This week Canon announced its new ELPH series cameras as well as its much-anticipated PowerShot G1 X. We got some hands-on time with the cameras today, and one of the most innovative new features is the face ID system. The application is child-weighted, so that younger subjects get preferential treatment when it comes to shooting group shots. There are a host of built-in image recognition tools for taking pictures of babies too, and the cameras will auto-detect and respond accordingly based on how much a baby is smiling and whether or not he’s sleeping (in which case, it won’t use flash).
But these features pale in comparison to its recognition mechanism. Canon told us that using the cameras DIGIC 5 processor and face recognition technology, you can can store up to 12 people. You can add names and birth dates, and take photos at various angles to fill out this profile. And those who you’ve identified will get priority over the nameless. Check out how it works in the video below.
Before coming to Digital Trends, Molly worked as a freelance writer, occasional photographer, and general technical lackey. She's a sucker for animated GIF blogs, hours-long Wikipedia hunts, road trips, YouTube binges, and the Portland Trail Blazers. Molly is a graduate of the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communications (go Ducks). You can find her on Twitter (@iammollymchugh) and Instagram (@mollygrams).
This is a great idea but it seems a little awkward to setup set up. If would be easier to use the camera would automatically identify an unknown face after the picture has been take and optionally prompt you to “say” the persons name and birth date using speech recognition. Or perhaps allow you to identify people in your pictures at a later time.
This week Canon announced its new ELPH series cameras as well as its much-anticipated PowerShot G1 X. We got some hands-on time with the cameras today, and one of the most innovative new features is the face ID system. The application is child-weighted, so that younger subjects get preferential treatment when it comes to shooting group shots. There are a host of built-in image recognition tools for taking pictures of babies too, and the cameras will auto-detect and respond accordingly based on how much a baby is smiling and whether or not he’s sleeping (in which case, it won’t use flash). 
This is a great idea but it seems a little awkward to setup set up. If would be easier to use the camera would automatically identify an unknown face after the picture has been take and optionally prompt you to “say” the persons name and birth date using speech recognition. Or perhaps allow you to identify people in your pictures at a later time.