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The first camera in the company's affordable new SX line will put amateur sideline photographers right on the field.

With the trend of miniaturization in digital cameras, one of the first features to suffer is usually zoom capability. Canon attempted to remedy this on Monday with the announcement of the first camera in its new SX line, the SX100 IS, which boasts 10x optical zoom in a fairly compact and inexpensive package.

Besides giving amateur photographers the capability to get up close to their subjects from far away, the SX100 IS also includes an 8-megapixel image sensor, optical image stabilizer, DIGIC III image processor, and face detection technology. It’s powered by commonly available AA batteries, and sports a 2.5-inch LCD screen. An SLR-style dial on top of the camera gives photographers access to 19 different shooting modes.

Canon also pushes the camera’s movie-making capabilities, which go well beyond what many point-and-shoot cameras are capable of. The SX100 IS captures video in full VGA (640x480) resolution, with clips that can run up to 4GB or one hour long, whichever comes first.

“We developed the PowerShot SX100 IS digital camera with all the zooming power and creative control a traditional photo-taker could ever want in a compact and value-priced package,” said Yuichi Ishizuka, senior vice president and general manager of Canon’s  Consumer Imaging Group, in a statement. “This camera is just as appropriate for beginners as it is for more seasoned enthusiasts with a need to capture quality images from a distance.”

The SX100 IS with camera kit will go on sale in October for $299. The package includes batteries, a 16MB flash card, USB cable, AV cable, neck strap, and Canon software.