Digital Home Thoughts: Canon's 720P PowerShot TX1 Marvel

"At first glance Canon's new 7.1 megapixel PowerShot TX1 digital camera looks familiar...pocket-sized, stainless steel case with textured accents and enough cutting-edge photo technology to make one wonder how they got all that functionality into that deck of playing cards-sized package. Indeed, this compact camera fits in just as well at a football game or a family function; in a small evening bag for a night on the town, or the pocket of a dress shirt, and is as much at home on a business trip as it is on a hard-earned weekend getaway. At second glance, the mystery of how they got all that functionality into that really small space deepens. Augmented by a simple press of the power button - this digital camera comes alive and the family resemblance to not one, but many of Canon's crowning camera achievements becomes immediately apparent...a stainless-steel barrier on the camera's leading-edge slides away to unleash the PowerShot TX1 digital camera's formidable (and optically image-stabilized) 10x optical zoom lens that glides smoothly from its resting place into the open air. Unfold a simple yet securely hinged housing, and an 115,000-pixel Vari-Angle LCD screen is freed to swivel camcorder-like from the PowerShot TX1 digital camera's side. This digital dynamo even adds a 30 fps High Definition (HD) 720p widescreen (16:9) capability to its movie mode at the press of a button. What's more, the PowerShot TX1 digital camera has easy connectivity to play its movies or high quality stills back on high-def TVs, thanks to Canon's thoughtful inclusion of a convenient component video output terminal."



Now here's an interesting device - 30 fps 720p video with 10x optical zoom and ISO up to 1600? Impressive. I've always wondered when the hybrid of camera and video camera would reach an inflection point of killer technology meshing with killer design, and this looks like it's a strong contender. I take videos on my Canon SD800 quite often, so and the ability to have a single unit that takes 720p videos and great pictures would be just awesome...in fact having a digital camera with image stabilization and a 10x optical zoom is awesome all by itself, the 720p videos are just extra icing on the cake. The price of $499 USD seems very reasonable. I know I just bought the SD800, but the TX1 might have to come sooner rather than later...