Archive for February, 2010
Press Release (Google Translated)
Cosina has announced the Voigtländer-branded Apo-Lanthar 90mm F3.5 SL II close focus lens for Canon, Nikon and Pentax mounts. Maintaining the same 50cm minimum focusing distance and optical construction of the previous, SL version, the lens has been redesigned with a smaller body. Additionally, by mounting the included close up lens, its closest focusing distance can be reduced down to 32cm, giving a magnification ratio of 1:1.8. Priced at ¥58,000 (~ US $645) for the Canon EF mount and ¥55,000 (~ US $610) for the Nikon Ai-S mount and Pentax KA mount, it will be available in Japan from early March 2010.
Read More: http://translate.google.com/translate?
http://www.cosina.co.jp/
thanks Clark
cr
EF-S 17-55 Replacement Coming?
A patent has been discovered showing the existence of an EF-S 17-55 f/2 IS lens.
Canon EF-S 17-55 f/2 IS
Canon EF-S 17-55 f/2 IS
Patent Publication No. 2010-14866
Published 2010/01/21
Filing Date: 2008/07/02
Example 1
Focal length f = 17.50 ~ 53.05mm
Brightness F = 2.0
Focus back 34.90 ~ 48.26mm
Example 2
Focal length f = 17.50 ~ 52.36mm
Brightness F = 1.8
Back Focus 34.15 ~ 45.06mm
General
Zoom is easy to increase the rate
Increase the amount of movement of the lens
But more aberration
Large diameter is easily
To compensate by increasing the number of lens aberration
But heavier
Patent literature
Placement of the lens to optimize the refractive index
Aspheric lenses
From Here: http://egami.blog.so-net.ne.jp/2010-02-08#more
CR’s Take
I’ve looked quickly, but I haven’t been able to find the actual patent anywhere. Can anyone else?
Thanks Justin
New Pro Speedlite
I was told today that a new pro flash is in the process of being tested and will greatly benefit users of gels, as well as a “few other surprises” I haven’t been told about yet.
Feature List
- Gel info built into unit
- Custom gel accessories from Canon
- A guide number higher than 58. Perhaps as high as 70.
- Some functions of the flash unit are not yet available in EOS cameras, not even the 1D4. Possibly new camera firmware needed.
- Exact announcement date unknown, although 2010 is likely.
That’s all for now.
cr
HDSLR w/Raw Video?
1Ds4 or 5D3?
In my inbox, as well as posted on Planet5D (not sure which came first). There is apparently a full frame dSLR being tested in Europe that can shoot RAW video.
Could the camera be the upcoming 1Ds Mark IV or early testing of the 5D Mark III? I’ve been told previously that the 1Ds4 would have video features currently not available in any Canon dSLR.
The 5D Mark III is starting to get whispers around the web. From myself as well as others. I won’t be posting much at this time about such a camera until regular sources start to say something. The camera could come as early as Photokina in September, but I’m still wagering on a 2011 release.
1Ds Mark IV Release Date
Everything has been quiet about a concrete launch date. There also hasn’t been any new word on lenses. Going by past experience, this is the calm before the storm.
From Planet5D
cr
Sweet
Ok, cruel joke if all you saw was the title of this post. This was sent in by CR reader Chris Bolin.
Check his web site out
Body in Testing
Be on the lookout for a camera body being tested Tuesday evening when Canada plays Norway in Olympic ice hockey.
cr
Rob Galbraith’s Thoughts
Rob has completed some initial thoughts on the autofocus performance of the 1D Mark IV. He notes these tests were done with firmware 1.0.4. He’s going to be reshooting with 1.0.6.
His feelings on the performance are mixed.
I’ve never been in contact with Mr. Galbraith and his findings have sparked controversy in the past. What I will say however is that he’s super technical and a very good sports photographer. I won’t be disputing anything he finds. I will say that NFL photographers have been super happy with the performance of the camera. I will be putting it through the paces at some hockey games this weekend and add some observations to the 1D4 review here at CR.
Read His Findings Here
Lots of Bedtime Reading.
1D Mark IV Custom Guide & ISO Setting Guide
A reader of ours sent us the following PDF file they found on the CPS Germany web site. This is a good guide for current and future 1D Mark IV owners. There’s even a few things I learned skimming over it.
It still shocks me how much is going on inside these cameras.
I found the information about tracking settings to be quite useful. I will also be using AF point expansion in the future and at different settings for different situations. The settings for avoiding background focus shift and foreground focus shift are also excellent.
Happy reading.
Download Here (PDF 5mb)
thanks Steve
cr
Confirmed
I’ve received confirmation that a new Canon body is being tested in Vancouver. Things are so tight lipped that this great source hasn’t seen the model number.
It’s suggested this is final testing before an announcement.
The same source has said we will see a 1Ds Mark IV before the end of February.
So if anyone attending the Olympics sees anything attached to a big white lens that looks suspicious, send me a picture of it.
cr
Some technical goodies
DXO Mark has posted some text results of the sensor in a pre production Rebel T2i/550D.
Take it for what it’s worth.
It shouldn’t be much of a surprise that things are about on par with the 7D, outside of ISO performance.
http://www.dxomark.com/index.php/eng/Image-Quality-Database/Canon/EOS-550D-pre-production
cr
Just thinking out loud here
Canon won’t be attending PMA as we all know, but they WILL be attending WPPI. They can’t be going to WPPI with just the T2i can they?
5D Mark II firmware delays may give a clue as to what is coming down the pipe. Will we get the 60D or the very desired 1Ds Mark IV? I do have a source that swears a 1Ds Mark IV will be around before the end of February.
Again, I’m just throwing this out there.
Another tidbit to think about. Canon has the largest booth at the event and have just launched new ImagePROGRAF printers, The iPF6300/6350 & 8300.
Lenses
Be patient, they’re coming. :)
cr
CUPERTINO, California—February 9, 2010—Apple® today introduced Aperture™ 3, the next major release of its powerful photo editing and management software, with over 200 new features including Faces, Places and Brushes. Building on the innovative Faces and Places features introduced in iPhoto® ’09, Aperture 3 makes it even easier and faster to organize large photo libraries. Aperture 3 introduces new tools to refine your photos including Brushes for painting image adjustments onto parts of your photo, and Adjustment Presets for applying professional photo effects with just one click. Stunning new slideshows let you share your work by weaving together photos, audio, text and HD video.
“Millions of people love using iPhoto to organize, edit and share their digital photos,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “Aperture 3 is designed for both professionals who edit and manage massive libraries of photos and iPhoto users who want to take their photos further with easy-to-use tools such as Brushes and Adjustment Presets.”
“Aperture 3 gets it right,” said National Geographic photographer, Jim Richardson. “The image editing tools are exactly what I have been asking for, they’re so easy to use and give me a level of control that I never even thought possible.
“I chose Aperture because it was the most powerful archiving application around, but it’s now an unbelievable imaging tool as well,” said Bill Frakes, Sports Illustrated staff photographer. “I am beyond impressed with the massive changes made in Aperture 3.”
Aperture 3 allows you to organize large photo libraries with even more flexibility using Projects and the new Faces and Places. Faces uses face detection and recognition to find and organize your photos by the people in them. You can view faces across your entire photo library or view just the faces that appear in selected projects. In a new view that speeds up the organization process, Aperture 3 displays faces that have been detected but haven’t yet been named. Places lets you explore your photos based on where they were taken, and like in iPhoto, Places automatically reverse geocodes GPS data into user-friendly locations. In Aperture 3, you can assign locations by dragging-and-dropping photos onto a map or by using location information from GPS enabled cameras, tracking devices or your iPhone® photos.
The new Brushes feature allows you to add professional touches to your photos by simply painting effects onto the image. Aperture 3 includes 15 Quick Brushes that perform the most popular tasks like Dodge, Burn, Polarize and Blur, without the complexity of layers or masks. Brushes can automatically detect edges in your images to let you apply or remove effects exactly where you want them. Aperture 3 includes dozens of Adjustment Presets that apply a specific style or look to the entire image with just a click. You can create your own custom presets or explore the techniques of other photographers by importing theirs.
Aperture 3 makes it easy to share your work with stunning slideshows that weave together photos, audio, text and HD video. You can select one of six Apple designed themes or choose your own transitions, background, borders and titles, and even add your own soundtrack. You can export your slideshows directly to iTunes® to take with you on your iPhone or iPod touch®. You can also share photographs as beautiful prints, create custom-designed hardcover books and publish to online photo sharing sites like Facebook and Flickr, right from Aperture 3.
Pricing & Availability
Aperture 3 is available through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers for a suggested retail price of $199 (US) and existing Aperture users can upgrade for a suggested retail price of $99 (US). A downloadable 30-day trial version is available at www.apple.com/aperture/trial. Aperture 3 runs as a 64-bit application on Mac OS® X Snow Leopard® on Macs with Intel Core 2 Duo processors. Full system requirements, online tutorials and more information on Aperture 3 can be found at www.apple.com/aperture.
cr
