Canon Cameras

Canon Digital Camera - A640 or G7? What are the major differences (besides price)?

I can't decide between the Canon A640 or G7, although I am leaning toward the G7. I used to be "into" photography back in the day....have a Canon A1 which I love. But I mostly take digital pics now. I'm sure I'd be happy with the A640 or the G7, but....What are the major differences between the two cameras that might help me decide which one to get? THANK YOU!

Public Comments

1. the g7 is more prosumer oriented it has more options but makes it more complicated it is up to you and what you need
2. Actually, the image quality is the same between the two (or extremely similar) as tested by dpreview.com. The difference is that the G7 is designed to be used as a DSLR. It has many manual controls and adjusting aperture, shutter speed etc, will be a breeze, however, the A640 is designed to be a 'dummy' point and shoot camera. Changing the shutter speed or aperture requires the annoying clicks with the joystick crap. Another difference is that the G7 is designed to be used by DSLR users so it is more solidly built than the A640. If you used to be 'into' photography, I would recommend the G7.
3. its gay give up get a g7 its the best
4. Both cameras are very similar. They have the same sized sensor, 10MP and have full manual controls (aperture & shutter priority). The G7 features the newer Digic III processor which gives it a slight advantage over the A640 when using higher ISO, but don't expect excellent photo quality at ISO 800 or higher. You will need a digital SLR for that. It also has a 6x optical image stabilized lens (210mm v 140mm on the A640). The only other real main differences are physical looks. I really like the A640's very handy flip out & twist (vari-angle LCD) screen. It's invaluable in some situations. You can check out the side by side differences of both cameras in the link below. Personally, I don't like the look of the G7. I still own my trusty old G3 and am quite dumbfounded why Canon chose to do what they did to the G7. They got rid of the RAW, the intervalometer and even the remote control...but the main drawback is it's slower lens. Even the G3 has a F2.0-F3.0 lens (G7's lens is F2.8-F4.8). So, if I had to choose between the two, I would definitely buy the A640...I just don't think the G7 is worth the extra cost, because the photo quality you will get from both will be very similar. Now, if you could spare at least an extra $300 or so (plus extra for a decent lens), then the 400D would be the one to get, especially if you want faster performance and higher ISO capability. good luck...
5. The camera is only as good as its lens. The G7 has a much bigger lens so expect images to be better. Then again, the G7 is not really cheap nor compact. And for its price, you may even want yo go SLR like the Canon 400D or the Nikon D80 (D80 is better).
6. I think I'd agree with Petra that it's not worth another $185 in cost. The lens is a bit longer and it has image stabilization, but the A640 has a cool flip-out-and-twist monitor and uses "AA" batteries, which I consider an asset. On a different night, I might go for the G7, depending on the asker's comments, but not tonight. Petra has me convinced. See sample images for comparison and read all comments: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canona640/page9.asp http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canona640/page10.asp http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canona640/page11.asp
7. if you have the money the g7 is 100 times better