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Clubs, bars, and small venues are the places where most concert and live music photographers get their start, the reason being that there are fewer restrictions since the performers are less likely to...
Canon today announced their first wireless digicam, the Powershot SD430 ( IXUS
wireless in Europe). It's a wireless version of the 5MP SD450. It's similar
in it's wireless capabilities to the recently announced Nikon P1 and P2. Wireless
transfer of images within a home or office to a suitably equiped printer of PC is
possible.
What it won't do is allow you to send images to a remote PC via a wireless
network, so you can't sit in your local Starbucks and wirelessly send images back
to your home. Maybe next year...
The camera can, however, be remotely operated from a distance of about 100ft.
You can monitor what it's seing via a video feed and fire the shutter via a
keyboard commend. I'm sure this ability has many uses, both innocent and
not-so-innocent!
Here's a copy of what Canon have to say about the camera:
LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y., Oct. 25, 2005 - Imagine taking a family portrait
from the living room and then wirelessly beaming that image to a printer in the
home office without ever having to leave your seat. Sound like magic? It's not.
With the sleek new PowerShot SD430 Digital ELPH Wireless digital camera,
consumers can get rid of that tangle of computer and printer wires around their
desk and take pictures more freely.
Perhaps the best thing about this new digital camera is not just that it's
wireless, but that it's so easy to use. All the user needs to do is connect the
supplied Wireless Print Adapter to a Canon PictBridge printer, such as the new
Canon SELPHY CP510 or CP710 models, and press the blue lit Print/Share button on
the back of the camera. Seconds later, the image is sent wirelessly to the
printer and a photo-lab quality print begins to emerge. How's that for a magic
trick?
Consumers can also wirelessly download images from this 5.0 megapixel, 3X optical
zoom digital camera to a compatible personal computer, or even operate the camera
remotely from as far away as 100 feet - pretty neat if you're a parent trying to
capture a nice candid portrait of a son, daughter or significant other when
they're not looking. The SD430 digital camera is also sure to be a hit at parties
where friends will be amazed as images are automatically transferred wirelessly
from the camera to a computer display while the party is still in full swing. A
straightforward user interface on the SD430 Digital ELPH makes using all the
wireless features on this digital camera a snap.
"With the new Canon PowerShot SD430 Digital ELPH Wireless model, we've built a
camera that takes the advances of wireless digital photography and makes them so
simple that users of all levels can enjoy them," said Yukiaki Hashimoto, senior
vice president and general manager of the Consumer Imaging Group at Canon U.S.A.,
Inc. "Paired with one of our PictBridge-compatible SELPHY or PIXMA Photo
Printers, this new wireless digital camera lets consumers easily shoot and print
freely without ever feeling tied down."
Wireless Made Easy
Since the Wireless Print Adapter WA-1N included with the SD430 Digital ELPH is
pre-registered on the camera as a connecting device, wireless printing requires
no initial setup. All the user needs to do is connect the adapter to a current
Canon SELPHY or PIXMA PictBridge printer and they're ready to go. Once they
select the image they want from the back of the camera, one more press of the
Print/Share button is all it takes to print wirelessly. When the print is
finished, they just pop the image into a frame and they have a great gift with
only minimal effort.
Using the IEEE802.11b Wi-Fi standard, the SD430 digital camera can transmit a
5.0 megapixel image file to a compatible Canon SELPHY or PIXMA Photo Printer at
high speed in approximately six seconds. With wireless direct printing using the
SD430 digital camera, consumers are freed from the trouble of connecting their
camera to a printer with a USB cable each time they want to print.
Images captured with the PowerShot SD430 digital camera can also be transferred
wirelessly to a PC equipped with a wireless LAN card or a wireless access point
device such as a router. When the camera is set for Auto Transfer, all the user
needs to do is take a picture. Within seconds, the resulting image appears on the
computer monitor at full screen magnification. When Auto Transfer is shut off,
images are transferred wirelessly to the PC using the camera's Print/Share
button. Users can even print their images wirelessly via the computer by camera
operation alone.
Candid Camera
Another cool trick on the SD430 digital camera is its ability to be remotely
operated when connected wirelessly to a PC, allowing the user to capture images
to the computer at distances up to 100 feet from the camera. The user can
actually track the action via a live, wireless video feed to the computer and
instruct the camera to take a picture just by pressing a button on the keyboard.
This feature is great for photographing a shy or reclusive subject. For instance,
a photographer could set the SD430 digital camera next to a bird feeder and track
the action on a computer, hitting the button at just the right moment when the
bird lands. The photographer could also bring the camera and a laptop out into
the woods and photograph wild animals from a distance without disturbing
them.
New Futuristic "Slit & Frame" Design
Along with its technical innovations, the new PowerShot SD430 Digital ELPH
Wireless sports a snazzy new design with sharp edges, a soft sloping shape and a
blinking blue light visible from the front or rear of the camera to indicate when
wireless transmission is occurring. The SD430 model's new "Slit & Frame"
design splits it into a camera section and an antenna section suggesting the
elegance of the DIGITAL ELPH line with the high-tech innovation of its wireless
capabilities.
Same Powerful Core Technology
Featuring the already proven 1/2.5-inch 5.0 megapixel CCD sensor from the Digital
ELPH SD400 and SD450 models, the SD430 uses many of the same key imaging features
including an ultra-small, high-quality 3X optical zoom lens which uses two "UA"
glass-mold aspherical lenses. The SD430 Digital ELPH Wireless features Canon's
exclusive Intelligent Orientation Sensor/9-point AiAF autofocus system that
allows the camera to automatically detect vertical or horizontal direction and
accurately detect and focus on subjects within the 9-point focusing frame.
DIGIC® II Image Processing Technology- Hi-Speed USB 2.0
True to the PowerShot tradition, the SD430 Digital ELPH Wireless digital camera
has many of the latest advances in Canon technology including the proprietary
DIGIC II imaging processor. The processor enhances picture definition, vibrancy
and quality, while helping increase the speed of the cameras' startup, autofocus,
shutter response, playback and image processing speed while reducing power
consumption by 35% compared to the original DIGIC chip. If the user would like to
send their images over a wired connection, image transfer speed is accelerated
(when used with a USB 2.0 compatible computer, printer or other peripheral),
thanks to the inclusion of a Hi-Speed USB 2.0 port. The USB 2.0 port is backwards
compatible (at no increased speed) with computers featuring standard USB 1.1
connections.
Print Photos in Seconds
Like all PowerShot digital cameras, the SD430 digital camera works seamlessly
with Canon's petite SELPHY Compact Photo Printers — an essential PowerShot
accessory. Consumers connect their PowerShot digital camera to a SELPHY printer
— such as the new SELPHY CP510, CP710 and CP600 models — press the
lighted Print/Share button, and within secondsi images emerge. Presto!
It's that simple. Canon's SELPHY Compact Photo Printers are PictBridge
compatible. They work with PictBridge enabled digital cameras and offer excellent
image quality and ease-of-use, especially when paired with a Canon digital
camera. At 28 cents-per-printii, printing photos directly from a
digital camera is both easy and affordable.
What's Included
The PowerShot SD430 Digital ELPH Wireless camera kit includes Wireless Print
Adapter WA-1N, Compact Power Adapter CA-DC20, Battery Pack NB-4L, Battery Charger
CB-2LV, Interface Cable IFC-400PCU, AV Cable AVC-DC300, Wrist Strap WS-600, SD
Memory Card SDC-16M and a set of instruction manuals as well as the Canon Digital
Camera Solution Disc Version 27, featuring the latest versions of Canon's
powerful software and ArcSoft PhotoStudio.
Pricing & Availability
The Canon PowerShot SD430 Digital ELPH Wireless digital camera is scheduled to be
available in the U.S. by the end of January 2006 at an estimated selling price of
$499.99.
Specifications
IMAGE SENSOR
Type
1/2.5" CCD
Effective Pixels
Approx. 5.0M
Colour Filter Type
Primary Colour
IMAGE PROCESSOR
Type
DIGIC II with iSAPS technology
LENS
Focal Length
5.8 - 17.4 mm (35mm film equivalent: 35
- 105mm)
Zoom
Optical 3.0x, digital approx. 4.0x,
combined approx. 12x
15 – 1/1,500 sec (Shutter speeds
of 1 sec. and more, available in Long Shutter Mode only. Shutter speeds of 1.3
sec. and more operate with noise reduction).
50cm - 3.5m (W) / 2.0m (T) (at ISO AUTO
equivalent)
External Flash
Canon's High Power Flash HF-DC1
SHOOTING
Modes
Auto, Manual, Digital Macro, Portrait,
Night Snapshot, Scene (Kids & Pets, Indoor, Foliage, Snow, Beach, Fireworks),
My Colors (9 settings), Stitch Assist, Movie
Photo Effects
Vivid, Neutral, Low Sharpening, Sepia,
Black & White, My Colors (9 settings)
Please be aware that the IXUS transmits using the "old" 802.11b standard, i.e. the Nikon P1 and P2 transmit pictures up to five (!) times faster using the "new" 802.11g standard.
"What it won't do is allow you to send images to a remote PC via a wireless network, so you can't sit in your local Starbucks and wirelessly send images back to your home. Maybe next year..."
Not on its own, no. However, transfering files manualy over a wireless network to a remote computer is not impossible. Off hand, I don't know of any program that will do that automatically, but one idea would be to run a FTP server at home and upload files to it. It would need to be passworded protected, you might even want to tunnel it over SSH...
Sorry, I was in geek land for a second. :)
Anywhy, you can look it up on google, or (and this might be faster) ask your local computer geek.
, December 19, 2005; 10:01 A.M. 