With a big photo show like Photokina just around the corner, it's no surprise that manufacturers are releasing products early to try and drum up interest and to make the biggest impact at the show. Canon doesn't exactly need to do this as they are one of the biggest manufacturers, but nevertheless they have released a few cameras anyway. There are four in total, all compacts, but there is still no mention of its rumoured new SLR. Canon may have something really new in wait for us at Photokina after all.
Canon Powershot G7
The G7 is the long overdue update to the G6, and us Canon's flagship camera across all its compact brands. The G7 has a 10 mega-pixel sensor, which is nothing special these days, but when you link that with Canon's new DIGIC III processor it becomes a lot more interesting. This brings speed and noise reducing improvements and finally adds Face Detection technology to a Canon camera. It works by scanning the frame for up to nine faces and sets focus and exposure to match, and because it is hardware based it runs faster than it's software variants. ISO is as high as 3200 in aquarium mode but unfortunately it doesn't have a RAW mode.
The lens also sees a big improvement over its predecessor with a 6x optical zoom lens (equivalent to 35-210mm focal length) and Image Stabilisiation. For the first time on a compact the lens features SR lens coating, this reduces ghosting and chromatic aberrations. A Safety Zoom setting, digital zoom by another name, can go up to 14x by reducing MP levels.
The camera is a slight-redesign to the G range by being a lot thinner and flatter so it can be used with an underwater housing. The design brings back more traditional elements like mode wheels on the top. Since it is Canon's new high-end compact it needs features that will keep professionals happy - Manual and Priority modes feature, as does a Flash hotshoe socket and conversion lenses can be attached. The more amateur amongst us (or those with too money to burn) will welcome the 25 shooting modes instead.
The G7 will be out in October for £449. Specification
Canon Powershot IXUS 900
Next up is the IXUS 900, the new flagship camera of the IXUS range. The 900 has a 10MP sensor with DIGIC III and the lens can zoom up to 3x - 4x digital and 12x safety zooms are available too. Face Detection is included and the camera uses this to introduce a new method of playing back photos on camera - My Category. This is set automatically to either People, Scenery or Event and is recognised later by the included software too.
The design is as interesting as usual, with a nice “Perpetual Curve” design with no sharp edges that is supposedly easier to old - rather than just there to look nice. The case is finished in titanium which is both stronger and lighter than the steel used in the majority of other cameras. It will be available in late September for £399. Specification
Canon Powershot IXUS 800 IS
Cynics would suggest the 800 IS is just the 900 with a smaller sensor (it has just 7.1 MP) but they would be wrong. While the camera has the same DIGIC III processor and design concept, the camera has a lot more because of its lens. Unusually for a compact the lens is wideangle with a focal length of 28-105mm, but even more unusual is that the lens has the image stabilisation instead of the sensor. While this is more expensive it is a lot more efficient and lets you shoot photos at 3 stops slower than non OIS systems. Other big features are XGA video recording (which is 1024x768) and a 3:2 ratio overlay on the LCD so you can see the printable area - nice features, but to be fair they feature on the other four too. Out in October for £369. Specification
Canon Powershot IXUS i7 zoom
Finally Canon's smallest camera has been updated with a 7.1MP DIGIC III (do you see a theme to today's announcement) and all the other fun features mentioned earlier are included. The camera has a few other things too, not least the Print/Share button for Direct Printing which doubles up as a shutter when the camera is held vertically. The only bad point I can see to the camera is the lens, with a miserly 2.4x zoom and 38-90mm focal length equivalent. The camera is out in October for £249, and like its predecessor comes in four colours: Noble Blue, Twilight Sepia, Precious Rose and Olive Grey (although I thought olives were more green). Click for specification
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