Canon announces waterproof PowerShot D10--plus nine more cameras

One day after Fujifilm, Sony, and Samsung made their piddling four- and five-camera announcements, Canon blasts onto the pre-PMA scene with a whopping 10 new PowerShot cameras to announce today: Canon's first waterproof compact camera, the PowerShot D10; two new megazooms, the SX1 IS and SX200 IS; four new Digital Elph cameras, the SD970 IS, SD960 IS, SD780 IS, and SD1200 IS;and three additions to its PowerShot A-series, the A2100 IS, A1100 IS, and A480.

Canon PowerShot D10

Rather than going the budget route like Fujifilm (which announced a $199.95 model that's waterproof to 10 feet yesterday), Canon is setting its sights on more serious divers with the $329.99 D10, which is waterproof to 33 feet, temperature resistant from 14 to 104°F, and shockproof for drops of up to 4 feet. Though it will only be about $30 more than the Pentax Optio W60 currently sells for (when it ships in May), the D10's more durable specs pit it more closely against the Olympus Stylus Tough-8000, which currently sells for $399.99 and is also waterproof to 33 feet and freezeproof to 14°F (but shockproof up to 6.6 feet).  Here's a quick comparison of the specs:

	Canon PowerShot D10	Olympus Stylus Tough-8000
Resolution	12.1 megapixels	12 megapixels
Sensor Size	1/2.3 in	1/2.33 in
Lens	35-105mm equivalent, f/2.8-4.9	28–102mm equivalent, f/3.5-5.1
Waterproof/ Freezeproof/ Shockproof	33 feet/14°F/4 feet	33 feet/14°F/6.6 feet
ISO Range	80 to 1600	64 to 1600
LCD	2.5 in; 230,000 dots	2.7-in; 230,000 dots
Optical Viewfinder	No	No
Image Stabilization	Optical	Dual
Storage Media	SD/SDHC Memory Card, MultiMediaCard, MMC Plus Card, HC MMC Plus Card	xD-Picture Card (1GB, 2GB), microSD (adapter required)
Dimensions	4.08x2.63x1.92 in	3.7x2.4x0.85 in
Weight	6.7 oz	6.4 oz

Canon PowerShot SX1 IS and SX200 IS

While Canon actually released the PowerShot SX1 IS in Europe and Asia back at Photokina in September, today's announcement included the U.S. release of the CMOS-sensor megazoom (for a whopping $599.99 when it ships in April) along with the PowerShot SX200 IS ($349.99, available end of March), which slips into Canon's megazoom line between the $399.99 SX10 IS (announced alongside the SX1 IS at Photokina) and the $249.99 SX110 IS. The SX1 IS is similar to the SX10 IS, with the exception of its 10-megapixel CMOS sensor (vs. the SX10's 10-megapixel CCD), which also allows it to capture 1080p HD movies at 30 fps. Additionally, Canon added RAW support to the SX1 IS (via a firmware upgrade that is available to existing users) in time for the U.S. launch.

The SX200 IS has a much slimmer profile than its siblings and can shoot 720p HD video, positioning it to compete with other new compact megazooms such as the Panasonic Lumix DMC- ZS3. Like the Panasonic megazooms, the new Canons have moved to wider angle lenses, a welcome move in my book.  Herewith, a comparison of the three newest Canon megazooms.

	Canon PowerShot SX1 IS	Canon PowerShot SX200 IS	Canon PowerShot SX10 IS
Resolution	10 megapixels	12.1 megapixels	10 megapixels
Sensor	1/2.3-in, CMOS	1/2.3-in, CCD	1/2.3-in, CCD
Lens	28-560mm equivalent, f/2.8-5.7 (20x)	28–336mm equivalent, f/3.4-5.3 (12x)	28–560mm equivalent, f/2.8-5.7 (20x)
ISO Range	80 to 1600	80 to 1600	80 to 1600
LCD	2.8 in; 230,000 dots	3-in; 230,000 dots	2.5-in; 230,000 dots
Optical Viewfinder	Yes	No	Yes
RAW Support	Yes	No	No
Movie Mode	1,920x1,080/640×480/ 320×240 (30 fps)	1,280x720/640×480/ 320×240 (30 fps)	640×480/ 320×240 (30 fps)
Continuous Shooting	4 fps	0.8 fps	1.4 fps
Dimensions	5.02x3.48x3.45 in	4.06x2.38x1.48 in	4.88x3.48x3.42 in
Weight	20.6 oz	7.76 oz	19.8 oz
Price	$599.99	$349.99	$399.99

I'll follow up with more info on the new Canon Elphs and A-Series camera in a subsequent post.