Compact Camera News

We always like it when photographers and other creatives use low-end camera gear to achieve high-end results.

Lots of photographers are obsessed with gear, as in, the best gear, the most expensive gear, the newest gear. But does it really matter? Would you be able to take a great photo with a cheap camera from over a decade ago?

Canon announced today it is commemorating the 80th anniversary of its very first camera: the Kwanon. Initially produced in prototype form in 1934, the Kwanon was Japan’s first 35mm focal-plane-shutter camera.

Canon unveiled a premium portable camera at photokina this morning: the 20MP PowerShot G7 X, which uses a large (for a compact model) 1-inch CMOS image sensor and features a multi-angle (up to 180°), flip-up, 3-inch touch capacitive, rear LCD panel with 1,040K dots of resolution.

Canon just introduced the new PowerShot SX740 HS compact digital camera, which has a 40x optical zoom lens (equivalent to 24-960mm), a 20.3MP CMOS imaging sensor and 4K video capabilities, a first in the PowerShot camera series, according to Canon USA.

For a compact camera, the Canon PowerShot G1 X Mark II has a large image sensor; in fact, it is slightly larger than the sensor found in Micro Four Thirds cameras. The G1 X II offers a moderate resolution of 13 megapixels, with maximum resolution in images with an aspect ratio of 4:3. By default, however, the camera is set to an aspect ratio of 3:2 that delivers slightly less image resolution.

In the report on the Canon PowerShot G11 (April, 2010, available at www.shutterbug.com) I concluded by saying that it was “an excellent traveling companion.” Ditto on the new G12 ($499, MSRP), the latest iteration of the Canon “G” line of integral lens cameras aimed at the photo enthusiast. In fact, you could ditto many of the form, function, and features of the G12 with the G11, so I will not...