Canon Digital Camera

The press release was only on the Web for half an hour, but that was enough to let the cat out of the bag. Yesterday, on its European site, Canon accidentally posted a press release announcing a significant addition to its line of digital SLR cameras—the EOS 1Ds, a model that will offer higher resolution than any professional camera on the market. The release, dated September 24, wasn't supposed to reach the Web until just before the Photokina tradeshow, where the camera will be officially unveiled.

Canon won't discuss the camera at length, but it has acknowledged that the release, though prematurely posted, was accurate. "We are confirming that all the information in the release concerning the product was correct and that we will introduce it at the Photokina show," says Chuck Westfall, assistant director of Canon's Technical Information Department. "But we will not divulge any details about the product—beyond what was said in the release—at this point." Photokina, the largest photography trade show in the world, will be held in Cologne, Germany from September 25 through September 30.

In addition to offering a resolution of 11.1 million pixels—today's leading digital SLRs afford half as many pixels—the EOS 1Ds will, according to industry sources, accommodate existing 35mm lenses without a change in effective focal length. The camera will likely sell for around $6,000.

The release mentioned a second new digital SLR known as the EOS 300V, also due for unveiling at Photokina. According to Westfall, this model is identical to the Canon Rebel Ti, which was announced in the States on August 27. Canon expects that this camera, likely to be priced at an astoundingly low $1000, will "become the world's number-one selling SLR camera."

Yesterday, before Canon realized its mistake, Digital Focus, a small digital photography studio in the suburbs of Chicago, managed to grab the premature press release.

Copyright © 2002 Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. Originally appearing in PC Magazine.