Canon made a lot of announcements today: everything from a new lens, point and shoot cameras, and camcorders. Amongst it all though, I’ve realized amongst readers that it can be confusing what product they should get or what they may be interested in. As a result, here are the basic specs of each product and their intended target.
EF 70-200mm F2.8 L IS USM Lens
– Aimed towards professional shooters.
– Enhanced Magnesium-alloy body
– The use of the fluorite element and five UD elements helps to minimize secondary chromatic aberrations and produce better image quality with improved contrast and resolution through the entire zoom range.
– A wider focusing ring, and sleeker design by reducing the thickness of any protruding elements such as the switch panel. The new lens is also compatible with Canon’s existing EF1.4X II and EF2X II Extenders as well as EF Extension Tubes and the 77mm Close-Up Lens 500D.
– Pricing not available yet.
Camcorders
New Common Features
– Smart Auto: The Smart Auto mode makes shooting great video easy and automatically select the best setting for the scene being recorded.
– Touch & Track: Canon’s new Touch & Track technology enables users to select a subject on the Touch Panel LCD that the camcorder will then recognize and track.
– Relay Recording: Relay Recording allows users to capture uninterrupted video when the primary recording media is full by switching to another memory source.
– Powered IS: In addition to Canon’s Dynamic SuperRange Optical Image Stabilization, Powered IS provides an even higher level of compensation for subtle hand movement at the telephoto end of the zoom range.
– HD-to-SD Downconversion: A new HD-to-SD Downconversion feature enables users to convert recorded high-definition video to standard-definition files while preserving the original HD video. This is great for DVD burning.
– Advanced Video Snapshot: Advanced Video Snapshot mode has been upgraded to provide the flexibility of capturing 2, 4, or 8 second video clips while recording or during playback.
VIXIA HF S21
– For enthusiasts and indie filmmakers
– Full 1920 x 1080 HD output as well as 8MP image output.
– 3.5 inch touchscreen control
– Dual SD card slots
– Face detection from the PowerShot series
– 64GB + SD card storage
– S21 has a viewfinder (yay!)
– Lower models, the S20 is 32GB and the S200 is card storage only, for $1400, $1200, and $1000, respectively.
HFM Series
– For techies, families, and enthusiasts.
– Full 1920 x 1080 HD output
– 3.5 inch touchscreen
– 15x optical zoom
– The HF M31 is $800 w/ 32GB storage + SD card; the M30 has 8GB + card storage, and the M300 is just card storage, for $680 and are expected to be released in April
R Series
– For families and people looking for a camcorder with great quality on a budget.
– Full 1920 x 1080 HD output
– The VIXIA HF R11 and VIXIA HF R10 models incorporate 32GB and 8GB of internal flash memory, respectively, and the VIXIA HF R10 records directly to an SD memory card.
– 20x optical zoom
– The VIXIA HF R31, VIXIA HF R30 and VIXIA HF R300 Flash Memory camcorders will be available in March for an estimated retail price of $699.99, $549.99 and $499.99 respectively.
Point and Shoot Cameras
Common features
– Low light mode with ISO up to 3200 (too much for these tiny sensors)
– SDXC support
– Easy upload to Youtube via CameraWindow
– Poster effect and super vivid modes. The Poster Effect scene mode alters the look of a captured image by changing the contrast of the image. Similarly, the Super Vivid Mode creates an enhanced color effect by increasing the hue and saturation of the captured image.
Powershot A3100 IS
– For the color-conscious consumer
– 12.1 MP
– 4x Optical zoom
– 2.5 inch LCD
– $179.99 in February
Powershot A3000 IS
– For the color-conscious consumer on a budget
– 10 MP
– 4x Optical zoom
– 2.5 inch LCD
– $149.99 in February
Powershot A495
– Total entry level consumer
– 3.3x optical zoom
– 2.5 inch LCD
– $129.99 in February
Powershot A490
– Total entry level consumer on a budget
– 3.3x optical zoom
– 2.5 inch LCD
– $109.99 in February