The PowerShot S300 Digital ELPH is Canon’s second ultra-compact digital camera. In addition to its high-resolution, and retractable 3x zoom lens, the S300 offers a number of new and improved features including: direct print capabilities from the new Canon Card Photo Printer CP-10; 20 frame-per-second movie clips with audio at selectable resolutions up to 640×480 pixels; shutter speeds from 1 second to 1/1500 second; an adaptive primary color filter for improved color reproduction; a choice of nine image quality modes; automatic exposure sensitivity adjustment; a high-output light guide flash; and a new high-speed digital signal processing IC with low power consumption.

A new digital signal processing IC in the PowerShot S300 enables high-speed image processing and rapid data transfer through the cameras’ USB interface. The PowerShot S300 takes advantage of this feature by offering a Direct Print mode that enables users to print hard-copy images using Canon’s new CP-10 dye-sublimation printer. The CP-10 makes printing from digital files simple and fun by allowing users to control all print settings directly from the camera’s LCD monitor. Printer data is then transferred to the CP-10 directly through a dedicated interface cable. The new, ultra-compact printer produces beautiful, 300 x 300 dpi credit card-sized color prints in as little as 56 seconds. The CP-10 can also be used to print eight miniature copies of the same image on one sticker sheet, adding a new dimension of fun for everyone. Each sticker measures approximately 0.9″ x 0.7″.

The Canon PowerShot S300 can record movie clips with audio at 20 frames per second in any of three resolution modes: 640×480, 320×240 or 160×120. PowerShot S300 movie clips are recorded as QuickTime AVI files, with the image data saved in the Motion JPEG format and the sound in the WAVE format. The video portion of the PowerShot S300 movies can be replayed on the camera’s LCD monitor. Full audio-video playback is possible with a connected TV monitor or a compatible PC after downloading. Downloaded movie clips can be edited, saved, and sent to others via e-mail using the PowerShot S300’s bundled software.

The elegant stainless-steel body styling of the PowerShot S300 is based on the popular PowerShot S100, but the S300 features a new 3X (equivalent to 35-105mm in the 35mm format) f/2.7-4.7 lens including aspherical lens elements. The body dimensions and weight of the S300 are slightly larger than the S100 at 3.7 x 2.5 x 1.2″ and 8.5 ounces, but the PowerShot S300 is still the world’s smallest 2.1 megapixel digital camera with a 3X zoom lens. The Digital ELPH features a 0.37″, 2.1 megapixel CCD sensor that creates full color or black-and-white images up to 1600×1200 pixels when set to the camera’s Large mode. The camera also offers an additional settings of 1024×768 and 640×480 when set in the Middle or Small modes, which are ideal for on-screen applications, such as Web sites and CD-ROMs and allow more images to be recorded on a single CompactFlash memory card. The new camera is compatible with Type I CompactFlash Cards and will be shipped with an 8MB CF card.

Bundled with a comprehensive suite of programs enabling image management, editing, compositing and printing, the PowerShot S300 comes with ArcSoft PhotoImpression and VideoImpression software plus Apple QuickTime 4.1, Canon RemoteCapture 1.3, and PhotoStitch 3.1 for both Macintosh and Windows, as well as Canon ZoomBrowser EX 2.6, PhotoRecord 1.2 and WIA and TWAIN for Windows, plus ImageBrowser 1.6 and a Photoshop-compatible plug-in for the Mac. Features integrated in both ZoomBrowser EX 2.6 and ImageBrowser 1.6 include TimeTunnel and SlideShowMaker. When using ZoomBrowser EX 2.6 or ImageBrowser 1.6, users can take advantage of new and improved features for auto layout printing, self-running full-screen slide shows, and automated preparation of images for use as e-mail attachments. ZoomBrowser EX and Image Browser simplifies the process of emailing photos by automatically compressing the image and starting the email program.