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Steve's Digicams - Breaking News - Canon 06/02/03 Press Release

Press Releases - June 2, 2003

Canon's New Powershot G5 Digital Camera Combines SLR Creativity With Point-And-Shoot Portability

See our Powershot G5 First Look

LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y. June 2, 2003 � Canon U.S.A., Inc., a subsidiary of Canon Inc. (NYSE: CAJ), today launched its new five megapixel PowerShot G5 digital camera. This serendipitous combination of high resolution, speed, portability and creative control presents photographers and photo enthusiasts with a versatile, full-featured tool for greater creative latitude.

"The unique combination of high-quality Canon optics, DIGIC processing and ergonomic design presents a significant advantage to the prosumer," said Yukiaki Hashimoto, senior vice president and general manager of the Consumer Imaging Group at Canon U.S.A., Inc. "The PowerShot G5 digital camera provides photographers and photo enthusiasts with optimal image quality, versatility and speed both seamlessly and instantaneously."

Housed in a rugged black enclosure, the PowerShot G5 digital camera features a 1/1.8" five megapixel CCD sensor that captures 2592 x 1944 pixel images with exceptional detail and color fidelity. Canon's DIGIC processor increases image-processing speeds compared to general purpose CPUs found in other comparable digital cameras.

Canon's powerful 4x all-glass optical zoom lens provides shooters with a 35mm equivalent range of 35 �140mm, a fast maximum aperture of f/2.0-3.0 and macro focusing down to 2 inches. The additional 4x digital zoom extends the camera's telephoto capabilities to provide photographers with 16x zoom functionality.

Key PowerShot G5 features include:

5.0 Megapixel CCD
12 EOS System-based shooting modes for customizing the camera to each individual users' shooting style;
A Wide-Area FlexiZone AF/AE system which allow users to focus on off-center subjects without repositioning the camera;
Three metering systems, including Spot Metering; and up to 10X Zoom Playback;
An Intelligent Orientation Sensor that automatically rotates images for proper viewing during playback; and
Flexible 270 Swivel LCD,Vari-Angle monitor together with an ergonomic hand grip and an EOS-style control layout for easier handling.

And, like other PowerShot series cameras, the PowerShot G5 camera also has a Direct Connect print function that allows printing without a computer via Canon's line of dye-sublimation and Bubble Jet printers for fast, high-quality photos.

For creative flash photography, the PowerShot G5 includes a 3-mode built-in flash with red-eye reduction and first or second curtain sync. The flash can be operated manually or automatically. Additionally, the PowerShot G5 digital camera is fully compatible with Canon's powerful EX-series Speedlites and E-TTL wireless flash accessories for superior lighting quality The PowerShot G5 is also compatible with high-quality Canon supplementary lenses including Wide and Tele converters as well as a Close-up lens.

Canon's upgraded ZoomBrowser EX (Win) and ImageBrowser (Mac) software comes bundled with the new PowerShot G5 digital camera. The new software features enhanced user interface, speed and database file reliability to allow for shorter downloads, increased functionality and easier task navigation.

Canon developed the proprietary DIGIC (Digital Imaging Integrated Circuit) image processor specifically for use with its line of digital cameras. The technology combines the jobs of image processing and camera function control into one chip. Because it was specifically designed for use in digital cameras, it is also capable of handling JPEG compression/expansion; memory card control; LCD/Video control and processing; gain control (control of CCD signal amplification); Auto Exposure; Auto Focus; Auto White Balance control and most other functions of the camera or camcorder. The result is a product that offers faster and more powerful auto focus than ever before, faster image processing, longer battery life, and the ability to record 3-minute movie clips with sound.

DIGIC's high-speed processing enables Canon's exclusive iSAPS (an acronym for Intelligent Scene Analysis based on Photographic Space) technology that improves picture quality by "predicting" certain camera settings like focusing distance, exposure and optimum white balance based on zoom focal length, overall light level and tonal distribution data. With iSAPS, the PowerShot G5 can analyze a scene just before the image is made and in doing so, increase the speed and precision of the camera's autofocus, auto exposure and auto white balance.

The new Canon PowerShot G5 kit includes:

32MB CompactFlash Card
BP-511 Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery
ArcSoft Camera Suite CD-ROM
Digital Camera Solution CD-ROM
Compact Power Adapter CA-560 with A/C Cable
USB Interface Cable
AV Cable
Wireless Remote Controller
Neck Strap
Lens Cap

The PowerShot G5 digital camera will be available in June for a suggested retail price of .

About Canon U.S.A., Inc.

Canon U.S.A., Inc. delivers consumer, business-to-business, and industrial imaging solutions. The Company is listed as one of Fortune's Most Admired Companies in America, and is ranked #41 on the Business Week list of "Top 100 Brands." Its parent company Canon Inc. (NYSE:CAJ) is a top patent-holder of technology, ranking second overall in the U.S. in 2002, with global revenues of .5 billion. Canon U.S.A. employs approximately 11,000 people at over 30 locations. For more information, visit www.usa.canon.com.

Powershot G5 Specifications

Effective pixels:

Approx. 5 million

Image sensor:

1/1.8 inch CCD (Total number of pixels: approx. 5.3 million)

Lens:

7.2 (W) - 28.8 (T) mm (35mm film equivalent: 35 - 140mm)
F 2.0 (W) - 3.0 (T)

Digital zoom:

Up to approx. 4.1x (Up to approx. 16 times in combination with the optical zoom)

Optical viewfinder:

Real-image zoom viewfinder
Field of view approx. 83%
Dioptric adjustment -3 to +1m^-1 (dpt equivalent)

LCD monitor:

1.8 inch, low-temperature polycrystalline silicon TFT color LCD/ Picture coverage 100%

Autofocus method:

TTL autofocus (continuous or single)
Focus lock and Manual focus are available

Focusing point:

1 focusing point (Any position is available)

Shooting distance:
(from tip of the lens barrel)

Normal AF:	50 cm (1.6 ft.) - infinity
Macro AF:	5 cm (W) / 15 cm (T) - 50 cm (2.0 in. (W) / 5.9 in. (T) - 1.6 ft.)
Manual focus:	5 cm (W) / 15 cm (T) -infinity (2.0 in. (W) / 5.9 in. (T) -infinity)

Shutter:

Mechanical shutter + electronic shutter

Shutter speeds:

15 - 1/2000 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 more operates with noise reduction

Light metering system:

Evaluative, Center-Weighted Averaging or Spot (Center or AF Point)

Exposure control method:

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
(equivalent film speed):

Auto, ISO 50, ISO 100, ISO 200 and ISO 400 equivalent

White balance:

TTL auto white balance, pre-set white balance (available settings: Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H or Flash) or Custom white balance (Custom1/ Custom2)

Built-in flash:

Auto, On, Off
Red-eye reduction On: Red-eye reduction auto / Red-eye reduction On / Off
Red-eye reduction Off: On / Off

Flash range:

70 cm - 5.0 m (2.3 - 16.5 ft.) (W), 70 cm - 4.0 m (2.3 - 13.1 ft.) (T)
(When sensitivity is set to ISO 100 equivalent)

Terminals for external flash :

Sync-terminals at accessory shoe
Use of 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, Slow-sync and 1st-curtain / 2nd curtain flash are available

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 continuous shooting:	Approx. 2.0 image/sec.
Standard continuous shooting:	Approx. 1.5 image/sec.

(Large / Fine mode with LCD viewfinder off)

Self-timer:

Activates shutter after a 2-sec. / 10-sec. delay

Interval shooting:

Shooting interval: approx. 1 - 60 min. (1 min. increments)
Number of shots: 2 - 100 shots (Maximum number of shotsvaries according to CF card capacity)

Wireless control:

Shooting and playback are available (wireless controller is included in the camera kit)
When shooting, image is captured ontime / 2-sec. / 10-sec. after shutter button pressed

PC-connected shooting:

Available (Exclusive software program is included in the camera kit)

Recording media:

CompactFlash^TM (CF) card (Type I and Type II)

File format:

Design rule for Camera File system, DPOF-compliant

Image recording format:

Still images:	JPEG (Exif 2.2)^*1 or RAW
Movies:	AVI (Image data: Motion JPEG, Audio data: WAVE [monaural])

JPEG compression mode:

Super fine, Fine or Normal

Number of recording pixels :

Still images:

Large:	2592 x 1944 pixels
Medium 1:	1600 x 1200 pixels
Medium 2:	1024 x 768 pixels
Small:	640 x 480 pixels

Movies:

320 x 240 pixels (approx. 3 min.)*

160 x 120 pixels (approx. 3 min.)*

Approx. 15 frames/second

* The data in parentheses refer to the maximum movie length per shooting.

Replay modes:

Single (Histogram displayable), Index (9 thumbnail images), Magnified (approx. 10x (max.) in LCD monitor), Sound memos (up to 60 sec.), Slide Show or Image output to direct printer (CP-300/ CP-200/ CP-100 / CP-10 and Bubble Jet printer with the direct print function)

My Camera Settings (customizing) :

The Start-up Image, Start-up Sound, Shutter Sound, Operation Sound and Selftimer Sound can be customized using the following methods.

Using the images and sounds recorded on the camera.
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:

Rechargeable Lithium-ion battery (type: BP-511) (included in the camera kit/sold separately)
Rechargeable Lithium-ion battery (type: BP-512) (sold separately)
Compact Power Adapter (CA-560) (included in the camera kit)
Car battery adapter (separately sold Charge Adapter/Car Battery Cable Kit CR-560 is required)

Operating temperatures:

0 - 40 degrees C (32 - 104 degrees F)

Operating humidity:

10 - 90 %

Dimensions (WHD):

121.0 x 73.9 x 69.9 mm
(4.8 x 2.9 x 2.8 in.) excluding protrusions

Weight:

Approx. 410 g (14.5 oz.) (camera body only)

* 1 This digital camera supports Exif 2.2 (also called "Exif Print"). Exif Print is a standard for enhancing the communication between digital cameras and printers. By connecting to an Exif Print-compliant printer, the camera's image data at the time of shooting is used and optimized, yielding extremely high quality prints.