Canon PowerShot SD630 6MP Digital Elph Camera with 3x Optical Zoom (OLD MODEL)

I just received my Canon SD-630 in the mail today and can already say I am very happy with my purchase. I had been researching cameras the entire week, looking for the right one for my needs. When I went to the store, Best Buy, I had written down a few camera model numbers that caught my eye. Over the next few days it was interesting to see how my perceptions of these cameras had changed. I had at first liked the 7.1 Megapixel Sony I had put at the top of my list at Best Buy. I based this on merely the camera having a high megapixel count and the looks of the outer casing. But after getting on Amazon and reading product descriptions, going over reviews, and looking at shots submitted by customers all of my original perceptions changed. While the Sony may have looked good and had a higher megapixel count than my Canon, it was the features that attracted me to the SD-630. I liked that it had some interesting options to play around with besides just the usual camera settings like outdoor, indoor, etc... Besides the basics, the Canon has options like Color Accent and Color Swap. These features really let you produce some unique prints without having to do any post manipulation with programs such as Photoshop. I myself had done similar work with photos using Photoshop, to make certain objects color while the rest of the image remained black and white. But this takes time depending on the object and its nice to be able to achieve the same results without any work! Its also very easy to use and I took some great shots in no time. Another camera I was interested in was the Kodak V570. After reading the feature list on this camera, such as the Panorama Stitch and Wide Angle Lens I thought it was perfect. Plus the pictures I viewed looked very cool when incorporating these modes. But some of the reviews on the camera turned me away somewhat. Such as having to use the supplied dock as well as Kodak software just to upload the images to my computer or charge the battery. I like the flexibility of the Canon, allowing you to transfer images via USB cable or memory card without having to use any other software. The battery charger is also very compact, no cords or large battery trays, just a simple charger that has a folding plug for easy transport (the charger is the size of a small cell phone - probably smaller). Yet I still liked the Panorama Stitch option that the Kodak offered and was really considering this camera as my final pick. So I decided to go back to the store and look at these cameras again now that I had done the research and knew what I was looking for. It was a whole different experience than my first visit to Best Buy. When I played with the Kodak it just didn't live up to what I had hoped for. I was put off by the button layout and the overall feel of the camera when compared to the Canon. After finally figuring out how to do the Panorama Stitch, while it was a cool little feature, it just wasn't all that great on the camera. The screen is small and when your grouping so many different images together, 3, its hard to really see what you are doing and to get a shot exactly as you want. I'm sure after some use I would get use to it, but to get the full effect you would have to upload the image to a computer and look at it from there to see if it came out the way you intended. The camera just seemed simple in terms of functionality. The Canon, which I had tested out before this camera, was a whole different story. I really liked how everything was laid out and the big screen made looking at images so much easier. Thus when you used an option such as Color Accent, you could really get a sense of how the final product turned out and decide if you were happy with the shot (or needed to do a retake) without having to view the image on a computer. It has so many different options to play with that are very useful in the simplest terms; such as Vivid Colors. I took a few pictures of the same objects using this mode and some in just Auto. You can really see a nice subtle difference and in some cases the colors just pop when compared to normal. It is very nice to use and is a great compliment to the camera. Simple features such as this are excellent and let you take great pictures without having to adjust manual settings. But if you would like to tinker with manual options, the camera leaves plenty of room to do this as well (which was another feature I was looking for, as I wanted to get more involved with the camera over time). The video on this camera is also excellent. I remember taking videos on older digital cameras I have used and they were pretty low quality. I do a lot of video editing and such, and found the video option on this camera to be very nice. It really lets you take some quality footage, that if you showed a clip to someone off of your computer they would think it was taken with a camcorder. Another nice thing about the video is that you can use Color Accent and Color Swap, which I did not know was possible until reading the manual. It makes your video much more interesting if used in the right way and adds a touch that would require high level video editing software (AVID, After Affects) to attain. This does it without any other work. Overall I am very pleased with this camera and would definitely recommend it to anyone who is thinking of purchasing this model. Like I said, after reading reviews and customer feedback on Amazon as well as other sites that tested these cameras, I completely changed my initial impressions of what I thought I was looking for. If I were you I would make sure to go out and test out cameras you have in your Top 3 after reading all the great information found on this site. It really helps you make a confident decision in your purchase, such as the one I made. I had read before that Canon made excellent digital cameras, some of the best available, and can definitely back that up with my experience in just one day of use. I cant wait to use this camera more often and really get to know the many features it has to offer. I made sure to upload some pictures I just took today for others to see, hope this review has helped in some way. The only things I would seek to improve on this camera would be the addition of a wide angle lens and better construction of the tiny little door that covers the USB connection and AV cable connetion. It seems a little brittle and I would be very careful when opening and shutting it. Im sure it will be fine with proper caution, but if you were to open it fast or tug on it hardly, it could possibly rip and detach. Only gripe I see to express, but nothing too major.

First of all, I've owned several Canon PowerShots, way back to the S10 when memory cards were like $50 for 32 megs. Except for one, the SD450, the image quality has been excellent on all of them. Canon's are known for their image quality and this one holds true to that. The downside to all the PowerShots prior to this one has been how awfully slow they were in taking shots, especially in low light or at night. The delay from the time you push the button to the camera actually snapping the shot could be excruciatingly slow and infuriating. I absolutely loved my S400 in every way except for how freaking slow it was in snapping shots. I couldn't tell you how many shots I have of my dog's butt/tail because I didn't properly point the camera 10 feet in front of her and take the shot just right to account for that horrible delay. Finally, a Canon PowerShot that is quick! There are some shots that aren't quite lightning fast in lower light, but this is expected and the performance is FAR better than any other Canon I've owned. The SD450 had decent performance, but the picture quality was subpar. Another problem I've always had is poor battery life. This one can take about 200 shots before needing to be recharged. Compared to my last camera (the SD450), that's about 3 times as many shots. So the battery life is much improved. On a side note, another problem I've had which most ppl would probably not notice is a few dead pixels showing up over time. Canon seems to have fixed that in the last couple generation of PowerShots and it isn't an issue with this one. I like the fact that it has no viewfinder, who uses that thing anyway? The screen is huge but the resolution is not any better than my old S400 with a tiny 1.8" screen so all shots look kind of fuzzy. I very rarely have a shot out of focus with this camera so I don't worry about it. Besides, regardless of screen size or resolution it is going to be really hard to tell if a shot is a little bit out of focus and you'd have to zoom in to tell anyway. All in all, this is a great camera and the best PowerShot I've owned to date. I'm extremely happy with in and plan to keep it for a long time.