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Canon's latest digital cameras do much more
Each time Canon showers consumers with a horde of new cameras, it's usually because there are several technological advancements that the Japanese company wants to introduce
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Each time Canon showers consumers with a horde of new cameras, it's usually because there are several technological advancements that the Japanese company wants to introduce.
Datascrip, Canon's only authorized distributor for Indonesia, two weeks ago launched two new Ixuses cameras and seven new PowerShots: the Ixus 980 IS and 870 IS, and PowerShots E1, A1000IS, A2000IS, SX110IS, SX10IS, SX1IS and G10.
An Ixus camera, known as an Elph in the U.S. and Canada, is known for its beautiful design. Most of the Ixuses are intended for users who do not want to learn the nitty-gritty of photography.
The cameras look more like fashion accessories; that let you point and shoot photos. They have the latest general features, including an Image Stabilizer (if you see IS at the end of a Canon camera name, it means the model has an image stabilizing feature).
The PowerShot series is more sophisticated and allows users to make various manual adjustments to brightness, exposure levels and the ISO setting. The G10 comes with photo editing bundled, so it's not necessary to invest in expensive software like Photoshop to touch up shots and apply special effects to them.
So, what's new? Canon has been developing its DIGIC image processors since 2001. This processor takes care of photo rendering, cleans up image noise and adjusts colors to give the best results. The latest version is DIGIC 4, which is found in the new, lower-end models.
One of the benefits of the DIGIC 4 is the improved ability to process the images so the camera is ready for the next shot more quickly. It also helps calculate the optimized contrast in certain areas and adjusts the dark regions accordingly without affecting the other areas.
When taking a picture of a group of people, the processor can lock in up to 35 faces and make the necessary adjustments. The final result is, of course, great photos without too much tinkering with the settings.
The resolution has also increased significantly. The Ixus 980 IS and the PowerShot G10, for example, have a maximum resolution of 14.7 megapixels. At that megapixel level, you can print on A2-size paper (42 x 59.4 centimeters). However, unless you are being photographed next to the Pope, you wouldn't normally print a photo this size.
Aspect ratio has also changed. Some of these new cameras allow you to take pictures with a ratio of 16:9 instead of the square 4:3. Combined with a HD resolution of 1920 x 1080, the result is on par with a 35mm-film camera.
Cameras in the Powershot SX series (the SX1IS and the SX10IS) also have wide-range lenses with a 20x zoom. This is equal to using an SLR camera with both a 28mm and a bulky 560mm lens. The macro function allows you to place them very close -- almost touching the object in order to take pictures with extreme details.
The new high-end cameras now use ultrasonic motors (USM) and voice-coil motors (VCM), which work silently so the sound of the motors that drive the zoom and auto focus systems will not add noise to an audio recording.
Motion detection is a feature found in the more affordable PowerShot 2000IS. When the camera detects a moving target, it automatically adjusts the ISO and the aperture to try to capture the sharpest image.
The use of a Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) instead of the Charge Coupled Device (CCD) to record images may also be a trend in the future. At the moment, the USD 650 SX1IS is the only model equipped with a CMOS image sensor. In the past, CCD gave better image quality than the CMOS, but the image processor has improved the performance of the CMOS.
A growing number of cameras now have the capability to record video, too. However, perhaps not many can compare with the PowerShot SX1, which can record in High Definition (HD). It makes you wonder whether cameras like this one will eventually make the true camcorder redundant.
But, if you think about it, that's not likely to happen as camcorders have additional features that still cameras cannot provide.
With such features, one thing is certain: No matter how sophisticated the digital camera on your cell phone is, it will not surpass the sophistication and picture quality of a dedicated digital camera.
