Archive for April, 2011

A Random Roadmap: Lenses & Bodies [CR1]

I received a roadmap of sorts recently. The information went on to describe what’s going on with a few of the new lenses supposedly coming from Canon, as well as some camera body information.

135 f/2L II
There is a replacement in development, and a prototype exists. However, it is not slated for release for a year or two. The current 135L sells well, and is very high performance.

35 f/1.4L II
The prototype exists and is slated for a 2011 announcement.

24-70 f/2.8L II
Apparently 5 versions of this lens exist. A few even have IS. It is slated for a 2011 announcement. The patent we’ve seen says no IS.

300 f/4L IS II
Expect this lens to arrive sometime in 2011 or early 2012. If what is mentioned next is true, then f/4 lenses may become more in demand as photographers aim to carry a lighter camera bag.

APS-H & ISO
The 1.3 crop will be going away. All cameras going forward will be APS-C and full frame. The ISO performance of upcoming cameras from Canon will be industry leading. This is in part because of sensor technology advancements as well as DIGIC V.

CR’s Take
All of this is pretty plausible. I do expect Canon to have a couple of surprises up their sleeves. We’ve seen that recently with the zoom fisheye and the 200-400 with the 1.4 teleconverter built in.

cr

7D Firmware 1.2.5 Posted Again

Canon UK has reposted the 7D Firmware version 1.2.5 on their web site. This is the same firmware we previously posted.

Changes in this Firmware

Firmware Version 1.2.5 incorporates the following improvements and fixes.

1. Fixed a rare phenomenon in which there were rare cases where movie files taken could not be opened when repeatedly shooting movies with specific CF cards.
2. Fixed a rare phenomenon in which there were cases where “Err 02″ appeared when repeatedly shooting still images with specific CF cards.
3. Fixed a phenomenon that occurred when using high-capacity (32 GB or greater) CF cards: If either a CF card with only a little available space remaining or the battery was removed and then reinserted into the camera, and then the user attempted to start shooting movies immediately, shooting would stop.
4. Improved the writing/reading speeds when using UDMA 7-compatible CF cards.
5. Fixed a phenomenon that occurred when custom function C.Fn 4-1 was set to assign IS start to the AF stop button on the lens: When used with lenses that do not have an AF stop button, the IS function would not work.
6. Corrected some mistakes in the menu screens displayed in Arabic and Portuguese. (This applies to models in overseas markets. The models for the Japanese market do not display those languages.)

Download Below

Version 1.2.5 (Windows)

Version 1.2.5 (Mac)

thanks Paul

cr

EF 24-70 f/2.8L II Patent Published

It’s coming, really!
We posted the filed patent of a 24-70 f/2.8L II way back in October. However it has now been published as of April 21, 2011. The big omission appears to be IS. I think it’s safe to say the lens is coming soon.

Other Lenses in the Patent
A couple of other lenses appear in the patent. A 70-300 f/4-5.6L IS, which has been released. Also appearing is a 55-250 IS lens. This could be a version II of the current lens. It could also shrink to 200mm at the long end.

Patent Information

• Patent Publication No. 2011-81062
• Published 2011.4.21
• Filled 2009.10.5

24-70 f/2.8L II

• Focal distance f=24.74 – 67.50mm
• Fno 2.92 – 2.91
• Half angle of view 41.17 – 17.77 deg.
• Lens length 206.42 – 177.53mm
• Back focus 38.43mm
• Aspherical 2
• zoom ratio 2.73x
• MOD 0.38m

70-300 f/4-5.6L IS

• Focal distance f=72.21 – 299.52mm
• Fno 4.65 – 5.85
• Half angle of view 16.68 – 4.13 deg.
• Lens length 142.64 – 201.84mm
• Back focus 37.77mm
• Aspherical 1
• zoom ratio 4.15x
• MOD 1.4m

55-250 f/4-5.6 IS

• Focal distance f=55.60 – 203.11mm
• Fno 4.16 – 5.88
• Half angle of view 13.80 – 3.85 deg.
• Lens length 162.05 – 202.41mm
• Back focus 58.79 – 82.03mm
• Aspherical 0
• zoom ratio 3.65x
• MOD 1.5m

Egami notes the 24-70 patent shows possible performance issues. You can check out their findings here.

Quote

The performance does not seem to be so good. The spherical aberration is delivered to less than +-0.2mm in all conditions at the outskirts. The astigmatism exceeds 1mm extremely badly in the short distance. The distortion is -4% of barrels type in the wide side. In the short distance, the distortion is +5% of lozenge type in the tele side. The chromatic aberration of magnification is corrected well.

cr

Canon Destroys Nikon in DSLR Marketshare for 2010

Oh Joy
The IDC reported yesterday on the marketshare of the camera makers for 2010.

Canon remains the #1 camera maker in the world if you included PowerShots. Sony is in 2nd place.

However, in DSLR marketshare for 2010. Canon kicked the butt of pretty much everyone out there.

DSLR Global Marketshare 2010

1. Canon 44.5%
2. Nikon 29.8%
3. Sony 11.9 %

I always attach a grain of salt to marketshare research, everyone seems to come up with a different number. However, IDC is pretty well respected.

Source [1001noisycameras] via [Bloomberg]

cr

*UPDATE* Firmware 1.2.5 for EOS 7D

*UPDATE*
Canon has killed the links to the firmware on the various sites around the globe. So I am going to host it instead.

Download EOS 7D Firmware 1.2.5 (12.4mb)

Extract the .fir file and put it on the root of a CF card. Put the CF card in your 7D and go to the firmware section in your menu. Select the file on the card and install.

This firmware is official Canon firmware that was prematurely leaked by Canon UK & Canon Europe.

Disclaimer
Should you install it? I have and everything is ok. If you’re a bit uncomfortable doing so, you can probably live without it. If you have any of the bugs listed below, installing it is probably wise.

thanks Eric

Changes in this firmware

Firmware Version 1.2.5 incorporates the following improvements and fixes.

1. Fixed a rare phenomenon in which there were rare cases where movie files taken could not be opened when repeatedly shooting movies with specific CF cards.
2. Fixed a rare phenomenon in which there were cases where “Err 02″ appeared when repeatedly shooting still images with specific CF cards.
3. Fixed a phenomenon that occurred when using high-capacity (32 GB or greater) CF cards: If either a CF card with only a little available space remaining or the battery was removed and then reinserted into the camera, and then the user attempted to start shooting movies immediately, shooting would stop.
4. Improved the writing/reading speeds when using UDMA 7-compatible CF cards.
5. Fixed a phenomenon that occurred when custom function C.Fn 4-1 was set to assign IS start to the AF stop button on the lens: When used with lenses that do not have an AF stop button, the IS function would not work.
6. Corrected some mistakes in the menu screens displayed in Arabic and Portuguese. (This applies to models in overseas markets. The models for the Japanese market do not display those languages.)

Posted on the Canon UK web site here (mac) & here (win)

thanks W

cr

Digital Photo Professional 3.10.1 Updater

A new Digital Photo Professional is available from Canon. Below are some of the changes.

1. Support added for images taken with the EOS Kiss X50 / EOS REBEL T3 / EOS 1100D, EOS Kiss X5 / EOS REBEL T3i / EOS 600D. If using an earlier version, images take with the EOS Kiss X50 / EOS REBEL T3 / EOS 1100D, EOS Kiss X5 / EOS REBEL T3i / EOS 600D will not be supported. Please update to version 3.10 or later.
2. Additional lenses now covered by correction of lens aberration. Including overseas models, images taken with the following six lenses are now covered by lens aberration correction. EF 8-15mm F4L USM Fisheye, EF 15mm F2.8 Fisheye, EF 300mm F2.8 II IS USM, EF 400mm F2.8 II IS USM, EF-S 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 III (an overseas model), EF-S 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 IS II. Distortion aberration correction for images taken with fisheye lenses (EF 8-15mm F4L USM Fisheye, EF 15mm F2.8 Fisheye) enables the user to select four types of effects that are not covered by ordinary distortion correction. Note that depending on the camera used, there are cases where images taken with applicable lenses may not be covered by aberration correction.
3. Added a function for circular masking. The new Circle option can be selected from the Ratio pull-down menu for the Trimming/angle adjustment tool. The behavior differs from when rectangles like 1:1 are selected in that selecting Circle will masking everything outside of the selected area.
4. When performing Noise Reduction processing, there were cases where the screen would momentarily turn magenta.
5. Fixed a malfunction involving PCs on which multiple versions of Photoshop are installed; there were cases where the Transfer to Photoshop command would be dimmed.
6. Fixed a malfunction in which attempting to display NR Preview while the highlight warning was displayed would cause the Preview screen to turn deep blue.
7. Fixed a malfunction that occurred if an image was overwritten by a newer version after a rating had been set; there were cases where the editing results were destroyed and the image reverted back to the settings when it was first taken.
8. Fixed a malfunction wherein white lines would appear in the displayed results if an image was displayed at 100% in the Edit Window or the Edit Image Window and the window was then scrolled.
9. Windows XP SP2 is no longer supported

If using this software in a Windows XP environment, please update Windows to Service Pack 3 before installing the software.

Available for Download from Canon Europe here (mac) & here (win)

cr

EF 24-105 f/4L IS II [CR1]

With a 5D Mark III
Whenever we see a new 5D, I’m told we’ll also see it kitted with a new 24-105 f/4L IS II lens.

CR’s Take
There has been talk about this in the past, it’s definitely possible. The optics of this lens could be improved, though I think it’s very good.  I’d love to see it with the same hood/zoom design of the 24-70.

I have no idea if there’s some kind of design they could come up with to aid video.

cr

EF 8-15 Fisheye Coming Soon?

Here’s Hoping!
Received some information today saying that initial availability of the EF 8-15 f/4L Fisheye will be in the next 20-40 days.

CR’s Take
It’s a good bet they want this lens out as soon as possible. It’s going to be a sales winner.

thanks Daniel

cr

Don’t Break Your Gear

This is an official statement from Canon USA CPS

We at Canon extend our heartfelt condolences to all those affected by the March 11 Japan earthquake, along with their families and loved ones. We pray for the safety of everyone in affected areas and hope that the region will soon complete the rebuilding and healing process.

Immediately following the earthquake, Canon Inc. launched recovery activities spanning development, production, and sales operations through a collective effort across the Canon group.

Currently, Canon USA has appropriate inventories of most service parts, and CPS repair operations are functioning normally. However, in the near future, certain camera and video service parts may become temporarily unavailable pending recovery efforts. If this occurs, it may be difficult to repair products within the standard CPS timeframes (for each member level). Additionally, loaner equipment may become unavailable as a result of increased demand.

Please accept our sincere apologies for this inconvenience and be assured that we will continue to use our best efforts to give your repairs our highest priority according to your membership level. In the event a repair cannot be completed in a timely manner due to lack of parts, we will work as necessary with affected members on an individual basis.

We will continue to evaluate our inventory and production situation and ask for your patience and understanding during this trying time. We at Canon truly value our relationship with you and we are working hard to minimize the impact of this disaster on our customers.

thanks Jeff and Rich

cr

26.4mp 5D Mark III Mid-year? [CR1]

A new 5D Mark III rumor popped up on [CGG] this weekend.

Specifications

• 26.4 million effective pixels
• ISO expandable to 102,400
• 19 point AF system, 3 cross-type points
• DIGIC 5
• 4.9 fps continuous shooting
• 63-zone iFCL metering
• 1.04 million dot LCD
• Improved camera grip
• Improved pentaprism, approximately 100% frame coverage
• released mid-year

All the specs are reasonable and almost expected.

All other info I’ve received has said 30+ mp and 7D AF. No word on video specs yet.

thanks Herfried

cr