Canon is revamping its line of consumer-oriented point-and-shoot cameras, and where the company previously equipped its PowerShot and Elph units with a variety of CCD-based sensors, the company is standardizing on 12.1-megapixel CMOS sensors across the line.
The four new cameras also represent a rebranding of Canon’s revered Elph line: they all pick up an “HS” suffix to indicate that they include Canon’s HS System for taking high-quality pictures in low-light situations - without a flash. Plus, all the new cameras can capture 1080p high-definition video.
The PowerShot SX230 HS is Canon's first compact camera to offer in-camera GPS. It is a dedicated GPS receiver that can be used to automatically geotag photos for easy cataloguing and map lookup later. This option for the camera is a "logger" feature that tracks a shooter's movements when they're not taking pictures; it's designed to map an entire journey on a computer once the relevant images are offloaded.
The GPS can thus be used to log day trips and plot a day’s route on a map. The SX230 HS also features a 14× optical zoom and optical image stabilization, a 30-inch LCD display, HDMI output, and sensitivity down to IS 3200. Expect to see it in March for a suggested price around $349.99. The new SX230 HS offers a low-light-optimized 12-megapixel CMOS sensor and captures 1080p video at 30 frames per second; the SX210 IS had a 14-megapixel CCD sensor and maxed out at 720p video capture;
The next product, the PowerShot Elph 500 HS features a 4.4× optical zoom, a 3.2-inch LCD display, optical image stabilization, HDMI output, and a host of consumer friendly features like red-eye correction, face detection, and motion detection, along with a bright ƒ/2.0 lens that enables users to get further in low light conditions without using a flash. It will be seen in stores towards the end of March at a suggested price of $299.99.
There also is the PowerShot Elph 300 HS which replaces the popular PowerShot SD1400 IS. Canon is heralding the new model as the "world's thinnest 5X 24mm wide-angle camera," which scales back to a 2.7-inch LCD but steps up to a 5× optical zoom with optical image stabilization; the camera also features a super slow-motion video mode for capturing key moments, and a high-speed burst mode for capturing action. It should land in mid-March for a suggested price of $249.99.
Finally, it also offers a 3-inch LCD, a 4× optical zoom with optical image stabilization and will be available in a variety of colours like grey, silver blue, pink, and orange, the PowerShot Elph 100 HS is priced at $200.