Canon ELPH Advanced Photo System Compact Camera
The Canon ELPH was announced at PMA Trade Show and Convention in Las Vegas.
The Canon ELPH is the smallest, and "most elegant", 2x zoom camera ever designed by Canon and offers consumers several Advanced Photo System features, as well as unique features which are distinctively Canon including: a durable, stainless steel body; an ultra-sharp 24-48mm all -glass aspheric lens; superior AF performance using Canon's exclusive Hybrid AF active/passive autofocus technology; simple drop-in loading; built-in flash and fully automatic operation.
Advanced Photo System features of the Canon ELPH include: a real-image viewfinder with built-in masks for producing three Print Aspect Ratios ("C" or Classic, "HDTV" or wide-angle and "P" or Panorama); Magnetic Information Exchange (IX), which allows specific information to be "read" or "translated" from the camera to any of several Advanced Photo System-format films; easy drop-in film loading; back printing capabilities for user storage and record-keeping without infringing on the elements within the photograph and Print Quality Improvement (PQI) for outstanding photo finishing prints.
Canon ELPH is Canon's Smallest 2x Camera
The ELPH is designed to be the Canon's smallest 2x zoom camera, taking advantage of the Advanced photo System's compact film cartridge and Canon's unique space-saving technologies. At the same time, this camera is easy to use because of its well-designed control layout and fully automatic operation. The Canon ELPH measures 3.6 (W) x 2.4 (H) x 1.1 (D)-inches and weighs approximately 6.3 ounces without battery. Main features of the Canon ELPH include an elegant, yet durable stainless steel body; an ultra-sharp, all-glass 24-48mm power zoom lens with two aspherical elements;a retractable built-in flash; a totally new autofocus system that combines active and passive AF technology within a single, compact unit
Canon ELPH: Elegant Stainless Steel Finish Adds Touch of Class
The Canon ELPH features the first all-stainless steel exterior to be used on any camera. Stainless steel is corrosion-resistant, very hard, and resists deformation. At the same time it can be made slightly thinner than comparable aluminum or titanium steel exteriors, contributing to the camera's small size.
The Canon ELPH uses SUS316 stainless steel (also referred to as 18/12 stainless), which has exceptional corrosion resistance and hardness among stainless steels. It is less costly than titanium, but provides an equivalent quality appearance and elegant impression.
Canon ELPH: Hybrid Active/Passive Autofocus System Assures Sharp Photos
Rather than relying on a single AF system, the Canon ELPH incorporates both active and passive autofocusing modes, automatically switching from one to the other as image conditions mandate. The active mode, which is the more traditional means of autofocusing with lens shutter cameras, uses an infrared emitter and sensor to detect subject-to-camera distance. The passive mode detects differences in subject contrast. The combination of these two autofocusing methods assures users that focus will be sharp with each exposure, regardless of the lighting condition or subject.
The hybrid system ensures improved distance measurement accuracy with hard-to-focus subjects, including long-range subjects. Off-center subjects can become primary subjects with the focus lock feature while the ELPH's 150 autofocusing steps assure focusing accuracy.
Canon ELPH: Drop-in Loading Simplicity
The Advanced Photo System was designed to minimize basic mistakes made by consumers including the improper loading of film. The new, compact cartridge simply "drops-in" to the camera without further loading steps or requirements by the consumer. On the Canon ELPH, for example, the film cartridge is simply inserted into a small loading chamber accessed through a small flip-open cover at the base of the camera. An optical disk on the cartridge is read by the camera for automatic setting of film speed.
Canon ELPH: Multi-Function Flash and 3-Zone Metering
The Canon ELPH incorporates a built-in multi-function flash unit incorporating red-eye reduction capabilities. The flash unit pops up and retracts as the camera's main switch is turned on and off. The flash's covering power is sufficient to cover its wide angle focal length of 24mm and a minilamp, located within the flash unit helps to reduce red-eye when photographing people.
The ELPH's built-in flash unit offers several modes including AUTO (with and without red-eye reduction), Flash ON, Flash OFF and SLOW-SYNC. The program AE system of the Canon ELPH uses an advanced 3-zone evaluative metering system which enables automatic exposure compensation for backlighted scenes. In the Program AE mode, light measurement, film speed, AF distance, and lens focal length data are integrated to provide users with the proper combination of shutter speed and aperture settings to create optimum exposures. The shutter speed range of the ELPH is 2 seconds to 1/500 second.
Canon ELPH: System-Wide Camera Features
As with any camera manufactured within the Advanced Photo System format, the Canon ELPH provides users with universal System features including a real-image zoom finder with aspect ratio masks; and Information Exchange (IX) capabilities which allows information to be transferred from the camera to film for optimum photo finishing results and drop-in loading of film.
The viewfinder on the ELPH optically zooms with the lens to enable users to see, through the viewfinder, precisely what they can expect to record on film. A green LED indicator alerts users when it is "OK" to make a properly exposed image, or if the subject is too close or out of AF range. An orange LED indicator provides consumers with necessary flash information.
The viewfinder field is automatically adjusted with masks to reflect the user's aspect ratio selection. No masks, or crop marks, are visible when the camera is set in the "HDTV" (wide angle) ratio. Masks at the right and left of the viewfinder appear when the "C" (Classic) aspect ratio is selected, while masks will appear at the top and bottom of the viewfinder when the "P" (Panorama) aspect ratio is selected. The user's ability to physically see these "crop marks" will serve as a constant reminder of the specific aspect ratio, or "format", the camera is set for at any time during use.
Another key feature of the Advanced Photo System, in general, is Magnetic Information Exchange (IX), which enables the entire system -- from camera exposure to photo finishing -- to communicate information with each other. For example, the Canon ELPH records data for every exposed frame including date, print aspect ratio, flash conditions, lighting conditions, etc. This information is recorded on a magnetic stripe located on the edges of the film, outside the image area. The information is read by photo finishing equipment to create an optimum print.
The primary advantage to the Information Exchange feature is the ability of Advanced Photo System cameras to record how a subject was actually recorded on film, along with information about how the photograph can be improved, and relay this information to the photo finishing process for appropriate compensations. The result is increased numbers of "acceptable" prints with each roll of film.
The Canon ELPH will be available in USA at the end of April.
CANON USA
www.usa.canon.com
