Summary: After many hours of *extensive* research reading all of the main expert reviews, plus hundreds of user reviews (for the above cameras plus several others such as the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3), I chose the A630 (and rejected the A640 , A710IS , A570IS , S3 , and S5 )
Before I get to the reasons why I went for the A630 and rejected the other four cameras, it is necessary to first cover a few important general points:
* Be aware that many "user comments" for any camera can be erroneous or misleading. They are written by 'point and shoot' simpletons who do not have much experience with cameras, do not bother to read the manual or make adjustments.
Consequently you may read that a Canon camera takes blurry or noisy photos but in fact the user has it set on a slow shutter speed or high ISO or is doing something else incorrectly.
* If you have no intention using advanced features such as exposure compensation, flash output, manual aperture and shutter speed, save your money and get a point and shoot camera. The five cameras listed in the topic heading above all have advanced features.
* If all you want is a point and shoot camera, try to get one with a wide angle lens equivalent to 28mm which is great for group shots and scenery. Most advanced compact cameras have 35mm equivalent lenses.
* Most people I know do not take film clips, and really do not care about the quality (as long as they get their friend making a fool of themselves!) but if shooting video is important to you, make sure you get a 640 x 480 format at 30 fps (or better yet, 60 fps).
* Many people complain that the memory card is adjacent to the batteries so that the batteries will fall out. Why would anyone turn their camera over while putting the memory card in / out?! Duh... stupid!
* Cheap plastic: Some people say that the [AV Out - DC In] door feels cheap and flimsy. Another misleading comment. Canon makes quality. The door will not break or chip, and it does look like metal. I don't care if it feels cheap - it's not like I will be opening that compartment hundreds of times. There are also complaints about the plastic mounting threads; if you are going to use a tripod nearly every day then this may be a problem but for the rest of us its nothing to complain about - remember 'Canon is quality'.
* Image Stabilization: do you HAVE to have it? In my case, no. I can hold my breath and get successful shots down to 1/5 s and sometimes to 1/2 or 1 second. But yes, it would be nice to have IS. However, using an articulated screen means that most of the time the camera can be put somewhere stable, such as a wall or chair top. However, if you have shaky hands then IS will be more important.
* Inaccurate Optical Viewfinder. Yes, most Canons have this fault, but all it means is that the actual picture will be somewhat larger, 10% or so, than what you see through the viewfinder. When taking a picture just realize the photo will be a bit larger, or simply use the LCD screen.
* No Optical Viewfinder: are you considering this? Don't. Dumb idea. There will be times you will want an optical viewfinder, such as in bright sunlight or when you are trying to conserve battery power.
* Movies take 1 Gb for 8 minutes. Well, OK, if you shoot on the highest settings of 640 x 480 and 30 fps, but showing 320 x 240 on a TV is usually good, and the cost of high capacity memory cards is dropping. I took many many film clips with my old A70 and I cannot recall every going much over 5 or 10 minutes total for all films. If this is a big deal for you then simply get a 4 Gb memory card or wait until 8 Gb cards get cheaper.
* Try to buy your new camera from a shop that offers a right-of-return policy if you are not happy with the camera. I live in New Zealand and I paid a little bit more for my A630 from a shop that gives me 14 days full refund.
* Be sure your new camera can accept SDHC memory cards (which are 4 Gb and larger sizes). One review states that the A630 does not take SDHC but this is incorrect. I am not sure about the S3 but I believe the other cameras will take SDHC cards.
* Low resolution LCD screens: Yes it's true, Canons do not have high res screens. But you CAN still focus; it is not bad at all, so it's no big deal and certainly not a reason to choose a Fuji, Panasonic, Olympus, etc. Canons are still the best, if you don't believe this then you have not compared many expert reviews!
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WHY I CHOSE THE A630 AND REJECTED THE A710IS A570IS S3 and S5
1. Picture quality. The CCD (light gathering internal sensor screen) is 40% larger than the other cameras, and all expert reviews confirm the sharp, higher quality photos of the A630. The CCD of the A630 has a size of 1 / 1.8 (= 14.11) whereas the others have 1 / 2.5 (=10.16). Some user comments make the heretical comment that the A630 than the Canon Rebels: well, I can tell you that I borrowed my friend's Canon EOS 350 (expensive big SLR) and comparing a series of indoor and outdoor photos at different ISO and distance, YES, the 630 amazingly does indeed produce better photos that are sharper and overall more crisp with better colour (except at ISO 800 where the EOS-350 had less noise).
2. Picture quality again: chromatic aberration is a fault with many Canons, but not the A630. Read the reviews yourself. I sure don't want to see purple fringes on tree branches when I crop/enlarge a photo (but I am finicky and analytical when it comes to photos - if you are happy with snapshots then just about any camera will do!).
3. Articulated screen. Brilliant. I use it nearly all the time. I'll use this much more than Image Stabilization.
4. Macro down to 1 cm. If you are happy with 5 cm closeness, fine, but I want to get real close!
5. Quick shutter and flash response. When I tried an A710 at a shop, it was soooo sloooow between flashes - that would have irritated me and made for many missed shots. The A630 has 4 AA's, not 2 like the 710 and 570. Read the reviews - the time lag is a common complaint, but not with the A630.
6. 30 fps movies. My old A70 only had 15 fps and while panning it makes a big difference. The 570 does have 60 fps, which would be nice but I am quite happy with 30 fps. By the way, the 630 is the one that can do 160 x 120 films which is good for emails.
7. Sharp digital zoom. I remember reading a user comment on this and I thought "I'll believe it when I see it." Well, it's true. Yes, I certainly do understand the difference between optical and digital zoom, and know that photo software can create the same thing as a digital zoom. Let me tell you though, I was really surprised at the quality of using maximum digital zoom (16x showing a seagull's head and it was not fuzzy or pixelated). Remember that the 630 is the only one with a larger CCD.
8. Size. Whereas the 630 is a little larger than the 710 or 570, it's only about 10 mm. It is still compact and can fit in a jacket pocket or a loose pair of jeans. I deliberated over the S3 and S5 but agreed with many user comments that these larger cameras would stay at home or in the car more often because a compact will be in my pocket or in my belt case.
9. Optical zoom. Is the 710's 6x zoom that much better? Since the 710's picture quality / sharpness is not as good as the 630, my answer is no. The 630's 4x with a better CCD is just as good as the 710's 6x or at least not that much difference, imho. If wildlife or sports is your photo passion, then go for a 10, 12, 0r 18x optical (but be prepared for some significant drawbacks in other areas).
10. Colour, Megapixels and Price: I would prefer black instead of silver, but the A640 is significantly more expensive without hardly any different features. Don't be fooled by the 640's higher pixel rating of 10 megapixels. No one ever enlarges to huge poster size. 8 mp will do just fine. Higher megapixels is a marketing con. I used my old A70 on a less-than-maximum resolution setting to enlarge two photos to a whopping size of 12 x 14 inches and not a pixel in site (OK, they are colour photocopies but even so the clarity and detail is remarkable).
11. Noise at ISO 400 and 800. The reviews bothered me on this one but again, since the 630 has a larger CCD, there will be less noise than the other cameras. I can tell you that photos at 400 and 800 as viewed on a 17 in computer screen look just fine. Software noise reduction will clean up any poor shots that are taken in very low light conditions. I did notice that the EOS 350 did in fact have less noise than my 630, but the EOS 350 is a SLR with a relatively huge CCD. Snapshots at ISO 400 or 800 with the 630 should be OK. If noise is a huge problem for you, get a Nikon SLR! BTW, comments of the A570's ISO 1600 said that the noise was unacceptably bad.
12. Four AA batteries means the A630 can take more photos (with a faster shutter and flash response).
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I will add to this review later, so come back and check for updates.
I plan to put a large amount of user comments for each of the listed cameras - taken from a variety of sources - on a separate web page: this will save you many hours and days of searching the Net because I have already done the work for you and cut/pasted the information onto ten printed pages.
Good luck with your new camera. For me, the choice had to be the A630. You may have other priorities. If you are not too particular or finicky, you will be happy with any of the Canon cameras.
Updated
The information on my web site is taken from a variety of sources (mid July 2007) and are mostly 'User Reviews' with some info from 'Expert Reviews'. I spent several days reading everything I could find - so the following will save you many hours of research. Go here to see the equivalent of 10 printed pages:
http://digcams.page.tl/
Updated
I was incorrect thinking that the A630 can do an optical zoom while in video mode - it cannot do optical but will zoom digitally. Viewing the results on a 29 inch TV, any zoom beyond 2x the optical looks fuzzy although it would probably be OK on small screens such as on YouTube. What I mean is zooming while filming. Before recording a video, you can zoom optically; for instance, you can start with 4x optical, record, and then zoom 2x digitally (equals 8x total) and it will look OK.
High pitched audio noise: it seems most Canons have this problem. But keep in mind that most all videos have some background noise such as traffic, kids playing, wind, ocean waves, etc., and this effectively masks the high pitched noise.
There are at least two YouTube clips on this topic. One is for the A710 and the other is for the A570. With the A570 there is noticeable clicks and clanks when the light balance adjusts. I cannot recall which Canon can zoom optically while recording but if they can there would be rather loud whirring noises from the lens motor.
In the end, the high pitched noise was not a concern to make me buy another brand besides Canon. If videos are ever shot with no background noise - and the high pitched whine is audible, then it can be removed with software or the speakers can be shut off. The high pitched noise is not always evident - I suspect it depends on the light conditions.
It is strange that non of the expert reviews make any mention of audio noise with video mode.
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Canon PowerShot A630
