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By Jim Forbes
Canon's new color digital camera, the PowerShot 600, is an attention-grabber that can satisfy veteran shutterbugs. It makes transferring images from camera to computer as simple and quick as you've always wanted it to be.
I got this camera up and running without problems, using the clearly written instructions. The engineers have logically located the unit's four principal controls right on top, clustered around an LCD display that provides up-to-the-minute system information. A switch in front of the display lets you select the camera's 24-bit image compression level-Fine, Normal or Economy-and a sliding switch under the viewfinder lets you choose to shoot color or monochrome images. LEDs monitor the system's status and let you know if you need the flash or if the system is "busy."
Measuring approximately 3.6 by 6.2 by 2.3 inches, the camera without battery pack weighs about 14 ounces. In addition to a lock-on for an optional wide-angle lens and a self-contained flash, there's an internal bay for an optional Type III hard drive or flash memory card for storing up to 3,000 images in the camera. A convenient cradle links it to the PC parallel port.
The basic unit sells for $949. There are lots of options, though: The wide-angle converter adds $99, a Type III PCMCIA hard drive $380, rechargeable nickel cadmium batteries $35, and the case $20. The price for our test model, also equipped with a 4MB flash memory card ($229), rose to $1,700. The good news is that the PowerShot 600 may be the shape of things to come.
--Info File--
Canon PowerShot 600 digital camera
Price: $949; $1,700 as tested
Pros: Fast; works with PCMCIA
Cons: Expensive
Platforms: Windows 3.1x, 95
Canon Computer Systems
800-848-4123
WinMag Box Score3.5
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