Archive for December, 2009
*UPDATE*
I updated some confusing English on my part. :)
Patents, Patents, Patents!
We have 3 confirmed lens patents from Canon. I am not a pro at reading and understanding patents 100%. If a focal length or other information shows the below isn’t true, please let me know.
14-24 f/2.8L
Canon 14-24 f/2.8L Patent Diagram
Read the Patent: http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=lbTIAAAAEBAJ
60mm f/2.8 IS Macro
EF-S(?) 60 f/2.8 IS Macro
Read The Patent: http://www.freepatentsonline.com/y2009/0251589.html
70-200 f/2.8L IS II
70-200 f/2.8L IS II
Read The Patent: http://www.freepatentsonline.com/y2009/0296231.html
CR’s Take
That’s all that seems to be out there right now. I’ve reported on facebook before that there would be a new lens coming that isn’t a replacement to anything currently in the lineup. I’m going to assume that will be the 14-24.
I’m going to go out on a limb here and please don’t take it as fact. There’s an obvious lens that would complete the trifecta of new zooms.
EF 24-70 f/2.8L IS II
Still searching for a patent. It would be nice to see all 3 launched at once. Canon’s recent history seems to show they max out at launching 2 L’s at a time. Correct me if I’m wrong.
2010 may be a good year for Canon zoom fans.
cr
Joy!
Sigma has updated their pretty popular 17-70 to include optical stabilization.
Press Release
"Shake me"
The Sigma Corporation is pleased to announce the new Sigma 17-70mm F2.8-4 DC MACRO OS HSM.
This large aperture standard zoom lens offers an aperture of F2.8 at the 17mm focal length and is ideal for many situations such as portraits, sports, macro and general photography. The OS (Optical Stabiliser) function offers the use of shutter speeds approximately 4 stops slower than would otherwise be possible. For Sony and Pentax mount, the built-in OS function of this lens can be used even if the camera body is equipped with an anti-shake function. As the compensation for camera shake is visible in the view finder, the photographer can easily check for accurate focus and ensure there is no subject movement. The maximum aperture of F2.8 produces an attractive background blur and improves autofocus speed.
This lens has a minimum focusing distance of 22cm (8.6 inches) throughout the entire zoom range and maximum magnification ratio of 1:2.7, making it ideal for close-up photography. It is possible to focus as close as approximately 4.7cm from the tip of the lens to the subject making this lens particularly useful for close-up photography.
Three aspherical lenses and one ELD (Extraordinary Low Dispersion) glass element provide excellent correction for all types of aberrations. High image quality is assured throughout the entire zoom range. The Super Multi-Layer Coating reduces flare and ghosting and provides high contrast images. The incorporation of HSM (Hyper Sonic Motor) ensures a quiet and high speed AF. This lens has a rounded 7 blade diaphragm which creates an attractive blur to the out of focus areas of the image. The inner focusing system eliminates front lens rotation, making the lens particularly suitable for using the supplied petal-type lens hood and circular polarising filters.
cr
Video Aliasing Issues
The EOS 5D Mark II, 7D and 1D Mark IV (no word on the T1i) appear to be affected by the issue.
What’s the deal?
“The article by Barry Green is about the oft-reported “aliasing” artifacts in video from the Canon HDSLRs (5D Mark II, 7D, 1D Mark IV). Barry does a great job of backing up a few steps and defining the term aliasing.
Aliasing occurs when you sample something infrequently enough that you create an impression of something that wasn’t there. Imagine a blinking light in a room with a door. You must open the door to check the status of the light. If you open the door often enough, you get a pretty good picture of the status of the light, maybe something like on, on on, off off off, on on on, etc. Your samples are frequent enough to accurately represent the light’s activity.”
Read all about it at Planet5D
cr
“The article by Barry Green is about the oft-reported “aliasing” artifacts in video from the Canon HDSLRs (5D Mark II, 7D, 1D Mark IV). Barry does a great job of backing up a few steps and defining the term aliasing.
Aliasing occurs when you sample something infrequently enough that you create an impression of something that wasn’t there. Imagine a blinking light in a room with a door. You must open the door to check the status of the light. If you open the door often enough, you get a pretty good picture of the status of the light, maybe something like on, on on, off off off, on on on, etc. Your samples are frequent enough to accurately represent the light’s activity.”
Good Review
This is a solid review of the 7D. There’s a lot of bird photography going on here.
http://blog.gsmarena.com/canon-eos-7d-review-bridging-a-gap/
Final Words (From GSMArena)
“There was a lot of commotion in the enthusiast community about the Canon 7D pixel-crammed sensor. The 15 megapixel EOS 50D was not among the Canon’s most successful products and the new 18 megapixel camera made photographers fear the worse – excessive noise without noticeable increase in resolved resolution.
The real-life results however are far from that and they are actually quite promising. The noise is well contained and has a more tolerable film-grain-like look – that’s way better than what most people expected from the most pixel-dense APS-C sensor on the market.
The high-megapixel sensor however turned quite taxing on the current lens designs and as far as resolved detail is concerned, you won’t be able to make full use of those 18 megapixels unless you have one of the handful lenses that can put up with the increased demand.
On the other hand, the excellent design, ergonomics, unmatched video recording, and lots of innovative features make the Canon EOS 7D a ground-breaking camera not only within the Canon portfolio but for the market in general.”
thanks Peter
cr
From Larry Chen
Buy One Here & Get Free Shipping!
Larry won the Canon Rumors contest for the Gura Gear Kiboko bag. He’s ended up showing it of a little.
*note: If you won a t-shirt, I should have the redone shirts soon. Sorry for the delay
Check Larry’s Kiboko here: http://www.worlddriftseries.com
Check Larry’s Photos here: http://driftfotos.com/
Thanks again to Gura Gear for their support.
cr
Patent Fun
I must say reading Canon patents makes my brain feel good. What’s especially awesome about Canon and patents is they have about 50 a week!
Here’s one good enough for Ashton Kutcher.
Touchscreen DSLR!
"That feels good!"
Features (Snippet from Photography Bay)
Two simple and important adjustments that can be modified via the touchscreen are mentioned in the patent:
1. Sliding you finger across the panel in a vertical direction changes aperture values.
2. Sliding your finger across the panel in a horizontal direction changes shutter speed.
Other features contemplated by the patent that may be enabled by touch entry through the LCD include the following settings:
* Focus detection area
* Exposure correction value
* Flash adjustment correction value
* Photometry mode (i.e., metering mode)
* Drive mode
* ISO value
* Auto focus mode
* White balance mode
* Exposure correction value
Read More from Photography Bay: http://www.photographybay.com/….
cr
This is an exact quote of an email I received.
“2010 will be the year for the (semi-) pro’s due to the fact that Canon lost huge marketshare to Nikon.
The new year will bring no 60D, and no follow up for the 500D.
What will be anounced will be the 1Ds IV. This will be a totally new product with a new design. The new design is needed due to the fact that new sensor will be 35x35mm. So sort of medium format but not a full medium format.
The new sensor and format is needed to go into the low 40 megapixel range.
It also paves the way for the new xD model (probably the 3D) which will be announced late next year. For this xD I do not have much technical specs for this product yet, except for a renewed introduction of Eye Movement Focus Control which will be based upon advanced contrast focus while moving the pupil to focus on the subject. Also this camera will be a FF camera based upon the current 21 MP sensor with improved optical range.”
CR’s Take
1Ds Mark IV….. I think a replacement is coming soon, I’ve heard January/February from a few folks. A square sensor though? Wowzers, what do you all think?
60D….. I can see a lack of a 60D in 2010, the 50D and 7D seem to be perfectly placed for their segments. A $999 50D would a good seller. There are folks that don’t care about movie mode, but want a good build.
550D…. I can’t see Canon going into Christmas 2010 without a new Rebel. Not sure on this one.
3D…. We hear about it all the time. A FF version of the 7D is a desired product. Would people pay $3499 for it? Eye control AF? I just got an EOS 3 and they better have improved it by the time a 3D hits!
cr
