News

Along with the five new PowerShot cameras, Canon announced a brand new category of device this morning ahead of this week’s CES in Las Vegas. Called the Canon Connect Station CS100, the square-shaped gadget looks like a mobile printer but is a photo and video network storage device that can connect to multiple compatible imaging devices, letting users to store, view and share images and videos.

The Canon Connect Station CS100 was actually first shown as a prototype way back at the 2010 Canon Expo in New York City. It offers up to 1TB of hard disk storage for photos and videos and includes SD and CF card slots for additional storage.

It features built-in NFC (Near Field Communication) capabilities and Wi-Fi, allowing photographers to tap the NFC icon on their compatible Canon digital camera or camcorder to automatically import new images and videos wirelessly to the CS100. You can then share the images to a connected HDTV and display them in a slideshow format.

The Canon Connect Station CS100’s (included) wireless remote control lets you navigate, sort and manage photo and video files by albums, date taken, or by device. Along with the SD and CF memory card slots, the CS100 has a USB and HDMI ports for connecting, offloading and sharing image and video files.

The Connect Station CS100 device will also allow users to view, upload, and download images from compatible smartphones, tablets or PCs using a web browser. Users can also send or receive images with other Connect Station CS100 units in different locations using the Canon Image Gateway website and sevice. The Canon Image Gateway also allows users to share their images and videos to their favorite social networking sites.

File formats supported include JPEG, RAW(CR2) , MP4, MOV and AVCHD. Backup and restore functions are possible using the USB connection and an external hard drive (sold separately).

The Canon Connect Station CS100 will go on salie in April 2015 for $299. More information, and full list of product specifications here.