Canon Launches New Camera Cloud Platform - image.canon

MELVILLE, NY, February 12, 2020 – Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in digital imaging solutions, today announced its parent company, Canon Inc. will launch image.canon in early April 2020¹, a new cloud platform that connects select Canon cameras with compatible PCs, smartphones and external web services. image.canon will enhance post-production workflow and provide a new way to experience the joy of photography.

Serving as a hub for users’ content, image.canon allows the transfer of image files from connected compatible PCs, smartphones and external web services. The service will provide new ways to enjoy photography and will cater to a wide range of photographers seeking to improve their post-production workflows, including 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.

The Functions and Features of image.canon include:

Direct image uploading via Wi-Fi® connectivity

Beginning with the currently-in-development EOS R5, future Canon cameras equipped with an automatic image transfer function will be able to automatically upload still image and video files² in their original quality directly to image.canon via Wi-Fi connectivity and store them for up to 30 days3—simply by turning on the device. When uploading an original image file, a thumbnail file (up to 2048 pixels) will be automatically generated and stored on image.canon. These thumbnail files can be viewed and used, even after the 30-day initial storage period3.

Long-term storage up to 10 GB

Users who want to save still image and video files in their original quality after the initial 30-day period can migrate the data to a 10 GB long-term storage space³.

SNS connectivity

From the image.canon mobile app, which will be available for free on the App Store® and Google Play®4, users can easily post on select social network sites (SNS) and YouTube as well as share still image and video files.

The image.canon service will also allow the automatic transfer of images to users’ accounts on services such as Google DriveTM. Starting from June, image.canon will expand both of its partnerships with Google to include original quality backup with Google PhotosTM via Google One TM, a membership plan for expanded storage, as well as Adobe® Creative Cloud® (membership plan). In addition to the 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.

Giving photographers the tools they need to keep up in a 5G and artificial intelligent-enabled world, 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.

1 The CANON iMAGE GATEWAY Online Album Service will end operation in mid-March 2020, and image.canon will be a successor to the service. From the beginning of the data migration period until its service starts in early April 2020, users will not be able to access any image or video files or albums uploaded to the CANON iMAGE GATEWAY service.

2 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 on the camera in advance. Wi-Fi enabled compatible Canon cameras released before the EOS R5 will support manual file transfer. Manual file transfer will be enabled from the start of the new service in April 2020. Users can access the full list of compatible cameras on the image.canon website.

3 Original image and video files are stored for 30 days from upload. There will be no capacity restrictions for the initial storage, however the long-term storage space will be limited to 10GB per user account. If a user does not access image.canon for one (1) year, all image and video files, including thumbnail files, will be deleted from the service.

App Store is a registered trademark of Apple Inc. Google Drive, Google Photos, Google One and YouTube are trademarks of Google LLC. Adobe and Creative Cloud are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe in the United States and other countries. Wi-Fi is a registered trademark of the Wi-Fi Alliance. Other company names, products and services mentioned in this document are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.