Canon today launches the flagship of the new Digital IXUS range ? the Digital IXUS 900 Ti. Finished in titanium with the Perpetual Curve design of its predecessors, the Digital IXUS 900 Ti offers improved technology to match its fresh exterior: 10MP resolution, a 3x optical zoom lens and Canon’s new DIGIC III image processor with Noise Reduction technology.
DIGIC III also features Face Detection AF/AE, a new Canon technology that automatically detects faces in people shots and sets focus and exposure accordingly. Other key advancements include a Touch Control Dial, super-high resolution 2.5″ wide angle LCD screen and ISO 1600 shooting.

The Digital IXUS 900 Ti features:
Titanium body with Perpetual Curve design and Touch Control Dial
10.0 Megapixels and 3x optical zoom
DIGIC III with Noise Reduction and Face Detection AF/AE
Digital Tele-Converter and Safety Zoom for extra telephoto reach
2.5? LCD with wide viewing angle
Maximum ISO1600
18 shooting modes including XGA movies
My Category automatic image tagging
Range of optional accessories including Underwater Case

“Since our first APS camera in 1996, the IXUS range has consistently set new benchmarks for camera technology and design,” explains Mogens Jensen, Head of Canon Consumer Imaging, Europe. “The Digital IXUS 900 Ti is a fitting addition to mark a decade of IXUS innovation.”

Titanium exterior
Further developing the Perpetual Curve design, the Digital IXUS 900 Ti’s accentuated contours are realised through a solid titanium body. Extensively used in the aerospace, medical and defence industries, titanium is stronger than steel but significantly lighter. True to tradition, the Digital IXUS 900 Ti matches form with function, highlighted by the addition of a Touch Control Dial that provides fingertip access to camera settings while allowing the camera to maintain a sleek profile.

Image Quality
The camera’s 10.0 Megapixel CCD sensor offers the highest resolution in the Digital IXUS range to date. A new Safety Zoom feature uses the increased resolution to offer extra magnification – up to 12x zoom when shooting Small size images. Users can also activate the Digital Tele-Converter for extra telephoto reach on all shots, similar to adding an optical tele-converter lens to the camera.

DIGIC III with Face Detection AF/AE
Canon claims that the third generation of Canon’s celebrated DIGIC processor offers ?increased responsiveness and improved image rendering?, as well as several new functions such as Face Detection AF/AE . This Canon technology works in partnership with 9-Point AiAF to detect the main subjects in a people shot and choose focus and exposure accordingly. The system is capable of distinguishing up to nine faces in a scene. If Face Detection AF/AE determines that the main subject is non-human, the camera reverts to 9-point AiAF. DIGIC III also incorporates Noise Reduction technology to enable shooting at ISO 1600, for reduced blur in low-light conditions. In addition to DIGIC III, the Digital IXUS 900 Ti uses DDR-SDRAM similar to that found in Canon?s EOS DSLR cameras to increase data throughput rates.

Shooting modes
The 900 Ti offers photographers a range of 18 shooting modes, including two new Special Scene modes ? Aquarium and ISO 3200. Aquarium mode turns off the flash, raises the ISO and adjusts the white balance to return quality images when shooting aquatic life through glass tanks. ISO 3200 allows users to capture images at 1600×1200 pixels in low light environments where flash cannot be used. Users can expand their creativity further with My Colors, which allows artistic photo effects to be applied in-camera both during and after shooting.

LCD Enhancements
Featuring a 230,000-pixel display with wide viewing angle and anti-reflective coating, the 2.5″ LCD offers an Image Inspection Tool that makes use of the screen by simultaneously displaying a newly shot image and a magnified section. Users can also enable a 3:2 ratio overlay during shooting to display the printable area for standard photo prints. The camera retains a real-image optical viewfinder for accurate framing without the LCD.
Managing images in playback is made easier by My Category , which automatically tags each image with a category – People, Scenery or Event ? according to face detection and shooting mode used. These categories – which can be manually assigned in camera – are also recognised by Canon?s ZoomBrowser EX software for easy filtering of images on a PC.

The IXUS 900 Ti will be available from October 2006 priced £399 RRP. More info is available at www.canon.co.uk