Blazer_Bob's Full Review: Canon PowerShot A95 Digital Camera
If was with the worst timing possible that my Canon A75 failed. I had a trip for Switzerland departing less than two weeks when my previous Canon gave up the ghost, one month out of warrantee. Being that I live in a remote part of Great Britain, and the Pound Stirling makes everything twice as expensive, my options were limited. I had a camera overnighted from Tiger Direct, the best online electronics company on the planet.
That camera that arrived was the Canon A95, I remember why I ordered it, I wish I hadn't. If you've read my A75 review, why would I possibly order an A95, you ask? I convinced myself that the A95 would be everything the A75 was not, while combining the good points. The A95 is worse in every way, and makes my heart hurt everytime I think of my blunder.
The Canon A95 was my choice because it met my requirements of at least a 3x zoom, 5 megapixel, Compact Flash, adjustable Aperature and Shutter, and a small size. One other reason that I thought this camera may suite my needs is that I had gotten extremely proficient with the controls of the A75.
My blunder was based largely in my love of the Compact Flash card. I was lulled into the spell of the compact flash early, when you could get much more memory than any other card, for approximately one-quarter the cost. For this reason, I have over one gigabyte of compact flash memory, and did not want to have to start a collection of a different type of card. This requirement has been alleviated by the miracle of technology, and you can now get an SD card with a gig of memory for less than $100, Compact Flash is a dinosaur and will become extinct as such; CF is no longer a reason to purchase a camera. I wish I had realized that before I put my money on this loser of a camera.
The biggest deprovement of the A95 over the A75 is the placement of the optical viewfinder. I don't know what Canon could have been thinking, perhaps they felt that non right-eye prominent people were avoiding their cameras because the viewfinder was biased to the left. They put the viewfinder dead-center on the A95, so much so that it is UNUSABLE!!! I hate this camera for that fact alone. After 569 pictures, I still want to bash this camera on a rock every time I can't line up a shot correctly.
I hated the options wheel on the A75 because it is confusing and easily bumped to the wrong setting. The A95 added a half dozen ambiguous options and got more bumpable. I hate this camera.
The viewscreen on the A75 was a descent size and surprisingly impervious to damage. The A95 folds into the camera, making it difficult to review shots after you've taken them. It's stupid.
The menu buttons on the A75 were designed by a person with a basic understanding of ergonomics. The A95 was designed by a person with two left thumbs. The buttons are oddly placed and shaped to frustrate.
All Canons incorporate a system called AiAF, basically an autofocus that focuses on more than one object. A great idea. On the A75 it works flawlessly, on the A95, half of all pictures will be blurry with the options wheel on Auto. You can alleviate this by using the P setting, but then you lose the automatic point and shoot functions.
Speaking of blurry, I love the panoramic autostitch function. I don't know if it is related to the faulty AiAF, but you'd assume the camera would be tolerant of the fact that as you turn the camera, lighting will change. But it doesn't accept that, and half of your panoramic will be right, the other will be incredibly dark, or a sunspot. I really hate this camera.
The A75 has a point that I would never think to critique, the wriststrap is a seamless integration. The A95 is a nub of chrome that feels weird, gets in the way and is the icing on this rotten cake.
You'll notice that I have left out the pro's, I assure you I have not, as I have included every pro that this camera has, which is none. The only pro I could think of was the myriad of options available, but then I realized that most of them were ambiguous options that you will never use. When I owned an operational A75, it was a camera that I loved to hate, it drove me nuts, but it provided damned nice pictures. The A95 frustrates me to violence, and provides a semi-decent picture 1/4 of the time. I sit here and wish I had gotten another A75 instead of this hobby killer.
I recommend any camera on the market as opposed to the A95, including disposable Kodak film cameras. While Tiger Direct tried to save my vacation, Canon destroyed the memories associated with an Alps excursion.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 269 This Camera is a Good Choice if You Want Something... Flexible Enough for Enthusiasts
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