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Camera and copier maker Canon chimed in with support today for Intel's Thunderbolt technology, the first major consumer electronics company after Apple to back the new standard.

Thunderbolt, formerly known by its codename Light Peak, is a new connection technology that combines high-speed data transfer and high-definition video on a single cable. Running at 10Gbps, Thunderbolt can transfer a full-length HD movie in less than 30 seconds.

Apple has already adopted the technology--its newest MacBook Pros come with Thunderbolt ports--and is a technical collaborator with Intel. The announcement by Canon--which references "video creation"--marks the second major … Read more

Canon vs. Nikon is an age-old rivalry that well predates digital photography. And the battle in the midrange is one of the closest yet.

The Canon EOS 60D is fast, feature-packed, and has excellent photo and video quality; the Nikon D7000 can't match on the video quality, but it sports the company's best shooting design to date. So which system is worth the commitment?

We put the cameras head-to-head to see which comes out on top.

Editors' note: The Prizefight scoring system is as follows: Each judge rates on a 0-to-5-point scale. At the end of each round, … Read more

Canon today disclosed prices for previously announced overhauls of its 500mm and 600mm supertelephoto lenses, but more unusually, announced a new 200-400mm model that will join the company's already large lens family.

Nikon and Canon, locked in fierce competition for professional photographers, often have similar lens models, but Nikon for years has offered a highly regarded and newly refurbished 200-400mm supertele zoom while Canon stuck with its increasingly elderly 100-400mm design. Now Canon is countering with the EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Extender l.4x.

Some of the nomenclature should look familiar: f/4L means a continuous maximum … Read more

With today's product announcements, Canon bookends its sub-$1,000 dSLR lineup with two new models--the entry-level EOS Rebel T3 and the slightly more advanced T3i--as well as introduces an updated version of its 18-55mm kit staple lens and two enhanced low-end Speedlite flash units. Rather than introduce new dSLR models at bargain-basement prices as Pentax and Sony tend to do, Canon traditionally lets its slightly higher-end models gradually fall in price until they're the de facto entry-level models. But its current starter, the EOS Rebel XS, and which the T3 will replace, has been around since the … Read more

Canon announced replacements to its A-series models back at CES 2011, leaving its Elph lineup untouched. That changed today, though, as Canon rolled out three new ultracompacts as well as a new compact megazoom. Oh, and Canon changed its naming system.

The PowerShot Elph 100 HS, Elph 300 HS, and Elph 500 HS all feature 12-megapixel high-sensitivity backside-illuminated CMOS sensors and a Canon Digic 4 image processor; the combination makes up Canon's HS System, hence the HS is now part of the model names. Canon did away with the "SD" and "IS" in their names … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Along with the announcement of a new "prosumer" camcorder, the Vixia HF G10, Canon announced a version of the product targeted at professionals. The XA10 seems to be identical to the G10, but comes with a detachable handle that includes dual XLR inputs, audio switches, an infrared light, tally lamp, removable microphone holder, zoom and record switches, and an accessory shoe (though the G10 has a shoe, it looks like the handle attaches to it, so the handle gives you another shoe).

It's not clear whether at some point you'll be able to upgrade the … Read more

I don't normally cover accessory announcements for products that only work with a single manufacturer, but Canon's WM-V1 microphone sounds kind of neat. Because it doesn't require an accessory shoe it's suitable for use with the compact models that don't have one, which is generally the group that needs better sound the most. It mounts on the camera strap and can record sound up to 164 feet. You'll be able to find it in May for the steepish price of $250.

LAS VEGAS--Much of Canon's PowerShot compact camera lineup is due for a refresh, but at CES 2011 it's just the "easy and fun" A-series that's getting updated.

Four models are entering the lineup priced from $179.99 down to $89.99: the A3300 IS, A2200, A2100, and A800. The feature mix is much better than what Canon offered in its 2010 models, giving you solid reasons to pick one model over another. The 16-megapixel A3300 IS, for example, is the only one with optical image stabilization and a 3-inch LCD, while the 12-megapixel A1200 gets … Read more

This year's entry-level Canon camcorders incorporate a higher resolution sensor than last year's--3.28 megapixels--for an effective video resolution of 2.07 megapixels. Canon is actually using enough pixels this go round to hopefully capture decent video. As long as you're not using the Dynamic IS setting. Sigh. The Vixia HF R21, R20, and R200 also seem to be priced a little lower than they're predecessors were at their launch: $499.99, $399.99, and $379.99, respectively for 32GB, 8GB, and 0GB configurations.

The lens remains a 20x optical zoom, and the LCD display size … Read more