A fixed lens, and the aperture at the long end is the real specification · review
Canon IXUS 285 HS, 20.2 MP, 12× optical zoom, metal body review
A slim metal point-and-shoot with a 12× optical zoom and wireless sharing, listed at 369 € to 400 € across euro stores — the same money as cameras on this shelf that offer 4K and a one-inch sensor.
The bottom line The zoom and the metal body are real, and so is the price: 369 € to 400 € for Full HD video, no published stabilisation and no sensor size, on a shelf where the same sum buys a one-inch sensor and a published aperture at both ends. Worth it for the pocketable metal Canon specifically, and hard to argue on specification.
On the listing
A slim, stylish point-and-shoot with a quality metal housing, small enough for any pocket; sharp, vivid photographs and Full HD video; a 12× optical zoom for faces in a crowd, birds in a tree or landmarks in detail; WLAN and NFC for sharing to a phone on a day out; and a choice of black or silver, offered for family gatherings and everyday occasions.
The zoom is the specification
Twelve times, optical. That is the longest real optical range on this shelf apart from the Panasonic, and it is worth more than any of the 16× and 20× digital figures around it, because it gathers detail rather than enlarging what was already captured.
The third bullet sells it well, with examples rather than numbers. What it never gives is a focal length, so the wide end cannot be compared, and no aperture appears anywhere on the page.
What is not published, on a page with five bullets
No sensor size. No screen — not its size, not whether it moves. No stabilisation, on a camera built around 12× reach. No battery and no box contents. Against the eight lines the hub above compares compacts on, this listing answers two.
One bullet also repeats itself mid-sentence, the wording breaking off and starting again. It is a small thing and it is on the maker’s own page.
The price is the difficult part
369 € in Germany, 369 € in France, 390 € in Italy, 400 € in Spain. Four stores within eight per cent of each other, so this is the price of the reference and not a reshipper.
On this same shelf that sum buys a one-inch sensor, a 24-200 mm range with f/2.8-4.5 published at both ends, and 4K video. The Panasonic at 549 € offers 30× and 4K. Against those, a Full HD camera with no published stabilisation is a purchase made for the metal body and the pocket, not for the specification — and that is a legitimate reason, stated as what it is.
Availability
Between 369 € and 400 € on the German, French, Italian and Spanish Amazon stores when this page was last checked.
The British Amazon store carry it too, priced in local currency. Those amounts are deliberately absent from the range above, which reads euro stores only.
Nothing came back from the American Amazon store at all, so the button for that country runs a search instead of opening an entry that is not there.
Everything in this section is the figure Keepa carried on the day of the last update to this page. Availability and prices shift without notice.
Prices quoted in this text were read on 13 September 2026. The live price is at the top of the page.
What it does well, and what it gives up
Strengths
A 12× optical zoom, the second longest optical range on this shelf and real reach rather than a crop
A metal body, stated in the first bullet, where every other camera here leaves the material unmentioned
WLAN and NFC for transferring to a phone, with a bullet of their own rather than a mention in passing
Compromises
Listed from 369 € to 400 € in euro stores, which buys a one-inch sensor and 4K elsewhere on this same shelf
Video stops at Full HD, and no stabilisation is claimed anywhere on a 12× zoom
Neither the screen nor the battery nor the dimensions are published, and one bullet is visibly duplicated mid-sentence
Specifications
Sensor type
Not published on the listing — the title gives 20.2 MP and the five bullets describe the body, the pictures, the zoom, the wireless features and the colours, without naming a sensor or its size
Focal range
Not published on the listing — the third bullet gives a 12× optical zoom, with examples of what it reaches, and no focal length at either end
Aperture at both ends
Not published on the listing — no f-number appears on the page. On a 12× zoom the aperture at the long end is the figure the hub above says to read, and it is absent
Viewfinder provision
Not published on the listing — the first bullet calls it a point-and-shoot that fits in a pocket, and no finder is mentioned
Screen articulation
Not published on the listing — no screen size, movement or touch capability is stated anywhere, which is unusual even on this shelf
Stabilisation
Not published on the listing — the five bullets never claim stabilisation, on a camera whose third bullet is entirely about reaching distant subjects at 12×
Dimensions
Not published on the listing — the body is described as slim, stylish and metal, and as small enough for any pocket, with no measurement or mass given
Charging
Not published on the listing — no battery, charger or cable is named, and there is no box contents bullet
Amazon reference
B0FQJZ97NL (same reference on 5 Amazon marketplaces)
EAN
4549292250978
What people ask before they commit
Why is an older compact priced like a current one?
The four euro stores agree within eight per cent, from 369 € in Germany to 400 € in Spain, so this is not one odd seller or a reshipping artefact — it is what the reference costs where it is listed. Nothing on the page explains it. What can be said is what the same money buys on this shelf: a one-inch sensor, a 24-200 mm range with apertures published at both ends, and 4K.
Does 12× optical make up for Full HD video?
It depends entirely on whether the camera is for stills or for video. Twelve times of real optical reach is a genuine capability that no digital zoom here matches, and for photographs it is the more important half. For video, Full HD in 2026 is a generation behind every other listing on this shelf, and no stabilisation is claimed to steady it at the long end.
No sensor type published · 20× zoom stated as digital, not optical · no aperture published · 2.7 inch LCD · 4K video claimed · 56 MP stated image size · autofocus · tripod thread · 32 GB card included
A thirty-euro compact whose second bullet states in the maker’s own words that its 20× zoom is not optical, and which publishes a tripod thread and a webcam mode where dearer cameras here publish neither.
Best for: A cheap second camera for a desk, where the tripod thread and the webcam mode matter more than any figure on the page.
16 MP sensor stated · 4× OPTICAL zoom · no aperture published · 2.7 inch tilting LCD · 720p video · optical stabilisation mode · runs on AA batteries · no sensor size published
No compact here costs less and still offers a genuinely optical zoom with an optical stabilisation mode, running on AA batteries rather than a proprietary cell — and stopping at 720p video.
Best for: Travel somewhere batteries are easier to find than sockets, or a camera for someone who should not have to manage charging.
20.3 MP MOS sensor · 24-720 mm stated, 30× optical · Leica DC lens · five-axis hybrid OIS · 4K 30p and 4K photo · 7.6 cm flip touch monitor, 1.84 million dots · WLAN and Bluetooth · manual ring, manual focus, focus peaking, RAW · aperture not published
A travel zoom that publishes its focal range in millimetres, 24 to 720, with five-axis stabilisation and a manual control ring — and never states the aperture at either end of it.
Best for: Travel where one camera must cover a landscape and a distant roofline, by someone who will use the manual ring and shoot RAW.
