Canon Unveils Digital Elph with Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi connection on point-and-shoot digital cameras is officially a trend. Canon is the third camera maker (after Kodak's EasyShare One and Nikon's CoolPix P1 and P2) to introduce a point-and-shoot that's capable of transferring photos wirelessly from the camera to a PC or to a compatible printer. Today Canon announced the 5-megapixel PowerShot SD430 Digital Elph that supports 802.11b wireless networks.



To transfer files to a PC wirelessly, your computer must be equipped with an 11b router and run Windows XP Service Pack 2. (Canon will not have a Mac OS X-compatible version at the initial launch.) You'll be able to register up to eight systems that the camera will recognize and transmit files to, although it will transfer photos to only one system at a time.

Thanks to the camera's Wi-Fi capability, you'll be able to remotely access the camera from your PC at up to 100 feet (barring any wireless interruptions) using Canon's supplied software. This feature will let you set up the camera at a nominal distance and capture shots from your PC. The remote control could come in handy when you want to take photos of animals, say, squirrels, without scaring them off.

The SD430 will also allow you to send images to a Canon PictBridge printer such as the Selphy CP510. To make things easier, the company will bundle its WA-1N Wireless Print Adapter with the SD430 so you won't have to mess with drivers. Once you attach the adapter to a Canon PictBridge printer, you'll be able to print photos from the camera wirelessly. According to Canon, the SD430 will transmit a 5-megapixel image to a Canon Selphy or Pixma photo printer in approximately six seconds.

The SD430 has a similar look and feel as Canon's SD400 and SD450 Digital Elphs, but the 430 is a little wider to accommodate the Wi-Fi antenna, says Canon. Like the SD400, the 430 will have a 3X optical zoom, a 2-inch LCD, and a rechargeable Lithium-ion battery. Canon expects to ship the SD430 Wi-Fi camera in January at a price of $500.