Canon announces six new PowerShot cameras

by Kelly Turner, Macworld.com

Canon on Wednesday introduced new additions to its point-and-shoot family, including two megazooms and a touch-screen Digital Elph.

Advanced Compacts

For customers who want a camera with manual controls and Raw support yet still fits in a pocket, Canon has introduced the PowerShot G11 and PowerShot S90.

The feature-packed G11 comes with a 10-megapixel sensor and 5X optical zoom (equivalent to 28mm to 140mm) with optical image stabilization. The camera features a 2.8-inch vari-angle LCD, which is helpful when shooting at difficult angles, and an optical viewfinder—a relative rarity in the point-and-shoot market. The camera offers manual controls and support for Raw images—an increasingly popular option that gives you more control over how your image is processed.

With a small step down in features, there’s the Canon PowerShot S90, a 10-megapixel camera with a stationary 3-inch LCD, manual controls, and an option to shoot in Raw mode. The camera offers a 3.8X optical zoom (equivalent to 28mm to 105mm) with an aperture of f/2 and optical image stabilization, both of which should help capture crisper images in low-light situations.

The G11 will sell for $500 while the S90 will go for $430. Both cameras will be available in October

Powerful Zooms

Canon also introduced two mega-zoom cameras: the PowerShot SX20 IS and the PowerShot SX120 IS. The $400 SX20 IS offers a 12-megapixel sensor and a 20X zoom (28mm to 560mm equivalent) with optical image stabilization. The camera shoots 720p HD video at 30 frames per second and offers an HDMI output for connecting to an HD TV. The SX20 IS also features a 2.5-inch vari-angle LCD.

The $250 PowerShot SX120 IS offers a 10-megapixel sensor, a 10X zoom (36mm to 360mm equivalent) with optical image stabilization, and a 3-inch stationary LCD.

Both cameras will be available in September

Touchscreen Elph

Canon is offering two updates to its compact Digital Elph lineup with the PowerShot SD980 IS and the PowerShot SD940 IS. The more innovative of the two is the 12-megapixel SD980 IS, which offers a 3-inch touchscreen LCD for navigating through images and menus. The $330 camera also features a 5X zoom (24mm to 120 mm equivalent) with image stabilization and shoots 720p HD video.

Like the SD980, the $300 SD940 IS also includes a 12-megapixel sensor and HD video recording, but comes with a slightly smaller (2.7 inches) non-touchscreen LCD and a 4X zoom (28mm to 112mm equivalent) with optical image stabilization.

Both cameras will be available in September.

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