Canon TX1 Digital Camera Packs "Best-Of" Breed Imaging

Canon has just raised the bar of its PowerShot line with the release of the PowerShot TX1 a "double-duty" digital camera that boasts of both a 7.1 megapixel camera and HD video recording capabilities.

Built into the familiar Elph (iXus) stainless steel frame, the camera is no bigger than a deck of playing cards, but it packs in functionality that will make any digital media enthusiast happy.

Unlike the other cameras in Canon's PowerShot line the TX1 is designed to be held vertically with its 10x optical zoom lens sliding out along the sides. What would usually be the front of the camera houses a swivel vari-angle LCD screen instead.

The camera runs on the Canon's updated DIGIC III processor which promises faster start up and response times, improved image quality and more efficient power consumption.

The camera also features an optical image stabilization system to reduce blurring in low light conditions, ISO speed ratings from 80 to 1600, 14 shooting modes, an intelligent orientation sensor and advanced face detection and red-eye correction.

Of course the star feature of the camera is its ability to record 720p High Definition movies at 16:9 (widescreen format) at 30 fps and with 44 KHz Stereo Sound. Unfortunately no internal memory is allocated, users will have to rely on the camera's card slot which supports SD, SDHC, MMC and MMCplus cards.

Canon says the TX1 will hit stores next month for an estimated street price of $499.99