Am I right in saying that Canon has always had a policy of developing its image processors in-house, right from when the first digital cameras started being developed? Given that, today, most other camera makers customize processors provided by specialist LSI chip suppliers, what is Canon's stance regarding in-house development now?
- Kawaguchi
- As a developer, the advantages of designing every single part of the LSI chip ourselves are invaluable. If we want to change something, we can change it; there are no restrictions. What's more, by listening to requests from the design teams and feedback from the users regarding each product, we can reflect all of this knowledge in the latest technology that we develop for the next version.
- Ikeda
- I think it's more than that. There's also the pride that we feel at being the world's leading camera manufacturer. Canon has built up a great deal of knowledge with respect to image capture. However, with traditional cameras, camera makers didn't really need to have much to do with camera film or developing. With digital cameras, on the other hand, we are in a position to handle everything ourselves, right up to the "developing" stage. There is no way we are going to just abandon all of the possibilities that this opens up by entrusting it to someone outside the company. You could say that our insistence on image quality reflects the determination and grit that Canon has developed as a long-established camera manufacturer.
I see. You want to build an unassailable lead in "developing" technology, an area that , beforehand, simply wasn't possible for you to develop even if you wanted to. So given that Canon is a leading manufacturer of printers, which represent the next stage with digital cameras once you have finished "developing" the image, you are aiming to provide users with a total solution that covers every aspect of digital camera use.
- Rengakuji
- The thing that really decides which camera model comes out on top is image quality. If we don't put everything we've got into achieving high image quality, then there is not much point in us making cameras at all. At least, that's the way I see it.
If image quality is the key to success, then given the wide variation in what users want from a camera, DIGIC hasn't reached its final version, has it? What I mean is, it will need to keep evolving in the future. What sort of approach will you all be taking toward this process of evolution?
- Kawaguchi
- I see the evolution of DIGIC as being a process of adding things. It's not a process of multiplication, and certainly not one of subtraction. It's a case of how much you can add within the amount of development time you have. It's basically a very simple process, but having said that, the number of areas that we need to look at in our quest for ongoing improvements in image quality is endless.
- Rengakuji
- I feel that it is important to view DIGIC as a platform. That's the most significant feature of it, really. It can provide the same kind of high image quality and high performance for everything from entry-level cameras to high-performance models. I think that our task is to ensure that users can continue to have that high level of confidence in DIGIC.
Thinking in terms of Chinese food, it's like ensuring that customers who like the flavor of Szechuan food get Szechuan food no matter what class of product they buy?
- Rengakuji
- Yes, that's it (laughs)! Making sure that Szechuan food doesn't get mixed up with Beijing-style food!
- Ikeda
- From a developer's point of view, while I agree with you two, I think that it is more than that. What we are trying to do is to go beyond normal human vision. The goal is for anyone to be able to take high-image-quality photos that not only present scenes the way the human eye would see them, but actually present them in a better way than the human eye could see them. Often, when you ask someone else to take a photo of you, you end up feeling disappointed with the result, don't you? And if you are taking the photo to record something that will never happen again... we want to try to eliminate that kind of disappointment. The key technology that will allow us to achieve this goal is DIGIC. That's why we have to keep on challenging ourselves to do even better. That's the way I see it.
It's certainly true that getting other people to take photos for you can cause problems. I can understand why people find that irritating. Having said that, the more highly automated cameras become, the less demand there will be for professional photographers (laughs)!
Finally, Mr. Sekiguchi, what is your attitude towards the evolution of DIGIC?
- Sekiguchi
- Rengakuji just pointed out the value of DIGIC as a platform. My job is to design wiring so that this value is maximized in each individual product. There is a strong feeling that we need to do our best to ensure that the effort put in by the members who designed the chip does not go to waste.
I see. You don't want to do anything that would spoil the brilliant results achieved by the chip designers. What you do is the final stage in making DIGIC a reality.
Thank you very much, all of you, for sharing these fascinating insights about the development of DIGIC 4 with us today.
