Canon PowerShot A630

CNET Editors' Rating

3.5 stars
    Overall score: 7.6 (3.5 stars)

Very good

Average User Rating

29 reviews

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CNET Editors' Review

CNET Editors' Rating

3.5 stars Very good
    Overall score: 7.6 (3.5 stars)
  • Design: 8.0
  • Features: 8.0
  • Performance: 7.0
  • Image quality: 7.0
  • Reviewed by: Will Greenwald
  • Released on:
  • Reviewed on:
Edited by: Lori Grunin

The good: Lots of manual controls; flip-out LCD; accessory lenses are available.

The bad: Noisy at ISO 800; no image stabilization.

The bottom line: Though it's not a great choice for low-light shooting, the Canon PowerShot A630 is a solid, feature-rich digital camera.

Review: An 8-megapixel version of the 10-megapixel PowerShot A640, the Canon PowerShot A630 is otherwise identical to its higher-resolution sibling. Both share the same sturdy, chunky body; 35mm-to-140mm-equivalent lens with accessory lens mount; and broad feature set with PASM exposure controls. Both cameras even turned in nearly identical performance results in our tests. (For more, read the PowerShot A640 review.)

Aside from the approximately $75 street price differential, the real distinguishing element between the two is the photo quality. In general, both produce colorful and crisp photos, with relatively little fringing or distortion. Fine details showed up clearly in our test

... Expand full review
An 8-megapixel version of the 10-megapixel PowerShot A640, the Canon PowerShot A630 is otherwise identical to its higher-resolution sibling. Both share the same sturdy, chunky body; 35mm-to-140mm-equivalent lens with accessory lens mount; and broad feature set with PASM exposure controls. Both cameras even turned in nearly identical performance results in our tests. (For more, read the PowerShot A640 review.)

Aside from the approximately $75 street price differential, the real distinguishing element between the two is the photo quality. In general, both produce colorful and crisp photos, with relatively little fringing or distortion. Fine details showed up clearly in our test shots, though colors tended to appear slightly muted and cool. The A630 displays a bit less noise, however. Artifacts start to appear at ISO 400 and become a fine but visible grain at ISO 800. Images are still usable at ISO 800 for 4x6 prints but aren't as sharp as photos taken at lower sensitivity settings and display problems with color banding.

Though the A640 continues the PowerShot's history of less-than-stellar low-light shooting, it's otherwise a great camera for users who want a solid point-and-shoot with photographer-friendly manual capabilities. But unless you really need the A640's extra pixels, save yourself a few bucks and get the A630 instead.

Shooting speed
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)
Typical shot-to-shot time  
Time to first shot  
Shutter lag (typical)  
Casio Exilim EX-Z850
2.7 
2.1 
0.5 
Canon PowerShot A630
1.7 
1.5 
0.5 
Samsung Digimax L85
2.2 
2.2 
0.6 
Nikon Coolpix P3
3 
4.1 
0.9 
Note: In seconds

Typical continuous-shooting speed
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
Note: Frames per second
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Average User Rating

3.5 stars out of 29 user reviews

Rating Breakdown

  • 5 star: 13
  • 4 star: 12
  • 3 star: 2
  • 2 star: 1
  • 1 star: 1

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Most Helpful User Review

4.5 stars 28 of 28 users found this review helpful

"WOW!! Great camera that produces excellent images" By blplhp

Pros Great hand grip, excellent manual controls, custom shooting mode, excellent image quality - very detailed and sharp

Cons Low res. LCD screen, noisy zoom, zoom needs more steps, no live histogram, slight vignetting

Summary I received my A630 about two weeks ago and have taken many indoor and outdoor photos. WOW!!! That’s all I NEED to say. But I also WANT to say more. The A630 is truly an excellent camera.

Here’s my review of each category:

Image Quality: I have been



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Most Recent User Reviews (Showing 2 of 29 reviews)

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Specifications

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Quick Specs

  • Product Type: Digital camera - Compact
  • Resolution: 8 megapixels
  • Digital video input format: MJPEG

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