Manual Control Options
The Canon PowerShot A95 has several manual control options available, although they are not all located within the same menu. They include Aperture, Exposure, Focus, White Balance, ISO, Shutter Speed, Flash, Image Size, and sharpness and compression controls. Many other controls are not fully manual or are presets, such as the scene modes and the creative section on the mode dial.

 

Focus
Auto (8.0)
This is a particular point of emphasis on the PowerShot A95, as it is on many recently released models by Canon. The A95 employs a new 9-point FlexiZone auto focus, as well as a 1-point centrally fixed system. Auto Focus is engaged on the A95 by depressing the shutter partially and can be secured prior to recording the image, by focusing the camera on a subject outside the normal focal point and then returning the camera to the original position without releasing the shutter. This will set the AF lock and allow the user to capture the image with the focal point fixed.

Manual (3.5)
Manual Focus is offered on the PowerShot A95; however, it should not qualify as a fully manual feature. While there is opportunity for the user to manually adjust focus, there is no manual focus ring and will require entering a menu to adjust. This is engaged when the user presses the down arrow on the four-way controller and enters the Manual Focus setting on the LCD screen. A sliding bar allows the user to scroll between varying focal distances. While this technically is a “manual focus” feature, it should be known that focusing using the right and left arrows on the controller is a slow, tedious, and time-consuming process and probably will not be used by many (if any) of the camera’s users. While the intention of a manual focus control is to provide the user with an opportunity to gain added precision within the image, this virtual selection process does not accurately represent the feature and seems to be more of a hassle then a help, acting as a novelty feature to brag about on the box rather than provide actual assistance to the user. Nonetheless, the fact that the Canon PowerShot A95 has some sort of manual focus control is still somewhat commendable in an age where many digital cameras have resorted solely to automatic methodologies.

White Balance (8.0)
There are eight white balance options offered on the Canon PowerShot A95. They are: Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H. Manual, and Custom settings. To access the White Balance controls, the user must enter the Function Menu, and then highlight the White Balance submenu. This menu allows the user to choose among preset options and allows for manual adjustments to be made.

Although many point-and-shoot models are reliant on automatic settings and most point-and-shoot users will prefer the camera do the brunt of the work, the option of customizing white balance is a necessary inclusion, left off far too many point-and-shot cameras. While the industry perceives manual white balance settings as an advanced feature, I feel this is the one manual control that should be included on every digital camera in production. Automatic focus and exposure controls seem to be more accurate than automatic white balance when advanced precision is sought. This is most evident when under difficult lighting, typically from a mixture of light sources. When there are different bulbs and temperatures of light illuminating a scene, coloration may be thrown off and often automatic white balance controls cannot effectively compensate. The result is images that frequently contain orange or blue overtones that are typically difficult to correct in external software. While many feel this should not be an issue because of the simplified editing process digital photography provides, I assure you, white balance error is the most difficult function to correct for and to achieve a true naturalistic look with in postproduction digital rendering. Therefore, if only one feature is given a thought during shooting, it should be white balance. It is crucial that the user ensures the white balance is set correctly during the initial shoot to gain accurate color portrayal of the scene and an opportunity for further correction later.

ISO (7.0)
The ISO settings for the Canon PowerShot A95 are located within the Function Menu and control the degree of light sensitivity experienced by the camera. The ISO settings for the Canon PowerShot A95 are Auto, 50, 100, 200, and 400, and are accessed by highlighting the subsection menu and using the right and left arrows to highlight the appropriate rating. While these settings are fairly limited, the Auto, 50-400 range has become a typical sequence of options for point-and-shoot cameras. In general, it is nice to see ISO ratings below 100 offered, ensuring low noise levels in images where optimal light is available, but all too frequently, the ISO 50 setting is used as compensation for inadequate signal-to-noise production at ISO 100, so beware!

 

 

Metering (7.5)
Light metering on the Canon PowerShot A95 is also located in the Function Menu, and allows the user to select among three separate light metering parameters: Evaluative, which considers the entire frame; Center Weighted, which emphasizes the center of the composition, but still allows for the rest of the shot to be metered; and finally, Spot metering, which focuses on a selected point or segment of the frame. Spot metering is useful when shooting backlit subjects and high contrast scenes where there is a large discrepancy between dark and light elements within the frame. In these instances, it is necessary for the user to select the potion of the shot they wish to expose for and give priority to.

Exposure (7.0)
The exposure settings on the Canon PowerShot A95 are located under the Function Menu in the subsection titled +/- 0 EV. This subsection allows the user to set an exposure rating of -2 to +2, in 1/3 EV increments. This is a standard range found on many point-and-shoot models; however, it will provide enough flexibility for simplistic exposure correction when necessary.

Shutter Speed (7.0)
Shutter Speed on the PowerShot A95 is controlled through the shutter priority setting. On the Mode Dial, this setting is listed as Tv and allows the user to select a speed between 1/2000th of a second and 15 seconds. At slow shutter speeds (below 1/6 of a second,) the camera will automatically instate a noise reduction mechanism designed for low light situations.

Aperture (6.5)
The Canon PowerShot A95 will allow the user manual, automatic, or assisted control of its aperture opening. There is an aperture priority setting available on the Mode Dial, listed as Av, and controlled through the settings displayed on the LCD screen. The aperture settings available on the A95 are: f/2.8, f/3.2, f/3.5, f/4.0, f/4.5, f/4.9, f/5.0, f/5.6, f/6.3, f/7.1, and f/8.0. These settings are reliant on the focal length being utilized and will vary with zoom. The aperture settings are manually altered using the left and right arrows on the four-way controller. The settings offered are again fairly standard, however the opportunity for manual control places this model above the general point-and-shoot realm and should be seen as an advanced opportunity for this style of camera.

Modes	Page 7 of 12		Image Parameters
Canon PowerShot A95 Digital Camera Review Navigation
Intro	Testing / Performance	Physical Tour	Components
Design / Layout	Modes	Control Options	Image Parameters
Connectivity / Extras	Overall Impressions	Conclusion	Specs