Customer Reviews

Canon Sure Shot 85 Platinum Zoom 35mm Camera

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

We bought this camera after Consumer Reports gave it a Best Buy rating, and because we'd had an older Canon SureShot which had recently died after 7 years of very good service.

I was initially disturbed to find that the camera requires DX-coded film. I usually order my film from a mail order supplier and they do not carry DX film which, from what I've been able to discover, means that there is more information bar coded onto the canister. This I could live without. However, the manual tells you that it's possible to use regular film though it may be a little more difficult to load, and furthermore it will always register as ISO 25 (not 100 or 200 or 400)! I was pretty unhappy about all this.

We bought some DX film and had it developed, taking pictures in many different circumstances -- indoors/outdoors, with/without flash, articial/natural light, etc. The results were very good in all conditions.
Next, we loaded regular Kodak film (ISO 200). I could not get the film to load. I placed the reel in with various lengths of film exposed but that didn't help. I tried to depress the shutter button as recommended in the manual, but that did not help. My husband got the film to load on the first try. (I believe this is because I had warmed it up for him.) Again we took pictures in many circumstances and the quality, surprisingly, was fine.

The features offered work well. The manual is good. Also, the battery is much more reasonable than previous batteries, which cost about [price]. I would say the only problem withe this camera, as with its predecessor, is a sluggish zoom mechanism.

A very good camera at a good price.

This camera is worth the money. It's compact, easy to handle, simple to use and has the features that the average person would want. Best of all... it takes great pictures. I took this camera on a recent trip and the pictures look like they could be postcards. I doubt that anyone would regret owning this great little picture taker.

This little camera has become a nice companion to my Canon SLRs. It is compact and solidly built. The pictures from this camera are well exposed and sharp. Of course, no matter how automated and simple a camera is, you need to understand some basics of photography to get acceptable results. If you read the manual and learn a few basic concepts, this little camera will serve you well

Consumer Reports rated this camera as very good overall with excellent picture quality and a strong flash range, and for its price they named it a "best buy"; the only one of the compact camera category. This camera has survived three years of heavy abuse without one problem. I use 400 speed film, and have my film developed at a drug store, and they always turn out beautifully. The zoom is more than enough for everyday shots and red eyes are a rarity. This really is a gem.

This is a good camera in its class, and well-rated by CR. But despite the claim made in the current "editorial reviews" description, this model has no date imprint feature. If you want that, try the "sureshot 85 zoom/date".

This camera takes crystal clear shots. I have never used a camera so clear. For the money, you can not get a better camera.

I just shot my first roll of film in my new camera---experimented with the different settings, lighting conditions, and types of subjects. I was pleased with the results. The focus lock works well and the flash is adequate. It's easy to use and takes good photos---maybe not professional quality, but certainly good enough for me. I'll definately carry it with me more often because of its convenient small size.