a495

Most of the past two months for me have been spent testing and reviewing Canon's 2010 PowerShot compact and ultracompact cameras. Why? Because CNET's readers really, really like them. The last one completed was the SX210 IS, the company's 14-megapixel compact megazoom featuring a 28mm-equivalent wide-angle lens and a 14x zoom.

Like its predecessor, the SX200 IS, the design is less than perfect, which dragged its overall rating down. However, for anyone wanting semimanual and manual controls paired with a long lens jammed into a compact body, this is likely to be the best option.

I don'… Read more

One of the best $100 cameras you could buy in 2009 was Canon's PowerShot A480. It had minimal shooting options and features and shooting performance was slow, but its photo quality was great for the money. That model was split into two models for 2010: the A490 and the A495.

The PowerShot A490 is about $20 less expensive than the $129 A495, but it's available in silver only, sacrifices some shooting features, and has a less powerful Auto mode. Fortunately, though, they both have the same excellent photo quality; does that make them worth buying?

It really all … Read more

At barely more than $100, the 2009 Canon PowerShot A480 actually took good photos--a rarity at that low price. I'm sure the company sold a ton of them, which would help explain why its updated the model for 2010 and popped out a sibling.

The A495 and A490 are 10-megapixel cameras with 3.3x zoom lenses, 2.5-inch LCDs, and are powered by AA-size batteries. And that's about where the good times end.

The cameras are incredibly basic, made for first-time users or those with very limited needs. However, Canon did include a couple new shooting modes on … Read more