Canon’s PowerShot Elph 500 HS, 300 HS and 100 HS Rebrand the Line

Camera Review

Lake Success, NY—Helping consumers to better capture the moment, even when it’s dimly lit, Canon USA introduced four PowerShot digital cameras: the PowerShot SX230 HS, Elph 500 HS, Elph 300 HS and Elph 100 HS models.

All four come equipped with Canon’s HS system “for exceptional shooting in low-light,” Full HD 1080p video recording capabilities, the new movie digest mode and 32 smart auto scenes.

“Canon’s core philosophy when launching a camera product is to discover new and innovative ways to redefine the photographic experience,” said Yuichi Ishizuka, executive vice president and general manager, Imaging Technologies and Communications Group, Canon USA. “Consumers are always looking for the most advanced technologies and these new PowerShot models combine the high-level features and overall functionality the end-user has been seeking.”

Rebranding the PowerShot Elph

Showcasing the evolution of the Elph brand, these new models have now instituted a “HS” suffix to represent the inclusion of the HS system in each model. The renaming of the Elph line will help to better correlate with Canon’s newest capabilities in its PowerShot digital cameras while retaining the Elph’s popular identity.

Introduced last year, the HS system is a technology used to enhance image quality in low-light situations without the need for a flash. Making up the system in these new Elphs are Canon’s Digic 4 image processor and a high-sensitivity CMOS sensor, which help to reduce noise at high ISO levels and expand the cameras’ dynamic range to capture greater detail and color in images in darker settings. With the use of the HS system, consumers are said to be able to capture “clearer images with less noise and blur, resulting in brilliant, sharp images.”

The PowerShot Elph 500 HS, Elph 300 HS and Elph 100 HS feature Full HD 1080p video with dynamic image stabilizer to help fight blurring, as well as movie digest mode, which allows consumers to shoot a short video before capturing a still image and then combine a full day’s worth of videos into one clip.

To help make photography easier, these Elphs provide an advanced smart auto mode with 32 different shooting scenes. Smart auto is helpful since the camera will automatically select settings that match the scene without the need to switch modes. And tracking desired objects on a screen is now also simpler with the advanced subjection detection feature that has been added to the smart auto function. By pressing the shutter button, the advanced subject detection automatically identifies certain objects, like a fish in an aquarium. After pressing the shutter button, the servo autofocus/autoexposure continues to function and the focus and exposure of the moving subject continues to be tracked, making it possible to shoot without the subject passing by.

For those who want to add more creativity to their photography, Canon included a toy camera and a monochrome effect to the scene mode category for all three new Elphs. Toy camera adds a grainy, blurred look to soften photos, illustrating an old-school 1960′s appearance; monochrome mode can make a photo either have black-and-white, blue or sepia tones, displaying a more antiqued appearance.

Available in silver, brown and pink, the PowerShot Elph 500 HS features a 3.2-inch wide, intuitive, touch-panel LCD screen. It also boasts a bright f/2.0 lens, enabling users to take photos without a flash and resulting in a more natural look while providing greater depth of field. The camera also has a 12.1 megapixel high-sensitivity CMOS sensor along with a 4.4x optical zoom with optical image stabilizer and an ultra-wide-angle 24mm-equivalent lens.

The PowerShot Elph 300 HS has a 12.1MP HS CMOS sensor, a 5x optical zoom, ultra-wide-angle 24mm-equivalent lens and a 2.7-inch LCD screen. It is offered in red, black and silver.

The PowerShot Elph 100 HS possesses a 12.1MP HS CMOS sensor, a 4x optical zoom, wide-angle 28mm-equivalent lens and 3.0-inch LCD screen. It comes in blue, gray, pink, silver and orange.

Canon’s PowerShot Elph 500 HS is scheduled to be available at the end of March for the estimated retail price of $299.99; the PowerShot Elph 300 HS 100 HS digital cameras will be available mid-March for $249.99 and $199.99, respectively. usa.canon.com