Canon Releases 6 New PowerShot Cameras
Canon unveiled 6 new cameras in their PowerShot line Wednesday: The G11, S90, SX20 IS, SX120 IS, SD980 IS and SD940 IS. With a surprising drop in megapixels for the G11, the thing to take note of is that perhaps the “megapixel war” is drawing to a close.
Two of the cameras are especially noteworthy, the G11 and S90. The G9 was a highly rated and highly popular point-and-shoot, but many people felt Canon took a step backward with the G10. Two big complaints were that Canon attempted to cram more megapixels (14.7) on to the small sensor and they also lowered the video resolution. One of those problems was fixed with the G10. In order to lower noise, Canon did something very unexpected, the new G11 features a 10 MP sensor, even lower than the 12.1 megapixel G9. While many of the great features—a fast 5x zoom, hotshoe, image stabilization, and ability to shoot RAW—remain unchanged, the LCD was changed to a smaller 2.8″ vari-angle screen, something the G series used to feature, and the maximum ISO bumped to 12800. Sadly, the video remains a maximum 640 × 480 at 30 fps. The G11 will be available in October for $499.99.
Reintroducing the S-series, the S90 takes on the G11 in features, while looking pretty sexy compared to its big brother. It, like the G11, features the same 10 MP sensor, 640 × 480 video, DIGIC 4 processing, image stabilization, and RAW support, but adds back the fixed 3″ LCD screen. But, arguably, the most exciting feature is the amazingly fast 3.8x zoom (28–105mm equivalent) with a maximum aperture of f/2.0. That means it is twice as sensitive as the G11. It will also be available in October priced at $429.99.
Except for the SD980 IS, which features a touchscreen, the specs for the other cameras are pretty standard. The SD980 IS features a 3″ touch-screen, 12.1 MP sensor, 720p video, 5x zoom, comes in four colors, and will be available in October for $329.99. Available earlier, in September, the SD940 IS is basically the SD980, except the LCD is replaced with a 2.7″ non-touch version and the zoom is dropped to 4x, which lowers the price to $299.99. The SX20 is a 20x megazoom, which features a 12.1 MP sensor, 720p video, HDMI output, a 2.5″ vari-angle display, and will be available in September for $399.99. Available along side the SX20, is the $249.99 SX120 IS, which is lowered to a 10 MP sensor, and 10x zoom, but gains a 3″ LCD and AA battery support.
If you’re shopping for a new point-and-shoot, do any of these pique your interest? How do these compare to Nikon’s recent releases? Let us know in the comments.
[Canon]
