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| Date Reviewed: 03/30/2005 |
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Strengths: The 4 mp provides a great picture the camera is easy to use & I really like it!
Weaknesses: There is some hesitation in the time between when you push the photo button and the actual picture, which is somewhat hard to judge.
Summary: I'm quite happy with most aspects of the Powershot. It takes a great picture which is probably a result of the 4 mp's. Most of the features are easy to use. It is also compact and we like the software provided. The quick download button provided is a nice feature. I would reccomend it highly!
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| Date Reviewed: 09/08/2004 |
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Strengths: Indoor shots, easy manual controls, 4 AAs = good battery power, clear pictures
Weaknesses: Movie modes, autofocus could be better
Summary: This is a fantastic camera. I did extensive research in the upper range of 4-megapixel cameras, and I'm very satisfied with the A85.
Although it is definitely bigger than my last camera, the Canon s400, it is still compact and is much easier to hold. The manual controls are very easy to use--even someone used to full automatics can figure them out and take a wide range of pictures. The images have accurate colors.
I don't think indoor/low light shots could be better than with the A85. I took the camera to a no-flash museum and had incredible results. The manual controls really help out here. If you can think of a picture you want to take, this camera can take it.
The movie modes are not impressive. I was excited about the 640x480 option, but I soon discovered that 10 frames/second is definitely NOT enough. The 320 resolution records at 15 f/s, but it's still quite jerky. I don't anticipate using that function much, which is disappointing, since I was pleased that the camera also records sound.
Overall, I love the camera.
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| Date Reviewed: 11/10/2004 |
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Strengths: Small, lightweight. Fits comfortably in my hand, and I can easily access all of the buttons necessary for general use with one hand. Great quality and lots of features for the price.
Weaknesses: It would be nice to have greater than 3x zoom. Camera should come with rechargeable batteries & AC adapter kit.
Summary: Overall, this camera rocks. I got a great price at Butterfly Photo Video (I'm actually enjoying watching the prices go up right now). I also bought 8 rechargeable batteries and a recharger as well as a 512 Mb Flash card (at Newegg), all of which I think are indispensable for this product.
The quality of the 4MP photos is fantastic, and the features are sick, especially the panoramic stitch mode, which, in tandem with the included software, does a super job. The automatic flash is a little overzealous, and I tend to turn it off most of the time (which is extremely simple to do). The light meter function is great (and simple) for calibrating for different lighting situations.
For those who complain about the durability, what are you planning to do with your camera, drop it off a building? It's plenty durable! It's a camera, for goodness' sake. And a very good camera, at that!
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| Date Reviewed: 02/02/2005 |
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Strengths: Simple to use. Superb Picture Quality. Excellent battery life.
Tons of progams and features
Weaknesses: None
Summary: I purchased this Camera to upgrade from Canons A-310. I simply find it one of the best point & shoot cameras available! This camera has tons of features including the ability to shoot great pictures at night. and even an underwater mode! It is so simple to use too! The battery life is great, and so is the fact it uses Compact Flash memory, since it is very cheap to purchase. Oh, by the way make sure you buy Nickel Metal Hydride (Ni-MH) batteries and a charger for this unit and make sure you get 2300 mAh batteries to get the most out of your camera.
To sum up, the best 4 MP Point and shoot available on the market today!
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| Date Reviewed: 12/17/2004 |
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Strengths: Excellent features for the money.
Weaknesses: Had to substitute NiMH batteries. 32MB memory card is too small.
Summary: Canon Powershot A85
By Bart Koslow
I have used film cameras for many years, but the Canon Powershot A85 is my first digital camera. I chose the A85 after careful research. I was looking for a low cost camera of 4 megapixels with a 3X optical zoom lens that had some versatility. The A85 is considered an entry level camera, but, unlike most of its competitors it has shutter priority, aperture priority and manual modes in addition to the usual selection of automatic modes. I did not want a super small camera that made handling more difficult. I selected the A85 as just the right size, not too small to easily handle, but small enough to easily carry and use. It was reviewed as having excellent image quality for a camera of its class.
The camera comes with four alkaline batteries and a 32MB compact digital memory card. I quickly substituted four NiMH batteries and a 1GB memory card, and bought a small carrybag for $8. The 1 GB card holds 900 photos of the highest resolution. Reading the manual and trying out the camera I was amazed at the many features of the A85, especially when I compared it with the sophisticated SLR film cameras I previously used. Some of the more significant ones are: Over fifteen automatic picture taking modes from portrait to macro to movie mode, red eye reduction, three exposure metering modes, auto rotation of pictures taken with the camera held vertically, focus control, white balance control, exposure compensation adjustment, five photo effects ( vivid, neutral, low sharpening, sepia, and black and white), and attaching sound memos to photos. It goes on and on.
What is it like to use the A85? I took a number of test shots and erased them. Next I went to a wedding and took almost 100 flash pictures. Professional photographers always take a great many shots. Now, unlike film there are no extra costs. After all those flash pictures the batteries were still good for many other shots a few weeks later. Arriving home I loaded the pictures onto my computer and was impressed with the quality of the shots. The only downside was that you are limited indoors using flash to a distance of 10- to 12 feet. There is no flash shoe on the camera for an external flash unit, but I intend to get an attachment that connects to the tripod thread at the bottom of the camera and holds an auxiliary slave flash unit to use with this camera.
Wow! I am a believer. There is nothing like a digital camera. This one is certainly a great buy for the money. I already started to auction my old Minolta SLR film camera and all the lenses on Ebay. If you are looking for a versatile digital camera of high quality at an entry level price, I highly recommend the Canon PowerShot A85.
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| Date Reviewed: 10/01/2004 |
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Strengths: Fast save times. Many different options. User friendly menu
4.0 MP. Attachments available, such as additional lenses, waterproof case. 8x10 pictures without clarity loss
Weaknesses: 4 - AA Alkaline batteries (should of been rechargeable if anything). No carrying case included. 512MB compact flash card limit.
Summary: Excellent camera. I really enjoy the option to join several pictures into one.
I used this camera outside at night and was surprised at the clarity of the picture. I used to own a Samsung 350SE 3.2 MP camera. Night pictures sucked with the Samsung camera.
I took a couple of pictures of my daughter when she was running around. Again, I was impressed with the clarity of the picture. This camera has a auto focus option that really works!
In my opinion this camera is an excellent buy. I'm really impressed with the options available on the camera.
If your going to buy a camera don't settle for anything less than 4.0 MP.
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| Date Reviewed: 12/08/2004 |
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Strengths: Ease of use. For the money paid its hard to fault this camera. For a point and shoot camera the quality is outstanding.
Weaknesses: Why Canon continues to include non rechargeable batteries with a hot camera such as this is beyond me.
Summary: The A85 does alot of things very good. If your a first timer or looking to upgrade, you cant go wrong in this purchase. I urge anyone who purchases this camera to use the manual features also, you will be surprised at how you can manipulate your photos to look like a pro took them.
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| Date Reviewed: 12/03/2004 |
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Strengths: Number of options, battery life, lens clarity, and much more!
Weaknesses: NA
Summary: This camera is amazing. There are so many options for a 4 mp camera. Being able to adjust the aperture, the shutter speed and the flash are excellent for a camera at such a price point. The lens is clear and takes sharp pictures. It even takes great night shots -I'm very happy about that! The flash is powerful, so in low light situations it does well removing the "yellow" color from dim lights. With rechargable batteries and heavy use, I can get about two days out of the batteries. That is amazing considering the size of the LCD screen and how much I am flipping through options and snapping shots while it's on.
All in all, I bought this camera because I wanted a Canon and the reviews were all positive, but I didn't want to spend a lot of money. The A85 is beyond what I thought I could get for barely over $200 dollars. I highly recommend!
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| Date Reviewed: 01/18/2005 |
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Strengths: Much lighter and smaller than my A20, with many more features.
Weaknesses: Manual very vague.
Summary: This is an upgrade from my Canon A20, and this model is an exceptional value for the buck. There are plenty of options to choose from when taking pictures, or just leave it on Auto and let the camera do all the work. I especially like the histogram feature that helps with the exposure of your pictures. Canon has come a long way with their digital cameras. Would recommend to anyone as a first time or upgrade camera.
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| Date Reviewed: 09/08/2004 |
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Strengths: Almost everything! This camera takes very nice shots in all conditions, almost all of the time. It focuses fast, powers on quick, has an accurate metering system, and is just the right size.
Weaknesses: The slide switch (that goes from playback to camera) seems like it should be a little sturdier than it is. A very minor complaint, though.
Summary: This is my fourth digital camera, and I LOVE IT! The only digital camera I owned, previously, that truly compared...was my Pentax Optio 550 (that was an awesome camera too...but was stolen from me). This camera wasn't nearly as expensive, yet it seems to take just as sharp, dramatic exposures. I miss the 5x optical zoom of the Pentax, though.
Overall, I feel one would be hard pressed to get a better camera...especially at this price.
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| Date Reviewed: 10/25/2004 |
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Strengths: easy to use, big LCD screen, 13 shooting modes
Weaknesses: none
Summary: It is my first digital camera.
It is very easy to use and 13 shooting modes are very satisfactory for none professional user. If needed manual adjustments could be made.
It comes with 4 alkaline batteries. They end very soon. One must get (NiMH) rechargable batteries. I bought 4x2300NiMH and they last more than 250 shots (almost a week of extensive usage).
32MB memory card it comes with is enough for about 30 medium quality shots. Keep in mind that a photo takes 1MB in average. Ussually you would like to get 256MB card.
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| Date Reviewed: 10/01/2004 |
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Strengths: Many features for taking artistic pictures, or you can use the basic AUTO function. Camera body appears to be well made and controls are laid out smartly. The viewing screen is sharp and crisp.
Weaknesses: Probably that there are more features than I will ever use. Not a bad thing though!
Summary: I really like this digital camera. It is the first one that I have purchased. I was taking photos within 5 minutes of opening the box using the quick guide. I would recommend this camera to anyone interested in purchasing a digital camera.
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| Date Reviewed: 11/02/2004 |
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Strengths: Very good value for the money. A nifty, highly practical no-nonsense camera, very easy to use, but on the other hand offering many additional features the closer you get to it.
Weaknesses: The LCD could still be somewhat larger. On my camera the LCD illumination has 2 brighter spots on its lower edge (a design or a manufacturing flaw ??).
The connectors' covers don't seem too durable.
Summary: 2004-11-02 13:41:06 A very nice all-around camera in a small package loaded with modern specs at this point of time. Small enough to carry around anywhere, pleasingly lightweight, anyway easy to handle due to its intelligent concept and shape. I only have some doubts about its sturdiness, temperature resistance and reliability due to its plastic body parts.
About the performance I approve and support in every detail Dave Etchells' report at imaging-resource.com.
The 4 AA Size batteries are very practical indeed, and I can not understand the manufacturers why on higher-end digicams they still insist on awkward and hard-to-find proprietary batteries. Anyway, a kit of NiMH batteries and a charger or at least a AC adaptor unit should be bundled in the A85's original package.
Canon's Image Gateway is another attractive item for people who like to share albums with their friends around the world - a very clever marketing move! A pity that Canon does not extend this resource to all their digicam customers.
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| Date Reviewed: 10/06/2004 |
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Strengths: Ease of use. Value/Price. Many advanced functions.
Weaknesses: Picture quality at ISO 200 & 400. Not enough buttons for so many functions.
Summary: I actually ordered this camera for my mother-in-law. When I got it, I figured out how to use it so I could help her with it. Overall, it's a pretty good camera - especially considering it only cost $220.00.
This camera gives you the option of running in either full auto mode, full manual mode, or pretty much anywhere inbetween. Canon really made a good effort to satisfy everyone that might purchase this camera. I was very surprised to see the option of manually controlling your ISO, shutter speed, and aperture size. Although I wouldn't expect most people buying this camera would want to do that, it is still a good feature for the few people that do.
One small problem with the camera is that the buttons and LCD screen are a little bit inadequate given all of the options you have with the camera. Every button performs about a million different functions, depending on the current mode of the camera. Also, the LCD screen can get quite cluttered with icons informing you of the status of everything from red-eye reduction to ISO setting. It's kind of distracting if you are using it to frame your shots.
But, my biggest disapointment with the camera is the quality of the pictures in low-light situations. Perhaps compared to other cameras in the $200 to $300 range it is pretty good, I don't know. But compared to film and other VERY NICE digital cameras, it was a let-down. But, what can you expect from an image sensor only a few mm wide. For the price I paid, I probably couldn't do better
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| Date Reviewed: 09/22/2004 |
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Strengths: Good results in both sunlight and indoors, pictures are nice and sharp, movie quality is fair enough.
Weaknesses: No flip screen as was in A80.
Summary: Overall a nice camera in the 4MP category. It is a value for money product. Very comfortable to handle. Image quality is good. 32MB flash card given with the camera is not sufficient, requires a minimum of 128 MB flash card.
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