Canon bulks up PowerShot line with 8 upgraded compacts
By Marc Perton 
posted Feb 21st 2006 10:41AM
posted Feb 21st 2006 10:41AM
No, we're not quite done with Canon for today. Not content with satisfying the pro and prosumer markets with the EOS 30D and S3 IS, the company has also unveiled no fewer than eight new or upgraded consumer models. Ready for the rundown? Pay attention, because there's a lot to cover here, and there will be a quiz after class. At the compact end of the line, Canon has upgraded the Digital Elph (aka IXUS) series with the SD600, SD630 and SD 700 IS (pictured above). All three models are compact 6 megapixel shooters, with the main differences being a larger LCD display on the 630 (3 inches, vs. 2.5 on the other two), and the addition of image stabilization and a 4x zoom (as opposed to 3x) on the 700. And it's a good thing the 630 has that larger LCD, since it skips the optical viewfinder. Canon has also upgraded its more A series of compacts, with five new models, including the 6 megapixel A700 and A540; the 700 has a 6x optical zoom, while the 540 has a 4x zoom. The lower-end A420, 430 and 530 are basic 4 megapixel (or 5 megapixel, in the case of the 530) point-and-shoots. Click through for pics of the rest of the SD models and the A series.
This makes me glad I resisted upgrading my SD300 after Christmas. That SD700 IS will be mine!
Anyone know what technology Canon is using for IS... is it software only? A quick look at the website didn't say.
Still no WiFi on these cameras, though... What the hell is canon waiting for?
I wonder if they've increased the resolution of the LCD's to keep up with the competition?
*sobs* i just bought an ixy 700... (sd550)
i'll upgrade if they bring out a sd730 aka 3" screen w/ image stabilization and that sexy tri-color scheme!
Mike, the SD430 has WiFi. I personally don't see much use for it (at least not with the price premium I se on the SD430), but if the price for it drops, more consumers will buy, and more cameras will come equiped.
how come they're not upgrading the pixels?..
i was eyeing the A620.. but i still have to see A700. although when that means, i have to downgrade the pixels..
Well... Less pixels don't make the image worse (often on the contrary). I am glad, that the Sony's W50 only delivers 6 MP, not 7MP as the W7.
It always interesting to see Canon selling cameras at an (in my opinion) often unreasonable price-point and people not complaining about it while Sony is selling cameras at quite good prices - but people are always complaining about the Mem-Sticks...
The S700 is suposed to sell at 500$ - everything for the IS (afaik no Software-solution) and 4x optical? If it started at 28mm, perhaps I could understand it but this way?
"how come they're not upgrading the pixels?.."
Because it's not necessary. The megapixel race is effectively over in point and shoot cameras. You can make an 8x10 print with perfect quality from a good 3.2 megapixel camera; 6 megapixels is already overkill, although it does allow you room to crop.
Also, I think most people are now wise to the fact that resolution is not completely dependent on the number of pixels in the sensor. The number of lines a camera is able to actually resolve (i.e. its sharpness) depends more on the lens and image processor than the sensor. Stick a 50 megapixel sensor on a camera with a crappy lens and you're still only going to get around 2 megapixels worth of image data.
DSLR's will continue to get megapixel upgrades until a consensus has been reached that they have equalled the absolute resolution of the best 35mm film stock. (That's close to happening in the top-end cameras.) "Medium format" digital cameras will probably keep increasing sensor resolution well beyond that. But even a lot of DSLR users don't have a need to make poster-sized prints, so more than 8 or 10 megapixels is just not necessary and there will always be a market for low-end DSLR's with lower-res sensors.
Given the target output of point and shoot cameras, though, 6-8 megapixels is way more than enough.
Dave Zatz said: "Anyone know what technology Canon is using for IS... is it software only? A quick look at the website didn't say."
My S2 IS manual describes it like it's all hardware based.
Look here for more: http://tinyurl.com/c9huk
I'd like to see Canon start using MPEG-4 for its movie capture.
With Motion-JPEG, I get about 9 mins on a 1GB SD card on my Canon SD350.
But with MPEG-4 on a roughly equivalent Casio, it gives approximately 4x that at a similar quality.
As I sometimes use a windscreen mounted camera as a "drive cam," it would be nice to get more time without having to fork out for a very expensive 4GB card.
too bad they didn't make the zooms larger on those ultra-compacts. i could care less about megapixels. going from 3x to 4x isn't much of an improvement though the image stabilazation will be nice. needless to say, i need more zoom from an ultracompact so my next camera will not be a canon.
Who cares about wifi on a camera? I'd rather take my SD card and plug it in, less hassle, and no need to bring camera all over.
And, they are using a 1/2.5" sensor in the SD700, not the better 1/1.8" like the SD500/550, not a winner in my eyes.
Althought the new SD700 is rather tempting, I'm quite content with my SD500. If I did want to upgrade, it would be to the SD550.
can i use a 4gig in my cannon sd630 digital camera?