Viewfinder (4.5)
The viewfinder for the Canon PowerShot A95 is located on the back right of the camera body above the LCD screen. This real image zoom viewfinder allows the user to witness the zoom levels when using the viewfinder rather than the LCD screen. The viewfinder is undersized, prompting the user to get up close and personal with the back of the camera. When the LCD screen is locked outwards, my face doesn’t have to touch the monitor to see the image and can utilize the undersized viewfinder for framing and composition.
LCD Screen (7.0)
The LCD screen on the Canon PowerShot A95 is a 1.8-inch low-temperature polycrystalline silicon TFT color LCD, which can be opened on the right side. The screen displays 100 percent of the recorded field, which is not the case with all cameras' screens. The 118,000-pixel LCD can be turned and adjusted to be viewed either 180 degrees when turned frontward, or 90 degrees when turned downwards The LCD monitor can be returned and locked into the camera body facing either inwards or outwards. Unfortunately, the LCD screen is not very flexible and will solarize at nearly every angle, often making LCD composition challenging and difficult to view.
Flash (6.5)
The internal flash for the Canon PowerShot A95 is located in the upper left-hand corner of the front of the camera. The positioning of the flash lies in direct line with the natural placement of the user’s left fingers, jeopardizing the visibility of the flash by frequent user obstruction. This is avoidable with a constant reminder, but without conscious effort to avoid it, the user is sure to block the flash at times and will become irritated at the flash’s thoughtless placement.
The five flash settings are controlled by the top arrow on the four-way controller. The settings are Auto with red-eye reduction, Auto, Flash on with red-eye reduction, Flash on, and Flash off. The flash reaches from 9.8 inches to 1.5 feet in macro mode and 1.5 to 14 feet in normal mode. After using the flash, it takes the camera about 10 seconds to regenerate for the next flash photo.
Zoom Lens (7.5)
The Canon PowerShot A95 is equipped with a 3x optical lens and an additional 4.1x digital zoom. The 38-114mm (35mm equivalent) lens can focus as close as 18 inches in the normal auto focus mode. In macro mode, the lens can focus from 2-18 inches. Also, there is a removable lens ring surrounding the lens barrel. When removed, the lens adaptor can be attached so the wide converter, teleconverter, and close-up lens can be used, providing added flexibility and shooting options when desired.
