Canon PowerShot A640 10MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Zoom

It is a little tough to review the product. It was a gift to my wife i am currently overseas and haven't viewed it myself. My wife seems to like it.

This is an inferior product. I bought the A640 because my beloved S80 finally bit the dust.

This camera simply cannot take pictures in low light. But all the pictures I have taken with this camera suffer from poor image quality and are often very washed out.

It's possible to take some good photos with this camera using the manual settings (a big selling point for me). It does take excellent macro shots, and the video quality is superb. But if you're wanting a camera to use on vacation, or just take snapshots- go higher or lower on the price scale. This camera is a poorly designed compromise- it has a lot of great features that don't add up to a quality product.

I've had my Canon A640 for about a year and a half and taken over 2000 pictures and more gigs of VGA movies than I care to try to remember. Long story short, it's a terrific camera for fast and discrete urban(very!) street photography, and with always ready to go alkaline batteries it's fast enough for those family photos that pop up without warning and won't happen again. I carry it around in my cargo pants pockets in the summer and my jacket pocket in the winter even though it's a tad on the heavy side and not exactly mini in size.
Carrying it around in pockets with my keys, change, and exposed to all the dust and grit should have totaled it long ago, but it just keeps on working.
PROS - Takes nice pictures in reasonable light that any amateur photographer like me will enjoy. Color accuracy and vividness is more than good enough for amateur photography and quick snapshots of kids and pets that won't sit still for more than a few seconds before they're gone.

The flip screen has ruined me. When I bought the A640 I thought the flip out screen was a gimmick. Now, I'd have to carefully consider whether I'd buy another camera without it. Really works good for discrete urban photography.

Speed. The A640 starts up fast enough to capture those family moments that pop up without warning and only last for a few seconds.

CONS - The LCD screen is low resolution and needs more brightness for accurate color presentation.

The automatic lens covers sometimes jam up and won't open or close fully. The slot they slide in is too small so I have to use one of those dull, round pointed kitchen knives to carefully spread the slot in order to free the lens covers. Ah yes....that's consumer grade photography equipment for you. I've come to the point where I'd actually prefer a manual lens cap over automatic lens covers.

SUMMARY - A well built camera that also feels well built when I hold and operate it (except for the automatic lens covers). Fast and takes nice pictures. Hard working and tough for every day use. Good value for the money.

I recieved this camera as a gift a bit over 2 years ago. Aside from the bulky design i was very pleased. Until, I was carrying it around in my bag and pulled it out to take a picture only to find the screen completly cracked. I turned it on and I could see where it had cracked and could not take any pictures. I sent it back to canon and fixed it for a whopping $150. I only griped a bit because I had enjoyed the camera so much. After getting in back in the mail I went on a wild goose chase looking for a camera case. Lets just say it wasn't easy. The design was very hard to find a case that could even fit it! The side battery section was very inconvenient. But, finally I found one. I hadn't had the camera back more than a month when I had it out taking pictures. I closed the screen and put it in my bag without the case (huge mistake) and went on my way. Next time I took it out the screen had cracked in the exact same way it had before. I was not happy. I had a nikon before the canon and not once did I have a problem. I carried it in my bag the same as the canon and the screen was fine. I'm debating on sending it back, yet another time, and paying yet another $150. Either way, I will never purchase another canon. If you are buying this product beware of the screen!

Very good camera for the price. Be sure to get at least 1 GB memory.