Lake Success, N.Y. – Canon U.S.A. unveiled Friday a new flagship EOS Rebel DSLR – the T4i.
The camera offers an 18-megapixel CMOS (APS-C) sensor, DIGIC 5 Image Processor, 3-inch LCD touch screen and 5fps high-speed continuous shooting.
The T4i will be available at the end of June for an $850 suggested retail for the body alone; $950 bundled with an EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II lens kit and $1,199 for the camera and a Movie Kit bundle with the new EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM lens.
The T4i’s light sensitivity is also enhanced with an extended ISO range of 100-12,800 (expandable to 25,600 in H mode).
Canon said it has also included in the camera a new autofocus (AF) system that provides faster response while achieving sharper focus for both stills and HD video.
The new AF system includes a nine-point all cross-type sensor with a high-precision dual-cross f/2.8 point at center and a new fast focusing hybrid CMOS AF for shooting stills and video using the camera’s Live View mode.
The Rebel T4i also features Canon’s new Movie Servo AF providing a quiet, continuous AF during HD video recording when using one of Canon’s new Stepping Motor (STM) lenses.
Other features include a 3-inch Vari-angle 1.04 million dot Touch Screen LCD monitor with improved touch-menu with intuitive finger-tip controls.
“Our Rebel line of cameras bridges the gap between the casual photographer and someone looking to advance their photography and capture moments in new and creative ways,” said Yuichi Ishizuka, Canon Imaging Technologies and Communications Group executive VP and general manager. “The EOS Rebel T4i boasts full HD video with AF and touch-screen navigation, inspiring even more photographers and videographers to explore the creative options made possible with DSLR cameras and lenses.”
The new AF system enables Touch Focus for shooting photos and movies in Live View. A Touch Shutter function is also available.
Canon’s new 3-inch electro-static touch-panel screen is billed as “the most advanced that Canon has released to date” with multi-touch capabilities allowing photographers to use familiar gestures such as “pinch-to-zoom” and “swiping” to scroll between pictures. Camera operation has been simplified through this feature allowing for Touch Focus or Touch Shutter controls via the vari-angle touch-screen.
The vari-angle touch-screen flips out to the left and rotates 180 degrees forward and 90 degrees backward, making tough above-the-head and low-to-the-ground shots easy and allowing improved views during photo or video capture.
For simplified low-light shooting the T4i includes a slate of modes and features including: handheld night scene mode, HDR backlight control, multi-shot noise reduction, video snapshot and scene intelligent auto
New shooting modes (handheld night scene, HDR backlight control and multi-shot noise reduction), take multiple pictures, and combine them – in camera – to help capture a wider dynamic range, minimize the image grain or noise, and produce more vivid colors.
Canon includes its popular Video Snapshot that produces a highlight reel of videos shot with the camera, and has improved it with an option to delete, cut or re-order the clips before exporting the Snapshot album to post or share.
Canon’s scene intelligent auto mode analyzes the scene being shot, taking into account faces, colors, brightness, movement and contrast, to select appropriate camera settings and help produce the best possible image.
This mode has been enhanced to deliver the best possible exposure, particularly when shooting in low-light.
At the same time, Canon introduced two lenses, the new EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM lens and EF 40mm f/2.8 STM lens. Both of which include Canon’s Stepping Motor technology for smooth, silent focus operation.
The EF-S 18-135mm lens includes the new Dynamic Image Stabilization (IS) for movie shooting mode only that uses a wide correction range to keep recorded video images steady even while walking.
The new EF 40mm f/2.8 STM lens offers an ultra-slim, lightweight design that helps photographers avoid overwhelming their subjects with a large lens. The “pancake-style” lens has a fast f/2.8 aperture suited to portrait stills.
The new EF 40mm f/2.8 STM lens and the new EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM lens will also be available separately at the end of June at an estimated retail price of $199.99 and $549.99 respectively.
Canon said the Rebel T4i is compatible with the previously introduced GP-E2 GPS Receiver that can be mounted to the camera’s accessory shoe.
