Digital Camera Review

Digital Camera Review

The Canon PowerShot A95 is an entry level digital camera introduced in August 2004. This camera succeeds the A80, which stocks a 3.9 megapixel CCD. The updated PowerShot A95 comes with 5 effective megapixels, a 38-114mm optical zoom lens and a large 1.8-inch LCD monitor for a suggested retail price of $399.95. The A95 has many pragmatic advantages to offer, including a reasonable price tag, manual control options, and rotating 1.8” LCD monitor as well as a host of automatic preset controls. But the A95 also contains a few strong deterrents, particularly its lack of control over stray noise and inadequate movie mode.
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Picture Quality / Size Options (7.5)
The Canon PowerShot A95 has a number of picture parameters available, all located at the bottom of the LCD screen within the Function Menu. Photos can be shot at Normal, Fine or SuperFine quality. The following resolution settings are available when shooting still images: Large (2592 x 1944), Medium 1 (2048 x 1536), Medium 2 (1600 x 1200), and Small (640 x 480). When in movie mode, the user can choose between 640 x 480, 320 x 240, and 160 x 120. The length of the movie clip varies according to the size of the CompactFlash card, but the longest clip available is 3 minutes. At the highest resolution, the camera shoots at 10 frames per second. At the other settings, the A95 shoots 15 frames per second.

Picture Effects Mode (8.0)
The picture effects on the Canon PowerShot A95 are located under the Function Menu, offering Vivid, Neutral, Low Sharpening, Sepia, and Black & White options. While often in-camera digital picture effects appear somewhat gimmicky and cheesy, it is nonetheless a fortunate inclusion and does provide the option for immediate effects without having to rely on external editing software after the fact. When this is the case, the PowerShot A95 provides a healthy selection of options for the experimental user.

 

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