Digital cameras like the Canon Powershot A640 are few and far between. In many ways this camera is like a cut down version of a digital SLR. It is also much cheaper. Compact digital cameras with manual exposure controls are becoming less and less common. As the Powershot A640 has these it does offer something different to the majority of cameras in the market.
Although this camera is much smaller than a typical SLR you will notice some similarities in terms of design and style. It has a grip on the front of the camera. This is very useful for getting a good grip on the camera, helping you to hold it still when you are taking a shot.
Headline features are 10 megapixels and a slightly longer than standard 4x optical zoom lens. Canon have built in a feature called safety zoom. This increases the amount of zoom available, but can only be used when you are shooting at lower resolutions. This is an area where the large number of megapixels is a big help as you can still produce printed photos from shots taken using the safety zoom.
If you are prepared to spend a bit of extra money then you can further increase the capacity of the lens. This is through conversion lenses that are available for the Powershot A640. These are basically add on lenses. Both a tele converter to increase the length of the zoom and a wide angle converter to add wide angle capabilities are available from Canon.
A couple of other accessories you may be interested in are a flash unit to boost the power of the flash and an underwater case. The case is waterproof to a depth of 40m.
Another feature I really like is the LCD screen. This flips out and can be turned round at an angle. There are a couple of situations were this is useful. The first is if you are shooting at an awkward angle. The second is if there is bright sunlight falling onto the screen. This can make it hard to see what is showing on the screen. With this camera you can twist the screen so that it is out of the line of the sun.
If you prefer to line up your shots using a viewfinder you will be please to know that an optical viewfinder is built into this camera. Again this is one of the few compact cameras that offer a viewfinder.
Photographers looking for a camera that can handle close up photography will be interested to know that this camera can focus from 1cm away from a subject. That is as close as you can get.
Overall I would say the Powershot A640 is ideal for someone who would like the advanced features of a digital SLR, but does not want to pay out to buy one. This camera is a fair compromise. It is also a good camera for someone to learn the basics of photography with. It may also appeal to families. This is because as well as the manual exposure controls it also has a fully automatic mode. This allows it to be used as a point and shoot mode. Therefore if one or two members of a family are looking for a more advanced camera while others would like something more straightforward then the A640 is an option worth considering.
