Canon’s CMOS Sensor captures images with exceptional clarity and tonal range and offers the most pixels in its class. Canon’s DIGIC Image Processor dramatically enhances image quality and speeds up all camera operations for intuitive operation. The sensor and processor work in concert with Canon’s superlative EF and EF-S lenses, forming the ultimate Digital Trinity.
Great images start with great lenses. For many photographers, Canon’s legendary EF lens history is the reason to choose the EOS System. The EF and EF-S series lenses are a unique blend of the world’s most advanced optical, microelectronic and precision manufacturing technologies. EF lenses are perfected in Canon’s laboratories, proven in the field and are at the heart of professional photography. EF-S lenses are designed especially for EOS APS-C sensor cameras, providing lightweight, compact design and high value.
Canon develops and produces its own CMOS sensors. Unlike CCD sensors, CMOS sensors convert and amplify signals before they are transferred to the image processor, enabling them to produce exceptionally clean image data and reduce power consumption. Data transfer speeds are increased by using multi-channel signal paths that dramatically improve the camera’s responsiveness. Canon’s CMOS sensors incorporate a unique on-chip noise reduction technology to deal with both fixed pattern and random noise. A multi-layer low-pass filter is placed in front of the sensor to isolate false colors that the sensor may detect. Then, the DIGIC Image Processor processes the image to eliminate those colors while retaining full detail.
EOS Digital SLR cameras with full-frame sensors do not require a focal length conversion factor common to other digital SLR cameras on the market. Instead, they deliver the same angle-of-view as 35mm film cameras. Full-frame sensors provide greater control over the depth-of-field, allowing you to create a beautiful background blur perfect for portraits and close-up photos. The large sensor area also enables a marked reduction in noise levels at all ISO values.
Developed to enhance performance between capturing and recording stages of digital photography, Canon DIGIC chips use advanced signal processing technologies to dramatically augment image quality and deliver a more intuitive, responsive camera. The DIGIC Image Processors work in concert with Canon CMOS sensors to achieve spectacularly high levels of performance. Signal processing algorithms work with the multi-channel signal from the sensor and the high-speed DDR-SDRAM buffer to deliver significantly improved camera response. Power consumption has been further reduced for even longer battery life. Color reproduction, noise reduction in low light situations and reproduction of fine detail have also been significantly improved. In addition, the latest DIGIC 4 Image Processor speeds up all operations to make a number of inventive new features possible, such as Live Face Detection AF, HD video recording, Auto Lighting Optimizer and Lens Peripheral Illumination Correction. Top EOS SLRs such as the EOS 7D and EOS-1D Mark IV feature two DIGIC Image Processors for an even greater level of quality and power.
EOS Digital SLR cameras employ 14-bit converters to process the output of the imaging sensor. Compared to the 12-bit converters used in most digital cameras, the Canon design ensures smoother tonal transitions, more natural gradations, and superior color fidelity. RAW images are recorded at 14 bits so that processed 16-bit TIFF images contain the full range of tonal values captured by the sensor.
Loss of highlight detail is one of the greatest concerns for photographers shooting digitally in brightly lit and high-contrast situations. Canon’s Highlight Tone Priority function calculates the exposure to ensure that more detail is preserved in highlights. This renders a more continuous tone image without blown highlights, and helps to save time in post-processing for highlight retrieval.
The Auto Lighting Optimizer automatically corrects image exposure to help ensure accurate brightness and contrast. It can actually brighten areas of the composition while maintaining highlight details and accurate exposure in others, or darken areas of the composition while maintaining brightness and shadow details in others. This remarkable feature is available as an automatic feature in Full Auto, Creative Auto and Manual (1D Mark IV only) shooting modes, and can be used and fine-tuned in other modes. If shooting in RAW mode, Auto Lighting Optimizer can be applied in post-processing. In the EOS-1D Mark IV, it automatically adjusts the image during image processing to obtain favorable brightness and contrast, working with both JPEG and RAW images.
Taking into account the lens in use, this feature automatically brightens the light level at the four corners of the composition where light falloff may have occurred. Peripheral illumination characteristics and correction data are detected automatically on a number of Canon lenses and can be entered manually through Canon’s EOS utility software. This function can be applied when shooting to JPEG images, and in post-processing with RAW images using DPP (Digital Photo Professional).
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