Engadget @ Canon Expo 2005
posted Sep 16th 2005 11:10AM
Canon decided it was time to fly in peeps from the world over for a massive expo in New York this week called the Canon Expo 2005. Besides having a Canon employee to visitor ratio of about 4:1 (which isn't a knock on their turnout, they were just really well staffed), they had all their new gear to show off, and some really interesting forthcoming devices. Like, say, a WiFi-enabled camera and some SED televisions. Click on to check out shots we grabbed while at the event.
We we really digging this WiFi-enabled digital camera. Sure, we’ve seen this before, but it’s fun to have your picture taken and see it instantly show up on a laptop ten feet away, then print off. Unfortunately Canon’s implementation, like the others, is software-based, so whenever they release the device that this is a prototype of, don’t expect it to drop all those shots onto Flickr from a hotspot (at least not yet, anyway).
They were showing off all their new PowerShots, including the SD550, SD450, SD30, and SD80. Very nice.
They were also showing off two unannounced DVD camcorders, the DC20 and DC10, which should hit stores in the next couple of weeks. The DC10 has a 1.3 megapixel digital still camera, while the DC20 features a 2.0 megapixel sensor. Expect them in the $700-800 range.
They showed off some really hot 36-inch SED display prototypes, which besides registering an average of half the metered power consumption of similar sized LCD and plasma TVs, featured a totally independent viewing angles and a 100,000:1 contrast ratio. It was kind of crazy, when the screen went black it was like the whole panel disappeared.
Thought you might also like to see what Canon thinks a DSLR, portable camera, and camcorder might look like in a few years. Apparently acrylic bodies will be very in.
so can you show us the dSLRs?
That's coming later today in a separate post.
Any mention of Canon releasing a hard drive based camcorder like the JVC Everios?
Any mention of Canon releasing a hard drive based camcorder like the JVC Everios?
is there also a successor to the g6 and pro1?
Engadget, I just want to tell you how much I love you. Nothing to do with this post specifically, just you as a whole. I read this site like it's my religion. It used to be the only place I could get this type of information was in the "What's New" section of popular science magazine and a show on the discovery channel called "Next Step" but now everytime I come home from anywhere I have more news just waiting for my to learn about and read, I love it. I wish there was something I could do for you for all you have done for my. I hope everyone at Engadget reads this and it makes you feel happier for the day. YOu have/are enriching my life and have awakened my love for science and technology beyond what I ever had before. I am even changing my major because I want to do something in life I love and have found that I want to something that will involve me more with technology and it's advances. Thank you.
Devin
Sounds like someone wants to get married to Engadget
But hey, I am just the same, I love you guys so much, even though its hard to say in such a manly and non-geek way :D
I am liking the future displays that are coming our way in the next 2 years. There hasn't been much on Canons SED displays lately, even though they do have some advantages over the OLED displays.
Anyway, I hope there's more news on both displays in the future, I just want to see one in person and experience this richness of colour and depth everyone is raving about!
Engadget, I just want to tell you how much I hate you. Nothing to do with this post specifically. Its just that you make me spend more than I really need. Those technologies that you were showing were my budget's greatest enemy.
Any comments on the SED picture (color, contrast, resolution)? You are one of the few to see this TV in person.
Any idea how the price on the SED compares to similiar LCD and Plasmas?
Very qool review! Another stellar Engadget post!
Having worked with Canon in a company which is a technology supplier to them over the years, one impression clearly stands out: they definitely are sticklers to perfection. In every aspect of the word; from software and chip design to image processing to manufacturing. They push the performance envelope in many directions.
Thus, I cant wait to see the SED products resulting from Canon and Toshiba's R&D.
#9 - I was at Canon Expo. The SED display display (?) consisted of three TVs side-by-side; a plasma, LCD with the SED in the middle. Looking at either of the other two options independant of each other or the SED display, both looked good. However, with the SED in the middle, it was clear that it bests both technologies on viewing angle, response time, brightness and contrast.
Along with the standard nature scene images that are used to show off display technolgies, there was one clip that really struck me. A record was revolving, taking up the full frame. At first I was struck by how true the black was in the SED display, relative to the other two technologies and how the reflection on the surface was white and the gradiations in between were almost hyper realistic. A voice told us to try to read the writing on the inner spindle of the record; following the text in its rotation, it was absolutely crystal clear on the SED display, blurred on the plasma and illegible on the LCD.
Don't know the specs on the plasma or LCD displays, but it was a compelling demo none the less. Even without side-by-side comparison, it would have been compelling.
Also the SED power read out said between 91 and 96 watts while plasma and LCD started at about 130 and peaked at over 200.
engadget, i love you too. independent thinking/reviews, well spoken and humble, comprehensive, timely/instant and on-the-spot (attending an obscure canon expo for example).
print, tv: beware of your slothenly postproduction schedules.
I love engadget more...
What's the time frame on SED televisions. Toshiba is supposedly making one as well.
I wish I could see some more screens of the Canon tv. What's with the gray bar across the top of the screen?
Great report, AMC.
Now I'm more interested in SEDs.
I'm looking forward to that DSLR article too.
i went to canon expo 2005 thursday&friday in nyc. it was dead...not many people came.
Not sure what time you were at Expo that it was dead - Thursday was packed and Friday was lighter but still busy.
The gray bar on the SED TV is part of the frame for the stand. Two configurations were shown: wall mounted and stand mounted with a wrap-around stand. Very nicely done. And the descriptions above don't do justice to the images: they were incredably rich, bright, and detailed. SEDs screens were all over the place. One toward the rear, near the smile and blink detection demos was showing HD video of Florence, Italy. You could get within 2-3 feet of the screen and it was incredably detailed. Even shooting a model on one the bridges, you could pick out features of the pedestrians on the Ponte Veccio bridge behind her, and the colors were - just wow. There was also another one set up taking live video and showing it on a pair of SED screens. I actually thought the screens looked better than in real life. I had a Philips LCD TV in my hotel room and it looked horrible by comparison.
On the clear cameras above, they look like just blocks of glass with lenses glued on. However, they are actual working prototypes and were shown in the main theater video. Almost the entire back of the camera becomes the view finder. Also, they have wireless technology so you can wirelessly transfer photos between PC and camera as well as between two cameras. Nice.
Toshiba expected SED models to be produced late 2005. However, Canon reps at the expo are now suggesting a 2007 release.
A law suit filed by Nano-Proprietary may explain the delay. The company is sueing Canon, claiming that Canon is improperly using a 1999 granted license of their patent to make the new displays.
Nano-Proprietary press release:
http://www.nano-proprietary.com/news/press_releases/Apr-12-2005.pdf
Non PDF link:
http://www.azonano.com/news.asp?newsID=751