Canon raises the bar with 21MP SLR

Canon raised the digital SLR camera stakes this morning by announcing the 21-megapixel EOS-1DS Mark III.

The new flagship Canon EOS-1DS Mark III is a full-frame digital SLR camera capable of capturing 5fps (frames per second). The high-end SLR can capture 56 large JPEG shots in a row when in continuous mode or 12 RAW images more than 100MB in size.

The Canon EOS-1DS Mark III is powered by two Digic III processors and uses a newly-developed 35mm full-frame CMOS sensor. Shots can be composed, previewed and reviewed on the 3-inch LCD viewfinder and its live view mode.

There are 57 custom functions at your disposal, including preset and user-definable picture styles. You can also add your own picture styles or download additional presets from Canon's website.

Dedicated ISO button

The new digital SLR features a dedicated ISO button to make it easy to adjust ISO lighting levels. The current ISO setting - ranging between 100 and 1600 - will be on permanent display on the camera's LCD.

There's also GPS tagging so that location information is stored when you use the camera in combination with a GPS device. Wireless capabilities makes it easy to transfer photos to external storage devices and servers.

The Canon EOS-1DS Mark III will sit alongside the Canon EOS-1D Mark III announced earlier this year. Priced at £6,000, it will go on sale in October.