Specifications
- 4.0 megapixels (effective)
- 3x optical zoom/3.6x digital zoom
- auto and manual focus
- program and manual exposure
- JPEG file format only
- ISO range 50-400
- 4 AA batteries
- movie mode with sound
Editors' Comments
The Canon PowerShot A85 offers a compelling combination of simplicity and performance. As the only 4-megapixel Canon A-series model, the A85 has become a very popular camera. Physically identical to the Canon A75, the A85 offers a slightly larger LCD screen than the A80, which is welcome news for anyone that likes to review and share their pictures after taking them. The A85 also offers a higher resolution movie mode than the A80, and is compatible with CompactFlash cards over 2 GB. Unlike the A80, however, the A85 lacks a fold-out LCD screen, which can be a very useful feature if you ever shoot pictures from odd angles. If you want a fold-out screen, we recommend the 5-megapixel PowerShot A95.
Canon PowerShot A85 Comments & Questions (write your own!)
"For those of you complaining about battery life you need to get the high end expensive , I think they are called titanium, platinum, something like that....rechargable camera batteries, not the standard AA rechargeables.
"Today I put newly charged batteries in my cam, went out , and took 200 photos and about 5 to 7 minutes of video, no problem the batteries are still working."
I hope this is helpful-
DParker
Good luck-
Regardless of your camera, try to choose something with rechargeable batteries. They can multiply battery life by about 7x over regular alkalines.
If you don't need something as hardcore as ISO 800, I personally think that the Canon PowerShots all do well in low light situations- I own the PowerShot A85 ( digitalcamera-hq.com/digita... ) and have always been pleased with low light interior shots from it, although they do sometimes have a yellow tone that can be easily removed in Photoshop.
The Cybershot T30 ( digitalcamera-hq.com/digita... ) is a fantastic camera (a little more bang for your buck than the T9 ( digitalcamera-hq.com/digita... ), I think).
What other features are important to you aside from IS? That may help us point you to a better choice.
One thing- don't worry overly much about reviews unless everyone is saying a particular thing about a camera... lots of times I've bought a camera that got reviewed poorly for something and found later that it wasn't a problem at all. So just be wary of that.
I can spare to about $300. Please guide me to the best camera with these features.
A few others to consider:
Canon Powershot A85 ( digitalcamera-hq.com/digita... ): I own this camera and I love its low light images. They sometimes do have a yellow cast to them, which I think looks great and so usually don't take out, but if you have a photo editing program the yellowness can easily be removed with the color balance tool. Takes perfectly colored daytime pictures.
Another great one to look at is the FZ20 ( digitalcamera-hq.com/digita... ), although again a little above your price range. Also check out the Sony Cybershot P150 or its cousin the P200 ( digitalcamera-hq.com/digita... ) for very true colors, low image noise and good twilight modes. Both retail for around 200 dollars and can be found on Amazon.com.
usa.canon.com/consumer/cont...
Click on Product/ Software Manuals.
It fits nicely into a (fairly large) coat pocket, and travels perfectly fine in a purse. But don't expect to slip it into your jeans pocket or even a blazer pocket or something like that.
As far as holding it, it feels just fine in the hand- the bulky grip actually gives it some security and weight which it needs so that you don't feel like you're going to drop it any second. It's not the skinniest one out there, but I really like the feel of these cameras. Hope that helps.
It is very possible to get a few 'bad' cards in a row, so if you haven't already purchase a brand new one and give that a shot.
How old is your daughter? Maybe something designed more for the child market would be better.
Once it's in one of the modes, push FUNC. Scroll down to the fifth icon down the left-hand side (it probably says Off with a circular arrow). When you get to it, some icons will appear across the bottom. The one on the far right is BW, which is black and white shooting.
I Would Guess That The Canon A85 Would Work With This Stuff.
Hope This Helps :)
I doubt you're going to find this information posted anywhere by Canon, and I've had a good look around the various search engines and haven't found anything posted on any message boards or IRC chat logs or anything. I'd suggest calling Canon and asking them directly, but I'll guarantee you that they'd simply tell you it's unsafe to use anything but the 4.5v wall charger.
Hopefully someone will see this question who's actually experimented with this, but I wouldn't get your hopes too far up.
Out of curiosity, why do you need to use a higher voltage?
Canon has an active recall on the Powershot A85 ( digitalcamera-hq.com/digita... ). You can send your camera in for a repair whether it's under warranty or not, and it will be fixed free of charge. Canon will even pay for your shipping, both ways. You can read the recall notice here ( usa.canon.com/consumer/cont... ), and request a repair here ( usa.canon.com/consumer/cont... ). Good luck!
camerarepair.blogspot.com/2...
usa.canon.com/consumer/cont...
Applicable cameras include:
A40, A60, A70, A75, A80, A85, A95, A300, A310, S1 IS, S60, S200, S230, S330, S400, S410, S500, SD100, SD110, IXUS V2/300/400/430/500, IXY Digital 200a/300a/400/450/500
SN 8722144368 boma112@rochester.rr.com thanks
Not much of a customer service ...but have to wait and see if he keeps his word ?
Telescopes and microscopes usually allow you to attach only SLR type of camera. T mount means additional adapter for the specific SLR brand and it is available in most camera stores.
Unfortunately your camera is not SLR type so you can not attach it to the microscope. SLRs are the cameras that allow you to use interchangeable lenses. Like Canon Digital Rebel Xti or Nikon D50 for example.
What process are you using to try and download the images? Are you using a certain software?
Part of this will depend on what computer system you're running. If you have Windows XP, you should be able to double-click on My Computer and the camera will show up as a removable disk (E or F, or a higher letter if you have lots of peripherals).
Make sure your camera is On and set to Playback.
Let me know if any of that helps. If it doesn't, give me a few more details and I'll try to help further!
Under the Support and Download section for digital cameras,
enter the Model number and click FAQs
You will find the answers given by Canon.
when I try to download images thru the Zoombrowser ( No camera found) keeps poping up. I have un installed and reinstalled the hardware several times.
I have the same camera. You know what is funny, is that I had this identical issue when I first got mine, and I ended up calling Canon customer support and found out that the problem was that the USB port on the side of the camera was bad. I wonder if that's an ongoing issue with the A85 or something. I bought a card reader, put my memory card into it, and used that instead to download my photos.
Are you running Windows XP? If not, what computer system?
What you could do to check if it's your USB port is hook something else up and see if the computer recognizes it. Do you have a printer or something else that has a USB hookup? If so, try plugging that in to the same port on the computer that you're plugging the camera into. If the computer reacts (New Hardware Found, or something like that) then we can pretty much tell that the problem is with your camera, like mine was. If that's the case it's completely worth buying a card reader, since they run about thirty bucks, save on camera batteries and can be used even when you buy a new digital camera.
Let me know if you test your USB and get any results or if any of these ideas help!
Make sure you didn't just hit the Disp button and turn the screen off. This button is right by the LCD: push it again to make sure.
You can also try holding Menu for five seconds, then following the instructions to reset the camera (if you can see Menus on the screen). If it's glitching that might clear up the problem.
If none of that works, and if you can see past photos but can't take any new ones, your CCD sensor might have gone bad. The good news is, you might be able to get it fixed. Awhile back there was a recall issued on various cameras from different manufacturers because of bad CCD sensors in the cameras. The makers are fixing/ replacing the CCD for free at any time, regardless of the age of the camera. Yours is on the list of the recall. <a href="imaging-resource.com/badccd... is the press release about it. Read that and if it sounds like your camera, give Canon a call (their number is included in that article).
Good luck!
camerarepair.blogspot.com/2...
usa.canon.com/consumer/cont...
Applicable cameras include:
A40, A60, A70, A75, A80, A85, A95, A300, A310, S1 IS, S60, S200, S230, S330, S400, S410, S500, SD100, SD110, IXUS V2/300/400/430/500, IXY Digital 200a/300a/400/450/500
Be advised, however, rule of thumb is that if it costs 50% or more of the sale price to fix it, you're much better off getting a new one that will give you more bang for the buck.
My recommendation is that you invest $10 in a USB memory card reader. Plug your SD card into it and your pc will read it as a drive. Then it's a simple drag and drop onto your mac and you can use any program you want to manage your photos. Then delete the photos USING THE PC and you're back to shooting pictures.
On of our other advisors, Brenda P has a suggestion here ( digitalcamera-hq.com/digita... ):
For something simple and easy to use, I'd point you towards the Canon Powershot A85 ( digitalcamera-hq.com/digita... ) (or really, anything in the Powershot series, there are <a href="digitalcamera-hq.com/digita... that are cheaper</a>) because although the buttons are rather small they are in easy-to-push places and they "make sense" in how they operate, so are simple to memorize. The camera also uses an LCD, which is much easier to see than an optical eyepiece would be for her.
The A85 was discontinued, however, and has been replaced by the A570. My recommendation is to get a camera with the largest LCD you can find.
No need to lose the moment because you relied on one card one when several can solve that problem. At the very least, you want to get more than one of whatever size you settle on.
Affected products:
- Camcorders: ZR60, ZR65 MC, ZR70 MC, ZR80, ZR85, ZR90, ELURA 40 MC, ELURA 50
- Digital Cameras A60, A70, A75, A300, A310, S230, SD100, SD110, A40(*), A80(*), A85(*), A95(*), S1 IS(*), S60(*), S200(*), S330(*), S400(*), S410(*), S500(*)
Malfunction:
It has been confirmed that the connecting parts of the internal wiring of the CCD used in affected products may become disconnected, especially if the affected products are stored or used in high-temperature and high-humidity environments. If this occurs, the signal is not output from the CCD normally in Shooting Mode, which may cause a distorted image or the absence of an image. This malfunction can be confirmed on the LCD monitor screen during shooting. The same malfunction also appears on the recorded image.
Canon's Response:
Effective immediately, and regardless of warranty status, Canon will repair, free of charge, the products listed above exhibiting the above-mentioned malfunction if Canon determines that the malfunction is caused by the CCD image sensor. Canon will also cover the cost of shipping and handling in connection with this repair.
So the good news is that Canon will fix it for FREE:
U.S. residents are kindly directed to contact the Canon Customer Support Center for further assistance at 1-800-828-4040. Support hours are Monday thru Friday - 8:00 AM to 12:00 midnight; and Saturday 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM (all times EST). Alternatively, if electronic support is preferred, please send your email to carecenter@cits.canon.com
I wouldn't tell them you dropped it, however. These guys will look for any way to wiggle out of their responsibilities. And potential impact damage is one of them.
Yes a friend had the same camera, and had it fixed from the faulty problem you spoke of. I'll give it a try as it has been a great camera. I can still take photos with everything upside down and back to front but it is very hard to decifer the logos. thanks again.
BTW - If you're happy with the answer you received, you can simply click on "Mark for best answer" bubble and it will place the question in the "Answered" category for all to see. Or, you can leave the question open for a little while longer and see what else gets posted.
Thanks for posting it and Good luck!
Several of the guys I support attend local photography courses which they love.
However they are becoming very despondent with their photographic attempts
I'm sure their personal enthusiasm is not at fault - more the equipment provided is not suitable for their vision or abilities
Can anyone suggest a camera that can be used fairly successfully with impaired vision & a limited understanding of its workings
Many thanks if you have any ideas
the panasonic tz5 is ideal for this type of user.
my reasons:
1. it is a all metal camera this is easy to hold.
2 it has a very large clear 3 inch screen .
3 it has a fully automatic mode which can be set with on click of the dial.
i have given a similar camera to a lady of 50 years with chronic arthritis who had never used a camera previously
she is now a takes family photographs regularly
'easy to hold' is also a useful pointer, as I forgot to mention camera needs to be fairly robust due to the bashings & droppings it will get.
I have acknowledged I found your answer very helpful - but as it is the only answer so far can I hold fire on 'best answer'.
Not sure how this site works yet either - so if anyone else has ideas would be happy for your opinion
Should I click still not answered to leave the question open to the forum?
Thanks again Steve
regards Ange
the tz5 is a very robust camera i have a tz3 which uses the same camera body.
it will take a fair amount of rough handling.
some tips for users with sight/manipulation issues
1.cover the lcd screen with a clear plastic sheet
2. add sticky velcro patchs to sides to aid grip
3 use a soft neoprene bag with neck strap for transport
Affected products:
- Camcorders: ZR60, ZR65 MC, ZR70 MC, ZR80, ZR85, ZR90, ELURA 40 MC, ELURA 50
- Digital Cameras A60, A70, A75, A300, A310, S230, SD100, SD110, A40(*), A80(*), A85(*), A95(*), S1 IS(*), S60(*), S200(*), S330(*), S400(*), S410(*), S500(*)
Malfunction:
It has been confirmed that the connecting parts of the internal wiring of the CCD used in affected products may become disconnected, especially if the affected products are stored or used in high-temperature and high-humidity environments. If this occurs, the signal is not output from the CCD normally in Shooting Mode, which may cause a distorted image or the absence of an image. This malfunction can be confirmed on the LCD monitor screen during shooting. The same malfunction also appears on the recorded image.
Canon's Response:
Effective immediately, and regardless of warranty status, Canon will repair, free of charge, the products listed above exhibiting the above-mentioned malfunction if Canon determines that the malfunction is caused by the CCD image sensor. Canon will also cover the cost of shipping and handling in connection with this repair.
So the good news is that Canon will fix it for FREE:
U.S. residents are kindly directed to contact the Canon Customer Support Center for further assistance at 1-800-828-4040. Support hours are Monday thru Friday - 8:00 AM to 12:00 midnight; and Saturday 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM (all times EST). Alternatively, if electronic support is preferred, please send your email to carecenter@cits.canon.com