Canon PowerShot Elph 360 HS A / Ixus 285 HS A review: This is my new favorite compact camera!

The Canon PowerShot Elph 360 HS A (aka the Canon Ixus 285 HS A in Europe and Australia, and the Canon Ixy 650 M in Asia) is, astonishingly, the camera that I and countless others have been waiting for.

No, it doesn't shoot 40fps bursts or capture 7K open gate video like the Canon EOS R6 Mark III; instead, this is what the industry has been begging Canon for: an affordable compact camera.

Yes, the Canon PowerShot Elph 360 HS A / Canon Ixus 285 HS A is a light refresh of the original camera (minus the "A) that came out in 2016. But this is literally what the market is craving right now – so it's great to see Canon bring back this budget-friendly, pocket-sized point-and-shoot with a 20.2MP sensor, 25-300mm equivalent lens and sensor shift stabilization.

As you might expect for the price, the Canon PowerShot Elph 360 HS A / Canon Ixus 285 HS A doesn't deliver the same image quality as the R6 Mark IIIs of the world – and it's limited to FullHD video (and very limited FullHD, at that). But I'm more than happy with the results and for my money this makes a great sidearm to my main big boy camera.

Canon PowerShot Elph 360 HS A / Ixus 285 HS A: Price & availability

The Canon PowerShot Elph 360 HS A is priced $379.99 in the US, with the Canon Ixus 285 HS A selling for £369.99 in the UK. The camera does not yet have a price or release date in Australia, though Canon says it is "coming soon".

For comparison, the Panasonic Lumix ZS99 / TZ99 (with a 20.3MP sensor, 24-720mm equivalent lens and 4K 30p video) $697 / £549 / AU$999.

Canon's camera is currently sold out in both the US and UK – a trend that is likely to persist, given the insatiable hunger for compacts at the moment.

Canon PowerShot Elph 360 HS A / Ixus 285 HS A: Specifications

Canon PowerShot Elph 360 HS A / Ixus 285 HS A: Design & handling

Cosmetically, the Canon PowerShot Elph 360 HS A / Canon Ixus 285 HS A is identical to its 2016 predecessor aside from the product name on the body (and no, I don't know why it's a member of the PowerShot family in the US but not in the rest of the world!).

It's easy to forget how small compact cameras used to be (and arguably are supposed to be!) in a world where the Fujifilm X100VI is the most widely recognized compact. But its tiny size, at just 99.6 x 58.0 x 22.8mm, is exactly why consumers have been falling over each other to buy this kind of classic compact.

Seriously, just look how small it is compared to an iPhone:

The other key change from the 2016 camera comes internally, as the full-size SD card slot has been replaced by a microSD slot in the 2025 model. Obviously these cards aren't quite as ubiquitous as their full-fat siblings, but they're super affordable so it shouldn't cost too much to pick one up if you don't have one lying around (just make sure you have a reader with a microSD slot!).

The Canon PowerShot Elph 360 HS A / Canon Ixus 285 HS A is the embodiment of point-and-shoot simplicity. You never need use more than three controls to take a picture: the power button, the shutter button and the zoom rocker. And even the menu system is streamlined, with just two tabs to navigate – a far cry from Canon's complicated EOS cameras!

There's a triple-position switch on the right-hand shoulder, enabling you to shoot in Creative Shot and Hybrid Auto (more on these in the Performance section).

You can also summon an on-screen menu to switch from Auto to Program mode, where you can take more granular control over settings like ISO and macro shooting, as well as color profiles and scene modes (from fisheye and toy lens effects to low light and fireworks modes).

Crucially, the camera boots up nice and fast – in less than two seconds – so you can snap away quickly, which is vital for an everyday camera like this.

Canon PowerShot Elph 360 HS A / Ixus 285 HS A: Performance

You probably know what to expect from the Canon PowerShot Elph 360 HS A / Ixus 285 HS A. Yes it has a 20.2MP sensor, but bear in mind that it's a 1/2.3-inch sensor – so you're not going to get the performance of, say, the 20.1MP full frame sensor from the Canon EOS R6.

Which isn't to say that the image quality is bad, because it isn't; you just need to evaluate it based on what this camera is, not what it isn't. It isn't a pro tool, it's a walkaround snapper for everyday photography – and for that, the image quality is absolutely fine. Pretty dang good, actually.

In fact, I think this is a phenomenal camera for street photography – there's plenty of detail to work with, but the most important thing is being able to frame and capture that moment in an instant. And the 25-300mm equivalent reach means that you don't have to get all up in people's faces if you don't want to (it goes without saying that the digital zoom seriously deteriorates image quality, so I wouldn't bother with it).

That focal length and this sensor do come with some considerations, though. The main thing, as with most compacts in this category, is that the sensor tends to "over-evenly expose" everything – by which I mean, the camera ensures that images are well-exposed to the point that there isn't a lot of contrast to them.

Thus, you'll often find yourself needing to crunch the contrast and clarity sliders a little to get some dimension back to your slightly-flat shots. Here are a couple of examples:

While you're never going to get shallow depth of field with this lens, the relatively slow aperture never caused me problems. Even shooting in some very dim churches and indoor locations, the sensitivity never crept above ISO1600 when I was shooting in auto.

I should also point out that I had no problem shooting at the full 300mm equivalent long end, thanks to the in-body image stabilization system that offers 2.5 stops of compensation – not a lot, compared to Canon's mirrorless cameras, but it more than does the job on a compact this small and light.

The only issue I had when it came to image quality were a couple of occasions when the colors went a little haywire. All cameras struggle with white balance occasionally, and this literally only happened to me twice in over two weeks of shooting, so it's just one of those things.

And again, even though the camera only shoots JPEGs, it was just a couple of tweaks in Photoshop to put things right:

I really have nothing but good things to say about shooting with the Canon PowerShot Elph 360 HS A / Canon Ixus 285 HS A. I'm always grateful when cameras give me a monochrome mode, as that's my preferred way to shoot black-and-white, and you can have some fun with the creative color modes (though again, there's no RAW shooting here – so if you choose mono or a crazy color, you're going to be stuck with it!).

I want to give a couple of shout outs to the aforementioned creative modes, too, because some folks might get a kick out of them even though most "proper" photographers will no doubt skip past them.

First up is Creative Shot, where the camera takes three exposures and gives you six different takes on the same image, with different effects applied to each – from stylized colors and mono tones to multiple aspect ratios.

Finally there's Hybrid Auto, which creates an almost behind-the-scenes video to accompany the photos you take. You know those POV-style street photography videos on YouTube, where a photographer has a GoPro on top of the camera to show you the scene, and then it cuts to the photo they actually took?

That's what you're looking at here. The camera shoots an HD (720p) video of your shoot, showing your environment – with all the zooming in and out and any commentary you might make – before you press the shutter, then displaying your photo. There's a quick example in the sample video below:

Also in the video there's some samples of the FullHD (1080p) footage that this camera is capable of, including zooming in and out from 25mm to 300mm.

Suffice to say, I wouldn't recommend using the Canon PowerShot Elph 360 HS A / Canon Ixus 285 HS A for video. Your phone will do a much better job, and many modern handsets can exceed the 12x optical zoom offered here.

In fact, I'd go as far as to say that Hybrid Auto is the only video mode you should bother with – I think it's a really fun way to share a scene or a trip with someone, and could make for brilliantly creative social media content!

Canon PowerShot Elph 360 HS A / Ixus 285 HS A: Samples

Firstly, here are some examples of the Canon PowerShot Elph 360 HS A / Canon Ixus 285 HS A shooting at the wide 25mm end versus the full 300mm equivalant telephoto end.

This should give you an idea of just how versatile and useful the setup is for capturing near and far subjects:

And now here's a selection of walkabout shots taken at various focal lengths and settings, some in Program and some in Auto mode.

Canon PowerShot Elph 360 HS A / Ixus 285 HS A: Verdict

If you're a pixel peeper or a spec sheet snob, this camera isn't meant for you. It's meant for the baying mob who have been crying out for an affordable compact camera that's actually compact, with a meaty optical zoom range and punch-above-its-weight image quality.

In that respect, the Canon PowerShot Elph 360 HS A / Canon Ixus 285 HS A is a home run. I absolutely loved my time shooting with this camera, which joined me on numerous jaunts and day trips where I enjoyed using it so much – and was so satisfied with the results – that I didn't take my Canon EOS R5 out of my camera bag or use my phone once.

And that's exactly what this camera is for; it's intended to replace your camera and your phone as an everyday / vacation / family / moment-to-moment snapper. Its superzoom focal range makes it a brilliant do-it-all device, you don't have to worry about getting distracted by notifications or pop-ups, and the shooting experience is super simple and straightforward.

Its only real downside is that its video quality isn't great, and it doesn't shoot 4K – though I'm pretty sure that anyone looking at this kind of compact is doing so for its photo features. It doesn't shoot RAW, either, but the JPEGs are more than good enough and can handle quite a bit of tweaking if you want to edit them.

The Canon PowerShot Elph 360 HS A / Canon Ixus 285 HS A practically lives in my jeans pocket now – and it's the first device I reach for when I want to take a photo. With such a low price point, it really is a brilliant buy if you're in the market for this kind of compact.