Reviewer Profile

Can one of Canon’s cheapest compacts outshoot its higher-spec competitors? Despite Canon boasting a certain pedigree when it comes to affordable compacts, the A495 still needs to work hard to be competitive at this highly saturated end of the market. Coming almost exactly one year after its predecessor (the Powershot A480), the A495 offers a 10MP ½.3-inch sensor that features Canon's much-vaunted DIGIC III processor. While not fantastically wide, its 37-122mm equivalent (f3.0-5.8) 3.3x optical zoom lens still offers a decent mix of reach and range.  

Create your own Panorama

Some vistas are so beautifully expansive that a single shot with a wide-angle lens just won’t do it justice. Panoramas allow you to push the boundaries of the frame, leaving the photographer no longer restricted by how wide angle

Shooting fashion with the Leica X1

Yet again I have the priviledge of testing another beautifully engineered Leica this month: this time it's the small-but-perfectly formed X1. It looks and handles just like a miniaturised M9, with all of the controls you need right at your fingert

Take This Shot: Landscapes

We’re lucky enough to have some of the most beautiful scenery in the world in the UK, but taking great landscape shots that capture the beauty of a location isn’t often easy: as with most things in life, practice makes perfect. Mak