Kendall Jenner and Dua Lipa made this 10-year-old Canon compact go viral so I tested it to find out if it’s worth the hype — here’s how it went

Compact cameras aren’t dead, hooray! While many of us thought that the compacts we grew up with would become obsolete and get phased out by DSLRs and mirrorless snappers, that hasn’t happened, and Canon has proven it won’t be anytime soon with the re-release of its PowerShot Elph 360 HS A / IXUS 285 HS A. This 10-year-old compact features a 20.2MP CMOS sensor and packs digital image stabilization as well as a 12x optical zoom. The nostalgia-inducing image quality is lovely, and the camera relays vibrant colors too.

But is it worth the premium? The PowerShot Elph 360 HS A has some significant drawbacks, such as the lackluster build quality, poor battery life, and an old-fashioned USB-B port which means there’s no in-camera charging.

To find out if this is the best camera for you, read my full Canon PowerShot Elph 360 HS A / IXUS 285 A review.

Canon PowerShot Elph 360 HS A / IXUS 285 HS A review: Specs

Canon PowerShot Elph 360 HS A / IXUS 285 HS A review: Cheat sheet

• What is it? A 2025 refresh of a 2016 compact camera with a 20.2MP 1/2.3-inch CMOS sensor
• Who is it for? Anyone who wants an easy-to-use portable camera
• How much does it cost? The Canon PowerShot Elph 360 HS A / IXUS 285 HA S is available for $379 / £369
• What do we like? The image quality, handy 12x optical zoom, ease of use, portability, and built-in flash
• What don’t we like? The lack of in-camera charging, poor build quality and battery life, and the asking price

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

First things first, this Canon compact goes by two different names. In the Americas, it is known as the Canon PowerShot Elph 360 HS A, while in the U.K., Europe and Australia, it’s sold as the Canon IXUS 285 HS A. The “A” in the name doesn’t stand for anything, but it denotes that this camera is a 2025 refresh of the original 2016 model. If that sounds familiar, it’s because the original Elph 360 HS / IXUS 285 HS went viral recently thanks to Kendall Jenner and Dua Lipa, so chances are you’ve seen it on TikTok or in paparazzi photos.

To make this review easier to read, I’ll be referring to this camera as the PowerShot Elph 360 HS A throughout. Now that that’s out of the way, let’s talk about the pricing. The PowerShot Elph 360 HS A is available for $379 at Adorama U.S. / £369 at Amazon U.K. That’s a lot of dough for a compact camera, and it’s one of the most expensive compacts I’ve tested so far.

The PowerShot Elph 360 HS A is priced similarly to the Panasonic Lumix ZS99 ($499), and is more expensive than the likes of the Pentax WG-1000 ($196) and the Kodak PIXPRO WPZ2 ($179). But hey, at least it’s cheaper than the atrociously priced Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark III ($879). While the PowerShot Elph 360 HS A is a decent compact camera, is it worth spending that many doubloons on it? Let’s find out.

Canon PowerShot Elph 360 HS A / IXUS 285 HS A review: Design & build quality

Compact cameras, as their name implies, are compact and portable, and the Canon PowerShot Elph 360 HS A is no different. It’s smaller than your average smartphone — certainly smaller than my Google Pixel 10 Pro XL — and can easily slide into even your jeans’ front pocket. The PowerShot Elph 360 HS A measures 3.92 x 2.28 x 0.89 inches and weighs 5.15oz, so you barely notice it in your pocket or handbag.

Even though the PowerShot Elph 360 HS A is small, I didn’t have any problems using it with one or both hands. The light weight also means that my hand didn’t hurt after long periods of holding up the camera — when shooting video, for example.

The PowerShot Elph 360 HS A comes in either black or silver, and I tested the black model which looks nice and certainly looks like a premium product. The design also brings back a lot of childhood memories for me, as many of the compact cameras my family and I owned looked very similar to the PowerShot Elph 360 HS A.

My only issue with the PowerShot Elph 360 HS A’s otherwise premium design is the lackluster build quality. The camera is made entirely of plastic which feels low quality, and sounds hollow when you tap it. The covering on top, which protects the USB-B and micro HDMI ports, feels very plasticky and I wish Canon had used a rubber flap instead. It’s also frustrating to open as you have to use a fair bit of force.

In a similar vein, the plastic sliding cover protecting the battery pack feels just as plasticky, if not more. It feels fragile too, like it could snap easily without too much force. If you want a camera that feels more well-built, I’d recommend either the Panasonic Lumix ZS99 or even the cheaper Pentax WG-1000. The WG-1000 is even shockproof and can withstand falls up to 6.5 feet.

Ports

You’ll find just two ports on the PowerShot Elph 360 HS A, and both are located on the top plate (when the camera is sitting upright). There’s a micro HDMI output and a USB type-B port for data transfer. This feels obsolete, as most cameras now feature a USB-C port, which is more up-to-date and offers much higher data transfer speeds.

Monitor

The PowerShot Elph 360 HS A is fitted with a 3-inch fixed TFT LCD monitor with a resolution of approximately 416,000 dots. It’s nearly double that of the Pentax WG-1000 (230K dots) but is much lower-res than the Panasonic Lumix ZS99’s (1.84M dots). The PowerShot Elph 360 HS A’s monitor is bright enough to see in most lighting conditions, even in bright sunlight. It can help you frame your shots better and change settings accurately.

Unlike the Lumix ZS99, the PowerShot Elph 360 HS A’s monitor is fixed which means it can’t be flipped or tilted, limiting shooting capabilities from awkward angles. For instance, the Lumix ZS99’s monitor can be flipped up 180º to become a selfie screen. But it isn’t uncommon for compact cameras to have immovable screens, as this is something I’ve seen on other compacts I’ve tested, like the Kodak PIXPRO WPZ2 and the Kodak PIXPRO FZ45 ($99).

Weather-sealing

The PowerShot Elph 360 HS A is not weather-sealed. It isn’t protected against water, dust or falls. I’d be careful using the camera in the rain as there are no protective coverings over the ports. It’s worth getting the Pentax WG-1000 if weather-sealing is important to you, as that camera is fully weatherproof.

Canon PowerShot Elph 360 HS A / IXUS 285 HS A review: Controls

If you’re looking for an easy-to-use compact camera, the Canon PowerShot Elph 360 HS A is perfect for you. Its straightforward control scheme, well-laid out buttons and easy-to-read menu system makes it a compact camera fit for everyone, regardless of your photography expertise level.

Most of the buttons are exactly like the ones you’ll find on the majority of compact cameras, but alongside being able to swap between stills and video, Canon has added a Creative Shot mode. Pressing the shutter button with this mode enabled captures six photos and a few different filters and effects are applied to your images.

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For instance, in the series of images in the gallery above, the camera has applied different color profiles to each shot, and has created crops in different aspect ratios as well. While I believe that this can give you some creative freedom, I can’t see myself using it much if I owned the camera. I suppose these photos would be good for social media, but having spoken to a few of my friends about this feature, none of them seemed too convinced, and they felt it was a gimmick.

You’ve also got a Hybrid Auto shooting mode which records a short video clip before the shutter button is pressed to capture a still, creating a behind-the-scenes video akin to B-roll, ideal for your Instagram feed or TikTok. This feature alone has me convinced that the PowerShot Elph 360 HS A was designed for TikTokers and social media users. It’s really nice seeing the lead-up to the image. The photo above is the result…

…and above is the video leading to the image. I had fun using this feature, and I’m sure social media users who like sharing behind-the-scenes footage with their followers or friends.

Canon PowerShot Elph 360 HS A / IXUS 285 HS A review: Lens

The Canon PowerShot Elph 360 HS A is fitted with a 20.2MP 1/2.3-inch CMOS sensor with a focal length of 4.5-54mm (25-300 mm full frame equivalent). This focal range is great for group photos, landscapes, portraits, street and travel photography. The f/3.6-f/7 aperture is adjusted automatically by the camera, and so is the shutter speed (15s to 1/2000s). ISO range is limited to 80-3200, which is what I expected from a sensor this size.

You get a 12x optical zoom, a 24x ZoomPlus, a 4x digital zoom, and a 48x combined zoom. The 12x optical zoom is handy as it enables you to magnify subjects and capture high-res images. This is better than a digital zoom which enlarges a portion of an image using software, which results in some pixelation and lower-res images.

Canon PowerShot Elph 360 HS A / IXUS 285 HS A review: Image quality

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The Canon PowerShot Elph 360 HS A captures 20.2MP images that are ideal for sharing on social media and making small prints for your physical photo album or scrapbook. The resulting images have a vintage, retro aesthetic and charm to them which reminds me of the photo albums my family compiled when I was growing up. So while image quality isn’t the best and the most highly detailed, it would be unfair to mark a compact camera down for not being able to go toe-to-toe with DSLRs and mirrorless cameras.

Image quality, by compact camera standards, is great, and you can see samples in the gallery above. These images were taken on sunny and overcast days, and even those taken in cloudy conditions have turned out well, with colors that capture the moodiness of the scenes. Colors appear true-to-life, and I especially love the photos of the flowers and holly. The reds pop very well against the vivid greens, and the yellows appear beautiful too.

Most of the images are sharp as well, especially the one of the holly and the reflection of the building in a puddle, as the edges of the subjects are well-defined and distinguishable. These might actually be the best photos I’ve taken on a compact camera so far!

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As I mentioned earlier, the PowerShot Elph 360 HS A’s 12x optical zoom is extremely handy, and is one of the most compelling reasons to buy this camera. Take a look at the two images in the gallery above. The first was shot with the camera fully zoomed out, and the second was taken with the 12x optical zoom. As you can see in the second photo, plenty of detail has been captured and the image has turned out great. There isn’t much loss in sharpness either, as the patterns in the bricks and the details in the window pane have been retained.

You will, however, notice that there’s some chromatic aberration in the second photo, with purple color fringing along the right-hand edge of the building. This is due to the camera’s optics not dispersing light properly so different wavelengths of the same light hit the sensor in different places — it’s an undesirable characteristic often reflective of cheaper optics. It doesn’t ruin the image, but it’s important to note that it is prevalent.

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Alongside a handy 12x zoom, you also get a macro mode which reduces the minimum focusing distance to just 1cm. In theory, this can help you get detailed shots of the finer details, such as the patterns on flower petals. In my testing, though, I found the macro mode to be hit-or-miss. The first two images in the gallery above are sharp and in-focus, and you can make out plenty of detail in the white flowers.

The third image, on the other hand, is all over the place. I couldn’t get the camera to focus on the dark berries no matter how hard I tried, and regardless of how far I placed the lens from the fruits. Instead, the camera ended up focusing on the bunch of berries in the top-right corner. At first I put it down to the wind blowing and displacing the berries, but even after I held the berries’ branch with my hand, I still couldn’t get the PowerShot Elph 360 HS A to focus on them, which is quite disappointing.

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On the plus side, the PowerShot Elph 360 HS A packs good autofocus for human beings, and it utilizes Canon’s TTL AiAF system with Single, Continuous, Servo AF/AE and Tracking AF modes. The camera also features human and animal subject detection, and in my testing, I found human face detection to be very reliable.

In the gallery above, the camera was quick to lock on to mine and my partner’s face in the first shot, and her face in the second shot. Even though these images were taken at different times of the day with different lighting — one after dark and one in the daytime — the PowerShot Elph 360 HS A’s autofocus never felt sluggish.

Animal detection works well too, as the camera was quick to lock on to the common wood pigeon and European robin in the gallery above. Even when the birds were obscured by the branches, the PowerShot Elph 360 HS A did not struggle to focus on the subjects.

Canon PowerShot Elph 360 HS A / IXUS 285 HS A review: Video

Alongside shooting stills, the Canon PowerShot Elph 360 HS A can shoot FHD video at 30fps too, making it a versatile hybrid compact camera. It’s the same resolution and frame rate you’ll find on the Pentax WG-1000, but the Panasonic Lumix TZ99 should be your port of call if you want a 4K shooter.

You can see a compilation of clips shot in FHD/30fps above. While you don’t have a lot of room for cropping and the video isn’t as high-res as 4K, it’s still good and doesn’t look too choppy, at 30fps. You also get 4-axis Intelligent IS, which is digital image stabilization, which helps negate some choppiness from camera shake.

The PowerShot Elph 360 HS A features a built-in mic too which is good enough for recording ambient sounds. I love how clear the European robin’s song sounds in the video above. Although, it’s worth noting that the camera also records the sound of it zooming in and out so I’d avoid doing so when you’re recording video as it can be unpleasant and jarring.

Canon PowerShot Elph 360 HS A / IXUS 285 HS A review: Battery life

The Canon PowerShot Elph 360 HS A utilizes a removable and rechargeable Lithium-ion NB-11LH battery pack. One of my biggest gripes with the camera is that you can’t charge the camera directly. It’s because the camera still features a mini USB-B port which, in my opinion, feels a bit old-fashioned. This means that you need to remove the battery pack, slide it into the included external charger, and plug it into a power port.

I’m really surprised that Canon has decided to retain the USB-B port and not replace it with a USB-C port. Why refresh a 2016 model and not fit it with up-to-date technology, given that even keychain cameras like the Kodak Charmera ($29) now feature in-camera charging? I can understand Canon wanting to make the camera readily available since the 2016 model went viral, but why not update it with useful features?

My rant aside, the PowerShot Elph 360 HS A is CIPA-rated for 180 shots or 265 shots when using the camera in Eco mode. This is shorter than the Panasonic Lumix ZS99’s 380-shot and the Pentax WG-1000’s 380-shot CIPA ratings. But of course, CIPA tests are conducted under very strict conditions, and the rating is usually conservative, especially compared to real-world usage.

In my testing, I was able to take just over 190 photos between charges, while using the camera’s monitor to view my images every now and then. This isn’t great, and it means that you might run out of charge before the end of, say, your day-long music festival.

Canon PowerShot Elph 360 HS A / IXUS 285 HS A review: Verdict

As compact cameras go, the Canon PowerShot Elph 360 HS A / IXUS 285 HS A is a decent choice. The images it captures have a retro aesthetic to them which is fit for today’s social media age, and the colors are bright and vivid. The autofocus works well, and the handy 12x optical zoom lets you zoom in without losing too much sharpness. You can also record FHD/30fps video, and I particularly like the Hybrid Auto mode which captures a short clip of the lead-up to the still you’re capturing.

But with underwhelming battery life and plasticky build quality that feels subpar, and the lack of in-camera charging, the PowerShot Elph 360 HS A falls just behind other compact camera offerings from the likes of Pentax and Panasonic. Given that the camera costs nearly $400, I feel like your money would be spent better elsewhere.

If money isn’t an object and you want a compact camera that’s extremely easy to use, then the PowerShot Elph 360 HS A could be perfect for you. After all, if Kendall Jenner (who isn’t a professional photographer, as far as I know) can use the camera, I suppose anyone can.