On May 23, Canon announced the "Instant Camera Printer iNSPiC ZV-123", which combines a digital camera and a photo printer. It is a new type of camera that can print photos taken on business card-sized paper.
The price is open, and the expected actual selling price is around 19,000 yen including tax. The release date is June 6th. We will also prepare a simple model "iNSPiC CV-123" (estimated actual sales price is around 13,800 yen excluding tax) that omits functions such as smartphone linkage.
ZV-123 looks like a compact digital camera at first glance, but it has a built-in photo printer that allows you to instantly print photos on the spot. Ready to print. The lens is equipped with a large mirror and ring LED light, so you can take beautiful selfies.
Shooting and printing is easy, just turn on the power and press the shutter button. Like a general digital camera, there are no settings for shooting mode, ISO sensitivity, white balance, etc., and everything is set automatically. The focal length of the lens is a wide-angle type with a focal length of 25.4 mm in 35 mm format, and the zoom function is omitted.
The ZV-123 has a built-in Bluetooth function that supports printing from a smartphone. Smartphones have thousands or even tens of thousands of favorite photos that they have taken in the past. The lower model CV-123 does not have a Bluetooth function, so you can only print photos taken with the camera.
The printer uses ZINK's "Zero Ink technology," which prints on special paper that does not require ink, and can print one sheet in about 50 seconds. The size of the special paper is 6 x 7.6 cm, and the back side is a sticker. The power supply is a built-in lithium-ion rechargeable battery, and you can print about 25 sheets on a full charge.
Canon is familiar with cameras and printers, but this is actually the first time that a camera with a built-in printer has been made. By omitting the rear LCD, which is indispensable for digital cameras, the product has a bold concept that is a little different from the image of "Canon is a digital camera". The company is appealing that it is an "instant camera" rather than a "digital camera".
Because both models can record images taken on the microSD card in the bottom, but Canon does not dare to insert a microSD card and prints what you take on the spot immediately It is like an instant camera. The main usage is assumed.
Speaking of cameras that produce photos as soon as you take them, there is Fujifilm's instant camera "Instax", and I'm wondering which one is better. Canon cites the advantage of the iNSPiC series over Cheki as ``the back of the photo is a sticker''.
The main users of iNSPiC are women in their late teens to 30s. yes. Since the back is a sticker, it can be easily pasted without preparing glue or double-sided tape, and the fact that the photo can be cut out in any shape was highly evaluated.
The mobile printer "PV-123", which was released in September 2018, performed well, shipping 2.5 times more than Canon expected. seems to be Looking at the usage scenes, it seems that most of the printers are used in their own rooms at home and rarely taken outside, despite the fact that the printer itself is small and light and has a built-in battery. Therefore, Canon seems to have planned a product that integrates a camera and a printer so that they can take it outside and use it.
The person in charge of product planning said, "Smartphones allow you to check the photos you've taken on the screen, and it's easy to retouch them. That's convenient, but I hope people will enjoy unexpected coincidences with this camera. It's also hard to look back at the number of photos saved on your smartphone.If you print your favorite photos and put them all in one book, you can see a bunch of your favorite things at once. I hope that young people, especially, will enjoy the joyful experience that photography brings,” he says of his development thoughts.
This camera is digital, but it has an analog-like finish. I'm looking forward to seeing how many fans it can acquire with features that the champion instax doesn't have, such as paper with stickers and a highly portable thin body.
Author Profile Osamu Takeishi
Born in 1981. Since 2006, he has worked as an editor for the Impress news site "Digital camera Watch", covering the camera and photography industry and writing equipment reviews. Free since 2018.