The Canon Powershot A495 is a compact digicam available on-line for less than ninety dollars. What do buyers have to give up when they buy an A495? The A495 doesn’t provide an optical viewfinder, relying instead on the 2.5 inch LCD for framing/composition, captured image review, and menu navigation chores.

The A495 sports a 3.3x (37mm-122mm equivalent) zoom. Images show minor corner softness, but center sharpness and detail capture are surprisingly good. Image stabilization (IS) has become almost universal, but the A495 doesn’t provide IS. The A495 utilizes Canon’s older TTL Contrast Detection 5-point AF system rather than the 9-point AF system found on newer Canon digicams.

The A495's tiny built-in multi mode flash provides a nice range of artificial lighting options. Canon claims the maximum flash range is a bit less than 10 feet and that flash recycle time is about 10 seconds.

The A495 is powered by two alkaline, NiMH, or lithium-ion AA cells. Battery life will depend on the type of batteries used, but Canon claims the A495 is good for up to 200 exposures with fresh alkaline AA’s.

The A495’s DIGIC III processor (Canon’s newer cameras feature DIGIC IV processors) manages interpolation, processing, auto exposure, auto White Balance, auto ISO, and power management. The A495’s minimal user interface is straightforward with clearly marked controls - the Compass Switch and FUNC button provide direct access to the camera’s most commonly changed/adjusted features. The A495 utilizes the same simple auto exposure system as its siblings.

The A495 captures 640x480 @ 30 fps VGA videos. Video clip duration is up to 4 GB or 1 hour.

The A95 provides an adequate selection of White Balance options, including Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H, and Custom and a fairly good range of sensitivity options. ISO 80/ISO 100 images show bright colors, slightly flat contrast, and low noise levels. ISO 200 images are also very good, but show a bit less pop. At the ISO 400 setting (and higher) noise is noticeable and there's a perceptible loss of fine detail.

The A495 really delivers in the image quality department - reds are a bit warm and blues are a little bright, but most casual/amateur photographers probably won't consider these minor color deviations a fault. Shutter lag shouldn’t be a problem for most shooters thanks to the DIGIC III processor. Shutter fire is essentially real time with pre-focus and (according to Canon) about 1/10th of a second from scratch.

The A495 is an ideal first digital camera, it is an excellent choice for budget conscious shutterbugs, it is also a good choice for travelers who want a cheap, tough, compact, "go anywhere" digital camera that runs on universally available AA batteries. Canon’s "A" series digicams have a reputation with consumers for practicality, functionality, flexibility, durability, and dependable performance and the A495 doesn't deviate from that winning formula.