New Camera (A640)

[Rapida]

Hello everyone,
I just got my first camera! So I would love some tips for taking care of it and tips on taking photos. I plan on getting my housing once it gets warmer. Until then I will just practice taking pictures topside. Anyway, advice for this camera newb would be appreciated.

 

[The Mushroom King]

I've walked in to my local gadget shop and picked up the A640 a couple of times recently and am about 99% sure I'm going to pick it up..... just need to convince the wife.


4Gg cards are reasonable, wouldn't need to change cards in between dives....
I think the canon waterproof case should be fine.... The Ikelite is nice but starting to strain my wallet. and I have no idea :huh: what to do about the strobe.....

So, I'm curious to know what you think? Let us know after you've had some time to play around with it. I'm particularly worried about how long the batteries last.

Cheers
Mush
irate6: :h2o:

 

[DiverBeth]

OK so I'm not the only one out there who's thinking about the 640. I have a Sony P10 Powershot which has been ok but I want something a little better. My son also wants me to get a new camera so he can have the P10.

 

[Gilligan]

Hello everyone,
I just got my first camera! So I would love some tips for taking care of it and tips on taking photos. I plan on getting my housing once it gets warmer. Until then I will just practice taking pictures topside. Anyway, advice for this camera newb would be appreciated.

Start using:

The manual mode so you get the feel of adjusting the F stops and shutter speeds.

The custom white balance setting so you have it down pat when it comes time to use it underwater. The "underwater" setting is an arbitrary one and will not be suitable for all conditions.

 

[cgilyeat]

I just got a A630, fit the budget a little better than the 640 and have started to play with the various modes, especially the manual ones. So far I really like the feel of te camera and picture quality, but I won't get it underwater until sometime next month when I'm in Florida.

 

[Rapida]

I'm really enjoying my camera so far. I don't really understand all the settings for the manual mode yet. Although that should change by may the 7th because I'm taking a photo study class at my college. Of course I hope to get in the water before then, but I will probably just use the underwater auto settings.

 

[nerobanchee]

I am also thinking about one of the Canon's A series... I am having a hard time deciding between the A620, A630, or the A640... the A620's price is tempting, but I really want to hear some feedback before I make my final decision. Let us know how the 640's pics turn out!

 

[String]

Ive got a 640 and very happy with it.

My only real gripe is the canon house its difficult to operate some of the buttons wearing 5mm or drygloves.

Camera itself i think is excellent. Battery life is fantastic - i get 500 or so shots out of a set of 2600Mah NiMh batteries with the LCD on and using a fair amount of flash.

Ive done roughly 200 dives with this camera this year.

 

[aic007]

Got an a620 and love it.

 

[azcaddman]

I have the a640, ikelite housing, Inon w/a lens, and use 2 ikelite ss200's (3 in the caves). Overall its a real nice setup, only complaint is the zoom control, it doesn't 'snap' back to stop zooming when you release it, you have to manualy re-center it (no spring on it, and the one in the camera isn't strong enough to move the housing's lever.

other than that, it works great

here's a couple recent photos from catalina/clemente taken over new years weekend