Model Design / Appearance (7.0)
The Canon PowerShot A85 has a silver body that, though made of plastic, has a metallic finish. It’s crafted into the standard rectangular shape, with a comfortable handgrip built into the right side. The buttons and controls are given sufficient space to allow easy accessibility and are all clearly labeled and distinguishable. The LCD screen on the back of the camera seems large enough, considering its size and weight, although it is fixed to the frame, unlike the screen on the A95.
Size / Portability (6.5)
This 7.1-ounce camera is not what you’d call “compact.” In fact, with its solid weight and large size, it’s what a 1950’s Hollywood starlet would call “husky.” With a fully retractable lens, the camera will fit nicely into my hand or a large, oversized coat pocket, although for extended periods or travel, a case is essential. This camera runs off four AA batteries and its dimensions are 4.0 x 2.5 x 1.2 inches, making it a bit too large for a necklace-type camera.
Handling Ability (7.0)
The Canon PowerShot A85 is conscientiously crafted, including grooves that run along the top of the camera to offset the slight bulk of its frame. The natural left hand positioning on the camera requires users to grip the camera body from the top and bottom to avoid bleeding over in front of the lens. I fear that those users with smaller hands may find their fingers covering or obscuring the camera’s internal flash near the top of the frame. However, conversely, Canon has positioned a microphone on the front of the camera body to record sound without fear of obstruction by the user’s grip. This is an effective placement of the microphone that is surprisingly rare on point-and-shoot cameras.
Control Button / Dial Positioning / Size (7.0)
The controls for the Canon PowerShot A85 are neatly grouped and adequately spaced. The controls fall below the natural positioning of the user’s hands. Enough space is allotted to each button to access specific features quickly without worry of depressing unintended buttons. However, this is facilitated by the considerable size of the camera body; therefore, the user of the Canon PowerShot A85 should be more interested in ease of use and control functionality rather than overall frame size. The placement of the viewfinder above the LCD screen seems a bit ridiculous due to its size and shape and makes you wonder if its novelty purpose is worth the space the cameras gives to it.
Menu (7.5)
Canon recently updated their general PowerShot menu layout and expanded its application to other model cameras as well. They have opted for a fully vertical layout where the user keeps scrolling down through an ongoing list of selections. There are sub-categories; however, they are only distinguished within the menu by color, off to the side. Otherwise, they are just listed below on another. This does simplify things a bit and make less work for the user to access all options. Canon must be happy with the updated layout; they've instated it into some of their digital SLRs as well.
There are two separate menus available with the Canon PowerShot A85; the first menu is located under the menu button and allows the user to choose among three sub-menus: Record/Play, Tools, and My Camera. The recording menu allows the user to select AiAF, Red-eye, AF Assist beam, Review speed and Date Stamp. When the camera is in Playback mode, the menu switches to allow the user to set the following options: protect, rotate, sound memo, erase all, auto play, print order, and transfer order. The Tools menu allows for the following elements to be manipulated: Mute, Volume, Power Save, Date, CF Card Format, File Number Reset, Auto Rotate, Distance Units, Language, and Video System. Finally, the My Camera section controls the following areas: theme, start up image, start up sound, operational sound, self-timer sound, and shutter sound.
The second menu is located within the LCD and is initiated when the user presses the function button. This menu adjusts the parameters dealing with shooting and capturing an image. The following controls are available through the Function Button: Flash Output, White Balance, Drive Mode, ISO, Effect, Light Metering, Image Size, and Image Quality.
Ease of Use (7.0)
Overall, the Canon PowerShot A85 is easy to use; however, once the user enters the LCD screen menu, it is like stepping into another dimension. Novice users may need to resort to the fully automatic mode until they can learn the ins and outs of the menus and submenus within the LCD screen. For the most part, they are intuitive and self-explanatory, but there are just so many (which can be good, providing more options once the user understands how to use them).
