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Canon PowerShot G12 = G11 + 720p

There's not much to say about Canon's update to its G series of enthusiast compact cameras: the PowerShot G12 is almost identical to its predecessor, the G11, but with similar enhancements to those rolled out in the S95. Most notably, the G12 includes 720/24p video capture--a much-needed boost over the outdated VGA movies--now with stereo audio and a Mini-HDMI connector.

Like the S95, the G12 also adds an HDR scene mode which combines 3 shots. Unlike some other implementations, however, it requires the steadiness of a tripod.

Here's a recap of its specs and competitors:

  … Read more

Canon PowerShot SX30 IS sports ultrasupermega 35x zoom

There really isn't much to the Canon PowerShot SX30 IS beyond its megazoom lens, though that's all most buyers will care about.

It starts at a 35mm-equivalent 24mm and goes out to 840mm--a whopping 35x magnification.

Canon paired it with a 14.1-megapixel 1/2.3-inch type CCD sensor, which is the standard size you'd find in any point-and-shoot camera. As a result, the likelihood that the SX30 will be able to resolve fine detail at the telephoto end is small. But hey, if you're that far away from your subject and you don't want … Read more

New Canon pro camcorders: Get 'em in 2011

Canon finally announced a pair of entry-level (presumably) solid-state pro camcorders, which are probably meant to compete with models from Sony and Panasonic that have been out for a long time--and the Canon models won't be available until the first quarter of next year.

I say "probably compete" because without even ballpark pricing information, it's impossible to figure out where these models fit in the market, but I'm guessing somewhere in the $2,000 to $3,500 range. Following on the heels of Canon's equally tardy-to-market XF300 and XF305, the XF100 and XF105 are essentially compact single-chip versions of those three-chip models, albeit with a different lens and other sacrifices to size.

Here's how they compare with their more expensive siblings:… Read more

Canon develops mammoth camera sensor

A week after announcing an image sensor with a whopping 120 megapixels, Canon revealed Monday it's created another boundary-pushing prototype: a chip with a light-gathering area measuring a vast 202x205mm.

The huge sensor is 40 times larger than even Canon's largest commercial image sensors, the full-frame chips measuring 36x24mm used in high-end SLRs. Indeed, it's a lot larger: big enough to swallow most of the surface area of the 300mm-diameter silicon crystal out of which it's made using a CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) process.

Notably, it employs new circuitry Canon had to develop to pump data off the processor fast enough to keep up with video.

One reason to build larger sensors is to increase their light-gathering area, and Canon delivers the goods here. It can record 60-frame-per-second video with light levels of 0.3 lux--about what a full moon overhead produces by some measurements. … Read more