My new toy ;-)

Canon PowerShot A630

I got this over the weekend for my upcoming trip to Europe. I really - really needed an updated camera. My old digital camera (3.2 megapixels) was fine for my first experiences in digital photography but I quickly decided the quality was not what I wanted it to be. Although when I got that 1st camera, it was the nicest one I had every owned!

So this one has a lot of bells and whistles. Admittedly, I bought it without researching any other cameras and bought it at the first store I looked at. I did have some ideas about what I wanted and it seemed to meet all my specifications. Also, it was on sale for $40 off and came with a fun 1" digital photo key chain (which retails for $29.99 and I am selling on ebay!). I've had good experiences buying this way in the past so I feel good about my decision to purchase this one. I really like what I am learning about it.

Some of the basic features include:

• 8.0-megapixel CCD delivering image resolutions as large as 3,264 x 2,448 pixels
• 2.5-inch color LCD monitor with 115,000 pixels and rotating, swivel design
• Real-image optical viewfinder
• Glass, 4x, 7.3-29.2mm lens (equivalent to 35-140mm zoom on a 35mm camera)
• 4x digital zoom
• Nine-point auto and manual focus modes, with adjustable AF point
• Auto-focus assist light
• Full Automatic, Program auto-exposure, Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority, and full Manual exposure modes, as well as three Scene modes, several Special Scene modes and Movie mode
• Manually adjustable aperture setting ranging from f/2.8 to f/8.0, depending on lens zoom position and shutter speed
• Shutter speed range from 1/2,500 to 15 seconds, depending on aperture
• Adjustable ISO from 80 to 800 equivalents, plus Auto and High Auto modes
• Built-in flash with five modes and flash compensation setting
• White Balance setting with eight modes, including a manual option
• SD Card memory storage, 16MB card included
• Power supplied by four AA batteries or optional AC adapter
• Canon Digital Camera Solution software version 29.0

Special features include:

• Audio notes with still images
• Stitch-Assist mode for panoramic shots
• Continuous Shooting mode
• My Color mode for color adjustment
• Color swap mode
• Self-Timer mode with two- or 10-second delay, plus a Custom setting
• Custom Setting mode for saving frequently used settings
• DPOF and PictBridge printing compatibility
• Print/Share button for direct printing and image transfer

I can even get a waterproof case and take photos underwater! As an added bonus, the store was also having an incredible sale on memory cards for photo storage. A 2 pack of 1G SD cards for $19.99!!! That equals 936 photos...I wonder if that will be enough for my 2 week trip. I'm a photo snapping fool when I'm on vacation!!

Of course the 'how-to' manuals are lengthy but I'll have some time between now and then (or on the looooooong plane ride across the pond) to familiarize myself with all the fun settings and options.

Taking great pictures, it makes me happy!