Canon Sure Shot 85 Platinum Zoom 35mm Camera

by Canon

Product Details

• Item Weight: 8.2 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00004U8B8
• Item model number: 85
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (46 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,121 in Camera & Photo (See Top 100 in Camera & Photo)
  • #30 in Electronics > Camera & Photo > Film Cameras > Point & Shoot Film Cameras
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: October 10, 2001

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

Talk about user friendly...the Sure Shot 85 Zoom Platinum is a standout. We positioned the power zoom buttons in front for easy reach. Designed an oversized mode dial for quick access. And we whittled away the ounces and inches to create a camera that "feels right" from the first moment you use it. Here's a camera that makes it so easy to reach a new level of picture-taking excellence. A camera that's so compact and stylish, you'll always want it with you ... for the moments you don't want to miss. Slip the Sure Shot 85 Zoom Platinum into your pocket and get ready for great times. And great pictures.

The beauty of Canon's Sure Shot 85 Zoom Platinum camera goes way beyond its sleek style and ultra-compact convenience. Here is a camera that introduces a new world of creativity. Effortlessly. Just press the power zoom button and go from 38 mm wide-angle to 85 mm close-up in an instant. Composing the perfect scene has never been easier. You can count on sharp, dramatically vivid photos every time, thanks to Canon's famed 3-point Autofocus. The Sure Shot 85 Zoom Platinum is nothing short of brilliant, with its powerhouse flash and flattering Red-Eye Reduction. It's so carefree to use, with automatic film load, advance and rewind. The Sure Shot 85 Zoom Platinum does the work, so you can have all the fun.

"Framing" the perfect scene is the heart of any photo, and Canon's 38-85 mm 2.2x power zoom lens lets you select the composition that captures the mood and magic of every picture. Choose from wide-angle group scenes and landscapes to intimate portraits and close-ups. Simply press the shutter button and Canon's famed 3-Point Autofocus goes to work, delivering vibrant, razor sharp details even in the trickiest situations...as when one of your subjects is far from the center of the photo.

Select the ultra-fast Real Time shutter setting when every second counts. Great for sport events, or any occasion that demands instant, dependable response. The Sure Shot 85's powerful built-in flash does more than light up the night. It features ingenious Red-Eye reduction technology for naturally bright eyes. And you're sure to appreciate its Slow-Sync mode that adjusts flash and shutter speed to reveal background and foreground subjects with impressive clarity.

An oversized mode dial gives you quick and easy access to the particular mode setting you're looking for. Our Round-the-Clock Flash does more than light up the night. It features ingenious red eye reduction technology for naturally bright eyes. And you're sure to appreciate its Slow-Sync mode that adjusts flash and shutter speed to reveal background and foreground subjects with impressive clarity. Right on top for easy reach, the Sure Shot 85 Zoom's Control Mode Dial lets you quickly switch to Auto, various flash options including Red-Eye Reduction and Self-Timer. Years and years down the road, certain photos continue to delight us. The Sure Shot 85 Zoom's clever date imprint feature makes it so easy to keep track of treasured times by imprinting the date you took your photos on the front of each print.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

211 of 213 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars very good optics for this price; average electronics, May 24, 2001

By 

+++ (OR, United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Canon Sure Shot 85 Platinum Zoom 35mm Camera (Electronics)

I had experience with several cameras ranging from small point-and-shoot to SLRs, and I observed that zoom lenses have to be fairly expensive to provide decent image quality. Indeed, a zoom lens is usually more complicated than a lens with single focal length since it contains more elements, and it also requires accurate mechnics. This Canon seems to break this rule. The quality of pictures taken with this camera in daylight conditions is suprisingly good for the price. It is certainly on par with more expensive pocket cameras, and rivals low-end SLRs (i.e., priced below $500). The other advantages of this camera is that it is fairly light and small and the controls are extremely simple (off, auto-flash mode, red-eye reduction, fill-in flash, and no flash + two buttons to control zoom).

The negative side of this camera is poor flash performance. It seems that the electronics built into it cannot properly determine how much energy should be send to the flash (or maybe it does not have variable flash power at all). The result is that a portrait taken in twighlights will be overexposed if the person is to close to the camera, and underexposed if he/she is too far. My daugher took quite a few pictures in the dark lately, and hardly any came out right. Further drawbacks are somewhat cheap look, sluggish zoom motor, and poor quality of paint on the program wheel (it started peeling off way too quickly). There is also no pre-programmed modes which more sophisticated cameras offer (such as portrait mode, night shooting, landscape, sports (quickly moving objects), etc.)

The bottomline is that in terms of the feel of the camera and its electronics you get pretty much what you would expect to get for this kind of money; in terms of optics, you get a very good deal. If you are looking for a small camera with wide-range zoom that can take sharp pictures, and do not want to spend several hundred dollars for high-end models, this Canon is likely to be the best deal on the market. I rated it five stars for its price/value ratio.

There is another version of the same camera available ..., with quartz date. My opinion that the price difference between the two is much more than that feature is worth.

124 of 126 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply Terrific, May 30, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Canon Sure Shot 85 Platinum Zoom 35mm Camera (Electronics)

If you are looking for an inexpensive camera that takes excellent, versatile photos and is very easy to use, I have not seen a better one. I have been a semi-professional photographer since the late-60's but refuse to carry expensive gear on vacations or weekend trips. The Canon slips into my front pocket; is unobtrusive; and, is sufficiently rugged to endure most environments. The photo quality is very good and the zoom is quick and efficient. Since most of my travel is in Asia where expensive items tend to vanish on occasion, my only concern using this camera is safeguarding the exposed film. The camera, at this price, can easily be replaced. This is a good product. It should serve you well.

92 of 93 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Canon Is The Best!, July 5, 2001

By 

Corinne Miller (Tacoma, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Canon Sure Shot 85 Platinum Zoom 35mm Camera (Electronics)

I am a 13 year old girl who knows minimal information about cameras. I spent hours on the internet researching to find an excellent camera for my purposes. I found about 3 cameras that are similar to this one, but the Canon Sure Shot 85 Zoom was the only camera that was in my price range, and had all of the desired features. I decided to purchase this camera, and to try it out. I took the camera to one of my friends houses, and I did a test roll. I took all types of pictures; light w/flash, light w/out flash, outdoor, real time (a feature that lets you take crisp action shots), self-timer (my favorite feature), and normal auto and auto with red-eye reduction. Then, I took the photos to be developed.I couldn't have been more pleased with the results! All of my pictures turned out wonderfully! The pictures were perfectly lit, they were crisp, and the indoor shots were great too. My real time shots would have turned out much better if I would have used a 400 speed film (like the manual suggested), rather then an 800. I only found one negative thing about this camera. For the red-eye to work properly, you need to look DIRECTLY at the camera, and this feature doesn't work well in self-timer mode. Also, I noticed that when the red-eye does work, it only works on those subjects with dark eyes. I would recomend this camera to anyone who wants wonderful pictures. It is a great deal for the money, and it takes excellent photos.