By Stevie Smith Aug 20, 2007, 14:55 GMT
Canon widens its ongoing hardware portfolio this week with the newest edition of its PowerShot range with the flagship but affordable PowerShot G9 digital camera. Canon outlines that its G9 model will offer "serious shooters and value-minded professionals a feature-packed camera" that offers top of the line capabilities of a high-end Digital SLR unit in a compact and lightweight package.
The 12.1 megapixel PowerShot G9 comes equipped with 6x optical zoom and Canon’s Optical Image Stabiliser (OIS), along with the latest "most advanced technologies" usually found on more expensive SLR cameras including RAW Mode and RAW+JPEG simultaneous capture functionality. Other G9 features include the Image Inspection Tool, which is now combined with the camera’s Advanced Face Detection technology.
"The PowerShot G9 digital camera brings our highest levels of performance and usability to the G-series," said Yuichi Ishizuka, senior vice president and general manager of Canon U.S.A.’s Consumer Imaging Group. "By combining RAW Mode with our other key technologies in this camera, we’re providing a high-performing and affordable option to advanced photo enthusiasts who want the creative power of a Digital SLR in a smaller body form."
Equipped with 23 separate shooting modes to deliver a mass of available preferences including Automatic, Manual, Shutter-speed-Priority, Aperture-Priority, along with two Custom modes and special scene modes such as Portrait, Landscape, Night Scene, Sports, Indoor, Beach and Snow, the G9 has something for everyone. The G9 also comes packed with Canon’s DIGIC III Image Processor for delivering "superior image quality, ultra-responsive performance, extended battery life and advanced Face Detection technology." Aesthetically, Canon’s latest PowerShot offering arrives with a three-inch PureColor LCD II display screen along with easily-accessible ISO and manual mode control dials.
"The PowerShot G9 digital camera is also compatible with optional high-quality Canon wide-angle, telephoto and macro supplementary lenses, as well as EOS Speedlite flashes and a waterproof case rated to a depth of 40 meters/130 feet, giving photographers more robust photographic capabilities that are in line with professional and expensive SLRs," points out the official release. From a software standpoint, the PowerShot G9 comes bundled with the latest versions of Canon's powerful digital imaging software, including ZoomBrowser EX 6.0 and ImageBrowser 6.0 for the easy downloading, viewing and printing of media. RAW Image Task software is also supplied to allow for high-quality processing of the PowerShot G9's new RAW images. The PowerShot G9 camera kit is scheduled to arrive in October and comes complete with a lithium-ion rechargeable battery and battery charger, a 32MB MMC plus memory card, a USB interface cable, an AV cable, a neck strap, and Canon's software suite. Interested enthusiasts can pick up the G9 for an estimated retail price of $499.99 USD.
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