Price Difference between A85 and A95 worth it? (Special Case in thread)

L

lorcani

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I have a $100 GC to OfficeMax. It was what I got out of returning my old camera after it randomly stopped working (it was a $99 cheapie about the same time of year in 2002, imagine what it's like now). OfficeMax, out of the entire A series, only stocks the A75 for $199.98 and the A85 for $279.99. I've tried phoning them, and they don't stock the A95. If they did, no questions asked, I'd buy it. If anyone has a solution to this, please let me know. :D

Anyway, I've been reasoning with myself that I should get the A85, instead of spending the extra for the A95 and still having a worthless GC to OfficeMax (they have an awful selection of cameras, and their prices on everything [but paper] is ridiculous). If I get the A85 and use my gift-card, I can get the camera for only $180, which is a great deal. Plus I'll have a bunch of extra money to maybe get some accessories. If I get the A95, that will be basically all of the money I've budgeted for a camera, and so I won't be able to upgrade anything.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of the A85 that might be helped by getting the A95, taking into account how much extra it would cost me? Remember that OfficeMax is local, and I can get a decent warranty through them.
 
Anyone?

I know the A95 is better than the A85. However, is the A85 really that bad?
 
Well, I own the A85, and wish I had gotten the A95.

You'll be happier in the long run with the A95. Functions are pretty much the same. The difference is in the sensor size. The A85 has a bit too much noise for my taste, which comes from putting too many pixels on a dinky sensor. The larger sensor on the A95 is a better solution.

Your opinion may vary, but that's mine.

BB
 
BB Gun said:
The A85 has a bit too much noise for my taste, which comes from putting too many pixels on a dinky sensor.
Click to expand...
Do you have any example shots to show this?
 
The A85 and A75 are on a tiny 1/2.7 inch sensor. Packing 3 to 4 million pixels on a sensor this size doesn't give great results in image quality. If you can get an A80 (or perhaps an A95) (don't see it listed on OfficeMax online), that is on a larger & better 1/1.8 inch sensor.

So pulling from what other people have mentioned about being dissapointed with the A85's small sensor and higher amounts of noise, I would say don't buy it. You'd just be paying an extra $80 on that over the A75 to get cheap megapixels and lower quality (more noise). I don't think the extra image size with the image noise penalty justify the cost, as long as the cameras are functionally the same.

You can use the giftcard and get the A75 for $100, or get an A95 from a reputable dealer.
 
If I could get the A85 for $155, would that be an alright deal, considering the noise problems?

edit: or, the A75 for something like $72.

(This is using some crazy PMing, so it may not end up being so low)
 
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