Canon launches 3 new point-and-shoot PowerShots

Amstelveen, The Netherlands, 21 February 2006: Canon today announces the release of three fun, easy and affordable cameras – the PowerShot A420, PowerShot A430 and PowerShot A530. The new additions to the popular PowerShot A-series range offer consumers an outstanding combination of easy-to-use features, solid construction and excellent image quality at an entry-level price.

Key features:

PowerShot A420 – Ultimate ease of use and affordability with a 4.0 Megapixel CCD, 3.2x optical zoom (approx. 11x combined), 15 shooting modes, VGA movies and 5-point AiAF auto focus.
PowerShot A430 – Available in four fun colours [1] with a 4.0 Megapixel CCD, 4.0x optical zoom (approx 14x combined), 15 shooting modes, VGA movies with sound, AV out and flexible 9-point AiAF focusing.
PowerShot A530 – Offering impressive performance with a 5.0 Megapixel CCD, 4x optical zoom (approx. 16x combined), 17 shooting modes, VGA movies with sound, 9-point AiAF and ISO 800 for improved low-light flexibility.

All three cameras incorporate Canon's acclaimedDIGIC II processor and iSAPS technology [2] for rapid processing speeds, highly responsive controls and superb image quality.

Sitting just below the PowerShot A540 – also released today – in the PowerShot A-series range, the cameras will appeal to first time digital camera buyers as well as experienced photographers looking for a second take-anywhere camera.

"Since the launch of the PowerShot A5 in 1998, the A-series has helped millions of European consumers switch to digital," explains Mogens Jensen, Head of Canon Consumer Imaging Europe. "With these new additions to the range, Canon is making high quality digital photography more accessible than ever before."

Effortlessly easy

The three new PowerShot cameras are designed to make it simple for anyone to take great photos. The compact, lightweight bodies are ergonomically shaped to fit comfortably in the hand, while intuitively positioned buttons provide fingertip access to key camera controls. The bright 1.8" LCD screens feature a selectable Grid Line Display to help with shot composition and a Night Display mode for easy visibility after dark.

The 9-point AiAF (5-point AiAF on the PowerShot A420) focuses quickly and accurately on subjects even when off-centre, to ensure consistently sharp images. An AF-assist Beam helps with focusing in low light conditions. The
PowerShot A420 and PowerShot A430 also feature a 1cm Super Macro mode for close-up focusing on tiny subjects.

A wide range of shooting modes – 15 on the PowerShot A420 and PowerShot A430 and 17 on the PowerShot A530 – help deliver excellent results in almost any situation. Preset Special Scene modes assist with picture taking in tricky lighting conditions, including Indoor, Beach and Snow. For creative experimentation, Color Accent and Color Swap modes enable dramatic colour effects to be applied to images and movies direct from the camera. Users can keep one colour and change the rest to black and white with Color Accent, or exchange one colour for another with Color Swap. The cameras also feature My Colors photo effects for additional in-camera colour customisation.

A dedicated Movie mode enables recording of high quality VGA movies of up to 3 minutes in length with the PowerShot A420, and an impressive 60 minutes or 1GB (whichever is reached first) [3] with the PowerShot A430 and PowerShot A530. The PowerShot A430 and PowerShot A530 capture movie clips with audio and can connect to a TV or PC for full screen playback. A convenient Compact mode allows users to create email-ready movie clips for sending to friends and family.

Advanced shooting options
The PowerShot A530 incorporates high sensitivity ISO 800 to facilitate flash-free shooting indoors - ideal in environments where the use of flash is not desirable or appropriate, such as churches and concerts.

With widescreen televisions becoming increasingly popular across Europe, Canon has incorporated a new Widescreen stills setting [4] in all three cameras. Users can capture panoramic stills in 16:9 format for playback on widescreen television or printing on wide size paper to a SELPHY Compact Photo Printer [5].

Instant photo prints
All cameras are PictBridge compliant for instant direct printing to compatible printers. When combined with Canon SELPHY CP series printers, the cameras make an economical digital photo solution with 10 x 15cm photos costing as little as 0.30 euro cents [6]. Users can also print ID photos and still images from movies when connected to a SELPHY CP series printer. The handy Print/Share button on each camera allows one-touch printing and hassle-free uploads to Windows or Macintosh systems. A new d edicatedPrint menu makes it easier than ever to access and organise print jobs direct from the camera.

The cameras’ menu systems now feature support for Arabic, bringing the total number of supported languages to 23.

About Canon Consumer Imaging, Canon Europe

Canon Europe is a subsidiary of Canon Inc. of Japan, a world-leading innovator and provider of photographic and imaging technology. Canon Inc. was founded in 1937 and has a heritage of nearly 70 years in optics research and development.

The Consumer Imaging division incorporates the following product groups: photo, video, ink jet and laser printers and multifunctional devices, scanners, projectors and fax machines.

Further information about CanonEurope is available at: www.canon-europe.com


Additional Information

Software and CANON iMAGE GATEWAY

The PowerShot A420, PowerShot A430 and PowerShot A530 come bundled with the following Canon Software:

ZoomBrowser EX 5.6 (Windows), ImageBrowser 5.6 (Macintosh): For organizing and editing images, movies and slideshows, or creating and printing digital photo albums.

PhotoStitch 3.1: For creating panoramic photos from multiple images (Windows and Macintosh).

The software package also includes ArcSoft's photo manipulation software, PhotoStudio.

The bundled software supports Windows 98 SE, Me, 2000 (SP4), XP (SP1/2) and Macintosh OS X v10.2-v10.4. The cameras support PTP for driverless transfer to Windows XP and Macintosh OS X.

Purchasers of the camera are eligible for membership of CANON iMAGE GATEWAY [7], 100MB of online ‘personal gallery’ space for sharing stills and video with family and friends.

Accessories
A complete range of optional accessories is available:

-High Power Flash (HF-DC1)
-Soft Case (PowerShot A420 and PowerShot A430: DCC-400,
-PowerShot A530: DC-80)
-Compact AC Power Adapter (ACK800)
-Battery Charger Kit (CBK4-300)
-NiMH Batteries (NB4-300)

The cameras are compatible with MMC/SD cards, and come supplied with a 16MB Canon memory card.

Technologies Explained

DIGIC II
Canon's purpose-built DIGIC II (DIGital Imaging Core) image processor links all primary camera functions for maximum efficiency. High-speed processing results in outstanding responsiveness, rapid auto focus and extended continuous shooting ability. Advanced image processing algorithms deliver superb image detail and colour reproduction with accurate white balance and minimal noise. DIGIC II operates efficiently to extend battery life, for longer shooting on a single charge.

iSAPS
iSAPS (Intelligent Scene Analysis based on Photographic Space) automatically optimises key camera settings before every shot. Each scene is analysed and cross-referenced against Photographic Space – a vast in-camera library of photographic data. This enables the camera to make optimal adjustments to auto exposure, auto focus and auto white balance before image capture occurs.

AiAF
Canon's AiAF (Artificial intelligence Auto Focus) automatically scans and selects subjects from a set of focusing areas across the scene – five on the PowerShot A420 and nine on the PowerShot A430 and PowerShot A530. This ensures accurately focused images even when subjects are not in the centre of the frame.


[1] Some colour variations may not be available in all regions.

[2] See Technologies Explained

[3] Depending on memory card speed and capacity.

[4] Widescreen recording pixels: 2272 x 1280 pixels (PowerShot A420/PowerShot A430), 2592 x 1456 pixels (PowerShot A530)

[5] Requires Paper and Ink Set KW-24IP and Wide size Paper Cassette PCW-CP100.

[6] The price of 30 euro cents per print is based on Canon’s recommended retail price for the KP-108IP 10 x 15cm Ink and Paper Set.

[7] CANON iMAGE GATEWAY is not available in all European countries. Please seewww.cig.canon-europe.comfor available countries. Movie upload requires users to download and install the movie upload task, available after registration from the CANON iMAGE GATEWAY site.