A95 or A520?

[tora-neko]

I'm wondering which of these two cameras is worth buying. A520 is still so new so I don´t know that much about it, but according to the things I've read it seems quite good. A95 seems to be quite good too... or? I know people who had bought A85 instead of A95... why is that?

[EAP]

The A85 and A95 are both good cameras. Some people buy the A85 instead of the A95 because it's less expensive, and they're basically the same camera with just a couple of cool add-ons on the A95, which isn't worth the increase in price to some people. Check out the review on this site and you'll see the differences mentioned.

With regard to the A520, Jeff has posted a photo gallery of both the A510 and the A520 in the "News" section of this site. I went there and pulled up the gallery photos of these two cameras, then went to the "Reviews" section and pulled up the gallery photos Jeff took with the A95, and compared them side by side. In my opinion there's a distinct difference in photo quality, with the A95 being much superior. But go check it out for yourself.

[some guy]

there are some key fundamental difference b/t the a95 vs a510/a85. obvious ones:
- swivel screen
- 5mp vs 4mp
- a95 has 14 shooting modes. i think the a85 has 12?
- a520 is smaller and lighter
- 2 AA with the A520.

however one thing that is less obvious is the CCD size. The A95 has a larger CCD size. 1/1.8 vis 1/2.5 for the other two. This leads to sharper image with the a95. I believe the a95 flash cycles faster than the A520 too.
These cameras offers very similar features and performance. In the end, it's always the photographer that is the most important.

[tora-neko]

I've compared the pictures from the A95 and A520, and in my (amateur) opinion the A520 pictures are clearer. The colors just weren't "right" in the A95 pictures. But maybe that's just me. Or perhaps weather conditions played a role?

Do you know if the A520 flash cycle is slower than the Powershot S400? (is that the right name? It's called Ixus 400 here.) I have one of those, but my cat knocked it onto the floor from my desk, and now I can use it as a baby-rattle :(

One of the reasons I'm considering the A520 is because of it's higher optical zoom.

[DiJ]

Some other things I noticed about A520 vs A95 from the samples here:

A95 has noticeably less noise
alot more PF
5mp but per pixel sharpness about the same
colors are on the cool side (weather/different AWB?)

Canon claim that A520 has same battery life as A85 with just two AAs. Which I think is cool!

[EAP]

I've compared the pictures from the A95 and A520, and in my (amateur) opinion the A520 pictures are clearer. The colors just weren't "right" in the A95 pictures. But maybe that's just me. Or perhaps weather conditions played a role?

I had to smile, I went back and looked at both A95 and A520 photos, and in my (also amateur) opinion the A95 photos are clearer! :o Just goes to show you; people have different opinions and see things different ways!. :) I guess that's why there are so many different cameras on the market, everyone can buy the one that is best for them! I guess we are lucky to have so much choice, but it DOES make it confusing to buy. Hey...do you think camera manufacturers do this on purpose, so you end up buying three or four cameras before you find the "perfect" one? :eek:

[tyagi]

Despite the new Canon releases (510 and 520), I have just placed an order for an A95 based on reviews, forum comments and gallery pictures. The A95 is a great camera and is available for a good price.

[Newbie]

Personally if I had to make that choice, I'd go for the A95... or I wouldn't consider the A520, but rather the A510. Sensorwise, the A510 is the best, followed closely by the A95 and finally the A520 goes last. In that, I compare the sensor size with the number of megapixels. Besides those differences, there are the ones other people mentionned. They only forgot 1 other diff which is that the A520(and 510) have a lens that goes from 35-140mm compared to the A95's 38-114. So in every aspect the lens range of the A510 is better, specially since it starts at F2.6 instead of F2.8, its not a huge difference, but its there.

Besides all those details, the main point to consider would be your budget, the size you want and how comfortable you feel with them in hand.

Here is a sample gallery of some pictures I took with my A95: http://nicolas7894.fotopic.net/c341553.html

[Jar-Jar]

This site's A95 review photos were taken last year near the end of October, and the A520 sample shots were taken in mid-February. Perhaps there is a difference in sunlight intensity which I think very much affects PF and clearness.

[gary_hendricks]

The A85 and A95 are both good cameras. Some people buy the A85 instead of the A95 because it's less expensive, and they're basically the same camera with just a couple of cool add-ons on the A95, which isn't worth the increase in price to some people. Check out the review on this site and you'll see the differences mentioned.

With regard to the A520, Jeff has posted a photo gallery of both the A510 and the A520 in the "News" section of this site. I went there and pulled up the gallery photos of these two cameras, then went to the "Reviews" section and pulled up the gallery photos Jeff took with the A95, and compared them side by side. In my opinion there's a distinct difference in photo quality, with the A95 being much superior. But go check it out for yourself.

Yes, the A85 is simply cheaper. But both cameras are equally good.

[ssljivic]

Does anyone have a movie recorded with A520?
I want to compare it with the one given by the Jeff for A95.

Thanks,
Stojan Sljivic

[housewolf]

Gary, you state "both cameras are equally good"

Someone please clear up a myth for me: If comparing two cameras with the same size sensor, but one is 3 mp (A75) and the other is 4mp(A85), will the lesser mp per sensor size yield better pictures?

Some say the A95 bigger sensor will yield better pictures, but is that offset by the bigger 5mp ???

Off topic a bit, but thank you.