Digital Camera Technology

Some of the most popular cameras are not as popular as you may think.  Perhaps you’ve seen people walking by with DSLR’s in tow, some of them flashing brands like Sony or Nikon.  But it’s not the kind of camera or the brand that makes the camera.  Take Canon, for example; they are a known camera brand but it’s not always their high-end cameras that take the limelight.  In fact, it’s their simpler and more functional products that take center stage.  In this case: the Canon A640.

Features

The Canon A640 is the one of the latest offerings from Canon’s PowerShot series and is one that is likely to stay for about a year longer.  Sales of the product have determined its popularity.  Maybe the answer lies in some of the features that the Canon A640 has.  The Canon A640 sports a high resolution, 10.0 mega pixel CCD.  It has a high quality 4x Optical Zoom lens, an optical viewfinder and a 2.5 inch various-angle (Vari Angle) LCD screen.

Inside

The Canon A640 is equipped with a 9-point AiAF Smart auto focus system that includes 21 shooting modes.  For those who aren’t sure what this means, standard shooting modes include Full Auto, Program, Shutter-priority, Manual, Custom, etc.  And then there are the additional modes like Portrait, Night Scene, Landscape, etc.  The Canon A640 is also capable of recording in movie mode with sound that is capture by a built in microphone.  If you use a 4GB SD memory card (sold separately), you can record up to 36 minutes of high quality movies.  In terms of zoom technology, the camera also boasts a Safety zoom feature that allows you to explore zoom levels even on digital zoom without losing quality of the image that you capture.  Canon has also made sure to install a DIGIC II (Digital Imaging Integrated Circuit) image processor.  Consumers who buy the Canon A640 are assured longer battery life, smooth operation, accurate reproduction, and high image quality because of the presence of the DIGIC chip.

Vari Angle

The LCD display is one of the best features of the Canon A640.  The Vari Angle (or various angle) feature allows you to see what you are capturing on the screen whether you are raising the camera high above your head or taking shots from below your knee.  The color 2.5 inch LCD screen is designed in such a way that you will still see images very clearly even at these extreme angles.  With the LCD screen on when taking shots, a consumer will probably be able to take about 500 shots before the batteries die out.  Of course, this is all thanks again to the DIGIC chip that allows for less power consumption.

The Canon A640 is sold with a USB cable, audio and video cable (which you probably won’t use much since it also has a built in speaker so you can review videos on the spot), a wrist strap, 16MB MMC card, AA size batteries (it’s recommended that you buy NiMH rechargeable batteries for longer usage), and Canon’s own software that you can use for transferring and editing your pictures with on your computer.