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  (Source: Rob Galbraith)

Canon EOS 5D Mark II  (Source: Canon)

PowerShot G10  (Source: Canon)

PowerShot SD990 IS  (Source: Canon)
New Canon D-SLR features 1080p HD movie recording mode

One thing the world of D-SLR cameras was lacking for most of the existence of the technology was the ability to shoot movies. Shooting movies was something that many point-and-shoot digital cameras had been able to do for a long time.

Nikon changed that when it announced its D90 D-SLR camera that was able to record HD movies in 720p resolution. Today, Canon announced its latest D-SLR camera called the EOS 5D Mark II. The new 5D Mark II has a full-frame CMOS sensor and adds the first HD movie mode for a Canon D-SLR camera.

Canon goes one better than Nikon in the movie recording section with the ability to record full 1080p resolution movies at 30 frames per second. The camera has 21.1-megapixels and expanded ISO sensitivity from ISO 50 to ISO 25,600. Canon uses its DIGIX 4 Image Processor that powers the 14-bit analog-to-digital conversion. Continuous shooting can be done at 3.9 frames per second for an unlimited number of JPEG images.

Burst shots in RAW format can be continued for 14 images when using a UDMA CompactFlash card. A 3-inch rear LCD offers 920,000-pixel/VGA resolution for clarity and color. It also supports Live View and the optical viewfinder offers 98% coverage. The EOS 5D Mark II D-SLR will be available in November for $2,699 for the body only.

Canon also announced a slew of point-and-shoot cameras today starting with the PowerShot G10. The G10 uses Canon's DIGIC 4 image processor, 28mm optical image stabilized lens, and RAW shooting mode. Megapixel count for the G10 is 14.7 and the 28mm lens is wide-angle with 5x optical zoom. A 3-inch rear LCD features 461,000 dots. Canon's G10 will be available in October for $499.99.

Next up in the point-and-shoot announcements is the PowerShot SX10 IS, which Canon claims puts the power of a D-SLR in a compact camera. The SX-10 IS has 10-megapixel resolution and a wide-angle 28mm to 560mm 20x optical zoom lens. Optical image stabilization is used on the super-zoom lens for clarity.

Face detection technology is used and the camera has a 2.5-inch rear angle adjustable LCD. Movie recording is featured and the camera uses a Voice Coil Motor for quiet focusing. Other features include motion detection technology, self-timer, servo auto focus, and intelligent contrast correction. The PowerShot SX10 IS will be available in October for $399.99.

Canon also announced its new compact PowerShot SD990 IS and SD 880 IS cameras. Both cameras feature optical image stabilization and use the new DIGIC 4 image processor. The SD990 IS has 14.7-megapixel resolution and a 3.7x optical zoom lens. Quick shot mode improves the shutter speed for fast action. Available color options include black or silver.

 A limited edition red version is available from the Canon online store. The SD880 IS has a 10-megapixel resolution and a 4x optical zoom wide-angle lens featuring optical image stabilization. Images are aligned on the 3-inch rear LCD and the camera has face detection. The SD990 IS and SD880 IS will be available in October for $399.99 and $299.99 respectively.

Canon's new camera for Europe is called the PowerShot SX1 IS and features a 20x wide-angle zoom lens and image stabilization. Resolution for the SX1 IS is 10-megapixel and it can shoot full resolution shots at up to four frames per second. The camera also features HD 1080p movie recording at 30 frames per second. Movies can be viewed on the rear 2.8-inch LCD. The camera will be available in December for £519.99 including VAT.

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By therealnickdanger on 9/17/2008 12:08:24 PM , Rating: 2
*sigh*

It sounded really cool at first, but 4GB goes really fast at 1080p30. If we assumed compression on par with AVC H.264 Blu-Ray encodes... this could do 10-15 minutes continuous 1080p30. I'm guessing that the compression is NOT that good, so maybe 5-10 minutes. I suppose we'll see for sure when it comes out.

Unlimited (except by storage size) shooting would be awesome. Oh well, it's just an extra feature anyway - I would buy this for photos first and foremost.




By ryedizzel on 9/17/2008 12:12:29 PM , Rating: 2
I was thinking the same thing. 1080p is nice, but I don't think the storage capacity on portable consumer devices is high enough yet to record any decent amount of footage.


By TechLuster on 9/17/2008 12:18:03 PM , Rating: 2
It's true that a real, modern video codec like H.264 (or even mpeg-2) would be more space-efficient than motion jpeg (which I assume they're using). However, mjpeg has an interesting (and often overlooked) advantage: You can grab individual jpeg frames without re-compression. Hence, you essentially get a 2 megapixel 30fps continuous shooting mode, which sounds pretty sweet!

Anyway, did anybody else notice how Canon's undercutting the Alpha A900 by a few hundred bucks? Do they think they're camera isn't quite as desirable?


By maven81 on 9/17/2008 12:37:33 PM , Rating: 2
Why assume when you can just read the linked press release? It says right in the press release that it's MPEG4 compression.

It also says they estimate 12 minutes per 4GB and that 4GB is the limit for a single scene (so if you have an 8GB card you've got 24 minutes).


By TETRONG on 9/17/2008 2:13:17 PM , Rating: 2
Is there no way to hook it up to an external hard drive for the 1080P?


By Brandon Hill (blog) on 9/17/2008 2:35:11 PM , Rating: 2
It wouldn't really matter because the files are artificially limited to 4GB/12 minutes each. It's not like you can have one large, continuous 1080p video file.


By Jedi2155 on 9/17/2008 3:58:26 PM , Rating: 2
Do you think this due to a 32-bit file size limit or a different technical limitation?


By maven81 on 9/17/2008 4:15:58 PM , Rating: 2
Sounds more like a file system limit? FAT32?


By TETRONG on 9/17/2008 7:01:23 PM , Rating: 2
Oh, that sucks. Wondering what a movie would look like with this thing.
Is it a system problem that will be lifted with the adoption of ZFS?


By DOCDAT1 on 9/23/2008 8:03:57 AM , Rating: 2
Think about it - do you really need more than 12 minutes of continuous shooting?
Any doubts concerning the video performance of this camera should stop after watching this: http://blog.vincentlaforet.com/2008/09/22/without-...


Where do we go from here?
By TechLuster on 9/17/2008 12:10:23 PM , Rating: 5
Sensor resolutions have steadily been rising year after year, but eventually, the megapixel race must come to an end. Even if we could keep increasing sensor pixel counts, lens sharpness, focus accuracy, depth of field, diffraction, camera shake, and subject movement will all limit the sharpness of our pictures. Hence, even in cases where extra pixels are useful, we may just get blurrier pixels.

So that raises my question: where does the digital camera market go post-megapixel race?

I have a few thoughts:

1) Screens can't continue to get larger forever, but some (notably 2.5"-3" 320x240 screens) could use extra pixels. Hence, I think the higher res. screens first introduced last year on the high-end Sony and Nikon DSLR's (and appearing on the 50D and 5D) will trickle down to mid and low end compacts over the next several years.

2) Especially on compacts, we will see wider-angle lenses. This is already starting to happen (e.g., the new G10 starts at 28mm equiv.). I think 28mm will become the new default for compact wide angle, with 24mm becoming the new 28mm.

3) Faster lenses will start to become more common on lower-end DSLR lenses (say, <$500) and especially on compacts. See this for example:

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0807/08072102panasoni...

4) Finally, while pixel counts won't keep skyrocketing, processing speeds certainly will. There's been talk recently that sports photographers will essentially be using HD video cameras in the future due to the high continuous shooting speeds. I absolutely agree with this (a dirty little secret of pro photographers is that they take tons of shots and you only see the very best). Casio's newest high fps camera is evidence that this won't just be limited to DSLR's. [Incidentally, the 5D's 3.9fps seems a little too low for 2008, even if it's not an fast-action camera.]

Well that's all I can think of for now (time to go play with my new D90!). Post whatever thoughts you all have on where we go from here!




RE: Where do we go from here?
By kelmon on 9/17/2008 12:31:41 PM , Rating: 2
Pencil me in for anything that reduces noise at high ISO values.

Softer drop-offs in light sensitivity at the extreme ends would be nice to mimic film to avoid blown highlights and preserve detail in the shadows.


RE: Where do we go from here?
By Shadowself on 9/17/2008 12:36:45 PM , Rating: 2
Sensor resolutions can and will continue to increase. There are sensors out there that have been 81+ MP for several years but have yet to find their way into anything but the very most expensive units. Leaf has had systems in the 30+ MP for several years for truly professional users.

Consumer and "prosumer" optics need to get better. The modulation transfer function of consumer optics can significantly improve.

Not only does the speed of consumer optics need to improve (lower F#s) but the one thing most people overlook is the lag between pressing the shutter release and completion of image capture. Sometimes this "time to first shot completion" exceeds 100 milliseconds. For fast moving imagery this is 100% unacceptable. Most consumers are NOT going to do what professionals do: anticipate the event and do continuous shots at the camera's highest rated speed hoping to get "the shot". Most consumers want to point and press the release at the appropriate moment. As just a simple example: think (grand) parents taking pictures of their grand children. We all know (grand) children rarely sit still and getting "the shot" before they move is important to them.


RE: Where do we go from here?
By sprockkets on 9/18/2008 3:45:57 AM , Rating: 2
Yes, but how big is the actual sensor? If it actually scans the picture in, it's worthless save for stills, and even then, that's crap.

4x3 film still rocks. It would take 100+ MP to match it. And at 100+ MP, how big would the file be, and how fast could it save it?


RE: Where do we go from here?
By SurreDeth on 9/17/2008 3:14:57 PM , Rating: 2
I think what we'll see next now that the megapixel boom is about to plateau out is a pixel depth boom, instead of a pixel representing 3 RGB octets we'll see camera that describe a pixel with much more depth, thus increasing the dynamic range of digital "film".


RE: Where do we go from here?
By 91TTZ on 9/18/2008 8:55:14 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
I absolutely agree with this (a dirty little secret of pro photographers is that they take tons of shots and you only see the very best).


Come on, is that really a secret? That's common sense. In any profession you try out lots of different things and you only implement/sell the ones which work best.


RE: Where do we go from here?
By Proxes on 9/18/2008 10:31:16 AM , Rating: 2
I don't understand how this is a secret? Wildlife photogs would shoot 6 or more rolls of film to get the one shot they were after (if they were lucky enough to get a great one).

Fashion photogs will shoot 100s if not 1000s of shots per session.

There's even techniques that use burst of shots. If you're shooting landscapes at low light without a tripod or mono-pod, you control your breathing and take 5 quick shots and use the ones in the middle, they should be the sharpest.

Then there's AEB.


The titile should be...
By jnmfox on 9/17/2008 12:18:26 PM , Rating: 2
5D not 50D




RE: The titile should be...
By Brandon Hill (blog) on 9/17/2008 12:20:41 PM , Rating: 2
It has been corrected.


RE: The titile should be...
By jnmfox on 9/17/2008 12:27:27 PM , Rating: 2
Thanks, at first I thought "Canon already updated the 50D even though they just released it!". Then I realized you meant the 5D. I guess I'm just easily confused :).


analog-to-digital conversion
By 16nm on 9/17/2008 4:15:25 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
14-bit analog-to-digital conversion

Why would this digital camera need to convert analog to digital? I thought the image begins digital and then stays that way.




By slashbinslashbash on 9/17/2008 7:58:25 PM , Rating: 2
Imaging sensors are considered analog devices.


A better upgrade than the 1DMK3
By SurreDeth on 9/17/2008 3:12:07 PM , Rating: 2
I've had a 1DMK2 for a couple years and wasn't excited much about the 1DMk3, but I've recently wanted to get into larger prints. Without having to shell out $7K for a 1DsMk3 the 5DMk2 looks like a great option, I put a deposit down for a pre-order this morning at my local camera shop.




By Tengu13 on 9/17/2008 10:43:59 PM , Rating: 2
A Panasonic HVX not too long ago had a limit of 4GB P2 cards and was limited to 720P or interpolated 1080P@24fps. Granted, the HVX has a lot of pro features like variable frame rates and the ability to shoot true slow motion, the 5D has a much larger sensor and access to better quality optics than any prosumer camera.

In the film world, you are limited by the size of your film magazines. Seeing how most scenes shot on film don't run beyond 10 minutes a cut, this is actually a bargain alternative to pricey prosumer HD cameras that can run up to $5K or more. All you need is a few memory cards, a storage medium to dump the footage on to, and a separate sound recorder. The only real limiting factor is the locked frame rate and its codec.

However, if people really want it, I'm sure someone could jerry rig the camera to capture raw images straight from the sensor before the compression stage. This has been done with the Panasonic DVX100 to get a bump in resolution and latitude.

If you keep all that in mind and the fact that this camera provides still images better than any HD camera on the market, the price point is ridiculously low.




By f4tb0y on 9/18/2008 4:32:32 AM , Rating: 2
Interesting pricing as ever

Body only price comparisons:

USD - US = 2,699 UK = 4,180 EUR = 4,316
GBP - US = 1,484 UK = 2,299 EUR = 2,373
EUR - US = 1,873 UK = 2,905 EUR = 2,999

It would probably pay to fly to the states have a weeks holiday and buy the camera.




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