On 13th February 2020, Canon announced the launch of a few photography products and services. The big header attraction was the announcement of the development of the Canon EOS R5 and new RF lenses on the horizon for the year 2020, launch of the Canon EOS 850D, SELPHY QX10 Pocket Photo Printer and lastly, Canon launched image.canon – new cloud platform.
A platform that would be very useful in my personal opinion. 5G networks and technology are in place and we should see them being fully implemented around the world in maybe one to two years time. Having covered 5G technology news and developments on my technology and business portal/blog, the ease, speed and low latency of 5G networks would be most useful for photographers to upload into the cloud platform, ensuring a speedy delivery of photographs to their backend/offices/digital editors/clients and even to back up their photography works immediately on their cloud platform. Photographers specialising in the following genres such as press, photojournalists, sports, commercial etc would find image.canon platform very useful in the 5G networks era.
This is a new camera cloud platform for photographers to connect their Canon cameras with users’ PCs, smartphones and external web services. This new cloud platform is set to commence operation on 14 April 2020 (1), his will enhance the post-photography workflow and give photographers a new way to enjoy the photography experience and the joy of photography.
The cloud platform image.canon is based on the concept of a “connected camera” linked to the cloud, enabling photographers to automatically (2) upload images and videos (3) in their original quality straight from their cameras that are equipped with automatic image transfer functionality via Wi-Fi. The Canon EOS R5 that is currently under development is one example of such cameras.
How does image.canon works?
This image.canon makes possible the transfer of image files to connected PCs, smartphones and external web services. The service provides new ways to enjoy photography and caters to a wide range of photographers seeking to improve their post-shoot workflows. This includes professionals who want to enhance their creative process, enthusiasts who want to streamline image editing and entry-level users who want to enjoy casual photography and share their images on social media.
Future Canon cameras equipped with automatic image transfer functionality will store uploaded images and videos files for up to 30 days (4). After the 30-day period, users can opt to continue storing the uncompressed data by migrating it to a 10 GB long-term storage account (5).
From its launch at the start on 14 April 2020, the image.canon service will make possible the automatic transfer of images to users’ accounts on such services as Google Drive. Starting from June, image.canon will expand both its partnership with Google to include original quality backup with Google Photos via Google One, a membership plan for expanded storage, and its partnership with Adobe Creative Cloud (membership plan). In addition to automatic transfer of images and the ability to edit images in their original quality on partnered services and applications, image.canon will make it easier for users to store and share their images.
As AI and 5G technologies are implemented, Canon will continue to propose new ways to capture images and enjoy photography by enabling cameras to communicate in both directions, such as remote, real-time editing of photos and videos captured at outdoor events, cloud-based RAW image data editing and capture assistance tailored to users’ preferences.
* Information and picture courtesy of Canon Singapore and Ogilvy *
Notes:
(1) The CANON iMAGE GATEWAY Online Album Service will end operation on March 31, 2020, and image.canon will be a successor to the service. From the beginning of the data migration period on April 14, 2020 until its completion, users will not be able to access any image files or albums already uploaded to the service.
(2) All Canon cameras released before the EOS R5 will, at minimum, support manual file transfer. Manual file transfer will be enabled from the start of the new service on 14 April 2020. Automatic file transferring, available for cameras equipped with the automatic file transfer function, beginning with the currently-in-development EOS R5, requires users to connect the camera to a Wi-Fi access point that has been registered in advance.
(3) Original images are stored for 30 days from upload. There will be no capacity restrictions in general, however due to operational reasons to provide the service, there may be cases to restrict uploads.
(4) When uploading an original image file, a thumbnail file (up to dimensions of 2048 pixels) will be automatically generated and stored. Thumbnail files can still be viewed on image.canon at any time, even after expiration of the 30-day period following the original upload.
(5) Any file, including thumbnails, which the user does not access via image.canon for an entire 1-year period will be deleted from the service.