Canon PowerShot TX1

The Canon Powershot TX1 is one of the more interesting cameras to be released in the last week. It has the look and feel of a video camera but brings together movie and still photography into the one body.

In movie mode the TX1 features HDTV (1280x720 pixels) at up to 30 frames per second and as a still camera it has a 7.1 megapixel sensor and 10x optical zoom lens.

It features DIGIC III, Face Detection and Red-Eye Correction, noise reduction and ISO of up to 1600.

The Canon Powershot TX1 will retail for $499.99 USD.

Canon Ixus i5

Style is a fi ckle mistress.
Today’s iPod is
tomorrow’s MiniDisc, and
no one wants to be stuck with a
gadget that’s neither geek nor chic.
Canon’s Ixus range of cameras
(both 35mm and digital) has a
long pedigree in shoehorning new
technology into ever more slinky
Key camera controls
packages, and the Ixus i5 is its
sexiest model yet.
Weighing just a little over 120
grams with battery, the i5 is a
comfortable handful of metal that
comes in a choice of four colours,
and has an elegant eyelet to let
you dangle it from your neck like
a 3G mobile handset. The corners
are nicely rounded and the controls
(there are just seven) are either
metallic or tough plastic.
Much of the i5’s miniaturisation
must be down to the fact that it
uses a fi xed focal length, fi xed
aperture lens instead of the 3x
optical zoom that’s become
standard, even in lifestyle cameras.
A tiny scrap of glass takes a couple
of seconds to peek out from the
metal lens surround.
Around the back, a modest
1.5-inch LCD saves a little more
space and means that the controls
don’t feel too squashed together.
As there’s no optical viewfi nder
(an increasingly common trend
with smaller ultra-compacts), the
screen provides the only method of
framing and feedback. The 78,000-
pixel display is average, there’s
blurring if you move the camera
quickly, and it has some diffi culties
resolving dark night-time scenes.
But colour rendition is good and the
icons and menus are excellent.
The i5 uses Canon’s superb
nine-point AiAF auto-focus system,
which fl ashes up a green square
on the part of the scene it locks
onto. You can choose spot focusing
instead, or a good macro mode that
can shoot down to 3cm, disabling
the fl ash. Focusing is generally
reliable but there’s a real problem
with the Canon’s fi xed aperture
optics. While a wide-open f2.8 lens
is helpful in dim conditions, it gives
a tiny depth of fi eld. This means
that if you shoot complex macro
scenes or get too close in a portrait,
you’ll fi nd that only the exact point
you focus on is sharp.
However, the real drawback of
this lens is its fi xed focal length,
equivalent to around 39mm on a
fi lm camera. This is fi ne for party
shots and general landscape
photography but it quickly feels
limited if you’re used to even a
modest 2x or 3x zoom lens.

Image quality

Technically, it’s quite sharp but it
suffers from purple fringing and a
loss of detail towards the edges.
For such a simple system, the optics
aren’t even that fast, with a shutter
delay of around a second and a
continuous mode that maxes out at
just under one frame per second.
There’s a digital zoom offering
up to 6.5x magnifi cation, but it’s
probably best to leave this switched
off, as it merely zooms in at the
expense of image quality. Shutter
speeds vary from 1/1,500 to 15
seconds, which is useful (though
mounting such a tiny camera on
a tripod is bound to raise a few
smiles). There are fi ve sensible white
balance presets, plus competent
auto and custom options.

Snap happy

This isn’t a camera that’s aimed
at photo enthusiasts, so most
snappers will be perfectly happy
with its basic scene modes,
exposure compensation and few
digital effects. It’s a bit of surprise
to fi nd evaluative, centre-weighted
and spot metering here – frankly,
they just aren’t needed because
Canon’s DIGIC processor delivers
fl awless exposures time after time.
Colours are confi dent, strong and
natural. The i5 seems to skirt any
noise problems admirably, not least
because that wide aperture and
wide lens mean you can stay at the
bottom end of the ISO 50 to 400
sensitivity scale a lot of the time.
Full resolution 5-megapixel
images lack a touch of sharpness
but, overall, the image quality is
consistently high, especially when
using the fl ash. Flash power and
exposure are very well judged,
whether as a fi ll-in for daylight
shadows, slow synch to add
atmosphere to indoor shots or just
in plain old auto mode. The built-in
unit is right next to the lens, so
consider switching on the red-eye
reduction for party portraits.
The i5 is powered by a lithiumion
rechargeable battery (buy a
back-up as the battery life isn’t
stunning), and it comes with a
32MB Secure Digital card. Movies
are large enough to watch on TV
but they’re jerky at just ten frames
per second. Audio from a tiny frontmounted
microphone is good.
There’s no getting away from
the fact that the i5 is a fashion
accessory fi rst and a camera
second. As an alternative to a
camera phone, it’s easy on the eye,
handles well and takes great party
snaps. Ultimately, however, it lacks
the fl exibility and power that a
serious photographer will demand,
even from a back-up camera

Canon EOS 10D

There has been a good deal of speculation
about Canon’s EOS 10D, the successor to its
D60. And the reality brings a few surprises.
The first surprise is that there was so much ‘wrong’
with the D60, and the second is that the new camera
offers the same resolution and sensor size as its
predecessor. A third and quite pleasant surprise is that
the EOS 10D comfortably undercuts rival cameras from
Nikon and Fujifilm.

What’s new?

There’s a whole host of changes relative to the ‘old’
D60. The body’s now made of a durable magnesium
alloy; the styling’s been changed to look more like the
EOS 1 film camera; and inside Canon has employed its
new DIGital Imaging Core (DIGIC) processor for better
colour rendition, less noise and faster processing.
This faster processing is one reason why the 10D can
now shoot at 3fps for up to nine frames. Fast sequence
shooting (on a par with film cameras, anyway) is tough
for digital SLRs, which is one of the reasons why prolevel
cameras in the past have come with such hefty
price tags.
Other changes in the 10D include a brand new 35-
zone metering pattern linked to the camera’s seven AF
points – another improvement over the outgoing D60.
The sensitivity range goes right up to ISO 3200, too,
and noise levels remain pretty impressive as you
progressively wind up the speed rating.
The 10D will save images in Canon’s RAW data
mode, which takes up a lot more space than JPEGs
but a lot less than uncompressed TIFFs. You can then
convert these RAW files into editable TIFFs and JPEGs
using the FileViewer utility that comes with the camera.
Here, you just apply sharpening, saturation and contrast
controls manually rather than leave them to the
camera’s internal processor.
You can save a JPEG version of your image at the
same time you save the RAW file, too – handy for
before-and-after quality comparisons, and providing
editable images quickly.

Daily use

What’s inside is important, but in a pro-level camera the
handling is another major factor. And the 10D is really
good. Existing EOS users – film or digital – will be able to
find their way round straightaway. The 10D is no
lightweight, and takes up more space than the average
film SLR, but it’s more manageable than the flagship
EOS 1DS, for example.
The main mode dial combines shooting options for
beginners with pro-level exposure options. There’s a full,
idiot-proof Auto mode, Scene modes for Portrait,
Landscape, Close-up, Sports, Night Portrait and Flash Off
shots, as well as the Program AE, Shutter-priority,
Aperture-priority and Manual modes. In addition, there’s
the usual EOS depth-of-field mode. Cleverly, the Depth
mode lets you check the focus distance of two
different objects, then automatically calculates the
correct aperture to get them both sharp and the shutter
speed for correct exposure. As you’d expect, the 10D
has an auto-bracket option for getting the perfect
exposure, but it also offers white balance bracketing,
too, which could be useful in tricky, artificial lighting.
The 10D is both better and cheaper than the
outgoing D60, then. It’s also the cheapest big-name
digital SLR on the market. Canon’s EOS digital range
uses CMOS chips rather than CCDs, but although CMOS
chips are traditionally reckoned to offer lower quality,
that opinion is founded mainly on the performance of
cheap webcams – the EOS range uses CMOS chips
designed and manufactured on a different level.

Digital dilemma

It’s quite a surprise to find the EOS 10D has the
same resolution as its predecessor. Not only that, but
the chip’s physical dimensions are unchanged, which
means you still have to apply a focal length factor to
your lenses. A standard Canon 28-90mm zoom,
then, effectively becomes 45-140mm.
The same thing applies to the 10D’s chief rivals,
notably the Nikon D100 and Fujifilm FinePix S2 Pro.
It means that wide-angle lenses need some
extremely exotic specifications and glassware. Our
10D was supplied with Canon’s 15-35mm f2.8
zoom, which gives an equivalent of 24-56mm on
this camera. A useful everyday lens, you might
think, except it weighs – and costs – nigh-on as
much as the 10D itself.
There are other things you need to bear in mind
before investing in digital SLR technology. First, you
can’t compose shots on the LCD screen on the back
because the image from the lens is diverted by the
mirror into the camera’s pentaprism for viewing.
Second, the image sensors are exposed, thanks
to the interchangeable lenses. They can pick up
bits of grot that appear on every frame you shoot
subsequently. You can clean sensors (the 10D
has its own internal mechanism), but it’s not the
30-second job with a cotton bud you might imagine.
There are advantages, though, beyond the
outright resolution and interchangeable lenses. The
10D and other digital SLRs might have a resolution
only slightly larger than that of a 5-megapixel
compact, but the physically larger dimensions of the
imaging chips tend to bring a big jump in sharpness
and detail rendition, too. And the 10D’s power
consumption demonstrates that digital SLRs don’t
use any more power – typically they come with
meatier battery packs that will last a lot longer
between charges.

Rating the images

Sharpness and detail are excellent, but the 35-zone
evaluative metering doesn’t always read the scenes
in front of the camera predictably – experienced
photographers might get more consistent results
from the simpler, centre-weighted option. Colours
seem a muddy compared with those from digital
compacts. It doesn’t take long to fix them up in
Photoshop, but images shot ‘straight out of the box’
aren’t always as impressive as they might be.
Even so, with a modicum of editing later, the
10D’s capable of results that you can’t beat at this
price. It’s a well made and well specified camera
that’s good to use. At £1,400, the EOS 10D has got
to be the most tempting route into digital SLR
photography to date.

Canon PowerShot A300

How much do you have to pay to get decent
image quality from a digital camera? While
outright resolution isn’t increasing in the
digital market, the performance-per-pound ratio
certainly is. Here, for example, is a 3.2-megapixel
camera from a premium-brand maker selling for a price
that wouldn’t have got you a 2-megapixel model a
couple of years back.
However, even though you do get resolution that’s
suitable for enlargements up to A4 size, there are
compromises. The PowerShot A300 comes with a fixed
focal length lens, instead of zoom. The equivalent focal
length in film camera terms is 33mm, so it’s a versatile
semi-wideangle lens suitable for interior shots,
landscapes and general snapshots. But if you want to
zoom in on sports action or take tightly-framed portraits,
you’ve got to use the digital zoom. Although the A300
offers a 5.1x digital zoom, like all digital zooms it works
by magnifying a progressively smaller central area of
the image – there’s inevitably a loss in image quality,
which gets worse the more you zoom.
Although Canon cameras are all well made and the
A300 feels in a different class to the Ricoh Caplio G3 we
reviewed last month, for example, the low price is
represented in its plastic construction. And if you want
genuine pocketability, you need to spend more money
on the likes of the Casio Exilim EX-S3 or Pentax Optio S.

Controls and options

This PowerShot’s got limitations, then, but it’s also got a
lot of quite good features for the money, including some
powerful photographic options. As well as being able to
apply EV compensation and manual white balance
presets, you can also choose from three different
metering patterns – evaluative, centre-weighted and
spot. There’s a movie mode capable of shooting at an
impressive 640 x 480 resolution (but the frame rate’s
only average, at 15fps) or you can use the continuous
shooting mode, which manages a decent 2.2fps.
And there’s Canon’s excellent panoramic mode,
where the camera guides you through the process of
shooting overlapping images in sequence, and its
accompanying PhotoStitch software, which assembles
them for you on your computer.
You switch on the A300 by sliding back its lens cover.
Unlike most digital cameras, the lens doesn’t pop out as
you do so, but still it takes around three seconds before
the A300 is ready to take any shots.
The autofocus isn’t particularly fast, but it’s reliable
and positive. It uses five AF frames, highlighting those
used to focus in green on the LCD. A five-point AF
system seems a like overkill on a camera with a fixed
focal length lens, but it does help keep close-up shots
sharp, and the minimum focusing distance is an
impressive 5cm for macro shots.
On the back, the control layout’s the one used
across the majority of Canon’s snapshot range. The Set
button lets you choose Auto, Manual or Panoramic
modes. Don’t get too excited about the Manual mode,
though. This doesn’t give you direct control over the
shutter speed and aperture. Instead, it opens up options
that are disabled in Auto mode. It pops up a menu on
the left of the screen, displaying EV compensation,
white balance, ISO, image effects, image quality and
size. In Auto mode, you can only change the image
quality and size.
You don’t always have to use the menus to change
your shooting options. It’s become standard practice
now to make the navigation buttons double up in
shooting mode as shortcuts to different options. On
the A300 you press up to change the metering
pattern; right to change the flash mode; down to set
the self-timer or sequence shooting; and left for
macro/infinity focusing.It all works pretty well, too.

Speed and efficiency

This camera’s features are limited, but there’s
enough control for both snapshotters and more
serious users. The different options are easy enough
to get to, but we did notice the menu response
seemed sluggish – it takes a moment or two for
your button presses to register, and makes the A300
seem a little less positive than other Canon models.
The LCD is small, and while it’s a bit gloomier
and grainier than the LCDs on more expensive
Canon cameras, it’s still good for a camera of this
price. If you want to save battery power (the
A300 will get through a set of alkalines pretty
rapidly), you can use the optical viewfinder instead.
Because the main lens doesn’t zoom, the optical
viewfinder doesn’t have to either – as a result, it’s a
bit bigger, brighter and more usable than those on
zoom cameras.
To go into Playback mode, you have to press a
button on the back of the camera. The A300 shows
its sluggishness here, too – you need to hold the
button down for around 30 seconds to swap modes.
If you only give it a quick press, nothing will happen.
Once you’re in Playback mode, though, images
display very quickly. If you want to zoom into
check for sharpness and fine detail, the A300 is
very quick indeed – most budget cameras are pretty
slow at this.

Image quality

But what about the picture quality? Is that little fixed
focal length lens really up to the job? It looks pretty
puny, but looks can be deceptive, because while the
Canon’s images aren’t the sharpest we’ve seen from
a 3-megapixel camera, they’re not far off. Exposure
accuracy is first-rate, too, and so is the focusing. The
limited maximum aperture of the lens is just f3.6,
meaning longer shutter speeds in low light, but we
didn’t lose any shots to camera shake, so the A300
is a pretty stable shooting platform.
Indeed, it’s a good camera all round. The
sluggishness of the menus is a bit of a
disappointment, and the lack of an optical zoom
will hold you back in some situations, but if you just
want a good, basic snapshot camera without
spending a fortune, the A300 fits the bill well. The
trouble is, competition at the £200 price point is
tough. If you shop around you might be able to pick
up one of HP’s gauche-looking but effective HP720s
(Jessops advertises them for £150) and you get a 3x
optical zoom into the bargain. And Nikon’s Coolpix
3700 throws in an optical zoom for £200, too. The
A300’s not necessarily the obvious choice

Camera Canon Digital PowerShot s2

If you want to take high quality pictures you will surely need a high quality camera but which one? Today there is a wide range of cameras that you can buy. There are the old fashion cameras, the automatic cameras and of course the digital cameras. One of the best is the digital camera Canon PowerShot s2.

You will find that the digital camera Canon PowerShot s2 is packed with high quality features. The new version of the PowerShot s2 is an amazing improvement compared to its predecessor. The Camera Canon PowerShot s2 is like having a mix of a high quality camcorder and a high quality digital camera.

Here are some of the new features for the canon digital powershot s2:

- 12x optical Zoom Lens
- A large 1.8 inch LCD Display
- A New “Night Display” Feature
- DIGIC II image processor

The new night display is very useful; it will brighten the LCD screen and the EVF when you are in dark environments. Also the New DIGIC II image processor of the canon digital PowerShot s2 will provide you with amazing quality performance ability.

On top of that the brand new canon digital PowerShot s2 comes with a stereo sound recording giving you an excellent sound and pitch. Another important factor to know is that the canon PowerShot s2 has a 5 megapixal CCD.

If you are one of those who like to make home movies the canon digital PowerShot is perfect for you. You will have a wide range of features for movie making. Features like:

- Wind Filter
- Adjustable mic level
- Sound quality level
- and more

That’s not all; this camera canon digital PowerShot s2 brings you great features for adjusting the color quality. You can swap the colors and you can even highlight various parts of the picture! That’s pretty cool in my book.

By now you should agree with me that with so many features buying a digital camera Canon PowerShot s2 is a very good choice on top of that the PowerShot s2 uses many of the features of its predecessors. Features like:

- Optical image stabilization
- USB 2.0 High Speed Support
- Rotating LCD
- Secure Digital memory card (instead of CompactFlash cards)

On top of that the addition of manual controls, an amazing movie mode and support for various lenses makes the camera Canon Digital PowerShot s2 one of the most important part of your arsenal when you go out on holiday or special events.

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About the Author: Visit our website for more quality information about the Camera Canon Digital PowerShot s2. We offer various information about the art of digital photography and camera models.

Canon Underwater Cameras - What You Need To Know

Simply for capturing the terrific memories that you experience, you will get fond of using Canon underwater cameras quickly.

Underwater cameras have most of the same features as the handy cameras that we used outdoors - the only difference is that they have certain functions that are more innovative because they are water resistant and can be used to capture pictures under the sea.

Of course, these underwater cameras are not only exclusively for taking pictures under the sea because some of them are also designed to be used in outdoor activities. In heavy rain these cameras will not be affected because of the protective device to guard against water and pressure damage. They come in a number of forms, with their prices relecting the entire range of normal camera pricing.

The cheapest type of underwater camera for instance is the simple disposable underwater camera. These cameras are able to take about twenty to thirty pictures. These cameras are waterproof enough to be utilized when there is harsh rain and snow storms. These are best use for fun scuba trips and family vacations; it will certainly capture the memorable parts of the family fun.

One of the best known brands of underwater cameras is the Canon. It has been proven efficient in all forms of underwater adventures. Canon underwater cameras have a lot of designs that offer different features. Each of the cameras gives advantages and special features that you will really enjoy. However, as you would expect from a quality brand like Canon, these cameras might appear a bit expensive because of the gadgets used on it; nonetheless they are of best quality and you will have no regrets once you see the resolution of your pictures.

Many conventional digital and film cameras have waterproof housings. Placing your camera inside will allow you to 'transform' your existing camera into an underwater camera. However, if you want excellent photographic quality from under the water, we would always advise purchasing a dedicated underwater camera.

Canon underwater cameras came in various models. The higher the photo resolution that it has, generally the more expensive the price is. Many of the underworld photographers that I know prefer to use Canon underwater cameras because they offers a "one of a kind quality". The Canon Company is one of the pioneering companies that launched underwater cameras in the market and you know you will be getting quality when you buy Canon.

About the Author: Nicola Kennedy publishes articles and reports and provides news, views and information about photography and Canon underwater cameras at Underwater Cameras Information.

This article may be reprinted in full so long as the resource box and the live links are included intact. All rights reserved. Copyright Under-Water-Camera.info

Canon Ixus 65 VS Canon Ixus 60

On paper it is hard to set these two cameras apart. They both share the same 6MP CCD sensor, DIGIC II image processor and 16 shooting modes. Regarding the optics, the two Canon cameras are identical. Their optical zoom is 3X and the digital zoom is 4X. Some other common traits of the two devices include the TTL Auto-focus and the 9-point AiAF/1-point AF focusing method at the centre.

Essentially, the two cameras are the same with two very important differences.

The first main difference between the two cameras is the screen. The screen of the Canon IXUS 65 is a 3 inch LCD. The IXUS 60 is fitted with a 2.5 inch screen (and so is the rest of the current Ixus range). That extra half inch can make a big difference especially if you wish to share your images with friends or you eyesight is not perfect and find it difficult to view images on smaller screens.

The second less obvious but very important difference is the body construction. The Ixus 60 has a metal body, while the Ixus 65 is made out of hard plastic. If you are able to treat your camera with care this should not make much difference. If on the other hand you tend to drop your camera often, or don’t like using a protective case, the plastic body of the Ixus 65 may deteriorate quickly, so the Ixus 60 may provide a more rugged alternative.

The screen size and body material construction lead to the subtle difference in the dimensions of the two cameras. The Ixus 65’s dimensions, namely 90.3 x 20.2 x 56.8 mm (W x D x H), slightly differ from the dimensions of the Ixus 60 (86.0 x 21.7 x 53.5 mm). As you can notice, the Ixus 65 is slightly wider and higher to accommodate the 3 inch LCD screen. As for their weight, the Ixus 65 weighs 140g, and the Ixus 60 weighs 145g. This small weight difference is due to the metal construction and is virtually unnoticeable.

The larger screen of the Ixus 65 comes at a financial cost. Its Australian recommended retail price is AU$529.00, which is $80 more than the Ixus 60 (priced at AU$449). In our opinion, unless you specifically need a larger screen, you would be best off buying the Ixus 60 and put the savings towards the purchase of a large memory card.

By: Allweb

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

For more resources on Canon Ixus 65 or getting a deal on a Canon Ixus 60, please visit RoadMogul.com