Cannon a610 clarity of samples

I am a real newbie to digital cameras and I am considering the Canon A610. I have lots of grandchildren and like to take picts indoor and out. when I look at the samples here on line, it I zoom in the pictures are not clear. Is this because I am on line? I would probably just be printing these picts in a 4X6 photo but might crop some to be a bit larger. I was concerned at the quality of the pict after I saw some of the galleries when I zoomed in..

Old Bob 2 said:

when I look at the samples here on line, it I zoom
in the pictures are not clear. Is this because I am on line?

Click to expand...

IMHO the answer is a resounding yes! And in my experience, I've never met a (non-dslr) digital image that didn't look better when reduced in size and sharpened a bit. I've owned eight digital cameras.

4x6" prints, even larger, will look fine. Right-click and download a few photo and print them on 4x6 photo paper and you will see what I mean. I gave my daughter my A510, which she loves. If the A610 were available at the time I would have purchased it without hesitation.

Here's a picture of my grandson taken with the 510 set on continuous (burst) mode. There is a lot of action and resulting movement and somewhat difficult lighting. I'm pretty pleased with it for a little camera like the 510. From what I've know about the A610 it will do even better.

http://www.pbase.com/gailb/image/40848442

--
gail ~ http://www.pbase.com/gailb
My digital camera BLOGGs: Canon S2 IS & A510, Panasonic FZ3, Nikon 5400
http://www.digicamhelp.com/digital-camera-blogs/index.htm

You can download a full size sample picture and print it.

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2005_reviews/a610_samples.html

Thank you for the great slide pict..that is exactly the type of photo I would probably be taking but everyone gives all kinds of techie stuff and settings the pict was taken on. Does this camera give good photos if I just leave on automatic (until I get venturesome)? By the time I get all the settings set, the moment is usually gone. that is why I am giving up my 35 SLR. Want a camera that will give good point and shoot picts too!

Thanks for the link..have some reading to do but it seems too you have given me a place that walks me thru the camera too..

A question..If the camera uses a memory card, do I have to plug in the camera to the USB or can i just insert the card into my HP printer that has a slot for it? Is either correct? See how new I am?

Old Bob 2 said:

A question..If the camera uses a memory card, do I have to plug in
the camera to the USB or can i just insert the card into my HP
printer that has a slot for it? Is either correct?

Click to expand...

You can use either, but the slot in the HP printer is more convenient and probably faster.
--
Regards,
Hank

You stll want to download the pics to your computer so you can save them.
--
Bob,
Great Pro1 + 420EX
Wife's Nikon 3100
Photo Shop Elements 4.0

I prefer using the memory card reader attached to my printer, it's less hassle and the camera doesn't need to be on.

...I think it's much faster, and mine is set-up like a removeable drive so it's really easy to access.

--
http://snapandshare.com/barb1686

Old Bob 2 said:

I am a real newbie to digital cameras and I am considering the
Canon A610. I have lots of grandchildren and like to take picts
indoor and out. when I look at the samples here on line, it I zoom
in the pictures are not clear. Is this because I am on line?

Click to expand...

Bob, while the picture below is not of a kid, it should help you disspell any worries about the clarity. Of course there has been some post-processing, but only minimal. Make sure your browser is maximized. The picture was sized to 970 pixels horizontal, and it's best viewed at that size. It was taken a couple of days ago, and it is only one of the three pictures in that gallery taken with A610 (I just got it recently).

http://www.pbase.com/hwyhobo/image/58379659

Also, as to whether to download from camera through a USB cable or through a card reader, I will admit I much prefer the USB cable. It's very fast, and it protects my card. In the past (before A610) I had a couple of cards go bad from constantly pulling the out and putting them back in. I never had any issues with USB.

Here is another picture (macro) taken with A610:

http://www.pbase.com/hwyhobo/image/1789885

A610 is not perfect, but for this price, I couldn't find any better.

Old Bob 2 said:

Does this camera
give good photos if I just leave on automatic (until I get
venturesome)?

Click to expand...

If it's like the a510, I'd suggest P Mode, which is fully automatic though you have the option of making important changes such as Exposure Compensation. It will also focus best if you shut off that rather useless AiAF focus mode and use single area focus mode.
--
gail ~ http://www.pbase.com/gailb
My digital camera BLOGGs: Canon S2 IS & A510, Panasonic FZ3, Nikon 5400
http://www.digicamhelp.com/digital-camera-blogs/index.htm

Bob,

The short answer is: no camera can do what you are asking.

You are the photographer, not the camera. You don't have to know every intimate detail on how a camera works, any more than you have to know every intimate detail on how a car works in order to drive one.

But in order to drive a car you do have to learn the basic rules of the road and the basic functionality of a car. The more you want a car to do, the more you'll have to learn.

The same with photography. Full auto mode makes a lot of assumptions and will never capture what you see. It takes practice and a bit of education and your images can improve 100% over full auto.

The cost per shot with digital is almost zero. The only real cost is your time.

So, rather than looking for the holy grail - the camera that can read your mind - instead look for a camera that feels comfortable in your hands, that you enjoy using, and that meets your needs.

I think you'll do very well by the A610, but that's just my opinion. There are plenty of good cameras out there waiting for you to find them.