Home > Consumer Reviews > Canon PowerShot SD630 6MP Digital Elph Camera with 3x Optical Zoom

I have been playing with the camera for a couple hours now and I love it. The first thing that lured me to this camera was the 3 inch LCD screen and Canon brand name.

Let me tell you, the screen is big and beautiful! The screen is detailed and makes viewing and taking pictures so much more enjoyable.

You should'nt be too worried about scratching the screen eaither, it is somewhat durable.I tapped/hit and ran my fingernails across the screen which caused no noticable permanent damage. This was however, done on a display camera at a store. My camera does have a very superficial scratch on the screen but when the camera is on, you cant even see it.

The problem with the screen however is that it does take up a lot of space and leaves no room for an optical viewfinder. So if you are big on the viewfinder and must have one, this camera is not for you.

The large screen also leaves little room for buttons. The navigation buttons are very small and cramped. So if you have big hands, such as myself, its gonna be an issue. Although I havent had any problems accidentally pressing the wrong button, my hand gets cramped fairly quickly with continuous use.

However, there are very fantastic and easy ways to easily and quickly navigate through your pictures. You can eaither use the circular button, which acts like an ipod click wheel, and just run your fingers around it to start searching, or click the zoom out button once to bring up 9 pics at once, and move from there. It is very helpful when you have a ton of pics but want to get to one very quickly.

The Canons Elph's series are ultra compact and this one is no exception. You can eaisly fit it into your pocket and carry it around. However, it is noticable heavier than other ultra compact cameras around.

The picture quality is also very great. There are many presets to use and the manual controls are great for novices or average photographers. However, getting to them can be a pain. You have to go through a bunch of menus to change the settings. Also, some of the special features, such as color swap or accents, make pics more prone to blurryness.

Taking pictures can be done very quickly, even with the flash on. On normal settings, it takes about a second between pictures. However, when using the special featuers, there is noticable lag between shots.

The pictures are also VERY detailed. As you can see in the submissions, there are tons of detail in each pic. Macro pics will surprise you on how well it captures pictures and you will be astounded by inifinity (landscape) shots. Even with the optical zoom on, there is no distortion that I could notice.

There are just two main gripes I have with the camera.

First of all, there is no image stabalization. This feature has become standatd on many other digital cameras, which also cost considerably less. For a $400 camera (I paid $350 though), you would expect image stabalization to be included! Its not.

Secondly, the camera only comes with a 16meg card. Thats not really relevant to the camera and wont affect performance but come on, a 16meg card! You can only take 4-5 pics on the highest settings for picture qualitly. Its a joke. So you are gonna have to buy a bigger card, preferably a 1 gig one.

Overall, this is a great camera. There are a bunch of other pros and cons about the camera, but are not really important to mention. The camera has a very durable feel and takes awesome pictures. With the 3 inch LCD screen, it makes taking pics so much more enjoyable.

Now, why should you get the SD630 over the 600, especially when they are are exactly the same except the SD600 has an optical viewfinder and a 2.5 inch LCD while the SD630 has no viewfinder but a 3 inch LCD screen. I was in the same boat. Just ask yourself...

Can I live without the viewfinder and can budget the extra $50?.

If yes, go for the SD630. The screen makes it totally worth it in my opinion.

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I thought I should add some commentary about the video mode. I just started using it and let me tell you, video mode is AMAZING, even on only 15FPS. It runs really smooth and looks INCREDIBLE, even on compact mode. You can even use color swap or use accents while taping.

Compact mode is especially great if you want to send little email videos of yourself to loved ones, friends, or just for plain fun. On compact mode, you can shoot around 1 minute and 30 seconds on the 16 meg card you have. However, upping the setting will drastically reduce the amount of video time. Normal on 15FPS will give you roughly 20-25 seconds while the higest settings will get you around 8-10 seconds. And this all includes sound, which is also captured very well on this tiny little camera.
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Last update...

Ive had this camera for about two weeks now and I really love it! The pics continue to come out great and picture taking is quick.

I got a 2 gig card for it and now I can take 720 pics on the best settings and it allows for around 16 minutes for standard (30 FPS, 630 resolution) video tapping. Compact gives you around 32 min.

It should also be noted that you may want to consider buying a secondary battery for the camera. The battery it comes with is said to take around 160 shots (Other camears have ratings of up to 360 shots). Im sure standby times and viewing pics take some shots off. I bought a battery fom ebay for $7 (1 cent for the battery, $6.99 for S&H) and it works wonderfully. I tested it with continuous shooting, and was able to get about 200 shots with flash and 50 without flash, its still has juice for more. Search for "Canon SD630 battery."

Also, you may want to invest in invisible shield (shieldzone.com) for your viewfinder. It costs $4.99 for making the custom design and $9.99 for the product. So about $15 since you can choose to get free shipping. It is great if you are worried about scratching the viewfidner and want peace of mind. It is also very easy to install. You peel it off, use a spray it comes with, and put it on. Then, if you missed, you can slide it into position.

Last of all, there is one last gripe I have to mention. I've noticed that black shadowing can sometimes occur in indoor shooting, even with the flash on.

However, I still wouldnt trade in the camera if I had the chance. I love my camera!

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...

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.

I borrowed my daughter's SD630 on a 10 day trip to Greece with some friends. One of them had brought a new Canon EOS 5D but forgot to pack his flash (it doesn't have a pop up). I had a scandisk ultra II 2G card but I was taking so many good shots, I had to download the photos each day onto my laptop which allowed us to compare the performances between SD630 and EOS 5D daily. My SD630 took crystal clear shots just like the 5D (which retails for about $2,500??) on outdoor shots which is pretty remarkable but SD630 with High ISO (800) setting blew away the 5D on indoor shots. During the trip, we visited many museums where flash photography was not allowed, and my SD630 was the only one in the group taking incredibly sharp pictures in low light situations with consistency.

SD630 with its large LCD (which automatically switches between landscape and protrait in review mode) and easy to use thumb dial allowed me to take shots with great ease in changing conditions. I was able to turn off the flash, set the ISO to high, and etc with ease that I was able to take shots so quickly where as a slower trigger might have missed the shot.

I also tested out the macro settings where the SD630 performed flawlessly.

It is small enough to fit in my palm while large enough for the trip of a life time. Unlike SLR's, I was able to take the SD630 everywhere during the trip which meant I was merely a power button away from a great shot. I was so impressed with the SD630, I finally chose Canon over Nikon in buying a SLR for myself. I bought a new Rebel XTi with 18-55mm lens. I do like the XTi's combination of versatility and functionality, but so far especialy on indoor shots where no flash is to be used, I am just amazed by the quiet and yet powerful performance of the SD630. Maybe I just don't know how to use the XTi to its potential yet, but so far, I think the SD630 is taking better shots than the XTi or the 5D. The pictures speak for themselves for me. I don't think I will return the XTi, but seeing the photos, my wife is convinced that I am keeping the SLR because it is a "cooler" looking gadget than the point-and-shoot. Deep down, I think she's right. SD630 is a fantastic point-and-shoot camera which produces high end results. As I use my new XTi on the next photo opportunities, I will be wondering if the shots will be coming out as good as the SD630 can produce.

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.