Here’s a patent that has been misinterpreted on a few websites out there, but Canon News has translated the patent correctly for us. This patent is being interpreted as IBIS (in body image stabilization) when it is in fact related to tilting the sensor to offset changes in the image plane.

Canon News breaks down Japan Patent Application  2018-194766:

This patent application describes cases when zooming a lens, the image plane “tilts” and shifts.  This patent is so that when you are zooming the lens, the sensor will automatically tilt in two axis, depending on instructions from the lens itself.

We have yet to see a detailed IBIS patent from Canon, though we reported yesterday that IBIS will be coming to a future Canon EOS R series camera.

KIPON has announced the ELEGANT series of lenses, the first third-party series for both new Nikon Z mount and Canon RF mount cameras.

The five new lenses will likely start shipping before the end of December 2018.

RF lenses for Canon EOS R from Kipon:

• 24mm/f2.4 (For Nikon Z & Canon RF) 499USD
• 35mm/f2.4 (For Nikon Z & Canon RF) 468USD
• 50mm/f2.4 (For Nikon Z & Canon RF) 325USD
• 75mm/f2.4 (For Nikon Z & Canon RF) 355USD
• 90mm/f2.4 (For Nikon Z & Canon RF) 386USD

Ronkonkoma, NY – December 10, 2018 – Sigma Corporation of America, a leading still photo and cinema lens, camera, flash and accessory manufacturer, today announced the pricing and availability of the highly anticipated Sports line addition announced at Photokina – the new flagship large-aperture telephoto zoom Sigma 70-200mm F2.8 DG OS HSM Sports. The new lens to complete the Sigma F2.8 zoom trio, including the award-winning 14-24mm F2.8 DG HSM Artwide-angle zoom and the 24-70mm F2.8 DG OS HSM Art modern workhorse zoom – the essential tools for professional photographers, will begin shipping in Canon mount in late December for $1499.00. The advanced optical formula delivers the renowned Sigma Art image quality inside the rugged, weatherproof build of a Sports lens.

Preorder the Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 DG OS HSM Sports lens at Adorama

Read more…

New York — A new startup – Colorado Tripod Company – today announced the world’s first titanium tripod and ballhead. “Although the process of extracting titanium from its ore is costly, designers consider it valuable enough for specialty applications such as aerospace, where its combination of strength-to-weight and corrosion resistance is unrivalled.” says mechanical engineer Nikki Gantos.

Learn more about the Colorado Tripod Company on Kickstarter

The product line features a number of improvements including a titanium hollowball that the tripod company claims will reduce the ball weight by 52%. Other highlights include ballheads with a maximized range of motion and tripods built to streamline parts and materials.

Read more…

Major upgrade to Luminar includes eagerly anticipated ability to organize and edit an image library

The new library panel turns the acclaimed photo editor into a one-stop imaging solution, allowing amateur and pro photographers to intuitively import, organize, edit and publish images with unprecedented ease and efficiency.

BELLEVUE, WA – December 6, 2018 — Today, Skylum Software announced the availability of the next version of Luminar, their award-winning photo editor. Luminar 3 will start shipping to customers on December 18 and adds the ability to organize and edit multiple images simultaneously with the new Library panel. This addition transforms the photo editing software into a comprehensive, all-in-one imaging package.

Learn more about Luminar 3 with libraries (use coupon code CANONRUMORS to save)

Read more…

Canon’s new RF mount is going to be at the forefront of R&D going forward, and that should bring us a lot of optical formula patents for new RF lenses.

A new patent application shows Canon possibility bringing the 24-70mm f/4L IS to the RF mount.

Canon RF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM:

Focal Length: 24.71 – 39.93 – 67.99
F-number: 4.12 – 4.12 – 4.12
Half Angle of Field: 41.20 – 28.45 – 17.65
Image Height: 21.64 – 21.64 – 21.64
Overall Lens Length: 99.36 – 108.69- 132.25
BF: 13.50 – 24.36 – 42.60

We wouldn’t be surprised to see this come in the form of a kit lens for future EOS R cameras.

BCN has released their sales numbers for the last 12 months in Japan for the full frame camera segment, and it looks like Canon continues to be #1 in market share.

We noticed a couple of stories last week claiming that Sony had taken over the crown as the best selling full frame camera manufacturer based on BCNs numbers, but that’s not the case whatsoever.

Canon News brown down the numbers for the rolling year, the total market share in full frame for the big 3 over the last 12 months is:

1. Canon 39%
2. Nikon 30%
3. Sony 29%

Read more…

Just a brief update about the site. We have added a new “light theme/dark theme” toggle at the top right of the website. Many tablet and phone-based readers have requested this, and we finally got around to having it completed. This will work on both the desktop and mobile versions of the site.

There may be some tweaks to the dark theme in the coming days.

We are working on some other new features for the site, but don’t expect any further changes until the new year.

OpticalLimits has completed their review of what appears to be the best 50mm lens that Canon has ever produced, the RF 50mm f/1.2L USM.

I’ve been using the RF 50mm f/1.2L USM for a couple of weeks now and I am extremely impressed by it. 50mm isn’t my focal length of choice, but the RF 50mm f/1.2L USM is forcing me to get used to it because it’s so good.

From OpticalLimits:

Let’s start with a disclaimer: Any verdict has to be very preliminary at this stage – it’s our first review using the EOS R after all. Also, keep in mind that the 30-megapixel sensor is rather average in terms of resolution today.

That all being said, it is quite obvious that the Canon RF 50mm f/1.2 USM L is an awesome lens … with a similar awe-inspiring price tag. In relation to other lenses in this class, the performance is already superb at f/1.2. Yes, the outer image region is not truly stellar but it’s impressive nonetheless. The image quality is extreme at medium aperture settings – across the image frame that is. Low lateral CAs contribute to the very high image quality perception. Image distortions are generally no issue. Vignetting is though – at least in its uncorrected state. There is some heavy light-falloff at f/1.2 and f/1.6 but to be fair – that’s to be expected. Most users will not (should not?) buy the lens for its sharpness but for its shallow depth-of-field capabilities. While not truly exceptional, the bokeh is very good with a smooth rendition in the focus transition zone. Out-of-focus highlights are nicely rendered in the image center, less so towards the image corners.  Read the full review

Canon RF 50mm f/1.2L at our exclusive affiliate partner Adorama

NAB 2019 takes place in April of 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The show generally showcases the Cinema EOS lineup, but very rarely the stills camera products, outside of the EOS-1D C from many years ago.

We’re told that Canon will be showcasing the advances in its 8K offerings for the trade show, though no 8K products are going to be “officially announced” until later in 2019. Canon has shown off their 8K offerings at the Canon EXPO in 2015, as well as at NAB 2016 & NAB 2017. However, the NAB 2019 show will bring us a clearer picture of Canon’s plans we’re told.

We have been told that the follow-up to the Cinema EOS C300 Mark II will have an 8K option of some kind, but not to expect the camera until late 2019 at the earliest.

Canon has admitted in the past that they were late to the 4K revolution and that they wouldn’t make the same mistake when it comes to 8K. We expect to see the likes of Sony and Panasonic announce 8K products in 2019 and 2020.