Love It!

I've had experiences thus far with a few digital cameras, and this one so far is my favorite.

Last fall I was frustrated with my Kodak EasyShare digital camera. It's not that Kodak makes bad cameras, it's just that mine was low end, with poor battery life and no optical zoom.

I wanted an upgrade, but couldn't afford much. Imagine my thrill when I found the Canon Powershot A630 on Amazon for $199 (which further "shopping" as revealed to me is an amazing price).

The camera had everything I wanted- high megapixels (8), good reviews, optical zoom (4x), and good ratings on both Epinions and Amazon. It took an SD card, so I could simply take my memory out of my old camera and stick it in my new one.

My only concern was that I wanted something I could dock to recharge. Amazon was offering a free battery recharger kit with purchase, so I sprung for it. And I've had no regrets since.

The camera arrived a few days later. I was impressed with it's sturdy feel, and understandable buttons immediately. It came with several manuals, but I never needed them. It does take awhile to get used to the feel of the buttons, but this can be done simply by reading their labels and experimenting. Once you have a grasp on their function, the camera is very easy to use. The camera is bigger than many- but that is simply representative of the power it's capable of.

The lay out of the camera feels easy to use, as it's easy to grip and the buttons, especially to capture and image and use the zoom, are within easy reach.

The LCD is sharp, big, and easy to see.

I immediately started having fun. My friend was over, so we snapped a few pictures of ourselves. One of my favorite things about digital cameras is being able to have fun without worrying about "wasting" film and paying for developing. That was easy to do, as the sizable 2.5 inch LCD screen on the back can twist and flip out so you can look at it while taking pictures of yourself. Very nice.

Actually, the LCD overall is great. It is hinged, so that you can flip it out, flip it out and twist is around, or flip it in to "close" the camera to prevent screen scratches. Further, the camera is motion sensitive so that if you are looking at pictures and flip the camera over, the picture flips as well so that it is still right side up. This can be disabled as well.

The camera has more modes than I'll ever be able to play with- 21, according to Amazon. For starters it can take photo and video. The Flash can be set to On, Off, reduce red eye, or Automatic. There's what I call the "flower option" for close ups.

The shooting modes, according to the camera as "spinning through" the options, are Auto, Portrait, Landscape, Night Scene, Night Snapshot, Stitch Assist, Program, Shutter Top Priority, Aperature Priority, Manual, and Custom. I'm assuming these mixed with the types of flash get you to your 21 options, but what do I know?

The zoom is easily used, with a lever around the capture button.

The Display can be turned on and off to save battery life.

Pict Bridge allows you to print directly from the camera, no computer needed.

I haven't had a single problem with the camera, and it takes great pictures.

If you're curious about picture quality, check out Amazon for samples. I've printed pictures up to 5 by 6 inches (I have no reason to go higher, though I don't fear this camera could easily go up to at least 8.5 by 11) successfully, without any blurring.

This camera is the first time I've been able to capture a picture of a butterfly or a humming bird nicely. They say the camera doesn't make the photographer, and that's true, or course, but in my case it sure did help.

It takes pictures well in and outdoors. The flash helps inside, but having good lighting definitely helps, as with all cameras.

Both the picture quality and the durability of the camera is impressive.

I cannot comment on the included software as I use iPhoto. iPhoto was able to upload pictures off the camera with no problems at all.

My only concern was the need to charge the batteries frequently, but I've been using this camera with semi-regular use since September, and the batteries are still going strongly, so I'm impressed. It's gone on 3 trips with me so far.

I highly recommend this camera. If you're interested in purchasing it, I recommend watching prices like a hawk. Since I bought my camera I've seen prices as high as $399 and as low as $190 advertised.

Happy picture taking!