For the second time in the last couple of months, we’re being told that a new DSLR series will be announced some time in 2018. Neither source could name the series, only that it appeared as a “new DSLR series” in a presentation.

If we’re thinking out loud, I think these would be the obvious candidates.

• EOS Cinema DSLR
  • A cinema DSLR camera to replace the discontinued EOS-1D C. This has been talked about numerous times over the years.
• EOS-1D Xs
  • A high megapixel pro series body. Since the amalgamation of the 1D line back in 2009, we’ve always wondered if we’d get a camera like this to truly replace the EOS-1Ds Mark III. 
• EOS APS-C Cinema DSLR
  • A cheaper 4K cinema alternative that would “protect” the Cinema EOS lineup of cameras.

Hopefully this will bring a bit more information to the surface. For the moment, this is a [CR1] rumor, so please treat it as such.

Deals-All-Year (99.8% approval) has some deals on popular Canon L lenses via ebay.

• Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS 1.4x $9199 (Reg $10999)
• Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS II $799 (Reg $1099)
• Canon EF  16-35mm f/2.8L III $1724 (Reg $1999)

*Note These are likely grey market items and may not qualify for a Canon USA warranty (Though in our experience, you shouldn’t have an issue). Please check with the seller to see if they offer additional warranty.

Canon has a new mini projector that doesn’t require a PC on the way. While it doesn’t look like it’ll have a lot of applications for the photographer, it looks to be a neat little gadget for a niche market.

From Nikkei Technology:

Canon Marketing Japan Inc will release the “Mini Projector M-i1,” which can project video without using a personal computer, Sept 7, 2017.

The company expects that the projector will be used for making a presentation outside, having a conference in open space, projecting images at a construction site, etc.

The projector can project video by reading out data stored in the embedded memory or a USB memory stick by operating the touch pad. With a built-in battery, it can be used for up to two hours, and it can be used as a mobile battery for charging a smartphone, etc. Read the full article

Roger over at Lensrentals.com has written a nice piece about circular polarizers.

My Not Nearly Complete, But Rather Entertaining, Circular Polarizer Filter Article by Roger Cicala

So, a while back I wrote a not quite complete article on UV filters. To do that, I had to buy new testing equipment and learn to test filters. This was not what I wanted to do when I grew up. But somebody has to do it, and I did get to buy new toys.

More importantly, Tyler (Who handles the purchasing) asked me why, many years ago, I chose the Circular Polarizing filters that Lensrentals stocked. A better person than me would have confessed that I’ve never known the first thing about Circular Polarizers; that I just bought the most expensive to be our ‘best’ and the cheapest to be our ‘basic.’ But instead, I just said, “Well, we should do some scientific-type testing and a more thorough evaluation now.”

Like a metaphor for my life, the results ended up being the opposite of what I expected. I thought if we found tons of differences testing simple clear and UV filters, there would be many more differences in more complex polarizing filters. So today, instead of showing you amazing differences between the various brands, I’ll just save you some money on your next CP filter purchase. That should work out for both of us: you save money, I get a shorter blog post.

Read more…

September 15, 2017, Saitama, Japan -Tamron Co., Ltd. (President & CEO: Shiro Ajisaka), a leading manufacturer of optics for diverse applications, announces the development of a new ultra-telephoto 100-400mm F/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD zoom lens (Model A035) for full-frame DSLR cameras. The advanced optical design of Model A035 includes 3 LD (Low Dispersion) lens elements for greater aberration reduction and Tamron’s original eBAND Coating for superior anti-reflection performance. At 1,115g (39.3 oz) the new lens is the lightest weight in its class* and features magnesium material in key areas of the lens barrel to improve weight reduction, strength and portability. The Model A035 delivers fast and precise autofocus performance and consistently powerful VC (Vibration Compensation) benefits thanks to the high-speed Dual MPU (Micro-Processing Unit) control system that is found in the latest Tamron lens models.

Read more…