Canon Digital CamerasFrom there the first prototype Japanese made 35mm focal-plane shutter camera was created in 1934. At the time in Japan the precision processing of parts did not match the quality of the German camera makers. However the parts replication could be outsourced to local companies. In 1934, Yoshida succeeded in producing a prototype of the first domestically made 35mm focal-plane shutter camera. A believer of the Buddhist faith, he named it "Kwanon" after the Goddess of Mercy, and placed an advertisement for "Kwanon Cameras" in the June 1934 issue of Asahi Camera magazine. Hence came the corporate name of "Canon" which developed out of this first prototype camera and co-founder Saburo Uchida's desire to have a more modern sounding name that reflected their desire to create high quality cameras. From these early devlopment steps Canon has gone on to become a world wide multimedia company that makes hundreds of products in many market segments. Our interest here is their line of digital cameras. The Canon digital product line ranges from the stylish Powershot series of cameras to the high end Powershot Pro1 which has an 8 megapixel CCD and 7x optical zoom capability. Let's take a look at a couple of options in the Canon line of digital cameras.
Powershot Digital ELPH SD10
Canon developed the proprietary DIGIC image processing technology specifically for use with its line of digital cameras. DIGIC combines the roles of image processing and camera function control into one chip and because it was designed for use in digital cameras, it is also capable of handling JPEG compression/expansion; memory card control; LCD/Video control and processing; gain control (control of CCD signal amplification); Auto Exposure; Auto Focus; Auto White Balance control and most other functions of a digital camera. The DIGIC Processor offers the added benefit of faster display and write-times for each image and low power consumption, saving valuable battery power. Buy Cigarettes online Canon has a cool technology called Direct Printing which significantly expands the appeal of the PowerShot Digital ELPH SD10 cameras by making it simple, quick and convenient to produce high-quality photos without the need for a personal computer. It works with Canon's Card Photo Printers, Bubble Jet Direct Photo Printers. The PowerShot Digital ELPH SD10 cameras feature a high-quality four-element 6.4mm (equivalent to 39mm in 35mm format) f /2.8 single focal length lens and a 5.7x digital zoom. The camera also features an easy to read 1.5-inch (diagonally measured) color LCD Monitor, and through the lens (TTL) 5-point AiAF autofocus. The camera's shutter speeds (mechanical and electronic) range from 15 to 1/1500 of a second and there are 6 white balance modes including Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent and Fluorescent H settings.
Three new camera settings on the Canon Powershot include: Super Macro mode supports auto-focusing on subjects as close as 1.2 inches from the tip of the lens, resulting in impressive close-ups (now you can get up close and personal with your cat); Quick Shot mode reduces the time lag between pressing the shutter button and starting the exposure, thus improving the SD10 cameras' ability to capture sports action ( I love this feature becasue you get some great pictures when you mess around with multi frame shooting and the cost is zero for mistakes!); and a new Clock Display mode shows year/month/day and hour/minute/second displays in Shooting Mode by pressing two buttons at once. The Digital ELPH SD10 cameras offer Super Fine, Fine and Normal JPEG compression modes and features resolution settings of 2272 x 1704, 1600 x 1200, 1024 x 768 and 640 x 480 (VGA) for still images. You can also record video clips with sound up to 3 minutes apiece at resolutions of 320 x 240 or 160 x 120. The camera is supplied with an ultra-compact 32MB SD memory card (be sure to buy more memory cards for your camera so you can alwasy take more pictures when you want) and features video out and USB ports. Canon supplies a comprehensive software bundle with multiple features, but the SD10 can also be connected directly to Mac OS X and Windows XP computers for basic downloading without installing any software. The Powershot ELPH SD10 sells for around $399.
Powershot SD10 Features
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Powershot Pro1 The Pro1 is Canon's new top-of-the-line PowerShot digital camera for 2004. The Pro1 was designed for discerning digital photographers seeking a versatile, high-resolution digital camera that combines shooting options previously found only on digital SLRs with the optical excellence found in Canon's best interchangeable SLR lenses.
Despite its compact size, the Pro1 employs a professional quality 2/3-inch, eight megapixel CCD image sensor that produces images up to 3264 x 2448 pixels in size, the largest of any PowerShot camera to date. The camera's L-series 28-200mm equivalent f/2.4-3.5 7x zoom lens is among the fastest in its class and utilizes an Ultrasonic Motor for high-speed zooming (which can be activated at the twist of a ring on the lens). The 14-element lens features two aspherical elements, one UD-glass element and significantly, one Fluorite crystal element (the first use of Fluorite in any compact digital camera lens).
The macro capabilities of the L-series lens allow for close focusing to 3.9 inches at full resolution while the “super macro mode” permits close-focus to 1.2 inches (at a moderately reduced four megapixel resolution). For those seeking added lens flexibility and range, the camera accepts optional accessory converter lenses (attached with an optional conversion lens adapter) including a Tele Converter Lens that extends the range of the zoom to a maximum of 300mm, and the 58mm 500D Close-up lens.
The Pro1's rugged metal body with its professional black finish, large comfortable rubberized grip and strategically placed controls clustered on the right hand side contribute to its go-anywhere, shoot anything versatility. What's more the camera features a sharp, clear, easy-to-read, high-resolution 235,000 pixel 2.0-inch LCD monitor with full tilt and 270° swivel capability. Similarly, the eye level electronic viewfinder is also 235,000 pixels (the highest resolution ever in any PowerShot viewfinder) and features a new power-saving “Display Off” mode that turns off the viewfinder or the monitor after a user-set delay time.
The camera's exposure features are similar to those found on EOS digital SLRs and include a mode dial with settings for P, Tv, Av, M, two user-adjustable Custom modes and fully automatic modes for Portraits, Landscapes, Night Scenes, Stitch Assist (panoramas) and Movies. The shutter speeds range from 15 seconds to 1/4000, the fastest ever in a PowerShot camera. Users can select RAW or JPEG recording formats as well as standard sRGB or Adobe RGB color space depending on their needs, and have the added flexibility of Image Adjustment settings for contrast, sharpness and saturation. In addition to a convenient popup flash, the Pro1 is compatible with all EX-series Canon Speedlites and Macro Lites and permits flash exposure compensation of up to +/- 2 stops.
Adding to the Pro1's versatility is a high-resolution movie mode that captures 640 x 480 movies with sound at 15 frames per second for up to 30 seconds per clip. Users can also opt for lower resolution capture with sound – at either 320 x 240 or 160 x 120 – for movie clips up to three minutes in length. Still photos can be annotated with sound clips up to 60 seconds in duration. Still images and movies are stored on removable CompactFlash memory cards, Type I or II including Microdrives. And there's no capacity limit thanks to full support of the FAT-32 file structure for storage devices larger than 2 gigabytes.
Powershot Pro1 features:
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Canon's PowerShot Digital ELPH SD10 weighs in at 3.5 ounces and measures just 3.6 x 1.9 x 0.7 inches. The SD10 camera's high- resolution four-megapixel CCD captures brilliant images and then - thanks to Canon's exclusive DIGIC (Digital Imaging Integrated Circuit) Imaging Processor - takes image quality to a new level.