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Engadget's back to school guide: Digital cameras
Welcome to Engadget's Back to School guide! We know that this time of year can be pretty annoying and stressful for everyone, so we're here to help out with the heartbreaking process of gadget buying for the school-aged crowd. Today, we've got our optical viewfinders set firmly on digital cameras -- and you can head to the Back to School hub to see the rest of the product guides as they're added throughout the month. Be sure to keep checking back -- at the end of the month we'll be giving away a ton of the gear featured in our guides -- and hit up the hub page right here! Time for us to open up chapter two of this year's Back to School advice compendium. Up for discussion today are digital cameras, which have been in the gym all year working on their processing prowess and return today with 720p HD video as an almost standard feature. We've got a good cross-section of young pretenders and finely aged veterans for your perusal, so why not give your mouse a little exercise as well and click past the break?
Canon to auction 10 diamond-clad Digital ELPHs for the Red Cross
If you thought Minox's gold-plated DC1011 added some much needed bling to your life, Canon's celebratory IXUS cameras exemplify unnecessary luxury by sporting 380 diamonds apiece, and a hefty pricetag to prove it. As the Digital ELPH moniker turns 10 years old, Canon is auctioning up a diamond-crusted IXUS 65 (better known as the SD630 here in the States) per year of the brand's success, and all proceeds are being channeled to the Red Cross. Antwerp-based Eddie Elzas -- owner of the world's largest collection of colored diamonds -- happily provided the elegant coating found on the €40,000 ($50,788) "diamond IXUS," and also had a hand in hooking up nine "his and her" models, which will be sold through an undisclosed venue for €3,500 ($4,493.95) each. If you're feeling mighty charitable, and haven't already purchased your one fifty grand diamond-clad item for the year, feel free to place your wager on eBay -- otherwise, you should probably keep your sights on the less glamorous versions.[Via Far East Gizmos]
Canon's new Digital ELPHS: the SD900, SD800, and SD40
Three really is the magic number, or at least Canon seems to think so: the company has just unveiled three new Digital ELPH cameras (Digital IXUS in Europe) with the SD900, SD800 IS, and SD40 all featuring an array of new features. Starting with the highest spec camera, the SD900 is a 10 megapixel 3x zoom jobbie, with a 2.5-inch LCD screen and 18 shooting modes, including that 1024 x 768, 15fps video capture mode that the G7 recently acquired. Stuck in the middle with you is the 7.1 megapixel SD 800 IS, the first ELPH to carry an image stabilized wide angle 28-105mm 3x zoom lens. Finally there's the SD40, the smallest model in the range that packs a 7.1 megapixel CCD and a 2.4x zoom lens into four differently colored titanium cases. All three new cameras feature the Digic III image processor, which means they'll all reap the benefits of face recognition (even higher definition warts 'n' all!), faster start up and general response times, as well as lower power consumption. Each one is also capable of super sensitive ISO 1600, although Canon's press release mentions that there's an ISO 3200 shooting option somewhere in the special scene modes. Pricing is set at $499, $399, and $349 for the SD900, SD800, and SD40 respectively, and all three should be available in October.[Via Dpreview]
X-Loupe gives your Canon IXUS microscopic powers
Just like in 5th grade, some things are still pretty dang interesting when looked at up close. X-Loupe can help you in your quest of dang interesting stuff, by snapping onto a Canon IXUS camera (Digital ELPH in the States) and providing microscope-style 150x 5 megapixel photography. The unit has its own battery and LED lens ring, which should provide around 4 hours of magnification fun, and doesn't impede any of the usual IXUS features like preview, video recording or TV connectivity. X-Loupe can be obtained from the company of the same name for around $1450, and comes with a trio of lenses (60x, 100x and 150x) along with a Canon IXUS 65 camera to round out the package.[Via gizmag]
