As compact cameras continue to trend upwards, Canon is officially bringing back its cheap PowerShot camera. The Canon PowerShot Elph 360 HS A, sold in the UK and other territories as the Canon PowerShot Ixus 285 HS A, is a minor refresh of a 2016 compact camera – but the move will bring one of Canon’s cheapest compacts back after trends kept the camera perpetually out of stock.
The Canon PowerShot Elph 360 / Ixus 285 HS A is more of a minor update than a generational overhaul of the 2016 camera with the same name, minus the A. The 2025 version of the cheap compact swaps out the standard-sized SD card slot for microSD. The camera also gets upgrades to current Wi-Fi security standards, which unfortunately drops the its ability to connect directly to a mobile photo printer and the ability to wirelessly connect to a PC.
Outside its memory card switch and Wi-Fi changes, the camera’s specifications remain identical to the original compact without the A in the name. The Elph 360 / Ixus 285 HS A uses a 20.2MP 1/2.3-inch sensor, a fairly common size among small, inexpensive point-and-shoots that will keep image quality consistent with the 2016 camera.
That sensor is paired with a 12x optical zoom that gives it a zoom range equivalent to 25-300mm on a full-frame camera. That’s going to set the cheap compact camera apart from smartphones. The lens is an f/3.6 aperture at the widest view, but drops to f/7 when at full zoom.
Canon says the switch from a full-sized SD card to microSD is a move meant to “help meet emerging needs in the compact camera market.” MicroSD cards require an adapter to be used in standard SD card readers on laptops, but some smartphones have small microSD ports for expandable storage.
One other small change? The Canon PowerShot ELPH 360 HS A will retail for $379, where the previous model sold for $359 in the US (UK pricing to follow). The compact camera is expected to ship at the end of October and will be available in black and silver. In the US, Adorama and B&H already have the point-and-shoot camera available for pre-order.
While the spec change on the refreshed PowerShot is small, the previous version remained difficult to find due in part to its age and the rising trend for compact cameras. Social media trends and limited availability drove up its used price earlier this year, with the compact being listed as out of stock on Canon’s US website for a while and the listing removed entirely from the brand’s UK website.
The revival of the Elph 360 / Ixus 285 comes shortly after Canon announced that it would increase the production of compact cameras, which was followed shortly by Canon Japan resuming orders of the popular G7X Mark III and SX740 HS.
You may also like
Browse the best point-and-shoot cameras or the best cheap cameras.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
