Canon Digital Camera

Whether you want a compact or a single lens reflex camera, you should be able to find a Canon digital camera to meet your needs. In fact there is so much choice when it comes to the Canon digital camera you'll have to consider every option carefully, before you decide which Canon digital camera to buy.

The company, originally called Seiki-Kogaku Kenkyusho, has a "museum" on its web site where you can see a line-up of their cameras that have been released over the years. See http://www.canon.com/camera-museum/. The very first was the Kwanon, a 35 mm focal-plane shutter rangefinder prototype first released in1933. At the time, the two German companies, Leica and Contax were already well-established manufacturers of top quality 35 mm cameras.

The company first released digital compact cameras in 1986, and these were released in Japan, the Americas, Europe, Asia and Oceania. The very first was the RC-701 that had 780 pixels (not even one MP) horizontally, and recorded its images on a special floppy disk that could record up to 50 images. Just two years later it produced the RC-760 which had a 600,000 pixel CCD (charge-coupled device) image sensor and greatly improved functions.

Today, the company's compact variation is called the PowerShot, but there are many different models, each with different features to meet different needs. For example, the PowerShot G11, launched in the second half of 2009 combines a 10 MP high-sensitivity sensor with a wide-angle zoom lens and a 2.8 inch or 71 mm LCD that has variable angles. The PowerShot S90, launched at the same time, is a bit more down-market, designed for "powerful everyday shooting".

Their first PowerShot, the 600, produced what was then considered "high image quality" from a mere 570,000 pixel CCD. Launched in 1996, it could also accommodate a converter (equivalent to a 28 mm lens) that could be used to take wide angle shots. They've come a long way since then.

Canon's digital single lens reflex (D-SLR) cameras came later than the compact sort, the first models being released in 1995. The first in America was high technology for the time, with all of 1.3 MP. The first in Europe was described as "top-notch" and it had 6 MP. It was punted as ideal for press photographers working for newspapers and magazines because it saved on cost and time (in terms of film). It was also recommended for high image quality catalogue and pamphlets.

Until the mid 2000s, the company lead the market in terms of sales of D-SLRs. It seems that they are now neck and neck with Nikon. But you really can't go wrong with a Canon digital camera.