Canon Powershot Pro1 Review

By: Steve's Digicams


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Canon Powershot Pro1


First Look posted 2/28/04



Click to take a QTVR tour of the Pro1


The Pro1 is Canon's new top-of-the-line PowerShot digital camera for 2004. The Pro1 was designed for discerning digital photographers seeking a versatile, high-resolution digital camera that combines shooting options previously found only on digital SLRs with the optical excellence found in Canon's best interchangeable SLR lenses.

Despite its compact size, the Pro1 employs a professional quality 2/3-inch, eight megapixel CCD image sensor that produces images up to 3264 x 2448 pixels in size, the largest of any PowerShot camera to date. The camera's L-series 28-200mm equivalent f/2.4-3.5 7x zoom lens is among the fastest in its class and utilizes an Ultrasonic Motor for high-speed zooming (which can be activated at the twist of a ring on the lens). The 14-element lens features two aspherical elements, one UD-glass element and significantly, one Fluorite crystal element (the first use of Fluorite in any compact digital camera lens).

The macro capabilities of the L-series lens allow for close focusing to 3.9 inches at full resolution while the "super macro mode" permits close-focus to 1.2 inches (at a moderately reduced five megapixel resolution). For those seeking added lens flexibility and range, the camera accepts optional accessory converter lenses (attached with an optional conversion lens adapter) including a Tele Converter Lens that extends the range of the zoom to a maximum of 300mm, and the 58mm 500D Close-up lens.

Canon Powershot Pro1

The Pro1's rugged metal body with its professional black finish, large comfortable rubberized grip and strategically placed controls clustered on the right hand side contribute to its go-anywhere, shoot anything versatility. What's more the camera features a sharp, clear, easy-to-read, high-resolution 235,000 pixel 2.0-inch LCD monitor with full tilt and 270° swivel capability. Similarly, the eye level electronic viewfinder is also 235,000 pixels (the highest resolution ever in any PowerShot viewfinder) and features a new power-saving "Display Off" mode that turns off the viewfinder or the monitor after a user-set delay time.

The camera's exposure features are similar to those found on EOS digital SLRs and include a mode dial with settings for P, Tv, Av, M, two user-adjustable Custom modes and fully automatic modes for Portraits, Landscapes, Night Scenes, Stitch Assist (panoramas) and Movies. The shutter speeds range from 15 seconds to 1/4000, the fastest ever in a PowerShot camera. Users can select RAW or JPEG recording formats as well as standard sRGB or Adobe RGB color space depending on their needs, and have the added flexibility of Image Adjustment settings for contrast, sharpness and saturation. In addition to a convenient popup flash, the Pro1 is compatible with all EX-series Canon Speedlites and Macro Lites and permits flash exposure compensation of up to +/- 2 stops.

Adding to the Pro1's versatility is a high-resolution movie mode that captures 640 x 480 movies with sound at 15 frames per second for up to 30 seconds per clip. Users can also opt for lower resolution capture with sound - at either 320 x 240 or 160 x 120 - for movie clips up to three minutes in length. Still photos can be annotated with sound clips up to 60 seconds in duration. Still images and movies are stored on removable CompactFlash memory cards, Type I or II including Microdrives. And there's no capacity limit thanks to full support of the FAT-32 file structure for storage devices larger than 2 gigabytes.


Powershot Pro1 features:

  • 8-Megapixel CCD for images up to 3264 x 2448
  • Canon L-series 28-200mm equivalent f/2.4-3.5 7x zoom
  • Macro focus to 3.9 inches, super macro mode to 1.2 inches
  • Stylish and rugged black magnesium alloy body
  • JPEG and CCDRAW image formats
  • Standard sRGB or Adobe RGB color space
  • Articulated 2-inch color LCD flips forward and rotates 270°
  • Program AE, Shutter-priority, Aperture-priority, full Manual
  • Image zone modes: Portrait, Landscape, Night scene and Stitch assist
  • Interval shooting and Exposure and Focus Bracketing
  • Movie mode with sound, 15fps 640x480, 320x240 or 160x120
  • Shutter speeds from 15 secs to 1/4000 sec in Manual mode.
  • Evaluative, Center-weighted average or Spot (Center or AF-point)
  • High-speed 2.5 frames per second continuous shooting
  • Up to 60-second sound memos for still images
  • Sharpness, Contrast and Saturation is adjustable
  • ISO sensitivity: 50, 100, 200, 400 or AUTO
  • Built-in flash with Auto, Fill, Red-eye reduction and Slow-sync modes
  • Compatible with all Canon EX-series speedlights
  • CompactFlash Type II slot, Microdrive compatible 32-bit FAT support
  • High-capacity BP-511 Li-ion battery and rapid charger included
  • Wireless infrared control of record and playback functions
  • PictBridge and Canon Direct Print compatible


Available in April 2004, the Canon PowerShot Pro1 includes two dedicated software CDs, a rechargeable lithium ion battery pack and charger, a wireless remote controller, a lens hood and 58mm filter adapter, a neckstrap, USB and AV cables and a 64MB CompactFlash card, as well as, printed manuals and a Canon USA limited warranty card. The estimated street price will be $999.00.




Physical Views



Canon Powershot Pro1

Canon Powershot Pro1

Canon Powershot Pro1

Canon Powershot Pro1

Canon Powershot Pro1

Canon Powershot Pro1





The 8-Megapixel Nikon Coolpix 8700 and the Powershot Pro1

Canon Powershot Pro1

Canon Powershot Pro1

Canon Powershot Pro1





Canon Powershot Pro1

The 3.2-megapixel Canon Powershot S1 IS and the Powershot Pro1






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Page Two








Powershot Pro1 Specifications

Effective Pixels Approx. 8.0 million
Image Sensor 2/3-inch CCD (Total number of pixels: Approx. 8.3 million)
Lens 7x optical zoom 7.2 (W) - 50.8 (T) mm
(35mm film equivalent: 28 (W) - 200 (T) mm)
f/2.4 (W) - f/3.5 (T)

14-element lens features two aspherical elements, one UD-glass element and one Fluorite crystal element

Digital Zoom Approx. 3.2x (Up to approx. 22x in combination with the optical zoom)
Viewfinder Color LCD viewfinder with 235,000 pixels
Picture coverage 100%
Dioptric adjustment -5.5 to +1.5 m-1 (dpt equivalent)
LCD Monitor 2.0-inch, low-temp polycrystalline silicon TFT color LCD
235,000 pixels
180° tilt and 270° swivel
Picture coverage is 100%
AF System Hybrid autofocus (TTL + external metering sensor)
Continuous or Single AF mode
AF lock and Manual focus are available
Focusing frame: 1-point AF
FlexiZone AF area selection
Shooting Distance
(from front of lens)		 Normal AF: 50 cm (1.6 ft.) - infinity (W - 90 mm)
1 m (3.3 ft.) - infinity (90 mm - T)

Macro AF: 10 - 50 cm (3.9 in. - 1.6 ft.) (W - 63 mm)
30 - 50 cm (1.0 - 1.6 ft.) (63 - 90 mm)

Super Macro AF: 3 - 30 cm (1.2 in. - 1.0 ft.) (42 - 90 mm)

Manual focus: 10 cm - infinity (3.9 in. - infinity) (W - 63 mm)
30 cm - infinity (1.0 ft. - infinity) (63 - 90 mm)
1 m (3.3 ft.) - infinity (90 mm - T)

Shutter: Mechanical shutter + electronic shutter
Shutter Speeds 15 - 1/4000 sec.
1.3 sec. or slower shutter speeds are available in Shutter-priority mode or Manual mode. Slow shutter speeds of 1.3 sec. or slower operate with noise reduction.
Light Metering System Evaluative, Center-weighted average or Spot (Center or AF-point)
Exposure Control System Program AE, Shutter-priority AE, Aperture-priority AE or Manual exposure control AE lock is available.
Exposure Compensation ± 2.0 stops in 1/3-stop increments
Auto exposure bracketing (AEB) is available.
Sensitivity Auto, ISO 50/100/200/400 equivalent
White Balance TTL auto, pre-set (available settings: Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H or Flash) or custom (Custom1/Custom2)
Built-in Flash Auto*, on*, off, Slow synchro (1st-curtain/2nd-curtain flash are available.)
* Red-eye reduction is available.
Flash Range 50 cm - 5.0 m (1.6 - 16 ft.) (W)
1.0 - 3.5 m (3.3 - 11.5 ft.) (T)
(When sensitivity is set to ISO 100 equivalent.)
Terminals for
External Flash		 Sync-terminals on accessory shoe.
Use of the following external flashes is recommended: Canon Speedlite 220EX, 380EX, 420EX, 550EX, Macro Ring Lite MR-14EX and Macro Twin Lite MT-24EX.
Flash Exposure
Compensation		 ±2.0 stops in 1/3-stop increments, FE Lock
Shooting Modes Auto Creative zone: Program, Shutter-speed priority, Aperture priority, Manual, Custom1 and Custom2 Image zone: Portrait, Landscape, Night scene, Stitch assist and Movie
Continuous Shooting High-speed: Approx. 2.5 shots/sec.
Standard: Approx. 1.0 shots/sec. (Large/Fine mode)
Interval Shooting Shooting interval: approx. 1 - 60 min. (1-min. increments) Number of shots: 2 - 100 shots (Maximum number of shots varies according to CF memory card capacity.)
Self-timer Activates shutter after an approx. 10-sec./ approx. 2-sec. delay
Wireless Control Shooting and playback are available (wireless controller is included in the camera kit). When shooting, image is captured instantly/ approx. 2-sec./approx. 10-sec. after shutter button is pressed.
PC-controlled Shooting Available (USB connection only. Exclusive software program is included in the camera kit.)
Recording Media CompactFlash (CF) card (Type I and Type II)
Microdrive and 16-bit and 32-bit FAT compatible
64MB CF card included
File Format Design rule for camera file system and DPOF compliant
Image Still images: JPEG (Exif 2.21)*¹ or RAW
Recording Movies: AVI (Image data: Motion JPEG;
Audio data: Format WAVE (monaural))
Color Space Standard or Adobe RGB
Compression Super Fine, Fine, Normal
Number of
Recording Pixels		 Still images: Large: 3264 x 2448 pixels
Medium 1: 2272 x 1704 pixels
Medium 2: 1600 x1200 pixels
Medium 3: 1024 x 768 pixels
Small: 640 x 480 pixels

Movies: 640 x 480 pixels (approx. 30 sec.)* 320 x 240 pixels (approx. 3 min.)* 160 x 120 pixels (approx. 3 min.)* 15 frames/second
* The data in parentheses refer to the maximum movie length per shooting.

Playback Modes Single (histogram displayable), Index (9 thumbnail images), Magnified (approx. 10x (max.) in LCD monitor/viewfinder), Sound memos (up to 60 sec.) or Slide show.
Direct Print Canon Direct Print/Bubble Jet Direct/ PictBridge compatible
Display Languages 12 languages available for menus and messages (English, German, French, Dutch, Danish, Finnish, Italian, Norwegian, Swedish, Spanish, Chinese and Japanese)
My Camera Settings The start-up image, start-up sound, shutter sound, operation sound and self-timer sound can be customized using the following methods:
1. Using the images and sounds recorded on a camera.
2. Using downloaded data from your computer using the supplied software.
Interface USB (mini-B, PTP [Picture Transfer Protocol]) Audio/Video output (NTSC or PAL selectable, monaural audio)
Power Source 1. Rechargeable BP-511 lithium-ion battery
(included in the camera kit/sold separately)
2. Rechargeable lithium-ion battery (type: BP-511/512/514) (sold separately)
3. Compact Power Adapter (CA-560) (sold separately)
4. Car battery adapter (separately sold Charge Adapter/Car Battery Cable Kit CR-560 is required)
Battery Performance BP-511: 420 shots w/LCD, 420 shots w/EVF, 400 min. playback
Operating Temperature 0 - 40 °C (32 - 104 °F)
Operating Humidity 10 - 90%
Dimensions 117.5 x 72.0 x 90.3 mm
(4.6 x 2.8 x 3.6 in.) (Excluding viewfinder eyepiece and protrusions)
Weight: Approx. 545 g (19.2 oz.) (camera body only)
(Specifications as represented by the manufacturer)



Powershot Pro1 Kit Contents



A. PowerShot Pro1 Body
B. Lens Hood LH-DC10
C. Battery Charger CB-5L
D. Filter Adapter FA-DC58A
E. Lens Cap
F. Battery Pack BP-511A
G. CompactFlash Card CF-64M
H. Wireless Controller WL-DC100
I. Digital Camera Solution CD-ROM
J. ArcSoft Camera Suite CD-ROM
K. Interface Cable IFC-400PCU
L. AV Cable AVC-DC300
M. Neck Strap






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