Canon PowerShot A640 review

Image quality
Photos shot at low ISO settings are sharp enough to print well beyond 200x250mm, though the camera tends to blow out highlights. Noise starts to appear at ISO 200, but remains a steady and unobtrusive grain up to ISO 400. At ISO 800, however, the noise develops a sparkly, speckled quality beyond the normal grain. Between the noise and the camera's lack of an image stabilisation mode, the A640 isn't the best choice for low-light or high-speed shots.

Beyond the low-light issues, the A640's photos were crisp and detailed. We noticed little fringing or distortion, and fine details showed up quite clearly, especially in the lower ISO settings. Colours tended to appear slightly muted and cool, but otherwise images were very attractive. 
 

A shot taken at ISO 800 with the A640 (top) compared to one shot with the A710 IS (bottom). As you'd expect, the 10-megapixel A640 has the worst noise profile of all the A-series cameras

 
Unfortunately, the A640 preserves the PowerShot's history of less-than-stellar low-light shooting. Otherwise, the Canon PowerShot A640 is a great camera for users who want a solid point-and-shoot with photographer-friendly manual capabilities. If you like the A640's feature set but don't want to spend quite so much for the resolution, you might want to consider the camera's 8-megapixel but otherwise identical little brother, the A630.

Edited by Lori Grunin
Additional editing by Nick Hide