"Picky Details" for the Canon PowerShot A95 digital camera
(Timing, Power, and Storage Info)

Timing

When you press the shutter release on a camera, there's usually a lag time or delay before the shutter actually fires. This corresponds to the time required for the autofocus and autoexposure mechanisms time to do their work, and can amount to a fairly long delay in some situations. Since this number is rarely reported on (and even more rarely reported accurately), and can significantly affect the picture taking experience, I routinely measure both shutter delay and shot to shot cycle times for all cameras I test, using a test system I designed and built for the purpose. (Crystal-controlled, with a resolution of 0.001 second.) Here are the numbers I collected for the Canon PowerShot A95:

 

Power

The Canon PowerShot A95 uses four AA batteries for power.

Excellent battery life. With worst-case runtime of 184 minutes in capture mode with the rear panel LCD illuminated (based on "standard" 1600 mAh NiMH cells), and more than 13 hours with the LCD turned off, the A95's battery life is much better than average. I still recommend buying at least two sets of high-capacity NiMH AA cells and a good charger, but the A95 does a lot better than most cameras on the market in the battery-life department. (See my Battery Shootout page for test results from a variety of batteries, and read my review of the Maha C-204W to see why it's my new favorite AA-cell charger.)

Storage Capacity

The Canon PowerShot stores its photos on Compact Flash memory cards, and a 32 MB card is included with the camera. (I strongly recommend buying at least a 128 MB card, preferably a 256 MB one, to give yourself extra space for extended outings.) The chart below shows how many images can be stored on the included 32 MB card at each size/quality setting.