I was invited to the blogger session of Canon’s First Product Launch for 2011 at the brand new Canon Imaging Academy (CIA) which is just located right beside their office at Keppel Bay Tower!

The CIA will focus on developing new curricula, courses, and events that will enhance the imaging experience of programme participants. Courses planned for 2011 include basic photography, intermediate photography, strobist, studio lighting, creative photography and editing with DPP courses. The CIA will also introduce videography courses in 2011 to meet the increasing demand of enthusiasts who enjoy creating movies using Canon’s LEGRIA camcorders. For those who prefer a greater emphasis on hands-on experience, the CIA will also offer photography outings and overseas photo clinics. Each of the courses are designed to suit the varying skill-levels of participants from beginners to intermediate.

The CIA is part of the expansion and restructuring of Canon’s current facility, the Canon Digital Lab. The Canon Digital Lab was launched in 2004 and has benefited more than 150,000 people to date. It will continue to focus on providing free product-familiarisation sessions to get users up to speed with their Canon products, and serve as a satellite showroom where services include the redemption of free gifts-with-purchases.

Press Release: Engage, Educate and Enrich @ the Canon Imaging Academy

There are a total of 27 new products that is being launch from the IXUS/PowerShot Series, EOS Series, LEGRIA Series, XA Series (new), EF Lenses, Speedlite Flashes and PIXMA Series.

Some of which is available today onwards at the IT Show 2011 at Suntec City like the IXUS 115 HS, EOS 600D, LEGRIA FS46, LEGRIA FS406, LEGRIA HF R26, LEGRIA HF R28, LEGRIA HF R28, LEGRIA HF M400, LEGRIA HF M41.
IXUS And PowerShot Series

  • IXUS 310 HS (Price: TBA) (Availability: End March 2011)

    The successor to the popular IXUS 300 HS, with its F2.0 wide aperture which enables faster shutter speed to prevent camera shake, while blurring the background to make the subject stand out. Additional modes such as Aperture Prority (Av) and Shutter Priority (Tv) have been added to the IXUS 310 HS.

  • IXUS 220 HS (S$399)
  • IXUS 115 HS (S$299)
  • PowerShot SX 230 HS (Price: TBA) (Availability: End March 2011)

    The PowerShot SX 230 HS boasts a telephoto lens of 14x optical zoom, thus providing users a focal range of 28mm to 392mm, making them ideal for either close-ups or wide shots. It comes with a built-in Global Positioning System (GPS) feature with geo-tagging that allows users to easily tag and identify photographs from anywhere in the world. It also features the Canon HS System, allowing for sharp and stunning photos to be taken under challenging light conditions.

  • PowerShot A3300 IS (S$299)
  • PowerShot A3200 IS (S$249)
  • PowerShot A2200 (S$199)
  • PowerShot A1200 (S$169)

Press Release: Canon refreshes the IXUS and PowerShot range of cameras, places photography in everyone’s hands

EOS Series

  • EOS 600D Body (S$1,199)
  • EOS 600D Kit I (EF S18-55 IS II) (S$1,399)
  • EOS 600D Kit II (EF S18-135IS) (S$1,749)
  • EOS 1100D with EF 18-55mm IS II Kit Lens (Price: TBA) (Availability: Late March 2011)

    EOS 1100D come equipped with Basic+, a new feature designed to help users in achieving fuss-free and higher quality images. With Basic+, photography is simplified as users can opt for simpler settings like “warm”, “soft” or “vivid”. The camera will then adjust its settings to achieve the desired settings. For those who prefer conventional options, settings such as “color saturation” or “white balance” are still available.

    The EOS 1100D comes with a 2.7-inch, 230,000 dot Wide Angle Viewing TFT LCD and is able to capture HD movies at 1280 x 720 resolution.

    A new design element is the availability of four colors for the EOS 1100D. The camera is available in red, brown, metallic grey and black, and will ship with matching straps.

Press Release: Canon redefines DSLR photography for the masses

LEGRIA Series

  • LEGRIA FS46 (S$599)
  • LEGRIA FS406 (S$499)
  • LEGRIA HF R26 (S$849)
  • LEGRIA HF R28 (S$1,049)
  • LEGRIA HF M400 (S$1,149)
  • LEGRIA HF M41 (S$1,449)
  • LEGRIA HF G10 (Price: TBA) (Availability: TBA)

    This camcorder features an 8-blade iris providing smooth background blur and reduced lens diffraction. The lens also includes a dedicated manual-focus ring for enhanced control. A Custom Key and Dial can also be used to assign commonly used functions for quick and easy access. The LEGRIA HF G10 also comes with 32GB of internal flash memory and dual SDXC-compatible card slots which allow for simultaneous card recording enabling users to create immediate back-up.

  • LEGRIA HF S30 (Price: TBA) (Availability: TBA)

    This camcorder captures Full HD 1920 x 1080 video and features a Canon 10x HD Video Lens and a Canon 1/2.6-inch, 8.59-megapixel Full HD CMOS Image Sensor for stunning video and outstanding eight megapixel photos. Equipped with 32GB of internal memory and two SDXC-compatible card slots, the camcorder features Canon’s 3.5-inch High Resolution (922,000-dot) Touch Panel LCD screen and a color viewfinder. It also includes a host of professional features such as color bars and selectable Zebra patterns, a built-in Remote Control Terminal (which supports LANC protocol), and Native 24p recording.

Press Release: Inspiring budding movie makers with the new Cinema Style in Canon’s latest LEGRIA camcorders

XA Series (Portable Professional Camcorder)
The XA10 combines the power of a professional video camera with the convenient and compact form factor of a consumer camcorder

  • XA10 (Price: TBA) (Availability: April 2011)

    • AVCHD Flash Memory Camcorder
    • 64GB internal Flash Memory with dual memory card slots
    • HD CMOS Pro imaging sensor
    • 30.4mm wide angle 10x zoom lens
    • 8 bladed iris aperture
    • Detachable Handle unit with XLR connectors (x2), microphone holder, cold shoe, handle zoom, start/stop button, tally lamp, IR light & sound adjustments
    • Infra-Red camera supported (built-in IR light, IR cut-off filter
    • Full manual controls
    • Focus Ring, Custom key and Dial, assignable buttons
    • Auto Dynamic Range Control
    • Cinema-Look Filters
    • Story Creator
    • Touch Decoration
    • Medium-speed AF
    • Sliding Electronic Viewfinder display 0.24″ (approx. 260 000 dots)
    • High quality built-in microphone
    • Face detection technology with Face-only AF
    • Smart Auto mode
    • Video snapshot mode with sound mixing & ratings
    • Pixella ImageMixer software featuring direct to web video uploading
    • Simultaneous Dual slot recording

Press Release: Designed for Mobility, Built for Hollywood – Canon launches the First of a New Portable Professional Camcorder Series – the XA10

EF Lenses

  • EF 600mm F/4L IS II USM (Price: TBA) (Availability: TBA)

    Built from magnesium alloy constructions with titanium components, it has a 27% reduction (1.4kg) in weight compared to its predecessor.

  • EF 500mm F/4L IS II USM (Price: TBA) (Availability: TBA)

    Built from magnesium alloy constructions with titanium components, it has a 17% reduction (680g) in weight compared to its predecessor.

  • EF-S 18-55mm F/3.5-5.6 IS II (bundled with EOS 600D and EOS1100D kits)

    Designed as the successor to the EF-S 18-55mm F/3.5-5.6 IS, the EF-S 18-55mm F/3.5-5.6 IS II includes an optimised control algorithm that has been aligned with the Image Stabilizer structure and characteristics, achieving image stabilisation equivalent to approximately four shutter-speed stops.

Speedlite Flashes

  • Speedlite 320EX (S$389) (Availability: TBA)

    Built with a Video Light function, it enable users to illuminate low light scenes continuously when capturing HD video. Specially created for the new EOS 1100D and EOS 600D, the Speedlite 320EX has an Auto Light mode which ensures that the LED light automatically turns on or off according to the ambient light of the scene when in Movie mode.

    An LED flash offers a guide number of 32 (m/ISO 100), as well as the ability to change the flash coverage from 24mm to 50mm by manually extending or retracting the flash head. The flash head can also be rotated for more flexible bounce (flash) shooting, creating a wider variety of lighting effects.

    It also features the Remote Release functionality, allowing users to trigger their camera from the flash.

  • Speedlite 270EX II (S$269) (Availability: TBA)

    It is a high-power flash with a guide number of 27 (m/ISO 100) and fast, silent recycling between shots. Flash settings can be manually controlled through the camera menu system. It has an additional slave capability, allowing for creative, off-camera use. A new Remote Release function also wirelessly triggers the shutter release on a compatible EOS DSLR.

Press Release: Setting New Benchmarks: Canon Launches Three New EF Lenses and Two EX Speedlites

PIXMA Series

  • PIXMA iX6560 (S$499) (Availability: End April)

    The PIXMA iX6560 represents the best of a dedicated A3+ size office printer, printing ultra-sharp quality prints of up to 9600 x 2400 dpi by deploying microscopic droplets as small as 1 pico-litre, which is virtually grain-free.

    Canon has adopted the new ISO/IEC 24734 print speed standard, which means the PIXMA iX6560 can print a borderless 4×6” photo in 36 seconds and print photos up to A3+ size in 2 minutes.

    This printer can also achieve document print speeds of approximately 11.3ipm and 8.8ipm for monochrome and color documents respectively.

Press Release: Size does matter: Go beyond basic printing with the PIXMA iX6560 inkjet business printer