Which printer is right for you? The Canon PIXMA Pro-200 which was announced this past September, vs the Canon ImagePROGRAF Pro-300, which was announced this past July.

Keith at Northlight Images has done two exhaustive reviews of the Canon PIXMA Pro-200 and the Canon ImagePROGRAF Pro-300. Two extremely capable printers, but at different price points.

You can read Keith’s reviews of each printer over at Northlight Images.

Canon PIXMA Pro-200 Review \\ Canon ImagePROGRAF Pro-300 Review

It looks like both of these printers is a winner, which is always great for consumers. The Canon ImagePROGRAF Pro-300 has me thinking of getting back into printing myself.

Canon News has uncovered more patents relating to the vlogging style ILC that follows the release of patents last month about the same product.

This patent goes into some detail and both DPReview and Canon News thinks we may be looking at an EF to EF-M adapter on this device. Which would make some sense considering the size and weight of EF-M lenses, keep in mind that drawings aren’t always an accurate depiction of certain things.

We also get a pretty detailed photo of a shotgun microphone attached to this new camera type.

Whatever is going on here, we’re up to almost 10 detailed patents about this product. Be sure to check out Canon News for a further breakdown of these patents.

It looks like there is some good news coming out of the camera industry during the pandemic. Canon has exceeded their sales projections for the 2020 fiscal year on the backs of the Canon EOS R6 and Canon EOS R5. Sales for both cameras have exceeded expectations, especially in China.

According to a Nikkei article, Canon is raising their consolidated net income because of the success of both the EOS R6 and EOS R5

In the manufacturing industry, earnings forecasts have been revised upward one after another. Canon announced on the 14th that it will raise its consolidated net income for the fiscal year ending December 2020 due to strong sales of digital cameras in China. The background is the economic recovery in China, and there is a difference between the non-manufacturing industry, whose business performance is declining due to the re-expansion of the new coronavirus infection, and the recovery.

Canon’s consolidated net income for the fiscal year ending December 2008 will decrease 36% from the previous fiscal year to 80 billion yen, which is 28 billion yen higher than the previous forecast. New full-frame mirrorless cameras are performing well in the Chinese market. Ink sales for home printers also increased due to the expansion of telecommuting. Read the full article

Canon also saw a good increase in ink sales due to more people working from home.

Canon’s full fiscal 2020 financials should be presented before we hit February.

Canon has launched a new site which allows you to shoot photographs with Canon’s $9mil CE-SAT 1 microsatellite, which was launched in 2017 in India.

The CE-SAT 1 satellite is equipped with a modified Canon EOS 5D Mark III and a PowerShot camera for wide-angle lenses. The CE SAT-1 isn’t the smallest microsatellite the Canon has built, there is also the CE SAT-3 which can fit in the palm of your hand.

Canon is spending a lot of R&D on space imaging, and it looks like they’re in it for the long run.

About the Canon CE-SAT-1

CE-SAT-IB is a 67 kilogram microsatellite which can resolve 90 centimeter objects on the ground from space. Additionally, Spaceflight is coordinating the launch of another Canon satellite, CE-SAT-IIB, which is slated to lift off after the CE-SAT-IB mission later in 2020, also aboard an Electron. It will carry three cameras with different resolutions and sensitivities.

Canon has launched a new site that lets you emulate operating the satellite overlooking various parts of the planet.

Check out the Canon REDEFINE LIMITS site here.

It looks like Canon USA has restocked their refurbished inventory, and it includes a few RF lenses as well as popular EF lenses.

RF Lenses

• Canon RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM $879
• Canon RF 35mm f/1.8 Macro STM $399
• Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM $2429

EF Lenses

• Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM $1709
• Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM $2159

EOS M

• Canon EOS M50 Body $459
• Canon EOS M50 w/15-45 $519

You can check out all of the available refurbished gear at the Canon USA store here.

Canon has Now Ranked in the Top Five for Number of Patents Granted for 35 Consecutive Years

MELVILLE, NY, January 13, 2021 – Continuing its mission of empowering innovation, Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in digital imaging solutions, is proud to announce that its parent company, Canon Inc., ranked third for the number of U.S. patents awarded in 2020 with 3,226 patents.¹ With this year’s ranking, Canon has now ranked in the top five for number of patents granted for 35 consecutive years, according to the latest ranking of preliminary patent results issued by IFI CLAIMS Patent Services. Additionally, Canon once again ranked first in patents among Japanese companies for the 16^th consecutive year.

Read more…

Costco announced today that they are closing all of their in-store photo centers on February 14, 2021. You will still be able to order photo services via the CostcoPhotoCenter web site.

The following was sent to Costco members today.

We are writing to inform you about the upcoming closure of the photo department at all Costco locations on Sunday, February 14, 2021.

Since the introduction of camera phones and social media, the need for printing photos has steeply declined, even though the number of pictures taken continues to grow. After careful consideration, we have determined the continued decline of prints no longer requires on-site photo printing.

Digital technologies allow consumers to do more with their photos, including the ability to personalize canvas, metal & acrylic prints, or create photo books, stationery, calendars and other gifts. We will continue to ship these high-quality products and prints to your home or business through the Costco Photo Center website, CostcoPhotoCenter.com.

Costco’s home movie video transfer, passport photo, photo restoration and ink cartridge refill services will no longer be available after February 14, 2021.

Please pick up any remaining orders you have at your local Costco location by March 28th, 2021. We thank you for your business, and look forward to providing our innovative, high quality, personalized photo products to you in the future via the CostcoPhotoCenter.com.

A lot of people are asking when we’re going to see the big third party manufacturers like SIGMA and Tamron enter the RF market. Canon’s L offerings, while terrific across the board are definitely at the high-end of cost in most cases.

This is where SIGMA and Tamron have fit in over the last few years for EF, terrific performance for a fraction of the cost. Both SIGMA and Tamron also have unique offerings for Canon EF shooters, and we probably want that to be the case for the RF mount as well.

SIGMA

SIGMA CEO Kazuto Yamaki hinted at the development of RF mount lenses in a recent article saying “which is why our short‑term strategy indeed involves a possibility of introducing lenses with new mounts – to such photography systems as Nikon Z or Canon EOS R.” I would go as far to say that R&D on the RF mount has already begun at SIGMA.

What I don’t think we’ll see from SIGMA is just mount conversions of current lenses. The business plan from SIGMA has changed over the last decade, and they aren’t simply just designing cheaper offerings, they’re designing great offerings. The RF mount flange distance and control ring offers some unique opportunities for SIGMA to introduce some really nice lenses, as they have EF.

I expect we’ll see something announced later in 2021, but the challenges of COVID could obviously delay the timeline.

Tamron

I haven’t heard anything about Tamron’s RF mount aspirations, but I imagine they are working on it already. I wouldn’t at all be surprised if Tamron gets to market with a native RF lens or two before SIGMA does.

However, there are still a lot of third party offerings for the RF mount, but only Samyang/Rokinon offer autofocus RF mount lenses, while there are many manufacturers that are offering manual focus lenses, some of which are quite unique.

Below is a full list (as far as I can tell) of RF mount lenses available from reputable manufacturers,

Note that this list does not include cinema lenses.

Samyang

Samyang has both autofocus and manual focus lenses available for the RF mount, they are currently the only third party manufacturer with autofocus lenses for your EOS R series camera.

Autofocus Lenses

• Samyang RF 14mm f/2.8 AF $629
• Samyang RF 85mm f/1.4 AF $679

Manual focus lenses

• Samyang RF 14mm f/2.8 UMC $449
• Samyang RF 85mm f/1.4 UMC $299

Rokinon

Rokinon lenses are the same as their Samyang counterparts but pricing can be different between the two versions.

Autofocus Lenses

• Rokinon RF 14mm f/2.8 $699
• Rokinon RF 85mm f/1.4 $699

Manual Focus Lenses

• Rokinon RF 14mm f/2.8 UMC $399
• Rokinon RF 85mm f/1.4 UMC $399

Venus Optics

Venus Optics has been investing heavily into RF mount manual focus lenses, and they have a lot more new lenses on the way for 2021. Currently, Venus Optics is the only company that offers a native tilt-shift lens for the RF mount.

Manual Focus Lenses

• Venus Laowa RF 12mm f/2.8 Zero-D $949
• Venus Laowa RF 12-24mm f/5.6 (Coming Soon)
• Venus Laowa RF 14mm f/4 FF RL Zero-D $549
• Venus Laowa RF 15mm f/2 FE Zero-D $849
• Venus Laowa RF 15mm f/4.5 Zero-D Tilt-Shift $1199
• Venus Laowa RF 25mm f/2.8 2.5-5X Ultra-Macro $399
• Venus Laowa Argus RF 35mm f/0.95 (Coming Soon)
• Venus Laowa RF 100mm f/2.8 2X Ultra Macro AP $449

NiSi

Nisi recently launched their first RF mount, a compact wide-angle lens with 10 aperture blades to produce a star effect to lights across all apertures.

Manual Focus Lenses

• NiSi 15mm f/4 Sunstar $579

Lensbaby

The maker of quirky artistic lenses makes two native RF mount lenses, with more coming in 2021.

Manual Focus Lenses

• Lensbaby Trio 28 RF 28mm f/3.5 $249
• Lensbaby Velvet 56 RF 56mm f/1.6 $449
• Lensbaby Velvet 85 RF 85mm f/1.8 $499

Meike

Another small manufacturer that has been making manual focus lenses for a while now. They are perfect for people on a tight budget.

Manual Focus Lenses

• Meike RF 50mm f/1.7 $129
• Meike RF 85mm f/2.8 $269
• Meike RF MK-85mm f/2.8 1.5:1 Ratio Macro $269

Kipon

Kipon makes a series of classic design prime lenses for the RF mount. The lenses are equipped with an aperture ring.

Manual Focus Lenses

• Kipon Elegant RF 35mm f/2.4 $468
• Kipon Elegant RF 24mm f/2.4 $499
• Kipon Elegant RF 75mm f/2.4 $355
• Kipon Elegant RF 90mm f/2.4 $386

Mitakon Zhongyi

Known for their Speedmaster lenses, Mitakon Zhongyi makes the only native 50mm f/0.95 lens for the RF mount.

Manual Focus Lenses

• Mitakon Zhongyi Speedmaster RF 50mm f/0.95 $679

7Artisans

Currently, 7Artisans has one native RF mount available and another one which will be available soon, but I expect we’ll see more in the coming year.

Manual Focus Lenses

• 7Artisans RF 50mm f/1.05 $490 (Coming Soon)
• 7Artisans Photoelectric RF 60mm f/2.8 Macro $159

TTArtisan

A manufacturer that I am not too familiar with, but they do make an inexpensive fisheye lens for the RF mount.

Manual Focus Lenses

• TTArtisan 11mm f/2.8 Full Frame Fisheye $215

Brightin Star

To be perfectly honest, I have never heard of this manufacturer. It does appear that they sell the least expensive native RF mount lens on the market.

Manual Focus Lenses

• Brightin Star RF 55mm f/1.8 $99

Funleader

Funleader makes a “cap lens” for the RF mount. It’s less than a pancake, so I’ve called it a crepe. I own one of these, but due to the current movement restrictions, I haven’t been able to go out and do what I want to do with it.

Manual Focus Lenses

• Funleader CAPLENS 18mm f/8.0 $149

Venus Optics looks like they’re going to have a busy 2021 with new lenses, yesterday we reported that the company would launch a new Laowa Argus line of f/0.95 prime lenses for various mirrorless mounts, but it appears they aren’t done there.

According to Sony Addict, Venus Optics will also announce a 12-24mm f/5.6 lens for various full-frame mirrorless mounts, including Canon’s RF mount.

Laowa 12-24mm f/5.6 Specifications:

• Supported formats: Full size
• Focal length: 12-24mm
• Aperture: F5.6-F22
• Angle of view: 121.9 ° -84 °
• Lens configuration: 15 elements in 11 groups (2 aspherical elements, 3 ED lenses)
• Aperture blade: 5 pieces
• Shortest shooting distance: 15cm
• Maximum shooting magnification: 0.4x
• Size: φ69.4 × 74mm
• Weight: 497g
• Mount: Leica M, Nikon Z, Sony E, Canon RF

Gordon from camera labs has completed his review of the Canon RF 50mm f/1.8 STM. The “nifty-fifty” for the RF mount. In this review, Gordon directly compared the RF version to its EF brother and found the RF version to be better, but it should be, it costs twice as much.

From Gordon:

It may cost roughly double that of the EF 50mm f1.8 STM, but at around 200 dollars or pounds it becomes by far the cheapest native lens in the RF system to date, making it tempting for anyone looking for a second lens to complement an existing kit-zoom. It’s smaller than the EF version when you take a mirrorless adapter into account, and while the overall style and rendering is similar, the newer RF version is noticeably sharper across more of the frame when wide-open.

You can watch the full video review above, or you can head on over to CamerLabs for a written review with full resolution samples here.