Canon Powershot A630 Review

Featuring 8.0 Megapixels, a rotating 2.5 inch variable angle LCD, 4x optical zoom lens & 21 different shooting modes! We were extremely impressed with this release. Here's what we found out.

The 8.0-megapixel sensor certainly allows for creative cropping while providing enough detail for large, high-quality prints. It boasts a new ‘Safety Zoom’ which takes advantage of the camera's high resolution to offer extra zoom magnification without affecting image quality. Users can also activate the Digital Tele-converter to add extra telephoto reach on all shots, having a similar effect to adding a tele-converter to your digital SLR model.

The 4x optical zoom lens achieves a 35-140mm focal length (35mm equivalent) while allowing the camera to maintain a compact size. The lens construction incorporates 8 elements in 7 groupings, including two aspherical elements to maximize sharpness across the whole image. With a maximum aperture range of f2.8 (wide) to f4.1 (telephoto). We found the lens is remarkably bright at the telephoto end. An ISO 800 mode improves results when shooting in low-light settings and enables flash-free photography indoors, but this is becoming more common in newer releases. The camera's High ISO Auto setting prioritizes fast shutter speeds by automatically using the higher range of ISO sensitivities, reducing the risk of unwanted image blur, a great feature for maintaining quality shots.

Canon have included a larger than normal 2.5-inch vari-angle LCD screen enables accurate framing from unusual angles, such as those encountered when using the 1-centimeter (.4-inch) Macro mode. The enhanced user interface retains a selectable Grid Line display to assist with rule-of-thirds compositions while users can also enable a new 3:2 ratio overlay during shooting to view the printable area for standard photo prints.


Playback is enhanced with an overexposure warning feature, which indicates overexposed areas in captured images. This is particularly impressive on a compact, and we for see this appearing more frequently in the near future. The Canon PowerShot A630 offers users a range of versatile features for creative photography. A choice of 21 shooting modes includes Program, Aperture priority, Shutter priority, and full Manual modes for complete exposure control. A Second Curtain Sync function allows for creative flash exposures, such as light trails. Artistic photo effects can be applied in-camera during and after shooting with My Colors. We tested the claim that filming is also possible at a high standard, and found VGA quality movies can be captured with sound at a smooth 30 frames per second to a good standard, and the AV-out connection and supplied cable allows for full screen playback on your home television.

Our favorite technology inclusions are the ‘iSAPS’ (Intelligent Scene Analysis based on Photographic Space, which automatically optimizes key camera settings before every shot. Each scene is analyzed and cross-referenced against Photographic Space, a vast in-camera library of photographic data. This enables the camera to make optimal adjustments to auto exposure, auto focus, and auto white balance before image capture.
While optical converter lenses cause a reduction in aperture and consequently require a slower shutter speed, the Digital Teleconverter on this model maintains aperture size, reducing the risk of image blur. The Safety Zoom also protects the image from interpolation at high levels of digital zoom, allowing users to extend zoom without sacrificing quality.