The Canon Color imageCLASS MF8350Cdn is tailored with sophisticated features and high-quality imaging to meet your small business needs. In today’s office environment, keeping your costs low is essential for a successful business. The MF8350Cdn delivers fast and accurate printing with Canon’s Quick First Print technology. Multi-page documents are ready in a short amount of time with print speeds of up to 21 pages-per-minute (ppm) in full color and black and white.

Designed for ease-of-use, the MF8350Cdn features an Auto-Duplex function with the ability to print, copy, and fax two-sided documents from single-sided originals. It is outfitted with a front-loading design that provides easy access to the control panel and paper sources. In-line cartridges can also be retrieved from the front of the machine for hassle-free replacement. A large LCD with graphic display provides guided user animation within the display that simplifies once complex tasks with illustrated on-screen instructions. Carry your important information with you by saving scanned documents to a USB removable media. Connect the USB removable media to the USB port located conveniently in the front of the machine to scan your letter, statement, or legal-sized documents. The Superior Color Imaging technology featured in the MF8350Cdn captures fine details with remarkable tone-on-tone clarity, helping images stay true to the original.

Canon Pure Black Technology ensures the richest blacks by utilizing only the black toner instead of traditional methods of combining toner colors. Running a successful business requires you to spend your time doing more important tasks than constantly refilling your printer with paper. The smart paper handling of the MF8350Cdn includes a 250-sheet cassette, 50-sheet multipurpose tray, and an optional 250-sheet cassette for your convenience. For added flexibility and user-convenience, the Color imageCLASS MF8350Cdn is equipped with unique features, such as: ID card copy, auto fax forwarding, and searchable PDF. The MF8350Cdn uses approximately 3 watts of energy during Energy Saving Mode and meets Energy Star guidelines, saving you money on energy costs. And like many imageCLASS products, the MF8350Cdn is part of the generation green program, Canon’s initiative to reduce environmental burdens in all stages of a product’s life-cycle.

Designed for ease-of-use, the MF8350Cdn features an Auto-Duplex function with the ability to print, copy, and fax two-sided documents from single-sided originals**. It is outfitted with a front-loading design that provides easy access to the control panel and paper sources. In-line cartridges can also be retrieved from the front of the machine for hassle-free replacement. A large LCD with graphic display provides guided user animation within the display that simplifies once complex tasks with illustrated on-screen instructions. Carry your important information with you by saving scanned documents to a USB removable media. Connect the USB removable media to the USB port located conveniently in the front of the machine to scan your letter, statement, or legal-sized documents.

The Superior Color Imaging Technology featured in the MF8350Cdn captures fine details with remarkable tone-on-tone clarity, helping images stay true to the original. Canon Pure Black Technology ensures the richest blacks by utilizing only the black toner instead of traditional methods of combining toner colors.

The Canon Digital IXUS 980 IS (also known as the PowerShot SD990 IS Digital ELPH in North America) is the first-ever Digital IXUS / ELPH camera to offer a true manual mode, instantly appealing to all those DSLR owners looking for a pocketable second camera. Other highlights include a 14.7 megapixel sensor, a stabilised, 36-133mm equivalent, 3.7x optical zoom lens, a 2.5-inch, 230,000-dot LCD, a zoom-coupled optical viewfinder, a QuickShot mode, a live histogram, Servo AF, i-Contrast, Face Detection and a Face Self-Timer function. The Canon Digital IXUS 980 IS is available in silver, black and, in some markets, red as well, for a recommended price of £349.99 / $399.99 / €459.99. Zoltan Arva-Toth discovers if the range-topping Canon Digital IXUS 980 IS is the best-ever IXUS / ELPH.

The menu system is logical and fairly straightforward. Once you get used to the way Canon menus work then you can use any Canon camera. The camera lets you choose the image size (14.7m, 9m, 5m, 2m, VGA, Widescreen 4416 x 2480), aspect ratio (4:3, or Widescreen), and how much compression is applied to the images (Superfine, Fine, Normal). Higher quality images take a large amount of memory, so a high capacity memory card is definitely recommended, unless you’re prepared to sacrifice image size or compression to fit more pictures in memory. Battery life is rated at approx. 280 shots according to CIPA standards. I was able to take over 320 shots before the battery went flat. Battery life will be dependent on the kind of use you make of the camera. A large memory card is relatively cheap, and highly recommended, I would recommend at a bare minimum a 2gb memory card, if you intend to take fine JPEG images, and preferably a 4gb memory card, or larger.

One thing that hasn’t changed from the 960 IS is the stabilised, 36-133mm equivalent, 3.7x zoom lens that sits fully retracted into the body when the camera is switched off, but extends very rapidly upon power up. The maximum aperture is a fast f/2.8 at the wide end but a slow f/5.8 at the other extreme of the zoom range. In Manual mode – which of course was missing from the 960 IS – you have a choice of using the lens at full aperture or dialing in an f-stop that’s approximately 3 stops slower. You don’t get anything in between the two values, and the reason, I believe, is that there is probably no iris diaphragm built into the lens. So whenever choosing the ’smaller aperture’, what you do is simply engage a built-in neutral density filter. To test my theory, I took two shots at the telephoto end, one at the maximum aperture of f/5.8, and another one at the other selectable f-stop of f/16. The depth of field in the two photographs turned out to be identical, suggesting that stopping down did not affect the physical size of the aperture. Using an internal ND filter instead of a diaphragm actually makes some sense in a camera that has a small sensor – diffraction would eat away at details if you used ‘real’ f/16 anyway. The downside is that it limits manual control over exposure – fortunately, you still have two other variables (shutter speed and sensitivity) to play with.

The PowerShot SX10 IS is equipped with a 20x optical zoom lens with a focal length of 5.0-100mm (35mm film equivalent: 28-560mm) that allows you to shoot any scene from wide-angle to telephoto. The camera uses a VCM (Voice Coil Motor) for high-speed, quiet, energy-efficient lens movement with precise control. Focal length is conveniently indicated on the lens barrel.

The lens is optimized to fully exploit its zoom length and wide shooting angle in concert with the camera’s high 10.0-megapixel resolution. UD glass effectively suppresses chromatic aberration, while enhanced negative refractive power ensures that distortion at the wide-angle is also corrected. Further aberration is controlled with the inclusion of a double-sided aspherical glass-molded lens and ultra-high refraction index lens.

Keeping a mostly similar design to the S5, the SX10 follows in its footsteps as a very comfortable to hold and shoot camera, retaining perks like the articulated LCD and four AA-powered operation. It’s a little heavier, 1.5 pounds, which makes it feel like a dSLR, but the big grip gives you plenty of holding room. While it offers the same set of manual, semimanual, and automatic controls, they’re differently designed and laid out. Gone is the multifunction power switch, leaving a plain old button in its wake. Now you have a more traditional button to jump into review mode; it sits near the indented thumb rest on the back, joined by the exposure compensation and focus area selection buttons. Unfortunately, the labels, light blue on gray, are pretty difficult to see in dim light and can be obscured by the glare off the iridescent plastic in bright.

On the right side of the back is a dial concentric to a four-way navigation switch with the function button in the middle. Canon uses this control layout for some of its recent compact point-and-shoots, and in many ways it’s a vast improvement over the S5’s configuration. But while I generally like the controls, the dial feels too mushy. It doesn’t respond appropriately, and it feels like it needs to spin too far or not as far for any given operation. As a result, for example, I frequently overshot desired shutter speeds. Perhaps it just takes more getting used to than I had time for, but it really feels like it needs better tactile feedback. The zoom switch didn’t feel terribly exact either. While that’s a typical problem with stepped zooms (these lenses don’t really cover a continuous zoom range, instead stopping at a series of preset distances), the SX10’s felt even less accurate than usual, likely because of the wide range it has to cover. I expect to see this problem even more as we test this year’s 24x and 26x lenses.

The G10 is the third incarnation of Canon’s flagship ‘prosumer’ compact since the G series was reinvented with the G7 in 2006. Announced two years after the G6, the G7 caused quite a buzz; partly because everyone had presumed the budget SLR had killed off this sector of the market, partly because it lacked several of what had become G series trademarks (fast lens, tilting screen, raw mode, secondary LCD panel), and it would be fair to say the response was ‘mixed’. The G9 went some way towards placating the critics, reintroducing raw mode and improving handling, but it still suffered from the fundamental problem that the sensor inside couldn’t deliver on what the fantastic camera promised on the outside.

When we reviewed the G9 last year, we praised it for the styling, handling and build and for its excellent output at low ISO settings. The G10 builds on this by adding handling and control refinements, improving the LCD resolution, and, most importantly, adding a wider lens starting at 28mm (equiv.). It also retains the rangefinder styling and solid build quality, and reduces the amount of silver accents on the camera. All the external controls have been carried over, and a new one has been added (a very useful exposure compensation dial).

Handling the number crunching is Canon’s latest DIGIC 4 processor which brings a number of enhancements to the camera, including more efficient H.264 compression for video (albeit still in standard definition), improved face detection, a new self-timer option which exploits face detection to wait for the photographer to enter the frame, motion detection, a new Servo AF mode, and i-Contrast which can boost shadow areas in images.

The screen remains a 3in model, but Canon’s upgraded the resolution from 230k to 460k pixels, allowing it to display much finer detail in composition and playback, along with allowing much smoother menu fonts. The new screen also has a very wide viewing angle.

The primary reason to buy a camera like this, however, is the photo quality, and here the G10 doesn’t disappoint. Color and exposures are great. There’s some wide-angle distortion at the 28mm-equivalent maximum, but photos have very good center and edge-to-edge sharpness at longer focal lengths. ISO 80 and 100 produce relatively pristine images and if you’re alert to it, you’ll see some noise-suppression artifacts starting at ISO 200. But photos look quite usable up to and including ISO 400; at ISO 800 they get visibly soft. (For more on photo quality, click through the slide show.)
Though I can’t yet compare it with competitors like the Nikon Coolpix P6000 or the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3, users of the G9 or previous models who want the higher resolution and who won’t miss the extra lens reach won’t be disappointed. Only the mixed performance–not bad, just not as fast as it should be for the price–brings down its overall rating. And even if the Canon PowerShot G10 eventually turns out to not be best-in-class for whatever reason, it’s still a great camera.

The primary advantages of having a digital sensor the same size (24×36mm) as a frame of 35mm film are (1) higher image quality, especially in terms of noise and especially in lower light situations, and (2) the ability to use very wide angle lenses. The only disadvantage to having a full-frame sensor compared to a small-sensor digital SLR body (Canon Digital Rebel or any Nikon) is that the small-sensor effectively increases the magnification of telephoto lenses, which can be useful when you are doing sports or bird photography. Of course, the resolution of the 5D is so high that you could pull out the central 8 MP of a Canon EOS 5D image and it would be almost as though you had taken the photo with a Canon 30D or Digital Rebel.

If you are a wide-angle junkie and have a bunch of older Canon EOS lenses designed for film cameras, you’ll love having the EOS 5D. The small sensor Canon bodies turn an exciting 20mm wide angle lens into a boring 30mm perspective. With the 5D, what you got with your 20mm lens on the film camera is what you get with the 5D.

At around $3000, the Canon EOS 5D is currently the lowest cost full 35mm frame DSLR available. In fact it’s the lowest price full frame DSLR that ever has been available. The EOS 1Ds Mk II sells for in the region of $7200 and right now that’s the only other option for a full frame 35mm DSLR. The Kodak 14c had a pretty short life which perhaps say ssomething about it’s practicality and problems with noise and speed of operation. The EOS 5D is not only cheaper, but a far more practical camera with better usability. much faster operation and an ISO range from 50 to 3200 with good image quality.

The EOS 5D will likely be regarded as something of a landmark camera and shows how much digital technology has advanced in only a few years. The first “affordable” DSLR was the Canon EOS D30, a 3MP APS-C sensor camera which sold for $3000+ in October 2000 (Original price 380,000 yen). In only 5 years (October 2005) we now have a 12.7 MP full frame camera selling for about the same price ($3000). In another 5 years I would not be surprised to see a 15MP full frame camera selling for under $1500. However the 5D will be seen as the “full frame” breakthrough camera, just as the D30 is seen as the first really practical and affordable DSLR. 5 years prior to that all you could get was a 1.3MP DCS 3, and it would have cost you almost 2,000,000 yen (almost $20,000) or a 6MP DCS 1 selling for 3,600,000 yen (upwards of $30,000). I’m sure the rate of progress is slowing down now as the technology matures, but it certainly hasn’t stopped!