Help! .

I'm a Neanderthal who's Nikon film SLR has finally bitten the dust. I'd like a travel camera that's lighter than the old SLRs, but retains some creative abilities. After reesearching the lastest Canon models I'm trying to decide between the A640 and the A710. The positive points of both (besides the fact that each can be slipped into my cargo pants pocket) for me are: .

A640 - 10MP, articulating LCD, 4xzoom,4x AA batteries .

A710 - 7MP, Image Stabilization, 10xzoom,2x AA batteries .

I'd love to hear from anyone experienced with either of these or earlier models, whether those features have been useful to them. Does having the 10MP vs 7MP CCD often make a difference? .

Do the 4 batteries provide significant increased duration while on the go, to justify the added weight? Are 2 extra batteries all that heavy by the end of a long day? .

Of course 10x Zoom is desirable, but does it produce sharp photos with the image stabilization? .

Thanks for any comments you might have.

Sorry Tom.

I don't have your answers, but have the same question. I am trying to decide b/w three models to accompany my Nikon SLR. Canon A640 .

Canon A710 .

Fuji F30 I don't think the megapixel difference b/w 10, 7, and 6 is a factor, but is not as crucial as some other features. Which is truly the fastest? .

Intangibles? I would love to hear users opinions as to make the best decision. I was set on going w/ the F30 as I have used an F10. However, I want the best compact camera and not one w/ JUST the best indoor/(high ISO) performance. Thanks, .

Everett.

I use a A640 alongside my Olypus E500, and have been very impressed with it. The 10Mp comes with a noise penalty at higher ISO (don't know the 7mp for sure) but I still prefer it as is allows a lot of flexibility in cropping. I find that when I shoot SLR, I rarely need to crop drastically. When I shoot compact, I mostly adjust the result. I don't think you should get hung up over the 7 vs 10 difference. The 4 batteries are astonishing and I would not swap 4 for 2.

I don't want to cary spares, and one charge can fill a 1Gb card several times over, including viewing and movies. Anothernice feature of the 640 is the way the zoom stops at the maximum optical level. You can carry on, but it is deliberate.The one thing thatwould really make me choose the A640 over theother options is the swing out screen - I just wouldn't be without it. IS would be nice but after considering the options I wouldn't swap the A640. If you look at my blog on http://londondailyphoto.blogspot.com you can see the results from the canon and oly side by side.

(All images have exif data) A lot of recent pics are canon. Hope that helps Ham .

Http://londondailyphoto.blogspot.com.

Hello, I've bought the A640 a few weeks ago so I can give you my opinion: About the 10MP vs 7MP difference, the per pixel quality is very high on both model but you have 50% more pixels on the A640 so more to see (or you can crop a lot). With the A640, it is really a pleasure to look at your shots with a zoom factor of 1: there are a lot of things to discover in any shot... The rotating LCD is really a plus: the LCD is protected when not in use, putting your camera on a wall of any height for a slow speed shot is not a problem any more, trying special angle views is really easy. Listen to the Canon G6 owner seeing the G7 loosing his rotating LCD ! The 4 AA batteries are unbeatable (I've never get the low battery warning even after a week in Budapest). Important: they give you a very good handgrip. It also means that the weight of the camera is not on your fingers...

BTW the zoom factor on the A710 is 6 not 10. There is currently a test of the G7 where they compare the image quality with the A640. It is quite identical. see http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/CanonG7/page13.asp Hope it helps, Herv.

My be of interest too: .

Http://www.lesnumeriques.com/duels.php?ty=1&ma1=1&mo1=256&p1=1464&ma2=1&mo2=241&p2=1389&ph=1 .

The g7 seems to perform better then the A640 when iso >200.

Hello: I got both A710IS and A640 on my desk as I write this. One is going back to the store - I am trying to decide which one myself. Here are main differences in a nutshell. Image quality - pretty close, overall slightly better on 640. The latter also has less digital artifacts (the more noticeable the more you zoom the image) Colors - good for both. 710 has a slightly warmer color palette.

I took the camera to a party and after an hour was ready to toss it into the garbage can. 640 is fine 710 has IS. I did several test shots at shutter speed 1/2 to 1/10, looks like 710 is marginally sharper, not a big deal for me though Lens zoom mechanism noise - 710 is very soft, 640 feels more like a good mechanical gadget with a specific buzzing noise Overall feel - 710 is more "plasticy" as opposed to 640, which feels more "metallic", although both are mostly plastic. Even the mode dial on 640 is made of metal as opposed to plastic on 710 Battery compartments - flimsy and made of plastic on both. 710 compartment feels a bit better because it is shorter and, as such, marginally less flimsy Tripod mount - made of plastic on both.

Some reviewers point out that on 640 you cannot change the SD card while on the tripod. On 710 you theoretically can do that A710 shows current zoom setting, A640 does not. Again, not a big deal for me A640 made in China, A710 - in JapanIn short, A640 feels more "to the point" whereas A710 emphasizes more bells and whistles, such as IS and 6x zoom. At this point I am slightly inclined to keep the 640. Hope this helps.

I am about to buy the Cannon 640. My only questions are, does it have a delay? Does it allow you to take multiple pictures of the shot?.

Ginaj - it does have a self timer and a ultiple shot mode, it does not do bracketing. The shutter modes are: .

 - Single exposure .

 - Multiple frames exposure - "motor drive" mode.

 - 2 second delay .

 - 10 second delay .

 - Custom mode here you can set up to 10 shots to be taken up to 30 seconds apart Ham .

=== http://londondailyphoto.com.

Thanks Ashot for your wonderful comparison.

I am also trying to decide between the 710IS and 640. My only interest is in the image stabilization which you seem to not give much credit for but gets pretty good reviews. I like to shoot without flash. Any comments from anyone on IS? The movable screen on the 640 would be handy for me but if IS helps take much better pictures ... any comments from anyone? .

Curtis.

Curtis, I have used IS on compacts (panasonic) and it is useful, but not as good as SLR because of the tendency to move a little camera as you press the release button. I do a lot of low light stuff with the 640, because of the swing out screen I find I can steady it on anything - wall, chair, shelf etc etc and get rid of camera shake. However no stabilisation system will get rid of subject movement!! Ham http://londondailyphoto.blogspot.com.

Maybe you guys know this allready, but I will put it anyway. If you wanna get better flash result, you can set flash sync to 2nd-curtain and then turning on the slow sychro in the menu. It will give you much better indoor flash result then normal setting. Try it in case you haven't, it work very well for me. Of course you still need to hold your hand steady to avoid blurry pics..