Thursday, August 23, 2007
Canon Unveils Far Too Many New Point and Shoot Cameras
Posted by Jason Dunn in "HARDWARE" @ 03:00 PM
"In a massive refresh across its PowerShot Camera line, Canon unleashed a slew of digital cameras today. In addition to upgrades to the company's A series of mainstream models, there are two new compact Digital ELPHs, a powerful G-series point and shoot, plus a robust yet affordable superzoom powered by AA batteries. Designed for optimal ease-of-use, Canon's A series line has two new models, the PowerShot A650 IS and PowerShot A720 IS. Wielding a sharp 12.1-megapixel sensor and 6X optical zoom lens, the capable A650 ($399.99 ) features 21 shooting modes for maximum flexibility. The A720 IS, on the other hand, has a lower 8MP image sensor and less picture-taking modes but also a cheaper $249.99 price tag. Both cameras boast optical image stabilization (OIS) technology to help guard against unsteady hands at long zoom lengths or under lengthy exposure times. Expect these models to hit store shelves by September 2007."
PC World has a nice breakdown of all the models that Canon released earlier this week - all are point and shoot models. I'm a big fan of Canon point and shoot cameras, but I have to say that I wish Canon would reign in their product developers and produce a few LESS cameras. Looking at this product page gives me a headache - I don't understand why they don't immediately pull the SD900 if the SD950 is the replacement. And do they really need both an SD850 and an SD870 - what's the difference anyway? As far as can tell, it's just 0.5 inches of screen size. They really needed to release a model with a smaller screen size?
I dropped my SD800 a little while ago, and screwed up the lens, so I need to buy a replacement - but Canon isn't making it easy for me. Looking at Canon's point and shoot lineup gives me product fatigue, but I'll probably end up going for the SD950 IS since they finally added the image stabilization. One thing I wish Canon would do? Improve their video-taking abilities by adding in Divx, Xvid, h.264, or even WMV encoding. Basically anything other than the bloated, barely-compressed AVI encoding they do now. If Casio can figure this out, why can't Canon?
If you're looking for more information, dpreview.com has their usual excellent break-down of each model, so check out this list for all the new models (they're the ones near the top).
PC World has a nice breakdown of all the models that Canon released earlier this week - all are point and shoot models. I'm a big fan of Canon point and shoot cameras, but I have to say that I wish Canon would reign in their product developers and produce a few LESS cameras. Looking at this product page gives me a headache - I don't understand why they don't immediately pull the SD900 if the SD950 is the replacement. And do they really need both an SD850 and an SD870 - what's the difference anyway? As far as can tell, it's just 0.5 inches of screen size. They really needed to release a model with a smaller screen size?
I dropped my SD800 a little while ago, and screwed up the lens, so I need to buy a replacement - but Canon isn't making it easy for me. Looking at Canon's point and shoot lineup gives me product fatigue, but I'll probably end up going for the SD950 IS since they finally added the image stabilization. One thing I wish Canon would do? Improve their video-taking abilities by adding in Divx, Xvid, h.264, or even WMV encoding. Basically anything other than the bloated, barely-compressed AVI encoding they do now. If Casio can figure this out, why can't Canon?
If you're looking for more information, dpreview.com has their usual excellent break-down of each model, so check out this list for all the new models (they're the ones near the top).
