Canon A95 Review

Canon A95 Review

Canon's 5-megapixel PowerShot A95 steps up as the capable successor to the highly popular A80. The Canon A95 offers simplicity for entry-level photographers, a versatile feature set for more-experienced shooters, and excellent image quality for both.

The full automatic controls keep things simple for novices, while offering the opportunity to gradually step up to more control. Plus, the range of preset exposure modes ensures that less-experienced photographers will get good pictures in difficult shooting situations.

Canon A95 Review – Pros

• Easy to use
• Strong set of features and excellent photo quality
• Tilt-turn-swivel LCD Screen
• Good traditional design
• Great value for money

Canon A95 Review – Cons

• Slow start-up
• Set and Menu buttons below the 1.8-inch LCD, not the most convenient place especially if you have bigger hands
• LCD should have been 2 inches instead of 1.8

Canon A95 Review – Final word

The Canon A95 contains almost everything a snapper could want from a digital camera.

The A95 doesn't have a lot of wasted features on it to just make it look better like the more expensive ones do. This is a Top of the line digital camera.

Even if it’s not a “perfect” digital camera, the PowerShot A95 offer great value for money. At $300 or less, you can’t go wrong with this camera.

Canon A95 Review - Memory

Most digital cameras come with very low capacity memory cards and the Canon A95 is no exception. A 32 MB CompactFlash memory card is included in the box when you purchase the A95.

There is no fixed rule for the number of photos you can put on one card because different image file types, different amounts of compression, and image content all affect the size of each file.

As a general rule, I'd recommend at least a 256 megabytes or two 128 megabyte cards if you're buying a 3-5 megapixel compact digital camera.

If you want to shoot lots of high resolution TIFF or RAW files, then you'll probably want to look at 512 megabyte and 1 gigabyte cards. It's also a good idea to not save all of your photos on one card.

Click here for more information on memory cards.

With the 32 MB memory card included with the Canon A95, you will take approximately 12 pictures before having to empty the memory card! You need to budget for another memory card.

Another good reason to get several memory cards is there's always the possibility that cards can get corrupted, lost, or stolen. Using more than one and switching during a shoot protects your valuable photographic data.

The type of memory card for the Canon A95 is CompactFlash.

Canon A95 Review - Specifications

Model name: PowerShot A95

Date announced: 2004-08-19

Average retail price: $280 Click here for the current Best Price online.

Official site: Canon PowerShot A95 Home Page

Sensor: 1/1.8" Type CCD, 5 million effective pixels

Image sizes: 2592 x 1944, 2048 x 1536, 1600 x 1200, 640 x 480

File formats: Still: JPEG (Exif 2.2); Movie: AVI (Motion JPEG); Sound: WAV (monaural) up to 60 seconds per image

Movie clips: 640 x 480 at 10fps up to 30 seconds; 320 x 240 at 15fps up to three minutes; 160 x 120 at 15fps up to three minutes

Focal length: 38 to 114 millimeters (35mm equivalent)

Aperture: F2.8-F4.9

Optical zoom: 3x

Digital zoom: 4.1x

Focus: TTL, 9-point AiAF, 1-point AF (any position or fixed center)

Focus distance: Macro: 5 centimeters

Shooting modes: Auto, Manual, Shutter priority, Program AE, Aperture priority AE, Manual, Custom, Stitch Assist, Movie

Shooting effects: Vivid, Neutral, Low Sharpening, Sepia, Black & White

Special Scene modes: Portrait, Landscape, Fast Shutter, Slow Shutter, Foliage, Party, Kids & Pets, Night Snapshot, Night Scene, Foliage, Snow, Beach, Fireworks, Underwater

LCD monitor: 1.8-inch vari-angle TFT LCD 118,000 pixels

Sensitivity equivalent: Auto, ISO 50, ISO 100, ISO 200, ISO 400

Exposure compensation: -2.0 to +2.0 EV, 0.3 EV steps

Shutter speed: 15 to 1/2000 second, Noise reduction for shutter speeds slower than 1.3 sec and more available in Manual and Shutter priority AE modes

White balance: Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H, Custom

Viewfinder: Optical

Self-timer: 2 or 10 seconds

Continuous shooting: High Speed at approx. 2.0 fps ( for up to 14 images), Normal at approx. 1.5 fps ( for up to 17 images)Flash: Auto, manual, on/of, red-eye reduction, Flash range: 45cm - 4.4m (W) 2.5m (T)

Connectivity: USB, AV out

Power: 4 AA batteries (alkaline or NiMH)

Storage: Compact Flash Type I, 32 MB card supplied

Width: 3.9 inches

Height: 2.5 inches

Depth: 1.4 inches

Weight: 8.2 ounces

What's in the box: Canon A95, 4 AA batteries, 32 MB CompactFlash memory card, wrist strap, AV cable, USB cable, CD software, instruction manual, warranty/registration card

Warranty: 1 year, limited

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