It has been a very busy past few days for Canon, with the Japanese imaging company announcing a number of new cameras, with certainly the most exciting being its smallest and lightest full frame yet – the EOS 6D.

 

Much like Nikon’s new D600, this full frame camera comes in cheaper than the available full frame models, while also cutting down on bulk. In fact, Canon calls the 6D the world’s lightest full frame CMOS sensor camera, pulling the scales at a manageable 770 g.

 

Canon SA believes that the 6D should retail in the range of R21 000, which puts it way below the full frame Canon 5D Mark III’s R34 000, but above the prosumer 7D, which commands in the region of R14 000. It should be available end-October/mid-November locally.

 

Apart from the 20.2 megapixel 35 mm sensor the 6D also includes both Wi-Fi and GPS connectivity. While GPS allows you to tag photos with exact location data, the Wi-Fi connectivity (as featured on Canon’s PowerShot 240 HS and Ixus 240 HS) makes it easy to wirelessly transfer photos to PC, smartphones or the cloud.  

 

As on the Canon EOS 5D Mark III, you’ll find the Digic 5+ processor onboard, while a 3” Clear View LCD screen at the back features an excellent 1 040 k dot resolution which should make playback or using Live View to compose images a pleasure. Also included is a native ISO range of ISO 100-25,600 (extendable to 50-102,400), and a 11-point AF system that the company says offers the strongest low light performance of any Canon AF system to date.

 

 

Canon has also not disappointed fans of their compact cameras, providing updates to two of their strongest product ranges – the PowerShot G-series and the PowerShot S-series.

 

After seeing the impressive PowerShot G1 x stirring the market with a larger sized sensor, Canon now picks up the series where they left off with the G12, confusingly naming the latest in the series the PowerShot G15. The 13.3 megapixel G15 does not feature the G1 x’s larger sensor; instead it opts for a faster lens, finally breaking through the f2 barrier with its new f1.8-2.8 5x zoom lens (28 – 140 mm equivalent).

 

 

Canon believes the G15 is the fastest Canon compact ever produced when it comes to autofocusing, also including a Digic 5 processor, a 920k-dot resolution 3.0’’ PureColor II G screen and, as usual, an optical viewfinder. Luckily the G15’s aluminium body (310 g) is not as bulky as the G1x (492 g), being approximately 17% smaller than the G12 (351 g).

 

No local price or release info is available yet, although it retails for the same price at the G12 Stateside - $500.

 

 

Canon’s small and delightfully impressive high-performance S-series is also getting the 1-up, with the PowerShot S110 being unveiled. It looks and feels pretty much like the S100, and includes the important control ring at the front, but differs in two important and telling ways. Onboard you’ll find both Wi-Fi and a 3” touch-screen at the back, which features a so-so 461 000 dot resolution.

 

Canon opted to include the same 12.1 Megapixel, 1/1.7-inch CMOS and Digic 5 processor as found on the G15, while this 5x optical zoom is equivalent to 24 – 120 mm on a 35 mm camera.

 

 

We’ve been fans of Canon’s touchscreen compacts for a while now, praising it for its ease of use and practicality, with Wi-Fi being the next logical inclusion on the S110.

 

Our only concern would be battery performance, since this trifecta of functionality – Wi-Fi, onboard GPS, and touchscreen – could be very demanding on the already quite small battery. It is uncertain at this stage when the S110 will hit the local shores or at what price, but in the US, it retails for $20 more than the S100 - $450.

 

Hopefully we’ll get to see all three new cameras at the Canon SA Expo, to be held from Friday 30 November to Sunday 2 December 2012 at the Sandton Convention Centre.