Canon Inc. (Japanese: キヤノン株式会社; Hepburn: Kyanon kabushiki gaisha) is a Japanese multinational corporation headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, specializing in optical, imaging, and industrial products, such as lenses, cameras, medical equipment, scanners, printers, and semiconductor manufacturing equipment.
Canon has a primary listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the TOPIX Core 30 and Nikkei 225 indexes. It used to have a secondary listing on the New York Stock Exchange.
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PowerShot is a line of consumer and prosumer grade digital cameras, launched by Canon in 1996. The first model, the PowerShot 600, came shortly after Canon released and subsequently discontinued its SV series in 1992, marking the move to digital cameras. The PowerShot line has been successful for Canon, and is one of the best-selling digital camera lines worldwide. The PowerShot's success comes from its marketing to the general public as a compact and easy to use digital camera.
Free software from the Canon Hack Development Kit (CHDK) project allows nearly complete programmatic control of PowerShot cameras, enabling users to add features, up to and including BASIC and Lua scripting.
A point-and-shoot camera, also known as a compact camera and sometimes abbreviated to P&S, is a still camera (either film or digital) designed primarily for simple operation. Most use focus free lenses or autofocus for focusing, automatic systems for setting the exposure options, and have flash units built in. They are popular for vernacular photography by people who do not consider themselves photographers but want easy-to-use cameras for snapshots of vacations, parties, reunions and other events.
Most compact digital cameras use small 1/2.3-type (“1/2.3-inch”) image sensors, but since 2008, a few non-interchangeable lens compact cameras use a larger sensor such as 1.0-type (“1-inch”), APS-C (e.g. Fujifilm X100 series), or even full frame (e.g. Sony RX1 series). Most models prioritize being operated in auto mode, but some high end point-and-shoot cameras have PASM (program, aperture priority, shutter priority, and manual modes) on the mode dial, raw image format, and a hot shoe. None have interchangeable lenses, but some have secondary lens mounts.