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Reviewed by UK Guest, 11th May 2007. |
| Review Summary: Better than a G7 - for me anyway |
Overall Score: 4/5
 
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Review: I bought my A640 for those days when my little Fuji F10 isn't enough (such as when the sun's out!) but when the full Pentax dSLR rig is too much to carry. The A640 satisfied my list of essentials and nice-to-haves:
* Optical viewfinder - essential for outdoor photography and tracking moving subjects, such as children;
* Semi-automatic modes, especially for depth-of-field control;
* SD memory and AA power, both of which already come with me when I travel, so no proprietary batteries and chargers, please;
* Swivelling LCD screen. Combines brilliantly with the lens's close-focus capability. Gets me pictures I wouldn't get any other way.
* 10Mp is probably more than I need, although it gives useful scope for cropping when I can't get close enough. There's a Superfine setting at 6Mp, so I can make my storage go further without compromising quality.
* It's black, so it looks like a proper camera, not a painted silver toy!
There are a few minor gripes. You can switch off the LCD and turn it face in to protect it, but you then lose all exposure information but for the two LEDs beside the viewfinder. There's room on the top plate for a little LCD status panel, which the old swivel-screen G5 and G6 had, but I suspect Canon is already afraid that the A640 will take sales from the G7 and the gap had to be maintained somehow.
I'd have preferred 28-112mm to the actual zoom range of 35-140mm, but I can understand why it's not that way. I can't see myself bothering with the expensive and bulky conversion lenses.
And the A640 has only one strap eyelet, in the top right corner, so there's no option to hang it round your neck. For a camera of this gravitas (in both senses) this is a pity. Nor does the wrist strap have a slider to tighten it around the wrist, so it's not as secure as I'd like.
So I'm well pleased with my A640. Incidentally, the chunky grip makes it an awkward fit in many standard cases - including Canon's own DCC-300 - but I've found mine goes snugly into a Tenba Travelite PS4, which can be picked up very cheaply and is handily compatible with LowePro Sliplok fittings. |
Ratings
| Value For Money: |
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4 |
| Review Score: |
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4 |
| Recommended? | |
Yes |
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Digital Cameras