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EOS DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY
Camera: EOS-1D, Lens: 24-70mm f/2.8L, ISO Speed: 100, Aperture: f/8.0, Shutter: 1/250, White Balance Natural Sunlight
Canon Image Rendering
As the only company in the world that designs, develops and manufactures its own cameras, lenses, image sensors and
image processors, Canon brings an unrivalled level of technological know-how to the digital SLR world. By sharing
research and information among development teams, and keeping the entire creation and production of a product
in-house, Canon is able to create technologically advanced products faster than any other company. Only Canon EOS
digital SLRs benefit from Canon's decades of innovation in both the consumer and professional markets.
Canon digital SLRs utilise the latest in sensor and processor technology to ensure the purest, highest quality images
available today. All EOS digital SLRs provide the user with quick operation, virtually identical to that of a traditional
35mm SLR, so that users will feel no compromise in working with digital photography.
Innovations like Canon's CMOS Sensor and DiG!C Imaging Processor, combined with Canon's years of experience
in making industry-leading EOS cameras and lenses, have kept Canon Digital SLRs leaps ahead of the competition.
It must be large enough to ensure
A Closer Look at Canon
Digital SLR Technologies
wide depth of field, as in traditional
photography, but must also be
efficient, or the photographer will
CMOS SENSORS
have to change batteries all day long.
A good digital image sensor must
meet or exceed a photographer's
Bearing this in mind, Canon developed
requirement for film. It must work well
its own CMOS (complementary metal-
in low light, with a good signal-to-noise
oxide semiconductor) sensor to record
ratio, yet must have a broad dynamic
digital images, taking advantage of
range for use in bright light.
proprietary know-how gained during
the development and manufacturing
of its renowned autofocus sensors
and semiconductor manufacturing
equipment. Compared with CCD
sensors which amplify signals only after
they have been transferred to an image
processor, CMOS sensors convert
and amplify signals before they
CMOS sensor
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paths, it is difficult to combine them
to form large sensors without
affecting their charge transfer
characteristics. CMOS sensors,
however, can be combined easily
because their vertical and horizontal
wiring points simply have to be
connected electronically.
imaging engine
Canon's CMOS sensors incorporate
a unique on-chip noise reduction
technology to deal with both
fixed-pattern and random noise,
resulting in silky-smooth, film-like
images, with limited power
consumption, at breathtaking speed.
In addition, a multi-layer low-pass
filter is placed in front of the sensor
in order to isolate false colours that
the sensor may detect. Then, Canon's
proprietary imaging engine processes
the image to eliminate the false
colours while retaining full detail.
are transferred. Using this method
together with additional proprietary
with anti-noise Processing
technology, Canon's CMOS sensors
produce a cleaner signal from the
beginning. At the same time, power
consumption is reduced by up to
90% compared with CCDs, and data
transfer speeds can be significantly
increased via multi-channel readouts.
To mirror the characteristics of 35mm
cameras, CMOS sensors can easily
be built as full-frame 35mm sensors,
without anti-noise Processing
something that is difficult, if not
impossible, with CCD sensors.
To fabricate a full-frame 35mm sensor,
the manufacturing equipment must
produce "adjoining exposures" .
Since CCDs have both vertical and
horizontal electrical charge transfer
original data captured by digital
cameras. At the same time, JPEG
files are convenient to use while
preserving high image quality. With
an eye to the future of digital
photography, Canon is convinced that
the further development of RAW and
JPEG technologies will enable digital
photographers of the future to have
the highest quality images possible.
Bearing that in mind, all of Canon's
DiG!C IMAGING PROCESSORS
digital EOS SLRs can record JPEG
and RAW files simultaneously.
No matter how advanced the sensor,
Often referred to as "digital
metering or lens of your SLR, the
negatives" , RAW files are
backbone of a good digital camera
no-compromise, reversible
is the signal processing technology
compression, full resolution files
that renders and writes your image
with minimal in-camera processing;
to your card. Developed to maximise
essentially, they are unaltered raw
performance between the capture
image data. Properly post processed,
and recording aspects of digital
RAWs provide the highest possible
photography, Canon's DiG!C (Digital
image quality from a digital SLR.
Imaging Integrated Circuit) chip
Using software bundled with the
enhances the signal-processing
camera, users can preview RAW files,
algorithms associated with image
adjust settings like colour balance,
capture, resulting in improved
saturation, sharpness and exposure
image quality and a more intuitive,
compensation, and save final images
responsive camera. This ultra-high-
in other file formats.
performance imaging engine speeds
up the processing, compression,
display and write times for
each image, all with low power
consumption, saving valuable battery
power. The latest-generation DiG!C II
Imaging Processor works in concert
with Canon's newest CMOS sensor
to achieve even higher levels of
performance. New signal processing
preview display
algorithms work with the multi-channel
signal from the sensor and the
high-speed DDR-SDRAM (Double
Data Rate Synchronous Dynamic
Random Access Memory) buffer to
deliver dramatically improved camera
response. Power consumption has
been further reduced for even longer
battery life. Colour reproduction,
too, is significantly better, with
more natural rendition of bright,
thumbnail display
high-saturation subjects and more
In post processing, it's possible to
precise auto white balance. Colour
find and extract highlight and
accuracy and noise performance in low
shadow detail from RAW images,
light have also been much improved.
extending the dynamic range of your
digital SLR, often exceeding the
range of 35mm slide film.
Additionally, RAW files are the best
way to store your unaltered image
data for use in the future. JPEG
images created by Canon digital
SLRs are compressed files,
processed to reflect the sharpness,
high speed enables high quality
SIMULTANEOUS RAW + JPEG
RECORDING
While negatives contain all original
image data captured by film-based
cameras, RAW files contain all
white balance function
Camera: EOS-1D Mark II, Lens: EF 17-35mm f/2.8L USM, Width: 2464 pixels, Height: 1648 pixels,
ISO Speed: 200, Aperture: f/11, Shutter: 60, Exposure Mode: Aperture-priority AE, Drive Mode: Single,
White Balance: Auto
colour, tone and white balance
captures an even wider gamut of
settings as recorded by the camera.
colours than your computer is capable
Taking up less storage space,
of recognising and, through complex
JPEGs are often more immediately
operations, the processor ensures
pleasing to the eye, and, thanks to
that whether you're shooting
the high-quality signal processing
in sRGB for the web, or in Adobe
applied by Canon's image processor,
RGB colour space for commercial
can withstand significant retouching
applications, your colours will turn out
with virtually no loss in quality.
just right. Beyond what your EOS SLR
In-camera JPEGs are also
does on its own, advanced users
convenient for immediate usage
can set their own white balance,
in a wide variety of applications,
colour temperature, saturation and
such as e-mail, Web galleries,
much more.
and office-related applications
such as word processors and
presentation software.
COLOUR MANAGEMENT
At every step of the design and
manufacturing process Canon ensures
that your SLR, lens and computer will
work together seamlessly resulting in
colour that is both sharp, accurate and
pleasing to the eye.
Canon's proprietary image rendering
processes utilise numerous data
for colour rendition. The sensor
Canon digital camera colour space
®
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