta,

Here a re some pics from a Powershot A610, a generation removed from the A630.

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1010&message=20212360

My wife has an SD600 and it's great. With IS, the SD700 should be even better.

As for the A640, I would'nt touch that with a ten foot pole. Smaller pixels on same size sensor as the previous 8mp means more agressive noise reduction with the ensuing loss of detail. You can't fight the laws of physics.

Plus there's no real gain going from 8mp to 10mp on the same size sensor except plus larger file size and longer card write time.

As for the new Digic III processor, golly jeez whiz, it's got "Face Recongnition". Now your camera will be able to differentiate a person's face from his b... Plus this processor was needed to cope with the noisier 1/1.8" 10mp sensor.

And why 10mp in a digicam? Because this year the entry level dlsr will have 10mp but on a photo sensor 10 times as large as the 1/1.8" sensor found and on A640 and G7.

But the average consumer does'nt know this and will think that both camera having 10mp their IQ will be the same.

Here a review for the Panasonic LX2. Same camera as t he Leica counterpart.

http://dcresource.com/reviews/panasonic/dmc_lx2-review/index.shtml

Basically, this camera and all the other 10mp digicam with small sensors need agressive noise reduction which kind of muck up details.

You won't see it in a 4"x6" print but even a 6mp is overkill for those print sizes.

Jeff,

To quote Yogi B., it's deja vu all over again!

Why a F4.0 lens, no viewfinder, no hotshoe, no flip out finder? To me, if looks like the same crippling of camera features that japanese mfg's have been practising lately.

Why, I don't really know. My guess is that there mfg's have a fixation that somehow a good p&s might impact their sales volumes. But I hear more and more dslr owners wanting a full feature carry anywhere p&s.

"I also have zero patience with Foveon's blatently misleading MP calculations--even if the technology was decent I still wouldn't buy something from someone trying to pull the wool over my eyes like that."

I could'nt care less about anybody's calculation as per the above. Just show me the results, that's all I care about.

As for the misleading label, give it a rest and wait for the tests. Then you'll know if you were right or not.

Here's the successor to the E-1 Olympus camera.

http://www.photokina-show.com/0406/olympus/digitalslrcamera/olympusesystem/

Steve,

Sorry to be so blunt, but if your earning a living with photography, best would be not to fight it but move to another camera mfg.

You've had two warnings already at weddings. Don't wait till you get into trouble and blow your reputation.

Canon G7 samples pictures.

The picture of the cellist is interesting. Very interesting as it shows what's

hapenning with 10mp and Digic III processing.

http://tinyurl.com/hchzn

"Drats! Canon missed a great opportunity."

The G7 has the very same lens as the A700 and A710IS. What a step down.

10mp: It doesn't add any details over an 8mp sensor.

Digic III? Needed to deal with the higher noise of smaller pixel size on the 1/1.8" sensor.

Face recognition? A new mode for the blind?

Multi-modes: Why not an Ansel Adams mode? Why not a All, G, NR, PG, PG-13, R mode?

The G7 is being touted as a high digital camera at www.powershot.com

and yet Canon removed those very features that made the G6 a high end digicam.

Canon is playing hide and seek with the features on its camera models. That will only confuse potential buyers who may themselves start to play hide and seek with Canon.

"I drop the fact into conversations with arty types who are duly impressed."

A gearhead no less. I should have known. That explains the fantasy about Franz Lanting's camera model.

The removal of several features from the G6 has pretty much killed it for a lot of people.

The G6 used to have a great lens. The G7 now has the same lens as the A710IS.

Why bother with the G7 when the A710IS can be had for a better price. And as the reviewer of Dpreview once remarked, going to 10mp doesnt add much in terms of details.

In the mean time, I seriously think you should read this:

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/columns/Of-Cameras_and_Art.shtml

"It matters because if all the big men are using nikon D2X cameras, then that's what we have to get if we want to be just as good as them, obviously."

Get yourself a Holga and learn what photography is about!

There you go:

http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d200/users-guide/index.htm

"Does it mean the panasonic lx2 is better than the Canon a640?"

It simply means that for this particular shot, a stationnary subject without flash, I would much prefer use the LX2.

Here's a test conducted by a french site called Les Numeriques.com

For this test image, the 10mp Canon A640 needed ISO 800 for a well exposed

ambient light scene.

Same image taken with a 10mp Panasonic DMC-LX2. Because it has image

stabilization, only iso 200 was needed for this ambient light shot resulting in

a near noiseless image.

Canon chose to equip the A710IS with image stabilisation but not the A60 nor the

A630. My guess is that the A710 with IS would have given result comparable to

the LX2.

http://tinyurl.com/m2vmq

"I suggest to not worry about it, I trust, the manufacturers know what they're doing"

"I think the brainwashing was self-induced...with a little push from ads."

"He said because it was a much better camera with a better lens"

Both cameras are the same, except for added features of the A630. BTW, they both have the same lens.

Of course he was looking out for you, unloading and older camera model never, ever crossed his mind!

"Thanks for the link to your B&W pics."

They're Mitch Alland's photos, not mine.

This year, the entry level DSLR will have 10mp so marketing thinks that we need the same number of pixels in digicam otherwise these cameras will appear as being of lesser value.

Pixel counting still rules. The more I think about it, the more I see how screwed up marketing is.

"The elimination of RAW, while predictable, is still disappointing."

Too bad. They did it to the Powershot S80 and now the G7. Only reason is to protect there entry level dslr. And I'm starting to question this. I'm sure a lot of dslr owners, not just Canon's, would have bought the G7 if it had RAW.

The G7 with RAW, flip up LCD and an optical viewfinder with 95% coverage would have been a formidable camera.

Like you say, the difference with the A630/A640 is fuzzy and I'm sure people will go with these cameras instead of the G7.

Rob,

If you're referring to the Swedish mini review of the A630 and A640, I prefer the pics from the A630. But maybe the new Digic III processor will make up for the difference. I don't know.

A message top Canon marketing Dept: I'm not going to buy any of your dslrs. But I have some reservations about buying a digicam like the G7 because its missing important features like RAW. And I don't care about the pixel count. So now, I'm waiting to see what the competition has to offer.

This is one camera I've been waiting for, but it's missing two things: it's doesnt have RAW and the LCD seems to be fixed.

10mp pixels on a 1/1.8" Type CCD? Not sure about that one. How small can the pixel be without noise appearing at or above iso100? Maybe the new Digic III processor will do the job adequatetly.

All in all, a very promising camera. But I'm waiting for the review before commiting. I would have preferred 8mp and RAW but Canon's marketing dept. has the shakes just thinking about those lost dslr sales.

Just hoping the new Digic III processor will compensate for the smaller pixel size. Will see.