Canon PowerShot SD630 6MP Digital Elph Camera Review

I have been playing with the camera for a couple hours now and I love it. The first thing that lured me to this camera was the 3 inch LCD screen and Canon brand name.

Let me tell you, the screen is big and beautiful! The screen is detailed and makes viewing and taking pictures so much more enjoyable.

You should'nt be too worried about scratching the screen eaither, it is somewhat durable.I tapped/hit and ran my fingernails across the screen which caused no noticable permanent damage. This was however, done on a display camera at a store. My camera does have a very superficial scratch on the screen but when the camera is on, you cant even see it.

The problem with the screen however is that it does take up a lot of space and leaves no room for an optical viewfinder. So if you are big on the viewfinder and must have one, this camera is not for you.

The large screen also leaves little room for buttons. The navigation buttons are very small and cramped. So if you have big hands, such as myself, its gonna be an issue. Although I havent had any problems accidentally pressing the wrong button, my hand gets cramped fairly quickly with continuous use.

However, there are very fantastic and easy ways to easily and quickly navigate through your pictures. You can eaither use the circular button, which acts like an ipod click wheel, and just run your fingers around it to start searching, or click the zoom out button once to bring up 9 pics at once, and move from there. It is very helpful when you have a ton of pics but want to get to one very quickly.

The Canons Elph's series are ultra compact and this one is no exception. You can eaisly fit it into your pocket and carry it around. However, it is noticable heavier than other ultra compact cameras around.

The picture quality is also very great. There are many presets to use and the manual controls are great for novices or average photographers. However, getting to them can be a pain. You have to go through a bunch of menus to change the settings. Also, some of the special features, such as color swap or accents, make pics more prone to blurryness.

Taking pictures can be done very quickly, even with the flash on. On normal settings, it takes about a second between pictures. However, when using the special featuers, there is noticable lag between shots.

The pictures are also VERY detailed. As you can see in the submissions, there are tons of detail in each pic. Macro pics will surprise you on how well it captures pictures and you will be astounded by inifinity (landscape) shots. Even with the optical zoom on, there is no distortion that I could notice.

There are just two main gripes I have with the camera.

First of all, there is no image stabalization. This feature has become standatd on many other digital cameras, which also cost considerably less. For a $400 camera (I paid $350 though), you would expect image stabalization to be included! Its not.

Secondly, the camera only comes with a 16meg card. Thats not really relevant to the camera and wont affect performance but come on, a 16meg card! You can only take 4-5 pics on the highest settings for picture qualitly. Its a joke. So you are gonna have to buy a bigger card, preferably a 1 gig one.

Overall, this is a great camera. There are a bunch of other pros and cons about the camera, but are not really important to mention. The camera has a very durable feel and takes awesome pictures. With the 3 inch LCD screen, it makes taking pics so much more enjoyable.

Now, why should you get the SD630 over the 600, especially when they are are exactly the same except the SD600 has an optical viewfinder and a 2.5 inch LCD while the SD630 has no viewfinder but a 3 inch LCD screen. I was in the same boat. Just ask yourself...

Can I live without the viewfinder and can budget the extra $50?.

If yes, go for the SD630. The screen makes it totally worth it in my opinion.

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I thought I should add some commentary about the video mode. I just started using it and let me tell you, video mode is AMAZING, even on only 15FPS. It runs really smooth and looks INCREDIBLE, even on compact mode. You can even use color swap or use accents while taping.

Compact mode is especially great if you want to send little email videos of yourself to loved ones, friends, or just for plain fun. On compact mode, you can shoot around 1 minute and 30 seconds on the 16 meg card you have. However, upping the setting will drastically reduce the amount of video time. Normal on 15FPS will give you roughly 20-25 seconds while the higest settings will get you around 8-10 seconds.And this all includes sound, which is also captured very well on this tiny little camera.
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Last update...

Ive had this camera for about two weeks now and I really love it! The pics continue to come out great and picture taking is quick.

I got a 2 gig card for it and now I can take 720 pics on the best settings and it allows for around 16 minutes for standard (30 FPS, 630 resolution) video tapping. Compact gives you around 32 min.

It should also be noted that you may want to consider buying a secondary battery for the camera. The battery it comes with is said to take around 160 shots (Other camears have ratings of up to 360 shots). Im sure standby times and viewing pics take some shots off. I bought a battery fom ebay for $7 (1 cent for the battery, $6.99 for S&H) and it works wonderfully. I tested it with continuous shooting, and was able to get about 200 shots with flash and 50 without flash, its still has juice for more. Search for "Canon SD630 battery."

Also, you may want to invest in invisible shield (shieldzone.com) for your viewfinder. It costs $4.99 for making the custom design and $9.99 for the product. So about $15 since you can choose to get free shipping. It is great if you are worried about scratching the viewfidner and want peace of mind. It is also very easy to install. You peel it off, use a spray it comes with, and put it on. Then, if you missed, you can slide it into position.

Last of all, there is one last gripe I have to mention. I've noticed that black shadowing can sometimes occur in indoor shooting, even with the flash on.

However, I still wouldnt trade in the camera if I had the chance. I love my camera!



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Digital Camera Labels: Canon PowerShot SD630 6MP Digital Elph Camera with 3x Optical Zoom,Canon