Canon U.S.A. Inc. today introduced its Elura 50, a new ultra-compact digital video camcorder that should hit dealers next month.
The Elura 50 can work with a Mac through FireWire, and it also supports Direct Connect, a printing capability offered by some Canon printer models like the CP-10 Card Photo Printer. The Elura 50 also sports Canon’s DIGIC DV technology, which differentiates between video and digital still formats by using two different color techniques to provide optimal quality depending on the medium. The Elura 50 also features a 1/6-inch, 680,000 pixel CCD image sensor.
The Elura 50 can work as a digital photo camera and stores content on Secure Digital and MultiMediaCard formats. You can switch between XGA (1024 x 768) or VGA (640 x 480) resolutions, with standard, fine and super-fine quality adjustments. You can also use the SD or MMC cards to store video in Motion-JPEG (MJPEG), up to 10 seconds’ worth at 320 x 240 resolution or 160 x 120 resolution.
10x optical zoom is augmented by digital zoom that scales up to 400x. The Elura 50 also has a 2 inch color LCD screen, manual focus, exposure lock, white balance and shutter speed control, along with Auto Exposure (AE) Shift. Auto exposure modes have been pre-programmed to deliver optimal results in special shooting conditions, like Sports, Portrait, Spotlight, Sand & Snow, Color Night mode and Super Color Night mode. The night modes, for example, function like “night vision,” without the green tint.
Special effects modes have also been integrated, like Art, Black & White, Sepia, Mosaic, Ball, Cube, Wave, Color Mask or Mirror. Fade Effects have also been included to create scene transitions on-camera. And a Stitch Assist mode can help users create 360 degree panoramic still images using supplied software. What’s more, the Elura 50 has a 16:9 widescreen mode.
The Elura 50 sports analog in/out to a TV or VCR, along with FireWire and USB interfaces. The camera also ships with Windows and Mac software designed to help organize and edit digital photos.
The Elura 50 ships with an NB-2L battery pack, AC adapter, battery charger, USB cable, 8MB SD memory card, wireless remote, S-video cable, stereo analog video cable and software. Expect it to be available at Canon dealers in May for US$899.