Digital Cameras Reviews > Canon Digital Cameras Reviews > Canon PowerShot A640 reviews

Canon PowerShot A640

Canon PowerShot A640Canon PowerShot A640 ReviewSimon Joinson, December 2006

Review based on a production Canon PowerShot A640The PowerShot A640, launched in August, just before Photokina 06, replaces the popular A620 at the top of Canons increasingly well-specified budget A series range. The new model gets a bit of a facelift (and a new coat of black paint) as well as a bigger screen, major pixel boost (up from 7MP to 10MP) and a few feature tweaks. Otherwise it offers pretty much everything the A620 did; 4x zoom lens, tilt and swivel LCD, full photographic control and optional converter lenses. And like its predecessor, the A640 was launched with an almost identical twin, the A630, the only major difference being the sensor (8MP as opposed to 10MP). Therefore much of what is said in this review will also be applicable to the A630 (we will be adding A630 IQ results in the new year). The A620 was one of our favorite cameras of the last 12 months, and is a tough act to follow. So is the A640 up to the job? Lets find out, starting with the headline features...10.0 million effective pixels35-140mm (equiv.) 4x zoom lensDIGIC II, iSAPS, 9-Point AiAF, FlexiZone AF/AEDigital Tele-Converter and Safety Zoom2.5-inch vari-angle LCD and real-image optical viewfinder21 shooting modes1cm macro modeOptional wide and tele converter lensesCanon PowerShot A640 vs A620 (main differences)

Canon PowerShot A620SensorScreenMax image sizeSDHC compatible?Movie modesDimensionsWeight (exc. batts)Continuous ShootingOthers

• 1/1.8" Type CCD• 10.0 million effective pixels	• 1/1.8" Type CCD• 7.10 million effective pixels
• 2.5-inch Vari-angle P-Si TFT• 115,000 pixels	• 2.0-inch Vari-angle P-Si TFT• 115,000 pixels
3648 x 2736	3072 x 2304
Yes	No
• up to 640 x 480, 30fps• 160 x 120 @ 15fps	• up to 640 x 480, 30fps• 320 x 240, 60fps (up to 1 minute)
109.4 x 66 x 49.1 mm(4.3 x 2.6 x 1.9 in.)	105 x 66 x 49 mm (4.1 x 2.6 x 1.9 in)
245g / 8.64 oz	235g / 8.29 oz
1.5 fps, limited by card capacity	1.9 fps, limited by card capacity
• Playback overexposure warning feature• 3:2 framing overlay• Safety Zoom• Digital Tele-converter• My Colors in playback mode

Design changes

Canon PowerShot A640 Key specifications PowerShot A640Street PriceBody MaterialSensorImage sizesMovie clipsFile formatsLensDigital zoomFocusAF area modesAF assist lampFocus distanceMeteringISO sensitivityExposure compensationShutter speedApertureModesScene modesWhite balanceSelf timerContinuous shootingImage parametersFlashViewfinderLCD monitorConnectivityStoragePowerIn the box*Other featuresWeight (no batt)Dimensions

• US: $350• UK: £240

Metal and plastic

• 1/1.8 " Type CCD• 10.0 million effective pixels

• 3648 x 2736• 2816 x 2112• 2272 x 1704• 1600 x 1200• 640 x 480• 3648 x 2048

• JPEG (Exif v2.2) • DPOF• AVI Motion JPEG

• 35-140mm (35mm equiv)• 4x optical zoom• F2.8-4.1• 8 elements in 7 groups (2 aspherical elements)

up to 4x

• TTL autofocus• AF illuminator• 9-point AiAF or 1 point AF (any position selectable)• Manual focus• 1cm macro mode (Wide), 25cm (Tele)

• 9-point AiAF• 1-point AF

Yes

Closest focus distance 1cm

• Evaluative• Center-weighted average • Spot (center or linked to focusing frame)

• Auto• High Auto• ISO 80• ISO 100• ISO 200• ISO 400• ISO 800

+/- 2EV in 1/3 stop increments

• 15-1/2500 sec• (Available shutter speeds vary depending on the shooting mode)

F2.8-4.1

• Auto• Program AE• Shutter Priority AE • Aperture Priority AE • Manual• Custom• Portrait• Landscape• Night Scene• Stitch Assist• Movie• Special Scene• Single• Continuous

• Night Snapshot• Kids & Pets• Indoor• Foliage• Snow• Beach• Fireworks• Underwater• Color Accent• Color Swap

• Auto• Daylight• Cloudy• Tungsten• Fluorescent• Fluorescent H• Underwater• Custom

2 or 10sec, custom

Approx 1.5fps

My Colors (My Colors Off, Vivid, Neutral, Sepia, B&W, Lighter Skin Tone, Darker Skin Tone, Positive Film, Custom Color)

• Auto, Flash On, Flash Off, SLow Sync, Red-eye reduction • Flash compensation: +/- 2EV in 1/3 stop increments• Second curtain• Range: 45cm - 4.2m (wide) / 3m (tele)

Real-image zoom, optical viewfinder

• 2.5-inch Vari-angle P-Si TFT• 115,000 pixels

• USB 2.0 Hi-Speed• AV out

• SD, SDHC, MMC compatible • 32 MB card supplied

• 4x AA Alkaline or NiMH batteries• Optional AC adapter

• Canon PowerShot A640• Wrist strap• 2x AA Alkaline batteries• AV cable• USB cable• 32MB SD card• Software CD ROM (ZoomBrowser EX / ImageBrowser, PhotoStitch, RemoteCapture)

• Spot, Center-weighted & Evaluative metering• 2, 10 sec and custom time self-timer• Sound memos (up to 60 seconds)• PictBridge, Exif Print and DPOF compatible• Playback Histogram• Built-in speaker and microphone• Orientation sensor• PC-controlled shooting with supplied software• Autofocus Illuminator• Optional 0.7x Wide (WC-D58N) and 1.75x Tele (TC-DC58N) converters• Optional Underwater case (WP-DC8)• Optional High Power Flash (slave) HF-DC1

245 g

109.4 x 66 x 49.1 mm

* Supplied accessories may differ in each country or area

Conclusion / Recommendation / Ratings are based on the opinion of the reviewer, you should read the ENTIRE review before coming to your own conclusions.Images which can be viewed at a larger size have a small magnifying glass icon in the bottom right corner of the image, clicking on the image will display a larger (typically VGA) image in a new window.To navigate the review simply use the next / previous page buttons, to jump to a particular section either pick the section from the drop down or select it from the navigation bar at the top.DPReview calibrate their monitors using Color Vision OptiCal at the (fairly well accepted) PC normal gamma 2.2, this means that on our monitors we can make out the difference between all of the (computer generated) grayscale blocks below. We recommend to make the most of this review you should be able to see the difference (at least) between X,Y and Z and ideally A,B and C.