Canon PowerShot SD630 6MP Digital Elph Camera with 3x Optical Zoom

by Canon

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 3.6 x 2.2 x 0.8 inches ; 5.1 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000ENPDSW
• Item model number: 0315B001
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (234 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,829 in Camera & Photo (See Top 100 in Camera & Photo)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: February 21, 2006

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

The ultra-thin, ultra-stylish PowerShot SD630 Digital Elph offers a full range of enhanced shooting features that make taking pictures more comfortable and more exciting. A marvel of Canon engineering, this compact powerhouse has a super-sized 3.0-inch LCD screen.

High resolution and superior comfort
Stylishly elegant yet impressively powerful, the PowerShot SD630 Digital Elph has the resolution you need to produce magnificent full-sized prints and on-screen images. The high-quality Canon 3x optical zoom delivers the clarity and sharpness that make even the smallest details come to life.

Better shots, easier replay
PowerShot SD630 Digital Elph incorporates a big new 3.0-inch LCD screen for a truly eye-opening view. This high-resolution screen offers a crisp, clear picture and wider viewing angle to make shooting, playback and using the camera's menu functions especially convenient. And when you're shooting at dusk or at night, the Night Display function lets you see the display clearly. It brightens the object while you compose your shot by reducing the frame rate on the LCD screen.

Canon innovation enhances your experience
The PowerShot SD630 Digital Elph features new ISO 800 and High ISO Auto settings that reduce the effects of camera shake and sharpen subjects in low-light situations with high shutter speeds, giving you greater flexibility for shooting.

Advanced imaging technology improves every photo

DIGIC II Image Processor
Canon's DIGIC II Image Processor is designed to improve processing speed and image quality, so DIGIC II provides markedly faster startup, autofocus, and playback, plus it assures that every image is more colorfully vibrant.

iSAPS Technology
iSAPS Technology is an entirely original scene-recognition technology developed for digital cameras by Canon. Using an internal database of thousands of different photos, iSAPS works with the fast DIGIC II Image Processor to improve focus speed and accuracy, as well as exposure and white balance.

Shoot and view wide images
The PowerShot SD630 Digital Elph includes a 16:9 widescreen resolution option, producing images and film clips that are perfect for your widescreen TV or computer monitor.

Superior quality movies
Fast Frame Rate Movie Mode allows you to record extremely smooth, full-motion movie clips for up to 1 minute long in QVGA at 60 fps (320 x 240 pixels). With a highly flexible movie mode, you can create the movie that's perfect for any application. Select from VGA (640 x 480 pixels) and QVGA (320 x 240 pixels) with frame rates of 30 fps and 15 fps for recording up to 1 hour or 1 GB. Plus Compact Movie Mode (QQVGA; 160 x 120 pixels) records at 15 fps for up to 3 minutes.

Shooting Modes
Advanced presets for the best possible photos under certain conditions

Auto: The camera chooses all the settings so you can concentrate on your subject.

Manual: The ultimate in creative control, you set ISO speed, exposure compensation and white balance.

Portrait: The camera sets a large aperture, focusing the subject and artistically blurring the background to make your subject "pop."

Foliage: Capture brilliant shots of autumn foliage, greenery and blossoms.

Snow: Shoot clear snow scenes without darkened subjects or an unatural bluish tint.

Beach: Get clear shots of people at a sunny beach without darkened faces.

Fireworks: Grab brilliant images of skyrocketing fireworks.

Underwater: Capture underwater images with reduced backscatter effect. (Note: Optional Waterproof Case WP-DC4 required for shooting any underwater images)

Indoor: Reduce blur and improve color accuracy when shooting handheld indoors.

Kids and Pets: Reduced focusing time freezes fast-moving subjects, so you won't miss those special shots.

Night Snapshot: Get natural-looking pictures with brighter backgrounds and subjects lit by flash.

Color Accent: Choose to retain a single color in your image while other colors turn monochrome.

Color Swap: Select a color and replace it with a color you specify for special effects.

Digital Macro: Shoot larger-than-life close-ups with one-button simplicity.

Stitch Assist: Build awe-inspiring panoramas by neatly aligning sequential images.

My Colors
     Vivid: Yield vibrant shots with dramatic high-contrast.
     Vivid Blue: Emphasize the sea, sky, and other blue areas.
     Vivid Green: Add vivid dimension to greens for extraordinary nature shots.
     Vivid Red: Charge up red objects in your images for extra impact.

Neutral: Produce images of subtle, elegant tonality.

Sepia: Recreate the look of vintage photographs.

Black and White: Deliver enhanced clarity--especially useful when shooting text.

Positive Film: Combine "Vivid Blue," "Vivid Green," and "Vivid Red" to achieve a positive film effect.

Lighter Skin Tone: Make your subjects' skin tones lighter.

Darker Skin Tone: Darken skin tones a shade.

Custom Color: Finely adjust brightness and vividness, and set your preferred balance of blue, green, red, and skin colors.

The complete print solution
The PowerShot SD630 Digital Elph's Print/Share button makes direct printing easier than ever. Simply connect the SD630 to a Canon CP, SElPHY, or PIXMA Photo Printer or any PictBridge-compatible photo printer, press the lighted Print/Share button, and print! Also use the Print/Share button to transfer images to a computer (Windows and Macintosh).

Connect the USB interface cable to your Canon digital camera and a PictBridge compatible photo printer. Press lighted Print/Share button. You'll have long-lasting, professional-quality prints in minutes.

Print your own ID photos in 28 different sizes or use the Movie Print function to output multiple stills from a recorded movie on a single sheet with a Canon SELPHY Compact Photo Printer. (Printers not included--must be purchased separately.)

What's in the Box
PowerShot SD630 body, Lithium battery pack NB-4L, battery charger CB-2LV, SD memory card SDC-16M, wrist strap WS-600, Digital Camera Solution CD-ROM, USB interface cable IFC-400PCU, AV cable AVC-DC300

Product Description

The Canon PowerShot SD630 Digital Elph, has a sleek, ergonomic design that will turn heads. It is packed with a full array of Canon's most popular and convenient shooting features. With 6.0 megapixels of resolution and a high quality Canon 3x Optical Zoom Lens you'll be assured stunning images, every time. The camera is also equipped with an amazingly large, eye-opening 3.0 inch LCD screen, an extensive range of shooting modes with Custom Color features, a fast USB 2.0 interface for quick downloads, and much more. 6.0 megapixels of resolution ensures the kind of detail that makes ordinary images extraordinary, and gives you the freedom to crop images and produce large prints that are true-to-life and filled with rich detail. Sleek Compact Design; High-quality Canon 3x Optical Zoom Lens; Large 3.0" LCD Screen; Reduced Image Blur and Improved Low-light Shooting with ISO 800; DIGIC II Image Processor with iSAPS Technology; Shoot and View Widescreen Images; Record VGA or Fast Frame Rate Movies with Sound; Wide Range of Shooting Modes; USB 2.0 Interface; Easy, Flexible Direct Printing Options;

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

117 of 123 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Digital Camera, May 27, 2006

By 

J. Lin (Los Angeles,, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Canon PowerShot SD630 6MP Digital Elph Camera with 3x Optical Zoom (Electronics)

I have had tons of digital cameras before and I have always sold them on eBay to get rid of them. Canon is by far the best digital camera I have ever owned. I previously had an SD10 for the last 3 years and am still happy with it. 3 yrs is a long time for me considering I am a bit of a techie that likes to change all of my electronics whenever a new one comes out. So for me the SD630 is finally a well deserved upgrade...
LOVE IT. The LCD screen is amazing and there are tons of new features that I did not have on my SD10. Everything with this camera is terrific. The only thing and only thing I can say is that there is not a battery meter, the meter only shows up when it is already running out of battery. This was the same for the SD10 and it was quite annoying. Anyways, definately buy a backup battery just in case.
Other than that, you cannot go wrong with this camera...

58 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Product - Picked Out After Much Research..., May 20, 2006

By 

E. Navarro (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Canon PowerShot SD630 6MP Digital Elph Camera with 3x Optical Zoom (Electronics)

I just received my Canon SD-630 in the mail today and can already say I am very happy with my purchase. I had been researching cameras the entire week, looking for the right one for my needs.

When I went to the store, Best Buy, I had written down a few camera model numbers that caught my eye. Over the next few days it was interesting to see how my perceptions of these cameras had changed. I had at first liked the 7.1 Megapixel Sony I had put at the top of my list at Best Buy. I based this on merely the camera having a high megapixel count and the looks of the outer casing. But after getting on Amazon and reading product descriptions, going over reviews, and looking at shots submitted by customers all of my original perceptions changed.

While the Sony may have looked good and had a higher megapixel count than my Canon, it was the features that attracted me to the SD-630. I liked that it had some interesting options to play around with besides just the usual camera settings like outdoor, indoor, etc... Besides the basics, the Canon has options like Color Accent and Color Swap. These features really let you produce some unique prints without having to do any post manipulation with programs such as Photoshop. I myself had done similar work with photos using Photoshop, to make certain objects color while the rest of the image remained black and white. But this takes time depending on the object and its nice to be able to achieve the same results without any work! Its also very easy to use and I took some great shots in no time.

Another camera I was interested in was the Kodak V570. After reading the feature list on this camera, such as the Panorama Stitch and Wide Angle Lens I thought it was perfect. Plus the pictures I viewed looked very cool when incorporating these modes. But some of the reviews on the camera turned me away somewhat. Such as having to use the supplied dock as well as Kodak software just to upload the images to my computer or charge the battery. I like the flexibility of the Canon, allowing you to transfer images via USB cable or memory card without having to use any other software. The battery charger is also very compact, no cords or large battery trays, just a simple charger that has a folding plug for easy transport (the charger is the size of a small cell phone - probably smaller).

Yet I still liked the Panorama Stitch option that the Kodak offered and was really considering this camera as my final pick. So I decided to go back to the store and look at these cameras again now that I had done the research and knew what I was looking for. It was a whole different experience than my first visit to Best Buy. When I played with the Kodak it just didn't live up to what I had hoped for. I was put off by the button layout and the overall feel of the camera when compared to the Canon. After finally figuring out how to do the Panorama Stitch, while it was a cool little feature, it just wasn't all that great on the camera. The screen is small and when your grouping so many different images together, 3, its hard to really see what you are doing and to get a shot exactly as you want. I'm sure after some use I would get use to it, but to get the full effect you would have to upload the image to a computer and look at it from there to see if it came out the way you intended. The camera just seemed simple in terms of functionality.

The Canon, which I had tested out before this camera, was a whole different story. I really liked how everything was laid out and the big screen made looking at images so much easier. Thus when you used an option such as Color Accent, you could really get a sense of how the final product turned out and decide if you were happy with the shot (or needed to do a retake) without having to view the image on a computer. It has so many different options to play with that are very useful in the simplest terms; such as Vivid Colors. I took a few pictures of the same objects using this mode and some in just Auto. You can really see a nice subtle difference and in some cases the colors just pop when compared to normal. It is very nice to use and is a great compliment to the camera. Simple features such as this are excellent and let you take great pictures without having to adjust manual settings. But if you would like to tinker with manual options, the camera leaves plenty of room to do this as well (which was another feature I was looking for, as I wanted to get more involved with the camera over time).

The video on this camera is also excellent. I remember taking videos on older digital cameras I have used and they were pretty low quality. I do a lot of video editing and such, and found the video option on this camera to be very nice. It really lets you take some quality footage, that if you showed a clip to someone off of your computer they would think it was taken with a camcorder. Another nice thing about the video is that you can use Color Accent and Color Swap, which I did not know was possible until reading the manual. It makes your video much more interesting if used in the right way and adds a touch that would require high level video editing software (AVID, After Affects) to attain. This does it without any other work.

Overall I am very pleased with this camera and would definitely recommend it to anyone who is thinking of purchasing this model. Like I said, after reading reviews and customer feedback on Amazon as well as other sites that tested these cameras, I completely changed my initial impressions of what I thought I was looking for. If I were you I would make sure to go out and test out cameras you have in your Top 3 after reading all the great information found on this site. It really helps you make a confident decision in your purchase, such as the one I made. I had read before that Canon made excellent digital cameras, some of the best available, and can definitely back that up with my experience in just one day of use. I cant wait to use this camera more often and really get to know the many features it has to offer. I made sure to upload some pictures I just took today for others to see, hope this review has helped in some way.

The only things I would seek to improve on this camera would be the addition of a wide angle lens and better construction of the tiny little door that covers the USB connection and AV cable connetion. It seems a little brittle and I would be very careful when opening and shutting it. Im sure it will be fine with proper caution, but if you were to open it fast or tug on it hardly, it could possibly rip and detach. Only gripe I see to express, but nothing too major.

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One Awesome Camera, July 17, 2006

By 

J Brock "Jeff" (West Vancouver, BC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Canon PowerShot SD630 6MP Digital Elph Camera with 3x Optical Zoom (Electronics)

This Canon SD630 camera replaced my "garbage" Sony that suddenly stopped working. I love this camera!

PROS:
1. HUGE 3" LCD screen (the main reason I bought this camera).
2. Excellent picture quality.
3. Tons of pre-set settings including "fireworks" (which takes perfect photo's of fireworks).
4. Lots of manual settings if you prefer, including high ISO, white balance, etc.
5. Takes top quality videos (at up to 30 frames/sec at 640X480 - similar quality as that of full-featured video cameras).
6. You can upload any WAV and JPG files to personalize all the camera's settings (the sound and picture that shows when you turn on your camera, the sound the shutter makes, the sound of the buttons when navigating settings, etc.).
7. When reviewing your pictures, the built-in "gyro" will flip the orientation of your photo when you tilt the camera going from "portrait mode" to "landscape mode" and vice-versa.
8. The "colour swap" feature will have designers and decorators drooling. You take a picture of say, a house, then aim the pin-point in the middle of the LCD screen at a colour on the house that you want to change and press the shutter button, then aim the camera on the colour you want to change it to and press the shutter button, then voila!, the original picture of the house now appears with the new colour you had just personally selected!
9. It takes only about 15 minutes to fully charge the battery (NB-4L, Li-ion) in the included external battery charger.
10. The "auto create directory" feature is great. You can set the camera to create a new directory every day (or at a certain time) so when returning from your holiday, all your pictures are filed in folders according to the date you took them.
11. The "photo stitch" feature is awesome. Select this feature then snap a picture, rotate yourself a few degrees, take another picture, rotate, etc. The PC software will take all these shots and combine them into one panoramic picture.


CONS:
1. There isn't a visual battery-life meter; it only appears when the battery is almost dead, so it's hard to tell how much battery life you have left until it's too late. I bought a second battery that I carry with my camera just in case.
2. Flimsy cover on the USB and AV/OUT terminals.
3. When you connect the camera to your PC, the camera isn't recognized as a "removable device" (which is preferred with digital cameras), so you can't just copy pictures back and forth in Windows Explorer. The camera requires it's own software to download your pictures.
4. The built-in speaker is located on the top of the camera (it isn't facing you), so it's difficult to hear videos when you're playing them back on the LCD screen.

The "PROS" far outweigh the "CONS" with this camera. I couldn't be happier with my purchase. Prepare to meet new people when you're out using this camera - people are amazed at the size of the LCD screen.