Canon first with PictBridge

PictBridge allows digital cameras, camcorders and other image capture devices to connect and print directly to photo printers and other output devices - the simplest method of obtaining a print from a digital camera. No PC is required and where both devices bear the PictBridge logo, inter-brand connectivity is now a reality.

"With no need for a PC and support for inter-brand connectivity, PictBridge ultimately means more choice for the consumer," explains Gordon Jones, President of Canon Middle East. "The Middle East market has been remarkably fast to adopt digital technologies - our sales of digital cameras have been growing by 100% or more per year in many countries in the region, and shows no sign of stopping. By embracing this new open standard and bringing PictBridge compliant products to market quickly, we can ensure that customers here have more choice, and can print images more easily and have more fun with their cameras. PictBridge will play an important role in broadening and growing the digital photography market."

The PictBridge standard was officially announced by CIPA (Camera and Imaging Products Association) in February 2003. With its breadth of product range, Canon is well positioned to show strong leadership in support for the CIPA initiative. Canon now has PictBridge compliant digital SLR, digital compact camera, digital camcorder and photo-printer products.

Direct photo printing without a PC
The PictBridge standard is independent of the physical connection and communication protocol. This has allowed vendors such as Canon to employ existing industry standard connections such as USB, which are widely used on cameras and printers. Once connected, photo selections and print instructions can be made from the camera's LCD and control buttons. Products newly released by Canon that support PictBridge include the EOS 300D digital SLR camera, the PowerShot A80 digital still compact camera, the Card Photo Printers CP200 and CP300, the MVX3i, MVX10i and MV6iMC camcorders, and the Bubble Jet i560 photo printer.

Functionality
To attain PictBridge certification, products must be capable of basic mandatory functions such as image selection, although the standard supports more sophisticated functions such as cropping, multiple prints, print paper size selection and printing with date stamp. Once connected, the PictBridge communication establishes which features are supported by both devices and the user is presented with these options only.

PictBridge supports vendor-to-vendor specific extensions of the standard. Where a camera of one brand is connected to a printer of the same brand, both devices are able to communicate in order to take advantage of vendor specific features. With Canon this may include features such as Vivid Photo and Photo Noise Reduction.

Firmware upgrades for existing Canon devices
Plans are in place to provide firmware upgrades for recently released Canon products, in order to give them PictBridge compatibility. These will be provided via an internet download and will be released for the PowerShot A300, PowerShot A60, PowerShot A70, PowerShot S50 and the PowerShot G5 as well as for the Digital IXUS II, Digital IXUS 400 and the EOS 10D.

Backward compatibility for Canon products
Directly connecting a camera and a printer is not a new concept for Canon, which had already developed its own 'Bubble Jet Direct' and 'Direct Print' standards long before PictBridge was ratified. To reward the loyalty of existing Canon customers, the new range of PictBridge compatible products also supports these Canon proprietary standards.