Canon Revolutionises DSLR Market

Canon has set the digital SLR market on its heels with the announcement of a digital SLR camera that will sell for under $2000 – lens included!

The new EOS 300D is based on the popular EOS 300 SLR body but carries a high-performance 6.3 megapixel CMOS sensor that can capture separate or simultaneous RAW and JPEG files. The sensor is coupled with Canon’s DiGiC Imaging Engine, which offers high-speed data processing, low power consumption, excellent colour rendition and extremely low noise levels.
Users have access to a full range of creative controls, including aperture and shutter priority AE and full manual exposure control. Selectable sensitivity levels range from ISO100 to 1600 and photographers can choose between sRGB and Adobe RGB colour space. White balance options cover six presets plus automatic and custom, allowing colour-accurate shots to be taken in all kinds of lighting. In-camera contrast, sharpness, saturation and colour adjustments are provided for fine-tuning settings.

The EOS 300D is fitted with a high-speed, wide-area autofocusing system with seven selectable focus points. Superimposed AF points are displayed in the viewfinder. Exposure control is via a 35-zone evaluative metering system and continuous shooting is supported at 2.5fps for up to four frames.

Canon has added PictBridge to its latest suite of cameras and printers. This new international standard allows photographers to connect their cameras directly to a PictBridge-enabled printer and produce prints on the spot, without the need for a computer connection.

The EOS 300D is scheduled for release in October and will only be sold with a dedicated EF-S18-55mm f3.5-5.6 lens, which has an equivalent focal length to 28-90mm in 35mm format. The camera is compatible with more than 50 Canon EF lenses, with which it has a 1.6x lens multiplier factor. Canon’s EX-series Speedlites can also be used to as an alternative to the built-in, pop-up flash.

Announced concurrently with the EOS 300D are two new lenses, the EF-S18-55mm f3.5-5.6 (which is sold with the camera) and the EF55-200mm f4.5-5.6 II USM, a compact telephoto zoom lens with a focal length range equivalent to 90-320mm in 35mm format. Two new extension tubes, the EF12II and EF25II, add close-up capabilities to the new system and are compatible with other EOS SLRs.

A BP-511 battery pack and charger, neck strap, eyecup and camera cover plus USB and video cables are supplied with the camera and lens . The bundled software includes Canon’s File Viewfinder Utility, ZoomBrowser EX, Image Browser, PhotoRecord, PhotoStitch, Remote Capture and Adobe Photoshop Elements 2.0.

Full details of the camera can be found at www.canon.com.au.