Canon has announced three new PowerShot point & shoot cameras. The SD890 IS features a 10 megapixel sensor, 5x optical zoom, 2.5-inch display and a sub 1-inch macro mode. The SD790 IS and SD770 IS both feature a 10 megapixel sensor and 3x optical zoom. The cameras are priced top to bottom at $399.99, $349.99 and $299.99 and will be available around early April.
LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y., March 12, 2008 – Whether capturing spur-of-the moment inspirations or momentous family occasions, Canon U.S.A.’s newest additions to the PowerShot line-up: SD890 IS, SD790 IS and SD770 IS Digital ELPH cameras continue to provide intelligent, easy-to-use features, resulting in fantastic photos. Integrated Canon technologies such as Motion Detection Technology, Optical Image Stabilization, Genuine Canon Face Detection Technology, and Canon’s proprietary DIGIC III imaging processor, along with the inherent style of the ELPH line; make them the ideal accessory for capturing a night out on the town or an intimate social gathering.”The Canon PowerShot SD890 IS, SD790 IS and SD770 IS Digital ELPH cameras carry on the trend-setting traditions and extend the boundaries of technological ease and the individual sense of style that has always been at the heart of the ELPH line up,” states Yuichi Ishizuka, senior vice president and general manager, Consumer Imaging Group, Canon U.S.A. “Canon continues to draw upon its 70 years of imaging excellence and photographic expertise to develop new technological advancements, as well as create stylish form factors as seen in the iconic box and circle design of ELPH cameras.”
Inspired Elegance and Excellence:
PowerShot SD890 IS Digital ELPH Camera
This PowerShot SD890 IS Digital ELPH camera is a prime example of Canon quality, from the tip of its 5x optically image stabilized, zoom lens to the big and brilliant 2.5 inch PureColor II LCD display embedded in the camera’s contoured back. Indeed, it is that very 5x zoom lens that expands the user flexibility by expanding the focusing range from a maximum wide-angle equivalent of a 37mm lens to its maximum optical telephoto equivalent of a 185mm lens. Ideal for capturing everything from broad sweeping vistas to intimate close-ups, the PowerShot SD890 IS Digital ELPH model is also capable of securing macro images from less than an inch away from the subject, making extraordinary, high-resolution nature shots as elementary as point and shoot.
From the moment it appears in a user’s hand, it is clear that this Digital ELPH camera is like none that have come before. From the body’s clean lines and smooth, matte silver finish to the topside metallic robe that highlights and accentuates the camera’s curves, the 10-megapixel PowerShot SD890 IS Digital ELPH camera’s alluring proposition is one of beauty, versatility and ability.
This camera’s multi-control dial enables the user to simply switch between shooting modes, settings and even images during playback, with easily understandable mode icons displayed on the camera’s 2.5-inch PureColor II LCD display. There’s even a traditional optical viewfinder for the purists who prefer it.
PowerShot SD790 IS Digital ELPH Camera
The 10-megapixel PowerShot SD790 IS Digital ELPH camera’s optically image stabilized 3x zoom has a focusing range from a wide-angle equivalent of 35mm to a maximum telephoto equivalent of 105mm. Like the PowerShot SD890 IS Digital ELPH camera, the SD790 IS Digital ELPH camera features the quick and easy-to-use multi-control dial.
Though smaller than a deck of playing cards, the PowerShot SD790 IS Digital ELPH camera conveys a cool, substantial look and feel, thanks to its solid, yet streamlined, chiseled design. Adding to its appeal is the camera’s large and highly visible, three-inch PureColor LCD II display, with an adjacent multi-control dial and new button configuration that combine to form a flat control panel.
PowerShot SD770 IS Digital ELPH Camera
The PowerShot SD770 IS Digital ELPH camera’s classic box and circle design has characterized the Digital ELPH look for more than a decade. This 10-megapixel model boasts the thinnest body of any optically image stabilized ELPH model ever produced, featuring a slimmer yet higher capacity battery pack, that with the camera’s power-saving improvements, actually increases the number of photos that can be taken on a single charge to approximately 300 images.
Among the key features of the PowerShot SD770 IS Digital ELPH camera are a 2.5-inch PureColor LCD II screen and an optical viewfinder as well as the same optically image stabilized 3x zoom as its more senior sibling, the PowerShot SD790 IS Digital ELPH camera. The PowerShot SD770 IS Digital ELPH camera is offered in the classic matte silver finish with high gloss highlights around the lens barrel and topside edge, and the reprise of Canon’s sleek and striking two-tone finish that incorporates matte black highlights around the lens barrel and circle along the camera edge.
Inspired Innovation: Shared Advancements:
Beating The Blur
Among the significant technological advances shared on the new PowerShot SD890 IS, SD790 IS and SD770 IS Digital ELPH cameras is Canon’s intelligent anti-blur system. Developed by linking four of Canon’s most cutting-edge achievements: Optical Image Stabilization, Motion Detection technology, Hi-ISO Auto and Noise Reduction technology, the result is consistently sharp and clear pictures, even when the shooting conditions and circumstances may not be ideal.
The most common cause of blurry pictures is actual camera shake. This can be caused by anything from a photographer’s unsteady hands to movement in a car along a bumpy road to shots where the zoom lens is extended to a maximum telephoto length or even dimly lit conditions without benefit of flash that causes the shutter to stay open longer in order to admit enough light to make a proper exposure. Canon’s proprietary Optical Image Stabilizer (OIS) physically compensates for camera movement and shake by actually shifting the lens (unlike other Image Stabilization systems that merely mask the undesirable movement electronically).
Adding to these ELPH cameras’ anti-blur effectiveness, Canon’s Motion Detection Technology is linked to the camera’s High ISO Auto mode. This improves image clarity by raising ISO speeds (and shutter speeds) for fast-moving subjects (such as a child hitting a baseball from home plate and then running towards first base) or lowering ISO speeds to reduce noise when the subject is stationary. In short, when this impressively intuitive technology detects movement it automatically raises the ISO just enough to reduce image blur. When no movement is detected, it optimally lowers the ISO to reduce noise.
Genuine Canon Face Detection Technology
All three PowerShot Digital ELPH cameras feature the latest and most advanced generation of Genuine Canon Face Detection Technology, thus ensuring that up-to nine forward-looking faces in the frame – whether posed for a family portrait, candidly capturing friends and fun, or spontaneously snapping a toddler’s expression of triumphant glee as two halting steps – are in focus and properly exposed, with or without flash. In addition to focus and exposure control, the camera’s Face Detection feature captures truer, more accurately lit skin tones (and hence more beautifully rendered pictures) thanks to Canon’s improved Face Detection White Balance. There’s also a new optional “AF Point Zoom” feature that digitally enlarges the face of the main subject on the camera’s LCD screen to make it easy to determine the optimum timing for clicking the shutter to capture the moment.
In-Camera Image Enhancement
Canon Digital ELPH cameras offer an array of in-camera processing features that once required tweaking with computer-based photo software. Now, newly developed Automatic Red Eye Correction can be engaged while shooting, minimizing the need for correction before printing or sharing images.
With Canon’s Image Inspection Tool, users can review pictures recently taken on the camera’s bright, brilliant and easy-to-read 230,000-pixel PureColor LCD II display by zooming in to ensure that the subjects are in focus and to check for such picture-damning details as closed eyes or inappropriate expressions. What’s more, with the digital EPH camera line’s Trimming Function, users can easily crop images, centering and creating memorable close-ups whether they are smiling faces or iconic cityscapes.
DIGIC III Imaging Processor
The “brain” in every new Canon digital camera is Canon’s proprietary DIGIC III imaging processor. This exclusive chip is responsible for the camera’s higher performance levels including faster start up, faster autofocus and quicker shutter response times that leave long lag competitors far behind. What’s more, the DIGIC III processor improves both the image quality and the cameras’ power consumption, extending the battery life under typical shooting conditions.
In the Boxes
The PowerShot SD890 IS, SD790 IS and SD770 IS Digital ELPH cameras are scheduled to be in stores early April, end of March and mid-April respectively. Each of these new, camera kits include a battery pack and charger, a 32MB SD memory card, a USB interface cable, an AV cable, a wrist strap, and Canon’s software suite. Each kit carries an estimated retail price of $399.99,* $349.99* and $299.99* respectively.