New Canon Powershot S330 and S200 'Digital Elph' Cameras

March 2002 (Newstream) -- Canon continues to provide consumers with the widest range of features, functions and price points in digital cameras with the introduction of the new PowerShot S330 and S200 "Digital ELPH" models. Both models, designed as "next generation" Digital ELPH cameras, retain and improve upon the stylish and elegant design that made the PowerShot S110 and S300 two of the most popular digital cameras in history. The new models join an entire family of PowerShot-series cameras including the newly introduced PowerShot A100, A30/A40, S30/40, G2 and G2 Black models. The complete lineup of Canon PowerShots offers consumers one of the widest selections of features, functions, and price-points of any digital camera line available today, making the enjoyment of digital photography more accessible than ever. Aside from differences in their optical zoom range (the S200 includes a 2x 35-70mm* f/2.8-4.0 while the S330 includes a 3x 35-105mm* f/2.7-4.7), both cameras provide a similar range of high-quality features including a 2.0 megapixel CCD sensor; an improved user interface with cross-configured camera controls; direct print capability with Canon's new CP-100 and CP-10 Card Photo Printers as well as the S820D Photo printer for making direct, borderless prints up to 8.5 x 11-inches; movie mode with sound; Photo Effects mode; a shutter speed range of 15 seconds to 1/1500 second; spot metering; selectable ISO settings from 50 to 400; built-in red-eye reduction light-guide flash; and zoom playback up to 10x for convenient image review.

"Canon is always striving to provide consumers with the most feature-laden imaging products at affordable prices," said Yukiaki Hashimoto, vice president and general manager, Photographic Products Division, Canon U.S.A., Inc. "The new PowerShot S330 and S200 models join one of the widest selection of digital cameras available. From the entry-level PowerShot A100 to the higher-end PowerShot G2, consumers now have a range of features and functions to meet every digital need."

Camera Features
A new Intelligent Orientation sensor has been added to both models to detect whether an image has been recorded horizontally or vertically. During image playback, the sensor detects the proper orientation of each image, and previews them accordingly without the need to rotate the camera for image viewing. It is also adjusts AF, AE and white balance accordingly. Similarly, when using the ZoomBrowser EX and ImageBrowser software included with the cameras, vertical and horizontal picture orientation is automatically detected and appropriately displayed.

The PowerShot S330 and S200 can record movies with sound in VGA (640 x 480 pixels), QVGA (320 x 240 pixels) and Q2VGA (160 x 120 pixels) at 20 frames per second. Up to 4 seconds of continuous recording is possible in VGA, 10 seconds in QVGA, and up to 30 seconds in the Q2VGA format. In addition, the PowerShot S330 features a built-in speaker for audio playback, as well as a Voice Memo feature that allows users to add up to 60 seconds of sound annotation to any captured image on the camera's CF card.

Both cameras feature a 1/2.7-inch, 2.0 megapixel CCD sensor that creates full color or black-and-white images up to 1600x1200 pixels when set to the camera's Large resolution mode. The camera also offers additional resolution settings of 1024x768 and 640x480 when set in the Medium or Small modes, which are ideal for on-screen applications, such as Web sites and CD-ROMs and allow more images to be recorded on a single CompactFlash memory card. The new cameras are compatible with Type I CompactFlash Cards and will be shipped with an 8MB CF card.

Image Management Software
Bundled with a comprehensive suite of programs enabling image management, editing, compositing and printing, the PowerShot S330 and S200 are compatible with a wide range of both Mac and PC computers, including support for Windows XP and Mac OS X. Each camera comes with Apple QuickTime 5.0, Canon RemoteCapture 2.4, and PhotoStitch 3.1 for both Macintosh and Windows, as well as Canon ZoomBrowser EX 3.3, PhotoRecord 1.4 and WIA and TWAIN drivers for Windows, plus ImageBrowser 2.3 and a Photoshop-compatible plug-in for the Mac. Features integrated in both ZoomBrowser EX 3.3 and ImageBrowser 2.3 include TimeTunnel and SlideShowMaker. When using ZoomBrowser EX 3.3 or ImageBrowser 2.3, users can take advantage of new and improved features for auto layout printing, self-running full-screen slide shows, and automated preparation of images for use as e-mail attachments.

The Canon PowerShot S330 and S200 Digital ELPH cameras will be available at retailers nationwide in March and April and have a suggested retail price of $499 and $449, respectively.

Canon Supports Exif Print
Canon will continue to promote the benefits of digital photo imaging through the launch of new digital cameras and Bubble Jet printers which support the new Exif Print (Exif 2.2) standard. This standard, designed to optimize printing quality, is expected to gain worldwide acceptance over the next 12 months. In addition to supporting Exif Print with the PowerShot S330 and S200, Canon intends to broaden support for Exif Print across its imaging product ranges to include devices such as Digital Video, Multi-Functional products and others in the future.

*35mm format equivalent

Website: http://www.usa.canon.com