Buying A610/A620 - Couple of Qs and need advice

New guy here looking to purchase a new A610/A620 and begin to explore the world of digital photography with a little more then just using the "Auto" settings. Previously I had an Olympus 2020 Zoom which was used exclusively in auto mode. After reading the forum for days (literally) I've settled on getting one of these 2 cameras, especially with the reduction in price.

My question is which one to get? I know there are many threads on this question: http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1010&message=16849006 and http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1010&message=15426218&changemode=1 just for example. Either camera will cost the same, about $215-$220 shipped right now. I don't care for the SD series as they are too small for me to comfortably hold. As far as picture quality goes I know both produce excellent results and can't go wrong with either. From what I've gathered the A610 performs a little better indoors (low light) and with continuous shooting, while the A620 has the greater number of MPs and is better outdoors.

I've seen some incredible shots with both cameras. I particulatly like this one: http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1010&thread=18858678 and when I see macros I like it seems the majority were taken with the A610. I'm going to be using the camera indoors/outdoors about the same so I don't know which way to lean.

Since both are the same price now (no longer the $100 difference), if you were to say, darnit, just get this one , which one would it be?

Also, thanks to all the members of this great forum I've been able to cull together which batteries, charger, case to get for the camera. I've also picked up a couple of pointers on some settings to try. But could you guys and gals point me to a site/thread that will help a beginner start to gain control over the manual settings.

Sorry for such a long first post, I'm just getting excited over the prospect of getting one of these cameras and to start to have some fun. Got more reading to do here too!

Thanks everyone!

Hello and Welcome ! Most people will probably tell you to buy the A620 as it offers you "more Megapixels for the same price" BUT I own the A610 and have never once regretted not buying the 7 MP A620. Why? I can't imagine the colors being more accurate or the pictures being any sharper than what my A610 produces and in fact, I have seen comparison shots where the pics from the A620 simply don't look as sharp or the colors seems less "truer" than the A610. As for cropping, you would have to be taking photographs of ladybugs from 10 feet away to really need the 2 extra MPs . I have done lots of cropping with the A610 and the details were simply amazing. Also, the shot-to-shot times, I believe, are faster with the A610. But I don't think there's such a thing as a "wrong" choice either. I agree with you about the image quality of the SD series - now THAT would have been the wrong decision IMHO (I just returned my SD550 to Dell)....Good Luck !
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Jay607 said:

Also, thanks to all the members of this great forum I've been able
to cull together which batteries, charger, case to get for the
camera. I've also picked up a couple of pointers on some settings
to try. But could you guys and gals point me to a site/thread that
will help a beginner start to gain control over the manual settings.
Thanks everyone!

Click to expand...

Jay,

I've seen outstanding samples taken from each camera by the many fine contributors in this forum. I personally own the A610 and bought it when the difference between it and the A620 was near $100. Today it's a only few dollars so from that standpoint the A620 is the better value.
Here are some interesting reads that should help get you started:
http://www.digicamhelp.com/
http://www.shortcourses.com/using/index.htm
http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials.htm
http://www.photoxels.com/digital-photography-tutorials.html
--
Regards,
Hank

I have used both and found little difference between them and any differences in things like colour can easily be adjusted in post processing.

From reading other threads, you may find it difficult to get an A610 as the popular sentiment is that they have been discontinued.
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/malcy/sets

You can view samples from both cameras at these two liinks:

http://www.pbase.com/cameras/canon/powershot_a620
http://www.pbase.com/cameras/canon/powershot_a610

I ended up buying the A620 a month ago it was a bargin for $210 and another $46 for a two gig (150X) memory card. I'm impressed with the quality of the picture from it, I don't have a share site otherwise I would post some examples. I don't think you would regret buying either one, that is if you can find the A610.

I like the A610 better. the A620 is a bit softer and has a bit more noise. I had a few trial and error focus problems with the two 620's I tried and haven't had the same problem with the 610. I'm very happy with it.

I have the A610, I don't think you'll ever miss the 2 extra megs. and neither will your harddrive on your computer.

hey stranger

let me ask - if you had the 610 and 620 on the table and could choose either one to go take pics with, you'd -still- choose the 610? given that either is there, free, use as you will kind of thing?

I have read that there's less controllability in the 610, so I had to rule that one out right away. but that's just me and my funny prio's

--
Bryan (pics only: http://www.flickr.com/photos/linux-works )
(pics and more: http://www.netstuff.org ) ~

As they are essentially identical, except for the sensor and a bit of the firmware code, I would suggest that the small difference that you saw was probably just normal production variation not down to design.
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/malcy/sets

A610 for work, A620 for personal use. I can't really tell the difference. Like having a touch more to work with for 16x20 prints with the A620. The A610 shutter did fail on me, had to be repaired.

Actually compared work A610 to parents' A610, pictures looked more different than the A620 to work A610 pics do. All unscientific of course.

-B

I recently bought a620 returned it mark inside lens whilest i am not selling my D50 the A620 is a great little camera the replacement arrived today and I went and tried it without dpreview standard of image class but enough to see it was ok.comparisons can be seen at

http://www.pbase.com/jascm/start
this image was one of several taken this afternoon with minimalPP.



jasm

Hello all, thank you very much for everyone's input. I think I have made my decision...drum roll please...I'm opting for the A610.

After comparing the images in the links Digital_Dave provided, I prefered the images taken with the A610 a little better. Obviously the photos depend on the skill and technique of the photographer, but to me these seemed a little more detailed. Again, could be just me.

And to Hank, the links you provided will help me immensely as I prepare to wonder off the P&S "Auto" path!

I'm planning on ordering the camera in the next couple of days, I've been able to find it in stock at a couple of reputable online dealers so shouldn't be a problem.

One last question for everyone - has anyone used the new Sandisk Extreme III secure digital cards yet? I know it's a little more expensive than the Sandisk Ultra II but I've read a bunch of people having problems with this card. Either they worked well or just flat out failed. Just wanted to know what everyone was using.

Once I receive my new camera (hooray!) I'll post my first attempts. Still got more reading to do. Thanks again everyone!

Hi Jay,

we use a SanDisk Ultra II 2GB with our A610. It is working fine. The Extreme III is a little overkill for the camera, but downloading using a good card reader should be faster. And, it is sealed and working in an wider temperature range.

The A610 is highly recommended (and the A620 too). Only one additional point: The A620 supports remote shooting, the A610 not.

Lily in the Golden Hour (Canon A610 f/5.6 1/100s)



Lily under a June sun (Canon A610 f/5.6 1/400s)



Thirsty (Canon A610 f/4.0 1/800s)



---
Best regards
Wertdinger

Jay607 said:

One last question for everyone - has anyone used the new Sandisk
Extreme III secure digital cards yet? I know it's a little more
expensive than the Sandisk Ultra II but I've read a bunch of people
having problems with this card. Either they worked well or just
flat out failed. Just wanted to know what everyone was using.

Once I receive my new camera (hooray!) I'll post my first attempts.
Still got more reading to do. Thanks again everyone!

Click to expand...

I heartfully agree with Wertdinger and although it may be a good card I would opt for the Sandisk UltraII since it's been proven and has no negative feedback. It is the card of choice.
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Regards,
Hank

The older cards are fast enough that they aren't the limiting factor in how fast you can take photos or anything, so the only advantage of a faster cards is that you can download a little faster. I'd go for the cheaper one, which is the II.

A little late to the party, but I'm pretty sure the camera-to-camera random differences are greater than the differences between the A610 and the A620 models in everything expect the MP and speed. I love my A610, and it's just as well that it only does 5mp, since I find it hard to throw away as many photos as I ought to, and larger photos take up more space on my hard-drive. But if the price were the same, I'd probably have opted for the A620.

(The remote control thing only matters if you want your computer to take photos while tethered to the camera. I can imagine why a couple of people might want to do that, but I can't imagine myself or most people ever wanting to do that. Unless you know up-front that you have a use for that functionality, it seems like a non-issue.)

Sorry for derailing from the initial post but I just want to comment on this reply...
Wertdinger,

This shot as well as "Water Cooled" are two of my favorite portrait poses. Two of the best I've seen in a long time since being a CTF member. Your son is such a natural, and the exposure quality reflects your and your wife's talents..... bravo.........

Wertdinger said:

Thirsty (Canon A610 f/4.0 1/800s)



---
Best regards
Wertdinger

Click to expand...

--
Regards,
Hank

PuzzleGal said:

(The remote control thing only matters if you want your computer to
take photos while tethered to the camera. I can imagine why a
couple of people might want to do that, but I can't imagine myself
or most people ever wanting to do that. Unless you know up-front
that you have a use for that functionality, it seems like a
non-issue.)

Click to expand...

I didn't know that the A620 could be linked to a PC when I bought it. Yesterday I set it up with my laptop to try and get photos of a fox that often comes to feed on scraps in our garden. (Didn't catch it.) When our grandchildren visit I'll set it up to try and get some good candid shots.

Thank you, Hank, my wife and I feel very honoured.
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Best regards
Wertdinger

Wertdinger - Those are some beautiful pictures especially the one of your son! The colors and detail in that picture is just amazing.

I ended up ordering the A610 from Amazon and should have it here early next week. I've also ordered the Maha C401FS battery charger and extra Powerex 2300mAh batteries from Thomas-distributing. Although it is probably overkill, lastly I ordered the Sandisk Extreme III 1GB sd card. It comes with RescuePro recovery software also, which I could use later on as I've had some problems with data loss in the past. So I can't really complain.

I'm going to pick up the Lowepro Rezo 50 camera case this weekend probably at BestBuy. The last thing I would like to get would be a tripod, but I need to do a little more research here to see which is recommended.

Getting ready to head up to Niagra Falls in 2 weeks so I'll have a good chance to put the camera (and my abilities) through its paces and see what we can do. I'll post a couple of shots afterwards to get everyone's opinion.

Bryan... linuxworks wrote(excerpt):

linuxworks said:

let me ask - if you had the 610 and 620 on the table and could
choose either one to go take pics with, you'd -still- choose the
610?

Click to expand...

This is actually a very good real world test if you have the gear on hand... I used this to compare my SLR lenses on my two Canon SLR's... i.e.: I'll leave a EF28-135/IS on one camera body and my EF28-105/f3.5-4.5 on the other... I'll swap lens and body a few times during the tests... After a week or two I know which lens I prefer and which camera I like to use it on...

I did this same 2 camera test with a Bigma 50-500 and the 100-400L/IS and sold my Bigma... I also did this with macros and three 70-300mm lenses to decide what I'd actually pick up and carry with me...
Me? 610 and 620 on a table? 620!

--
OK, I admit it... I capture souls with my camera!
Regards,
from the Oregon Coast,
Roy NN7DX
2 DSLR's and an S3is... Now the pixels are really hitting the fan...