Value (7.0)
At $299, the Canon PowerShot A85 has a price below the average for 4 megapixel cameras. This is one area where you won’t mind the camera being below average. It is one of the best deals out there for this price and these features.
Comparisons
Kodak EasyShare LS743 - This 4 megapixel Kodak camera offers similar ease of use features, such as the Print/Share button, which was first made popular by Kodak’s cameras. The Kodak EasyShare LS743 has a 36-100mm 2.8x optical and 10x digital zoom lens. This camera costs $349.95, but with the extra price hike comes the extra features. The LS742 has 16MB of internal storage, 134,000 pixels on its 1.8-inch LCD monitor and ISO choices from 80 to 800.
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Olympus Stylus 410 Digital - With a slightly larger CCD at 1/2.5 inches, the Stylus 410 Digital still shoots at 4 megapixels. This camera has the same variable focal length lens at 35-105mm, and a 3x optical zoom. The Canon A85 has a wider range of shutter speeds and a bigger LCD monitor. The Olympus camera comes with a 1.5-inch LCD and costs quite a bit more at $349.99.
Fuji FinePix E500 - This 4.1 megapixel camera was announced in August 2004, just about the same time as the A85. These digital cameras share much in common, including the $299.99 price. The E500 and A85 have similar dimensions, but the Fuji E500 is slightly lighter at 6.2 ounces. They even look similar, with their metallic finish and right hand grips. The biggest difference is the size of the LCD monitor; it’s 1.8 inches on the Canon A85 with 118,000 pixels and 2 inches with 154,000 pixels on the Fuji FinePix E500.
Nikon Coolpix 4100 — These digital cameras are quite similar. They each come with the same $299.95 price tag. They have the same 4 effective megapixels. They have the same 35-105mm zoom lenses. They even have similar functions that allow novices to grow out of the automatic functions. The Nikon camera is much lighter at 4.9 ounces and comes with 14.5MB of internal memory, as well as containing a memory card slot. The A85 does win the battle of the bigger LCD. The A85 has a 1.8-inch LCD, while the 4100 comes with a 1.6-inch screen.
Who It’s For
Point-and-Shooters - The Canon PowerShot A85 encompasses a range of user levels. Beginners will love the standard automatic features. Once those beginners have mastered the zoom and get slightly more curious, there are plenty of semi-automatic functions, such as the aperture priority and scene modes, to experiment with. When the user feels more creative, the manual options will be able to satisfy. This digital camera can please point-and-shooters while allowing enough flexibility for users to grow into more advanced photography skills.
Budget Consumers - The 4-megapixel Canon PowerShot A85 is priced at $299. The ease of use and good image quality make this point-and-shoot camera a strong candidate for your money.
Gadget Freaks - This camera has many great features, such as Direct Printing and its movie mode, but those have become standard on digital cameras now. If this were 1999, we could recommend this camera for gadget freaks, but by modern standards the Canon PowerShot A85’s best added feature is an adjustable flash power level.
Manual Control Freaks - Depends on how freakish you are. The Canon PowerShot A85 has basic manual functions available, like the ability to change the ISO, flash setting, shutter speed, and focus. Lots of other digital cameras have those options too, though, so if you’re looking for something truly expansive, keep looking.
Pros/Serious Hobbyists - This is not the camera for pros or serious hobbyists. If you fall in this category, you probably aren’t reading this anyway. You should know that 4 megapixels and no focus ring could ever cut it in the professional world.
