Messages

406

EOS Bodies / Re: New DSLR on Tuesday, October 18, 2011. [CR3]

« on: October 12, 2011, 06:48:04 PM »

Where are the CR2 & CR3 sources? There have been some dates announced and lots of CR1 rumors, but it seems to be a bit like convicting someone on circumstancial evidence.  Normally, we'd have something more substantial by now; I'm not saying that there will be no announcement on Tuesday, just that it isn't following the pattern that we've seen before (hopefully some leaked pictures/publicity materials will appear soon). 

If the spec list that CR has posted is true, then it seems to be a 1D Mk5, not a 1Ds Mk4.  I can see Canon wanting to capitalise on the coming Olympics, but the 1Ds Mk3 is very long in the tooth.  I hear the speculation that Canon might do away with the 1Ds line since the 5D Mk2 stole a lot of its sales, but I can't see that Canon would want to lose the premium price point by making a future 5D Mk3 the top high resolution body. 

If this is a 1 series announcement, it will be interesting to see the reaction if Nikon releases its prosumer targeted D800 at around the same time, as NR predicts.  I guess we'll know in a couple of weeks...

407

Canon General / Photography kit getting more expensive...

« on: October 07, 2011, 01:26:04 PM »

http://www.x-convert.com/chart/USD-JPY?period=5y

http://www.x-convert.com/chart/GBP-JPY?period=5y

Bugger.  Still, good for exports... If we actually made anything they wanted!

408

EOS Bodies / Re: No 5D Mark III on Novemeber 3 [CR2]

« on: September 26, 2011, 02:15:46 PM »

It wouldn't surprise me if there are no FF anouncements this year as there isn't exactly a lot of competition in respect of new models from Nikon or Sony.  There's also not a lot of spare wealth going around at the moment. 

This will mean that 2012 would be a busy year for Canon as people will be expecting two new FF cameras, a new Rebel and a mirrorless system; on top of that the 7D and 60D will be getting close to the end of their product cycle...

409

EOS Bodies / Re: Nikon unveils V1 and J1 Mirrorless Cameras

« on: September 21, 2011, 03:47:46 PM »

honest i think all this "too late" talk is nonsense.

it dosn´t matter that much.
the product matters.

Maybe your right, Canon hasn't got to its current market leading position by being first, but by making the right choices at the right time.  My feeling remains that the technologies for making CSCs a success are beginning to coverge; Sony has their new EVF, Nikon has some form of phase detect AF on sensor, Panasonic and Olympus are starting to get into their stride with capable yet compact lenses.  At the moment, no one has everything so perhaps it is Canon that can get the right mix, as they did with EOS.   

One thing that they can't afford to do is leave it too long, like Olympus did with AF, there are a lot of the 'enthusiat-wanting-smaller-second-system' crowd that have already given up waiting for Canikon and invested in either m4/3rds or NEX/NX.  Once they have a lens collection, it will be a difficult sell to get them to switch.  I'm pretty sure that when (and it's now almost certainly when and not if) Canon launch a CSC, they will go for it full throttle.  The only thing that worries me is where this will leave the current EOS system (especially APS-C) because there are still many lenses missing or in need of updates. 

410

EOS Bodies / Re: Nikon unveils V1 and J1 Mirrorless Cameras

« on: September 21, 2011, 02:44:13 PM »

Choosing the sensor size is a difficult decision for any camera manufacturer contemplating a compact system camera.  There is always the tradeoff between a larger sensor with slower lenses and a smaller sensor needing faster lenses; somewhere must lie an optimal sensor size, the question is where? I don't think that anyone really has an answer to this yet.  Perhaps there is no single answer, just as in film days there were multiple formats for different needs. 

When this whole 2.7x crop factor was first suggested in the rumorverse it was widely panned, but my first thought was that with some clever lens design it could deliver some small fast zooms that would appeal to a wider audience than pancake primes on larger sensors.  The problem with the route that Nikon has chosen is that the cameras and lenses don't seem to be much smaller than m4/3rds and the lenses are no faster...

I think that there are really two different markets here for CSCs, the 'better-than-a-compact' mass market (or should this now be 'better than an iPhone?) and the 'smaller than a DSLR so I can carry it when I don't want my full kit' enthusiast market.  None of the current entrants (which is now almost everyone but Canon) really seem to know which market they're serving, so they're just throwing cameras into the market to see what sells.  Panasonic m4/3rds bodies have been getting smaller and shedding enthusiast features, whilst Olympus and Sony are splitting the market into ever smaller segments. 

All the camera manufacturers are facing the question of what will happen when the future generations of camera phones destroy the bottom segment of the camera market.  The '1' system is Nikon's answer, but I'm not sure if they wouldn't have been better off with an APS-C size CSC and cover the lower end of the market with a decent fixed zoom lens camera like the Fuji X10.  I think that Nikon's system will gain a following, but I don't thinks it's the killer move that will see them dominate this market like they do with DSLRs (along with Canon of course). 

None of this really bodes well for Canon, I think that both of the 'big two' have perhaps left it too late to make a significant impact with CSCs; they'd best hope that all this turns out to be a sideline, like the original Olympus Pen.  What can Canon now do? If they'd launched an APS-C CSC with some good lenses at the end of last year/beginning of this year, they may have had more room to stand out.  As it is, the NEX7 looks like it will carve out the top end of this market (if Sony get their lens development into gear!), even if Canon launch next year it will look a bit 'me too' and will be two years behind even Sony in lens releases.  I don't think that Canon would be welcome in the m4/3rds alliance; maybe they should join forces with Nikon in a 2.7x crop alliance!

411

EOS Bodies / Re: 1Ds Mark IV & 5D Mark III

« on: September 05, 2011, 03:55:07 PM »

We Canon users are becoming too used to making excuses for our brand, we have come to expect so little of Canon that we rejoice at any small mercy.  So let's have no more of this "as long as the 5D Mk3 has 9 cross type AF points I'll be happy", you deserve more from a camera that's going to cost well over $3000.

What is the reason to increase the price of a 5D Mk3 once it will be announced? $3000 o.k. Beyond that ... I'll go for a 5Dii  or wait until it is about two years into its product cycle

The 5D Mk2 currently sells for $2500; I can't see Canon launching the 5D Mk3 at this price point, it would force them to drop the price of the 5D Mk2.  Far better for them to launch at $3000+ and sell of their remaining 5D Mk2s at $2500 -squeeze you for every $!! . 

412

EOS Bodies / Re: 1Ds Mark IV & 5D Mark III

« on: September 05, 2011, 03:01:30 PM »

I have to agree with neuroanatomist, I don't buy the Tsunami reasoning.  I don't know if Canon will launch a 1Ds Mk5 this year and I'm pretty sure that they will launch it before a 5D Mk3, otherwise any resolution hungry pro may just settle for the latter.  Far more likely reasons to delay a launch are the economy and the lack of any next generation competition from Nikon and Sony. 

As for the 5D Mk3, it needs better AF, it must really make 5D Mk2 owners' blood boil that their camera's AF system is inferior to the 40D's -a lower end model and a year older to boot.  The D800 will undoubtably have Nikon's top-of-the-line AF (be that the current 51 point system or an improved version) and Sony's A900/A850 replacement will probably feature the new 19 point system from the A77.  To remain competitive, the 5D Mk2 must have at least the 19 point system from the 7D, anything less would be an insult to potential buyers (and don't give me this rubbish about the 5D series being a 'landscape' camera -in my view that's an indictment, not a raison d'etre).  Really, Canon should be moving to match (sorry, catch) Nikon and standardise on the 45 point AF system across all of the single digit series.  That would also enable them to move the 19 point AF system down to the XXD range, where the 9 point system is looking obsolescent against the competition. 

We Canon users are becoming too used to making excuses for our brand, we have come to expect so little of Canon that we rejoice at any small mercy.  So let's have no more of this "as long as the 5D Mk3 has 9 cross type AF points I'll be happy", you deserve more from a camera that's going to cost well over $3000. 

413

EOS Bodies / Re: Where are the BIG information leaks??

« on: August 29, 2011, 06:25:06 AM »

Canon have been tightening up recently, but there are still generally leaks in the couple of weeks before an announcement.  I certainly believe that these leaks are well orchestrated by the marketing department!

Therefore, what I draw from the lack of any big leaks, is that any announcements are still some time away (whether that be weeks or months).  When we start getting a larger number of "CR3" rumours, we can be sure that Canon marketing is feeding out genuine information to build up the hype. 

414

EOS Bodies / Jessops drops price of 5D Mk2 to £1599

« on: August 22, 2011, 01:05:08 PM »

I noticed this today in their shop window, it isn't like Jessops to try to get attention by dropping prices.  Perhaps they're trying to clear out some old stock; I'm sure that some people will draw the implication that a 5D Mk3 must be close, but that seems to be against the majority opinion. 

415

EOS Bodies / Re: A Breakdown of Rumors

« on: August 08, 2011, 03:20:01 PM »

There seem to be a lot of conflicting rumours with regard to the resolution of the new 1Ds series’ sensor.  I’m sure that there are people here that will be better informed, but my guess would be that any new full frame camera’s sensor would be based on an existing wafer.   

Which pixel pitch will they use?

[Based on the table by Keith Cooper: 
http://www.northlight-images.co.uk/cameras/Canon_1DS_MkIV.html]


APS-C   Camera                          Year                             35mm FF         Camera           Year
~3MP     D30                            2000 - 2002                 ~11MP              1Ds                 2002 - 2004
~6MP     D60/10D                     2002 - 2004                 ~16MP             1Ds mk2          2004 - 2007
~8MP     20/30D                       2004 - 2007                  ~21MP             1Ds mk3          2007 - present
~10MP   40D                            2007 - 2008                  ~26MP                  ?                         ?
~12MP   450D/1100D               2008 - present              ~31MP                  ?                         ?
~15MP   50D                            2008                             ~39MP                 ?                         ?
~18MP   7D/60D/550D/600D    2009 - present              ~46MP                ?                         ?
~21MP          ?                                     ?                        ~54MP                ?                         ?

(How the 12.7MP 5D fits into this, I’m not sure…)

The pattern for the first three generations seems to have been that when the APS-C sensor was superseded, the pixel pitch equivalent full frame sensor appeared.  This has now broken down: there was no 26MP / 31MP full-frame camera.  My question is, if Canon wanted to produce a 1Ds MkIV with one of these resolutions, why wouldn’t they have done so in quarter 3 2010, when everyone expected them to?   A quick calculation of what Digic 4 is capable of:

5D MkII - 21MP x 3.9fps = 81.9
31MP x 5fps = 155

Dual Digic 4s should have had enough processing power for a 31MP 1Ds MkIV at 5fps.  So why wait a year? A 1Ds MkIV with this sensor, the 1D MkIV’s AF system and HD Video would surely have been enough of an upgrade for anyone contemplating it.  Did Canon thought that the economy was too weak to sell enough of them? Were they worried that Nikon’s new D4 would outshine it this year?

There’s a suggestion at Northlight that a 40+MP 1Ds MkIV prototype was tested, but has been rejected because of poorer than hoped for high ISO performance.  Referring back to the table shows that a FF equivalent to the 18MP APS-C sensor would have ~46MP.  This raises the question of what Canon were looking for in this regard in a ‘studio’ camera compared to the 7D et al.  Is read noise higher from a full frame sensor?

Maybe Canon is looking to produce a single 1D series body that merges the product lines, but as Keith Cooper states: which price point do they market it at, the 1D’s or the 1Ds’?  Perhaps Canon fear that the Pentax 645D makes the 1Ds’ traditional price point untenable? Assuming that this is not the case, what impact will the 5D MkIII have upon all of this? Will Canon carry on with putting the same sensor in it as in the 1Ds, or will they revert to a lower resolution sensor as in the original 5D? If they do the former, expect the 5D MkIII to look very much like the 5D MkII in terms of its other specifications to maintain the differential between the two lines.  If they put a different sensor in the 5D MkIII, then it would help them to beef up the other aspects of its performance to head off the expected D800. 

Will we see a 1Ds MkIV based on the 50D pixel pitch at ~39MP and a 5D MkIII based on the 40D (1D MkIV?)/ 450D pixel pitch at ~26 - 31MP?

Apologies for the length, I’ve been saving it up for a while -haven’t posted in ages!

416

Lenses / Re: Canon EF-S 18-270 f/3.2-5.6 IS Coming Soon?

« on: June 29, 2011, 01:21:19 PM »

If they do fit USM, I bet it will be micro-USM like Tamron has with the "piezo-drive" motor on their new 18-270. 

417

EOS Bodies / Re: 60D + EFS17-55 f/2.8 - £1000 at Tesco

« on: June 20, 2011, 03:44:01 PM »

Sorry for causing all you guys (and girls?) to get your hopes up... Still it was worth a try. 

I guess it could've been worse, suppose they'd despatched you all a 60D and 18-55 kit lens, then you'd have had to mess around returning it for a refund and I don't know who'd have picked up the postage tab.  That would have made me feel really guilty. 

418

EOS Bodies / Re: 60D + EFS17-55 f/2.8 - £1000 at Tesco

« on: June 19, 2011, 01:35:37 PM »

Seems that a few of you have throw the gauntlet down to Tesco and placed orders; I sincerely hope that they don't try and back out of the deal if they have made a mistake... Good luck. 

Credit to Camera Price Buster, which is where I saw this deal.  Let us know if Tesco do try and backtrack on this offer, as I think that complaints should be made of false advertising. 

419

EOS Bodies / 60D + EFS17-55 f/2.8 - £1000 at Tesco

« on: June 18, 2011, 07:18:19 PM »

Just seen this; could be just the ticket for someone - I think that the price is probably a mistake, but they may honour it if you place an order...

420

EOS Bodies / Re: 5D Mark III [CR1]

« on: May 22, 2011, 10:32:32 AM »

No dual card slots?!??!!?  Even Nikon's prosumer models are coming out with dual card slots.  I'm assuming that the AF will be fixed and the ISO will improve, that's a given.  However, for the "once-in-a-lifetime" weddings, I need dual card slots!!!

I'm afraid that, if the 5Dm3 doesn't come with dual slots, that would be the deal-breaker for me, I'm switching to Nikon.

If you're a pro with a good selection of Canon glass, wouldn't switching to a 1Ds series camera be a whole lot cheaper? What do you do at the moment?!