Pre-PMA 2003, 14:00 GMT: Canon has today announced the new six megapixel EOS-10D digital SLR. The EOS-10D is the direct successor to the popular EOS-D60 digital SLR, just like the D60 the 10D utilizes a six megapixel 22.7 x 15.1 mm CMOS sensor which is a development of the D60's sensor. Unlike the D60 the 10D now has a magnesium body, orientation sensor, Adobe RGB color space, Kelvin selectable WB, ISO 1600 and 3200, more flexible image parameters and a new 7 area AF sensor (from the EOS-30). Other good news comes with the price, the US list price will be $1,999 (expected street $1,499), in Europe the 10D will have a €2,200 list price.

Click here for our Canon EOS-10D hands-on preview (with samples)
(more detail than below)

Major New Features / Updates at a glance

• Magnesium body, restyled to be rounded like the EOS-1D/1Ds **
• Button controls re-arranged, power switch moves to bottom rear of camera
• Improved playback magnification
• Orientation sensor (automatic rotation / intelligent metering based on orientation)
• Redesigned LCD status panel (top of camera)
• Supports BG-ED3 vertical grip
• New LCD monitor, 118,000 pixels, brighter with five levels of brightness control
• Kelvin selectable White Balance (2800 - 10000K in 100K steps) **
• White balance bracketing
• Improved CMOS sensor manufacturing to provide better image quality
• ISO range extended to ISO 1600 and 3200 (marked H) **
• Automatic sensitivity (ISO 100, 200 or 400) in Auto / Scene modes
• New seven point AF system, based on EOS-30 AF **
• AF assist lamp removed / flash strobes, the pop-up flash now acts as AF assist
• Registered AF point button
• New AI Focus feature / Improved AI Servo performance **
• New metering algorithm which gives more stable exposures **
• Tv / Av Safety shift (the exposure setting is shifted to obtain proper exposure)
• DiGiC processor, lower power consumption, faster processing
• Drive mode now 3 fps, 9 images (one frame more than EOS-D60)
• Quieter shutter release / mirror **
• Selectable Adobe RGB colorspace **
• All processing parameters now +/- 2 levels **
• Direct printing / trimming support
• Official FAT32 support (for CF cards greater than 2 GB in capacity)
• Sensor cleaning on AC or battery (EOS-D60 was AC only)
• Shutter release LAG approx. 190 ms vs. EOS-D60 of 240ms **
• Viewfinder blackout approx. 140 ms vs. EOS-D60 of 300 ms **
• All custom functions settings can be seen along the bottom of C.Fn menu
• New Flash Off scene mode, disables pop up flash, hot-shoe and PC sync
• Menu system support for 12 languages
• PTP compliant USB
• Single battery charger

** Most significant new features / improvements (in our opinion)

Press Release (Canon Europe):

Canon EOS 10D -The New digital SLR incorporating a 6.3 Megapixel CMOS sensor, wide area 7 point AF and magnesium alloy body

Amstelveen, The Netherlands, 2003 - Canon, the leader in photographic and imaging technology, introduces the EOS 10D, a 6.3 million pixel Canon digital SLR with a seven point wide area autofocus system, and fast three frames per second burst rate and an ergonomic super-tough magnesium alloy body shell. Launched as the successor to the award winning EOS D60, the EOS 10D builds on the strengths of this highly popular model with a range of improvements to both the camera's design and to its specification.

"The EOS 10D is a camera with massive appeal for serious amateur photographers and professionals alike," says Hiroshi Komatsuzaki, Head of Canon Consumer Imaging Europe. "Its new magnesium alloy body makes it a much more durable and rugged camera, while the improvements in focusing speed and tracking put the EOS 10D on a par with our high-end EOS film cameras."

Faster processing power

The 6.3 million effective pixel CMOS sensor used in the Canon EOS 10D is supported by Canon's unique high power DIGital Imaging Core (DIGIC) processor. The speed at which the DIGIC processor works has allowed Canon to extend the number of full resolution images in burst sequences to 9, at a rate of 3 frames per second. As well as improved speed, DIGIC also helps produce more accurate colour rendition while reducing image noise.

Adaptable to all shooting conditions

The EOS 10D is able to save images simultaneously in both RAW and JPEG formats. With the option of six JPEG file sizes you have control over how large the accompanying JPEG file needs to be. A break through in Canon's noise control technologies sees the EOS 10D offering a wider set of ISO equivalents. A range covering ISO 100-1600 offers high quality images across a very broad spectrum of shooting conditions. Photographers working in particularly poor light may also take advantage of an option to extend this range to ISO 3200, via the custom function menu.

The metering system on the EOS 10D has improved exposure consistency and stability; it uses the newest metering algorithm available and a 35 zone evaluative metering system linked to all 7-focus points.

Colour and light versatility

For a greater selection of recordable colours, and greater image flexibility, Canon has included the Adobe RGB colour space standard into the EOS 10D while maintaining the sRGB format. Photographers can now select a colour space to suit the job in hand.

The EOS 10D shares the same white balance controls as Canon's Professional digital EOS models. In addition to the Custom white balance, the EOS 10D provides users with the option to select Kelvin colour temperature settings to suit almost any lighting situation. The Kelvin scale is identical to that used in the top of the range EOS 1Ds, covering values of 2800-10000K in 100K increments. To complete an extremely versatile white balance control system there is now white balance bracketing and a new pre-set 'Shade', in addition to the existing 6 Auto white balance modes found on the EOS 10D.

Printing and cropping on the road

The EOS 10D is the first digital SLR camera to feature Direct Printing. Linking via a USB cable, photographers will be able to see prints immediately from any of Canons range of compatible Bubble Jet or CP printers without the need to connect to a computer. Controls within the camera's own menu system allow users to choose print quantity, size and image cropping. When using Canon's Card Photo Printer CP-100 15x10cm printer, with the optional battery pack, prints can be made in the field away from a mains power supply.

Feature laden: Other significant features of the EOS-10D include:

• The automatic selection of FAT16 or Fat32 file systems, to support large capacity CF memory cards of over 2GB storage size.
• An extended Parameters set, which provides incremental adjustments of sharpness, contrast, colour saturation and colour tone, over a range of +/-5 units.
• 10x magnification in image playback mode.
• A Super Intelligent Orientation Sensor has been built in to the EOS 10D body. This sensor detects whether the camera is being held in the portrait or landscape orientation when an image is captured, and automatically rotates the image in the camera's LCD preview screen and on a computer when downloading using Canons ZoomBrowser software. The orientation sensor also plays an important part in the scene metering system, particularly for evaluating the area of sky in an image.
• A brighter LCD screen back-illuminated by LEDs. Extended battery life providing approx. 650 frames without flash or approx. 500 with 50% flash.
• Sensor cleaning that can be powered by either a charged battery or when attached to the ACK-E2 AC adapter and the DR-400.

Complete accessory pack

The EOS 10D comes complete with battery pack, compact single battery charging unit, USB cable, video cable, the latest Canon software and Photoshop Elements. The EOS 10D accepts the same BP-511 battery pack, and the same BG-ED3 battery grip as the EOS D60. A new smaller mains power adapter unit ACK-E2 AC is also available.

Canon EOS-10D specifications

More pictures

Canon EOS-10D front	Canon EOS-10D rear
Canon EOS-10D on BG-ED3 vertical grip	Canon EOS-10D magnesium alloy chassis / body
Canon EOS-10D top view	Canon EOS-10D mainboard (with DiGiC processor)

Click here for our Canon EOS-10D hands-on preview (with samples)