Archive for: cinema eos

Zacuto Launches Innovative Canon & Zeiss Cinema Lens Supports

Zacuto Press Release: Lens supports are an essential but often time consuming and fiddly tool in a filmmakers arsenal. The Zacuto product design team recognized this challenge and has created two new innovative, quick release lens supports that fit seamlessly into any cinematographers workflow. The Zacuto Zeiss Lens Support and Canon Lens Support are fast, easy, unobtrusive and best of all, require no additional work when changing lenses.

Most lens supports require a user to unscrew a stabilization rod or remove a support band in between every lens change. A customer commented to Zacuto product designer, Jens Bogehegn, that there had to be an easier way to achieve the same level of stability without all the fuss. This sparked an idea with the Zacuto design team, who then set out to create a completely new type of lens support concept.

The Zeiss and Canon Lens Supports incorporate a ‘hook and foot’ mechanism with a quick release lightweight rod mount. The hook attaches to your rods and the foot to your lens. The two click together and then separate with the standard movement of a lens change. This innovation is completely unique to the market.

“The beauty of this new lens support design is that it behaves as if there’s nothing on the lens. You can change lenses and there’s nothing getting in the way.” – Jens Bogehegn

The Zacuto Zeiss Lens Support for CP.2 lenses and Canon Lens Support for cinema and compact primes are available for purchase now. Visit the Zacuto website to purchase, watch videos and discover more about these unique products from the design team at Zacuto. Also available through any Zacuto dealer.

The Zacuto Zeiss Lens Support for CP.2 lenses and Canon Lens Support for cinema and compact primes are available for purchase now. Visit the Zacuto website to purchase, watch videos and discover more about these unique products from the design team at Zacuto.

Source: [P5D] | Visit Zacuto

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Canon’s Plans For NAB 2014 Next Month [CR1]

We’re told from a new source what Canon plans to do for NAB 2014 next month. We’re told that two new cameras are planned for the announcement, at least one being in the Cinema EOS line. It’ll have CFast 2.0 and be PL mount. There were no other specs mentioned. The second being unknown at this time.

Another announcement will be a major firmware update for the EOS-1D C camera. New features can be expected, as well as matching all the features currently in the EOS-1D X.

More to come…

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Canon USA Announces Cinema & Enterprise CPS Programs

CPS Cinema and Enterprise CPS Levels are Introduced to Support the Unique Needs of Imaging Professionals

MELVILLE, N.Y., March 19, 2014 - Canon U.S.A. Inc., a leader in digital imaging solutions, announced today that the Canon Professional Services (CPS) program has been expanded and now provides support for all Cinema EOS products. Created over 30 years ago to support professional film photographers, CPS has evolved through the years to keep pace with the changing needs of the modern imaging professional. A new CPS Cinema level has been added to the current Silver, Gold and Platinum levels continuing Canon’s commitment to support professional imaging customers as their needs grow and expand.

CPS Cinema Membership provides members with benefits like maintenance services, which are valuable for filmmakers who use their cinema equipment in all types of elements, repair discounts, and equipment evaluation loans, ideal for cinematographers looking to test out new equipment. In addition, members receive Canon Live Learning discounts, access to a 24/7 Live Exclusive Member Hotline, as well as a range of other benefits. CPS Cinema members receive expedited two-business day turnaround on their registered products at Canon Service and Support centers located in Hollywood, CA, and Ridgefield Park, NJ, with more locations to be added in the future. Additionally, CPS Cinema members can receive on-site Clean & Check Service by trained Canon CPS service and support professionals at select trade shows such as the 2014 National Association of Broadcasters Show (NAB), taking place April 7th-10th at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

“CPS is such an important part of Canon’s award-winning service and support offering. Now with the success and rapid growth of our Cinema EOS products we felt it was time that cinema professionals were also provided with a level of CPS support that is able to address their unique needs,” said Yuichi Ishizuka, executive vice president and general manager, Imaging Technologies & Communications Group, Canon U.S.A. “Following in the tradition of exceptional service and support, CPS Cinema enhances our commitment to supporting imaging professionals.”

To become a CPS Cinema member a customer needs to own just one Cinema Zoom lens, or one of the following Cinema EOS cameras: the EOS C300, EOS C500, or EOS-1D C. Members will also receive benefits on all other qualified products entered in their CPS account. Annual membership for CPS Cinema is $1,000.

Cinema Prime lenses and the EOS C100 are now included as qualifying products for CPS Platinum and receive all benefits provided at that membership level.

In order to better serve corporations like newspapers, rental houses, schools and universities, Canon has also developed an Enterprise level of CPS support. Enterprise CPS is a customizable program developed to provide service and support benefits that meet the unique needs of medium-and-large sized companies who own large quantities of Canon imaging products. Customized benefits of Enterprise CPS can include any or all of the benefits of regular CPS membership in addition to on-site maintenance service, expanded product support and more.

After the success at the 2013 NAB Show, Canon’s Professional Services will again be hosting the Canon Hospitality Suite at the 2014 NAB Show. The Canon Hospitality Suite (Room C201) is open to all NAB tradeshow attendees with priority support for CPS Gold, Platinum, Cinema, and Enterprise members. After checking in at the CPS kiosk in the Canon booth C4325, visitors to the suite located just off of the tradeshow floor can experience Canon’s commitment to service and support for the professional imaging community first hand.

Suite visitors will also be able to chat with Canon experts about Canon’s exciting developments in cinema, video and DSLR technology and Canon technical representatives will be on-hand to provide product consultations. Gold, Platinum, Cinema, and Enterprise CPS members can take advantage of the complimentary onsite Clean & Check Service (limited to two Canon DSLR bodies or lenses or one Cinema product or XF professional video camcorder currently registered to your CPS membership account). Show attendees will also have the opportunity to sign up for Canon CPS membership. Product serial numbers for qualifying CPS equipment will be needed in order to process on-site membership applications.

For details and additional information on the new CPS Cinema and Enterprise CPS membership levels, as well as other CPS programs, or to see a comprehensive list of all qualifying Cinema products please visit the CPS web page at: www.cps.usa.canon.com.

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Two Cinema EOS Cameras Coming for NAB? [CR1]

A few comments in passing about new cameras for NAB next month in Las Vegas. One person described the coming announcement as “two cool cameras, most likely for the Cinema EOS line”.

Canon was very quiet at NAB last year, and I except they’ll make a bigger of a splash this year.

More to come…

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Suggestions of a NAB 2014 DSLR Announcement [CR1]

Two separate folks have written in to say we should expect some kind of a DSLR announcement for NAB 2014 in April.

NAB is generally for Cinema EOS and other cameras that could be looked at as professional videography tools. For this reason, I have a hard time thinking the EOS 7D Mark II would be announced for this show, even if it is rumored to have cutting edge videography features. I think the camera will still fall into the prosumer still photographer segment with some bonus sales to videographers.

I think we’re going to be getting a lot of 7D Mark II information in the next little while, most of which being wishful thinking.  I’d bet on an announcement after NAB, with Cinema EOS products being announced for the show in late March or early April. We are told to expect 2 cinema lens announcements from a separate source.

We will see another round of PowerShot announcements, headlined by the SX50 IS replacement some time this spring, I think an EOS 7D Mark II announcement at that time is more likely.

This is also a Photokina year (we’ll be there), so I suspect we’ll see a big DSLR announcement in late August for that show.

More to come…

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Canon Announces New Firmware Updates for Cinema Cameras & Camcorders

Canon Announces New Firmware Updates for Cinema Cameras and Camcorders Along with Optional Cinema EOS C300 Camera Dual Pixel AF Upgrade

Announcements Include a New Canon RC-V100 Remote Control and Firmware Updates for Peripheral Illumination Correction Support and Continuous Recording for EOS C100 Video Camera

MELVILLE, N.Y., February 24, 2014 – Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in digital imaging solutions, has announced a variety of performance updates for cameras in its Cinema EOS and XF professional camcorder line. Announced today is a new optional feature upgrade for the EOS C300 Cinema camera which will support Canon’s innovative Dual Pixel CMOS autofocus (AF) technology and enable continuous autofocusing with the entire line of Canon EF lenses and optimized for Canon’s stepping motor (STM) line of lenses when used with the EOS C300 camera. This optional feature upgrade is expected to be available in May 2014 for a cost of $500.00 and will require the EOS C300 camera body to be shipped to an authorized Canon service center for installation.

In addition to the optional feature upgrade for the EOS C300 camera, Canon has also announced the new RC-V100 remote control for Cinema EOS cameras and the XF Series professional HD camcorders; a firmware update that allows for Peripheral Illumination Correction when using the Canon CN-E35mm T1.5 L F Cinema prime lens or the EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS STM telephoto zoom lens with the EOS C500, EOS C300, or EOS C100 cameras and a Continuous Recording function for the EOS C100 Digital Video Camera to help ensure capture of crucial shots in unpredictable situations, such as wedding/event videography, documentary, news, or wildlife production.

“We continue to strive to demonstrate our support of filmmaking and television production professionals through innovative new updates and equipment upgrades that allow our products to better serve these visual storytellers,” stated Yuichi Ishizuka, executive vice president and general manager, Imaging Technologies & Communications Group, Canon U.S.A. “By listening to our customers and responding to the various ways our equipment is used in the marketplace, we look to continually advance the capabilities and features inherent in our cameras, lenses, and accessories.”

Originally introduced in the Canon EOS 70D Digital SLR camera, Canon Dual Pixel CMOS AF technology is designed to provide continuous autofocus when shooting in single operator, or run-and-gun set-ups like documentaries, weddings, events, or electronic news gathering (ENG). When used in combination with an STM lens, this technology allows for the capture of high quality video without the interruption of noise by the focusing motor.

Dual Pixel CMOS AF is an innovative image-plane phase-detection AF technology that employs a CMOS sensor on which all of the effective pixels are able to perform both imaging and phase-detection AF simultaneously. Although camera operators can still focus manually, this new optional feature upgrade can enable smooth continuous AF with phase detection, a particularly useful feature when shooting with a small crew or single-operator run-and-gun filming and cinéma vérité style shoots.

The optional Dual Pixel CMOS AF feature upgrade for the EOS C300 Cinema camera supports continuous AF with all compatible Canon EF series lenses when shooting subjects positioned in the center of the imaging area. The technology involves complementary use of a contrast signal to achieve advanced autofocus stability that helps reduce the occurrence of loss of focus on a subject. Also included is an AF Lock which allows users to lock a focus point once AF is achieved and recompose the shot. Canon Dual Pixel CMOS AF also nearly doubles the speed of the EOS C300 Cinema camera’s One-Shot AF function, which enables a DP to focus on a subject located at the center of the screen with the push of a button, a feature that is currently supported on 104 Canon EF lens modelsi.

The Dual Pixel CMOS AF feature upgrade for the EOS C300 Cinema camera will be made available to users through an authorized Canon service center. For more information please visit the Canon U.S.A. website athttp://pro.usa.canon.com/EOSC300FeatureUpgrade.

The Canon RC-V100 Remote Control is designed to respond to a diverse array of production needs requiring remote camera operation. The RC-V100 Remote Control enables users to remotely control main camera functions and is compatible with the XF Series professional HD camcorders and Canon’s Cinema EOS C500, Cinema EOS C300 and Cinema EOS C100 cameras. It allows users to remotely control a wide variety of functions built into the cameras, as well as adjust and set various controls, such as exposure and white balance.

The RC-V100 Remote Control is expected to be available in June 2014 at a suggested retail price of $2,999.

This firmware performance update adds two additional Canon lenses to the list of lens models that maintain even illumination across an image plane, and virtually eliminates vignetting when used in combination with the EOS C500 and EOS C300 Cinema cameras, and the EOS C100 Digital Video Camera. This latest update adds the CN-E35mm T1.5 L F Cinema prime lens and the EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS STM telephoto zoom lens to the seven other Canon CN-E Series Cinema Lenses that share this performance advantage, including the CN-E15.5-47mm and CN-E30-105mm T2.8 L S compact Cinema zooms, and the 14mm, 24mm, 50mm, 85mm, and 135mm Canon CN-E Cinema prime lenses. Fourteen other Canon EF-Series photographic lenses also deliver Peripheral Illumination Correction in combination with these cameras.

The EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS STM telephoto zoom lens offers high magnification in a compact and lightweight telephoto zoom lens with an Optical Image Stabilizer for up to 3.5* equivalent stops for shake correction. The lens’ ultra-quiet stepping motor and focus mechanism support the Canon Dual Pixel CMOS AF autofocus optional upgrade for the Cinema EOS C300 and EOS C100 cameras, providing smooth, continuous autofocusing during video shooting on upgraded models.

Designed for the capture of crucial, unpredictable scenes during wedding/event, documentary, news, or wildlife filming, the Continuous Recording Function firmware update for the EOS C100 Digital Video Camera enables videographers to insert metadata markers identifying crucial scenes and moments in their footage while continuously recording to the memory capacity. These markers — for both “in” and “out” points — can be set with the press of a button without interrupting the recording process. These markers are identified in metadata as separate “shots,” and are simultaneously recorded to both SD card slots of the EOS C100 camera.

A recap and availability timeline of the feature upgrades and firmware updates detailed in this release can be found in the grid below. For more information, please visit the Canon U.S.A. website athttp://usa.canon.com/cusa/professional/standard_display/cinema-firmware.

Canon U.S.A., Inc., is a leading provider of consumer, business-to-business, and industrial digital imaging solutions. With approximately $36 billion in global revenue, its parent company, Canon Inc. (NYSE:CAJ), ranks third overall in U.S. patents registered in 2013† and is one of Fortune Magazine’s World’s Most Admired Companies in 2013. In 2013, Canon U.S.A. has received the PCMag.com Readers’ Choice Award for Service and Reliability in the digital camera and printer categories for the tenth consecutive year, and for camcorders for the past three years. Canon U.S.A. is committed to the highest level of customer satisfaction and loyalty, providing 100 percent U.S.-based consumer service and support for all of the products it distributes. Canon U.S.A. is dedicated to its Kyosei philosophy of social and environmental responsibility. To keep apprised of the latest news from Canon U.S.A., sign up for the Company’s RSS news feed by visiting www.usa.canon.com/rss and follow us on Twitter @CanonUSA.

For media inquiries, please contact pr@cusa.canon.com.

What’s Next from Canon?

The latest announcements from Canon aren’t exactly receiving a lot of positive feedback in my inbox. The G1 X with an EVF for $1000 seems to be irking a lot of people. For that price, the camera needs to be the absolute best in the segment, and I think that’s going to be a hard thing to achieve.

To a lot of people, the resources put into the G1 X II would have probably been better served by moving the EOS M into the mainstream. The M2 isn’t coming to North America, and I highly doubt a lot of G1 X II cameras are going to sell at the introduction price of $799. When the camera is $499, things will probably be different.

We’re told between March and August that Canon will start to announce products that make sense and will be popular.

The EOS 7D Mark II will finally be unveiled and should be in your eager hands by the fall of 2014. It will set a new benchmark in the APS-C segment.

A lot of new lenses are coming, the biggest being a replacement of the EF 100-400 f/4.5-5.6L IS. We’re told that could be announced as early as March, but availability will not be immediate.

A third DSLR will be announced in 2014, though we’re not sure what that will be.

The Cinema EOS line will see a new camera or two for NAB in April, we’re told a lower cost 4K camera will be the star of the show.

There will also be another few PowerShot cameras announced sometime between now and May. Included in that will be the replacement to the SX50 IS.

Things haven’t been too exciting for Canon since the introduction of the very good EOS 6D, but even that started with a whimper. We’re told to expect a lot of exciting products throughout 2014 and that the Canon customer will be happy with the direction of the company.

More to come….

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Canon DLC posts EOS Cinema White Papers

The Canon Digital Learning Centre has published a new batch of white papers on their EOS Cinema system including:

NEW: Personality of the Canon Cinema EOS Lens: Design Strategies
The newer generation of Cinema EOS lenses came from multiple optical design resources within Canon, such as ourEF Lens and Broadcast Lens designs.

NEW: Personality of the Canon Cinema EOS Lens: Image Sharpness
A design goal with the Cinema zoom lenses was to achieve an overall optical performance that would equate with the best of contemporary prime lenses over their respective focal lengths.

NEW: Personality of the Canon Cinema EOS Lens: Color Reproduction
The new generation of Canon Cinema lenses paid high attention to optimizing color reproduction of the lens-camera system, such as how it reproduces skin tones of various ethnicities.

NEW: Personality of the Canon Cinema EOS Lens: Contrast
Achieving a high contrast ratio is universally sought by cinematographers and is always a central design goal for the optical designers.

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Via [CW]

Is ARRI Canon’s Biggest Obstacle in Professional Cinema?

Was there any doubt? :)

Setlife Magazine has posted a couple of graphics showing the technical specifications of cameras and lenses used in the making of the cinematography & best picture nominees.

EOSHD points out a very interesting observation. There isn’t a single RED camera on the list. It’s almost a clean sweep by ARRI.

Although, Canon should be happy with the C300′s and C500′s that have shown up in a few films. I think it’s good news for Canon since Cinema EOS is still pretty infant, and as EOSHD points out, they’re under-specced compared to their competition.

Something to build on for Canon.

SetLife Magazine on Facebook | Read Full EOSHD Article

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Canon EOS-A1 with Hybrid EVF? [CR1]

Hybrid EVF Coming to EOS?
There is a new rumor floating around about the next high end, and high megapixel camera from Canon. Apparently this camera will have a hybrid EVF, optical for stills and electronic for video purposes. Megapixel count is said to be 35mp or higher, though the exact number isn’t known.

The moniker for the camera? The EOS-A1, though it’s unknown if that’s just the prototype name.

CR’s Take
I’m sure there will be a time when Canon starts to experiment with different solutions for the viewfinder in cameras. If the above technology is an actual thing Canon is testing, I’d expect to see it in a Cinema EOS DSLR first. Perhaps such a feature that could differentiate it from its standard EOS cousin? Speaking of which, we have been told to expect a new Cinema EOS DSLR in 2014, and most likely at NAB in “development” form.

A grain of salt on this one, this is a rumor from another web site.

Source: [CW]

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