Richard at Canon News has uncovered a patent showing a better wiring layout for shoulder mount Cinema EOS cameras. The best part of the patent appears to be images of a camera that is similar in design to the Cinema EOS C700, but there are a few noticeable differences.
These drawings are pretty detailed and we’ll likely see some kind of 8K shoulder-mounted camera, and this could be it.
Head on over to Canon News for a further breakdown of the patent.

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Last week I wrote about cameras that I was told were coming in 2021 by a pretty solid source. That post has brought more information about the accuracy of the information.
A couple of other sources have now told me that while that information has some accuracy to it in the middle of last year, things have changed significantly with the roadmap.
The pandemic and manufacturing challenges that are still raging have changed the plans for 2021. One source told me that the “most exciting camera coming from Canon” will be in the 2nd half of the year, which would most likely be the EOS R1 (unconfirmed name).  Other product announcements have not been finalized as the situation Canon and others are facing make it “impossible to plan too far ahead”.
It sounds like we may have to temper our expectations for 2021. I also suspect there is going to be a lot of contradictory information about product...

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If Nikon is doing it when will Canon follow?

My guess it has to do with reducing overhead cost and making each operations more self reliant.

I have purchased 6 new RF lenses through CPW (Canon Price Watch) which got me in contact with CameraCanada to purchase those lenses at a considerable discount. I had been assured that there was a FULL USA WARRANTY with them doing this. I've received the lenses and been very happy with them, as well as being very happy dealing with George at CPW and Kedar at CameraCanada.

These lenses came with a "USA & Canada" warranty card. I registered those lenses on the Canon USA site (mycanon.usa.canon.com) including all CameraCanada information with Canada location. The site accepted this and offered a link to purchase the CarePAK extended warranty for them. I wanted to purchase a CarePAK extended warranty for my RF 100-500 L lens, and possibly other lenses or body, so I called Canon's line regarding CarePAK and after several long conversations and exchange of documentation with them they said that I could not get CarePAK for anything purchased outside of the USA, and that even if their USA website allowed me to buy the CarePAK I would be refused service from it when I later requested it.

I contacted CameraCanada and CPW, who were very kind and helpful, and were unaware of this situation. Gordon, from CPW, responded with this:

"I checked with my contact at Canon, and yes, they're not supposed to let you purchase CarePAK PLUS on a lens that was purchased from a dealer outside of the USA. Unfortunately, their systems don't seem to check this. It would be horrible to let you purchase it, then deny your warranty claim or service when you try to use it ... we'll note this for future customers. Canon works in strange ways...
Rest assured your item has the standard 1-year Canon USA warranty, as attested to by the Canon USA warranty card in the box."

While I am not happy with this situation, there is nothing I can do about it. If, in the future, I want to buy any Canon equipment which I know I will want to have additionally covered by purchasing a CarePAK for it, I now know that I must buy it from a company in the USA. But if I am comfortable without needing a CarePAK for it, then I will be very happy to buy it from CameraCanada to enjoy their friendly service and considerable discounts which they often have. In either case, I will continue to consider good discounts through CPW, and I hope you will consider them too.

Enjoy your photography, and keep safe!

My R5 shipped late July and I've been lucky to shoot (both photo & video) many more weddings than I thought I would this year (socially distant masking wearing affairs, as well as an unfortunate super-spreader or two). It's such a phenomenal camera and I can't recommend it enough. It really is the pro-level mirrorless we've all been hoping for. But my guess is you already know that, so I thought it might be useful to touch on some of the shortcomings/annoyances I've encountered, especially compared to the 5DIV. Some of these might seem nitpicky, but that's 1. only because the camera is that good and 2. I work in a very high paced environment and how quickly I can see/change/toggle settings really matters. Thankfully, almost everything I'm about to mention can be addressed through firmware.

Top LCD Display
Canon chose form over function with its current configuration. It displays minimal information and is often harder to read. It looks new and sexy (and has cool animations while you toggle modes), but in use its utility pales in comparison to a DSLR top display. From manuals to illustrate:





On a 5DIV I can see everything with one glance. On the R5 only my exposure settings are shown, for some reason ISO is smaller/more difficult to see (I care about that setting as much as aperture/shutter), and a button press is required to toggle to a second page with more info. It's just too slow compared to pressing the shutter half-way to wake the back LCD and seeing all the info there. Further, if you're used to a 5D, here are the settings you still won't be able to see at all from the top display:

• Remaining shots left before card is full (big omission IMO)
• If multiple exposure is on
• If dual-pixel raw is on
• If GPS is on

If you're comparing the R5 with the R6, and the top LCD is pulling you to the R5, don't let it. That said, if Canon improved this, or better yet made it user-customizable with what info can be shown and how condensed, I'd change my tune.

No top mode dial / separate photo/video Mode screens
To swap back and forth between photo & video modes, you have to press mode and then press info, which is slower than just quickly spinning a top dial like on the R6. Canon lets you go into the menu and hide certain modes (Av, Tv, C1, etc.), but photo and video modes are still separate pages. As someone who does hybrid photo/video weddings, I wish we could customize the mode menu so both photo and video options appeared together. I'm often toggling between M for stills and all three custom video modes (One high frame rate, one 24fps, one in crop mode for extra reach).

Update: Definedphotography pointed out that the M.Fn button can be customized to immediately switch between photo & video modes! The camera remembers the last mode you were in for each respective option and will return to that when the button is pressed. After testing it out I can confirm switching is much faster. Strangely, this is only a customization option for the M.Fn button and not others, but the very handy "Dial Function Setting" (the M.fn default) can at least be customized to other buttons. Still, I hope Canon can update the Mode menu to allow photo & video options to be customized and shown together.

Auto ISO
Auto ISO works great if you like to use it, but I don't and I'm constantly getting bumped into the mode by accident. The top rear dial defaults to ISO and if metering is active scrolling it all the way down will stop it at 100. However, if metering is not active, scrolling it all the way down will bring it past 100 and then to auto-ISO. I'm sure many of us habitually reset ISO to 100 when going from indoors to outside, but now I can't rely on muscle memory (blindly giving it a bunch of spins to the left) and instead have to look down and pay attention more. I've spent hours in the menu looking for a disable auto-ISO option, and there isn't one. I've since disabled the dial completely and instead remapped AE lock to ISO (while held down the front dial switches from shutter to ISO). Another option is to change the metering timer (default 8 sec.) to 10 min or 30 min. (closest to always on), but I'm unsure of how this might affect battery performance.

"Unlock" option for custom button
I carry two bodies on wedding day, which dangle at my hip, and having the dials locked helps keep exposure settings from being bumped/changed. The 5DIV allows you to customize a button to "unlock" the dials while it's held down (I have it set to the DOF button) but strangely the R5 has no such custom button option. Toggling the lock button on & off is the only option on the R5, which is just slower compared to the 5DIV.

Listening to voice memos
By default the "Rate" button rates with single press and records a voice memo if you hold it down. You can customize it differently, although I like it setup this way. However, when reviewing your images, there's no way to play your voice memo in the playback quick menu. The only way to playback voice memos is to enter the menu and customize the rate button and trade the rate ability for memo playback. If you only do rates or memos just set it up that way, no big deal. But if you do both, the only way to playback memos is to continuously change what the button does. The playback quick menu needs a "play memo" option.

30 min. record limit
I know this is mentioned ad nauseum, but it really is a hinderance to my work, especially for longer wedding ceremonies. I'd love to leave an R5 unmanned up in the balcony of a church for an hour catholic ceremony. I already own multiple Canon cinema bodies without record limits (C200, C100), but because I film weddings with 4 bodies it would be nice if my C/D cam could be nice and small and save me lugging around such huge cases all day. Having a record limit in the R5 actually has me looking at trading in my XC10 towards a Sony/Panasonic camera instead of simply picking up a second R5 body.

Summary
These are the main issues I've found, and for many of you they might not even come into play. They also seem to be interface oversights rather than purposeful functionality (record limit withstanding), so hopefully Canon can fix them via firmware (fingers crossed). All that said, as a complete package, I still MUCH prefer the R5 over the 5DIV. I'll take more shots in focus with the R5, over slightly faster usability with the 5DIV, any day.

Need a rebate to help me pull the Trigger

Here are a few shots from our visit to Animal Kingdom last week. Used DxO Photo 4 Elite to process.

I had been saving my retirement superannuation for some time in the hope of taking a trip overseas, but with the pandemic running riot, I am a lot safer where I am in NZ. So, I decided to spend my funds on a significant up grade in my kit. I went for the new Canon EOS R6 and RF lenses. I had considered the EOS R5, but the cost, plus the need to invest in the super expensive express CF cards sent me in the direction of the R6, which seemed to have all the features of the R5 that I wanted, plus dual SD cards. I don't shoot video and I don't (currently) make large details prints.

Getting hardware has proved problematic as the supply chain has been totally disrupted by changes in factory output caused by COVID. Right now we have queues of ships waiting to dock to unload, while shops are selling vaporware. I was very lucky. If found a deal with a camera store that I had been with for about 40 years: I bought my first SLRs: 2xNikon F3's and 2xCanon A-1's plus lenses from them when I first got serious about photography. They had stock and gave me a really decent price.

So, I got 2x R6 bodies, 1x EF-RF adaptor, a RF 24-105 f/4 and the RF 100-500.

For me, the results were significant improvements in shooting fast moving animals. With the lens and in body stablilization, plus the animal eye autofocus, I could track and get a much higher percentage of shots of birds on the wing that I could before. I also used my Sigma 150-600 C and 60-600 S on the bodies with the EF adapter.
View attachment 195020
Gory details: R6 RF 100-500 @ 500mm, f/8, 1/500sec, ISO-3200

The animal eye tracking was definitely an improvement over my previous shooting with the EOS 7DII and 5DIV.
View attachment 195021
R6 RF 100-500 @ 159mm, f/7.1, 1/400sec, ISO-100 This bird was really motoring, but the AAF kept it despite the intrusion of other birds and distractions behind.

I would really like to see what an R7 might do....

Chris at DPReviewTV has completed his review of the Canon PowerShot Zoom, a unique camera (or “device” as Chris calls it). This camera is shaped like a monocular and has 35mm equivalent focal lengths of 100mm or 400mm lens, but nothing in between. You can also go into a digital zoom mode and bring the reach to 800mm.
This looks like a cool gadget to pair with a smartphone or to use as a viewing too instead of binoculars or dedicated monoculars.
There is some good and bad with the PowerShot Zoom, so check out the full review above.

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Peter Windsor posted an interesting interview of F1 photographer Charles Coates.

It looks like Fujifilm is ready to update their medium format GFX lineup. It looks like Fuji is bringing a new 102mp BSI image sensor and an aggressive launch price of $5999 USD.
Rumoured Fujifilm GFX 100S Specifications:

102MP 43.8 x 32.9mm medium format  BSI CMOS Sensor
Smaller body compared to the Fujifilm GFX 100
Phase detection
IBIS (5-axis sensor-shift image stabilization)
Price: $5,999USD
To be announced at the end of this month

Fujifilm is also planning a new GF lens according to Photo Rumors in the form of a GF 80mm f/1.7 WR.
 

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The rumor mill has been quiet for a little while now, well until yesterday. A good source has laid out the camera body plans for Canon in 2021.
High-resolution RF body
This has been long rumoured, we were talking about it even before the EOS R5 hit the scene. Canon will release an RF mount body with at least twice the megapixels of the EOS R5. I was told that the new sensor will “utilize new technologies for Canon”.
APS-C RF Body
This is another long-rumoured camera, and news of it has picked up steam over the last couple of months. The source claims that the new APS-C RF mount camera will be “directly aimed at sports, wildlife and videography”.
A pair of New Entry-Level RF Full-Frame Bodies
I have been told that the plan from Canon was to release two cameras simultaneously to replace the EOS R and the EOS RP in the RF mount lineup.
The first body would be the most affordable full-frame camera...

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NiSi is getting into the RF mount lens game with their first lens for Canon in the form of an RF 15mm f/4. The new lens will be officially announced on January 8, 2021, and will cost $539 USD / £419 / €459 at launch.
NiSi 15mm f/4 Specifications






Focal Length（full frame）

15mm



Focal Length（APS-C）

22mm



Lens Mount

SONY E/CANON RF/NIKON Z/FUJIFILM X...

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I’ve looking at L plates for EOS R5/6 to use with Peak design clip, but the only option I keep getting is 3 legged thing universal Ellie PD bracket. Is this truly the only option out there? If yes, how’s the Ellie for use?

I don't know if any of you use medium format cameras, but is there any interest in an electronic waist-level viewfinder, like an old 'blad would have but not ttl? Seems that it could permit a larger image to view, which some might like. Plus such viewfinders are usually built with an effective shade around the image, which is nice. Further, it could come with an option to invert the image (or not) which can aid in abstracting off the composition.

With optical viewfinders seemingly on the way out, all such an accessory would require is a port to plug into. Anyone interested?

As the 600/11 is being sold at $699 it is somewhat understandable that Canon would produce a 100-500/7.1 that does not directly compete with it.

But is anyone here thinking that it was a lost opportunity on Canon's part not make their version of the Sony's 200-600/6.3?

It would directly compete with Sigma/Tamron 150-600/6.3 but at focal length that does not overlap with the 70-200.

It would be a cheaper version of the 200-400/4 + 1.4x

The 100-500/7.1 is just so odd.

I was teaching my daughter about aperture and depth-of-field by showing how Christmas lights get less blurred out by stopping down. I used her dolly as the subject. I was using a 50mm 1.2 on the R6, but later found that any faster lens on the EOS R body also does this. I did not try on the 80D...

Camera was on a tripod. IS and IBIS were off. I tried with and without a B+H UV filter. I was in manual mode. Anti-flicker on or off, same result. Mechanical or EFCS, no difference. (In fact, I could see it through the EVF before taking a shot.)

You can see in the photo the type of fringing I mean. I don't know that it can be properly called chromatic aberration?

When viewed without zooming in, this fringing gives a "bad green screen" type of effect.

A glass also shows a more ghostly type of the same effect.

I tried searching, but couldn't find anything on point. (Google asked, "Did you mean Christmas lights fingering?")

Stopping down reduces and eliminates the effect as the whole subject comes into focus. It's only the out-of-focus area of the subject.

NEW YORK, January 4, 2021 (Newswire.com) – SIRUI have today introduced a groundbreaking new 24mm F2.8 1.33x lens that redefines what is possible from a wide-angle anamorphic optic. It features the beautiful stretched oval bokeh and streaked lens flares that Sirui’s affordable anamorphic lenses have become known for, combined with a new wider field of view.
Options for affordable wide anamorphic shooting have been very limited until now. Traditional wide-angle anamorphic cinema lenses have cost tens of thousands of dollars, while DIY anamorphic adapters based on optics designed for projection don’t cover wider angles. In addition, most of these solutions have limited close focus.
The SIRUI 24mm F2.8 is designed from the ground up to address these needs. The lens features a 1.33x squeeze factor and has an imaging circle that covers APS-C sized sensors. It is available in native mounts for Micro Four Thirds, Sony E, Canon EF-M, Nikon Z, and Fujifilm X cameras and is sturdily...

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NiSi Optics, known for their filters and filter holders will be launching an RF mount wide angle lens soon.
All I have received about the lens is a picture of it, and I can’t break down what exactly it is by the image alone. It looks like it’s an f/4, but the focal length is a bit of a mystery. It’s probably safe to assume that it’ll be a manual focus lens
If it’s priced right, it should do well.

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These are the the currently available EF dSLRs currently sold on BH and Adorama released per year from newest to oldest


2020
- 850D aka Rebel T8i
- 1D X Mark III

2019
- 90D
- 250D aka Rebel SL3

2017
- 6D Mark II***

2016
- 5D Mark IV***
- 80D**
- 1D X Mark II**

2015
- 5Ds R*

2014
- 7D Mark II*

Bodies in BOLD may be the last model of their dSLR product line

*Has rumors of discontinued production so whatever stock is on hand may never be replenished further
**Replacement dSLR model has been released so this model may not be replenished further
***Replacement mirrorless model has been released so this model may not be replenished further

The 2019 & 2020 dSLR models could point to a future RF body

- "R1" to replace the 1-Series bodies
- "R7" to replace the 7-Series bodies
- "R10" to replace the xxD bodies
- "R Rebel" to replace the Rebel bodies

So I’m wondering how many here use the Tamron 100-400mm EF lens on RF mount bodies?

I’m curious about this lens but see mixed reviews in terms of performance at 400mm. Most of these reviews are with DSLR’s which makes me wonder if it was just focus issues that wouldn’t be present on a mirrorless body.

I’m also waiting to see what the rumored RF 100-400mm lens will bring price and performance wise but this Tamron lens is a strong consideration mainly for cityscapes and maybe some wildlife.

It’s probably also worth mentioning that renting isn’t an option where I live also there’s no real 14 day refund policy.

I'm looking at the Canon EOS R6 for a really specific niche use case, and am concerned about a couple of features that I don't see described well elsewhere.

First: Can I watch the images as the interval timer is shooting them?

Second: Is there an easy way to enable interval timer (some custom function option?), or do I need to go through the menus every time?


The use case is underwater photogrammetry -- I'm making 3D models of underwater objects, typically wrecks. Most people who drop things in the water and forget about them aren't terribly worried about how deep it is, from the perspective of divers later, so a bunch of these things are deep enough that time-at-depth is a real concern.

.... So I need to be able to transit (with the camera off, preferably, to preserve battery life), rig out the lights, turn the thing on, and start collecting data as efficiently as possible. If I have to use my heavy cold-water gloves to navigate slowly through menus using the dial on a housing every time I want to start a sequence, or stop the sequence I'm working on to pick up elsewhere, it'll add minutes to bottom time, which is not really optimal.

Like a time lapse shot, using the interval timer for UW photogrammetry requires periodic frames. But unlike time lapse, the camera and the lights are moving every frame. I really need to be able to see what's in frame and what isn't, and where my lights are hitting (or not), or if I've developed a bad backscatter problem, or if my lighting diver is hitting where he should be, or ... any number of other things.

Does anyone who has one know? Thanks in advance.

Dan

I cannot seem to customize a button on my R6 to switch between electronic and mechanical shutter. I would like to be able to do this very quickly and if I have to go into the menu it will be slow as. As an example if shooting a perching bird i would prefer mechanical as i dont need twenty fps but if it takes off i want electronic as it is hard to track a flying bird in mechanical. Being able to do this with the push of a button would be awesome. Am i missing something or can it not be done.

Looking to buy some new batteries for a 50d. Can anyone recommended a good 3rd party brand, or which to avoid, in the UK?

Adorama has one of the few third-party lenses for the RF mount as their Deal of the Day. The Venus 12mm f/2.8 Zero-D Ultra-Wide Angle is $899 (Reg $999) today only. You can also get the lens in the EF mount.
Key Features

Lens Mount: Canon EOS RF / Canon EOS EF
Fixed Focal Length: Focal Length: 12mm
Lens Type: Wide Angle Lens
Image Stabilization: Image Stabilization: No
Special Features: Aspherical

Venus 12mm f/2.8 Zero-D Ultra-Wide Angle for EF and RF $899 (Reg $999)

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