Dustin Abbott has completed his extensive review of the Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L IS II.  You can check the video above, or read the entire review here.
It seems like most reviewers, Dustin discovered that the updates are for the most part incremental, and not a revolutionary step forward. However, the sum of the incremental updates make the EF 70-200mm f/4L IS II a worthy upgrade for most shooters if you’re using the non-IS or first IS version of this lens.
Some have questioned whether this lens is a worthy upgrade, if enough has changed. If you are looking for a revolutionary improvement over the previous generation lens (perhaps considering updating), that might be a hard choice, but there is no doubt that this is a significantly improved lens on a number of levels. The build is improved, the autofocus is improved, and the image quality is improved. There is no single thing that jumps out at you, but the sum total of the improvements add up to what I believe is the best f/4 lens...

Click to expand...

Continue reading...

They are a fan of this one:

http://www.opticallimits.com/canon_eos_ff/1047-canon70200f4is2?start=1

- A

The video in this link is from Kevin Raber of Luminous Landscape and although I think the theme of a 'war' is hyerpbole he does towards the end bring bring some interesting comments on the tactics of different manufacturers: have Nikon introduced a larger flange to enable them to make multiple formats in a standard sized body? And are Sony holding back on a mega-sensor body so they can trump CaNikon announcements and leapfrog them on the 'look what I've got' stakes?


Interestingly, Sony have just introduced in the UK what is said to be a permanent drop in price of the A9 from 4,300 GBP to 3,700 GBP (Launch price was 4,500 less than a year ago). This is bringing the A9 down from the 1Dx level to 5D4 level. The A7R3 has dropped from 3,200 GBP to ,2900 GBP.

I suspect they have they done this as a spoiler for the CaNikon releases but it could equally be that the take up of the A9 has been disappointing compared to the 1Dx2/D5 (then again 12 months is not a heap of time to change what is a pretty conservative market so have they bottled it?).

These will be interesting times over the next 12 months while they all jostle for position.

Thar she blows...

https://photorumors.com/2018/08/05/...-upcoming-nikon-mirrorless-full-frame-camera/

I have been using Canon since 2001. I Currently have a 1DX Mark II. I am a full time pro photographer doing fashion, glamour and now architectural photos. I wanted to try the Sony for a while after seeing all the great reviews. I only have one lens (24-70 2.8) and that's all I need. I don't do video on the camera or need 10fps. I just wanted better dynamic range and more Mega Pixels.

The camera takes great photos but it is NOT a professional camera. Maybe I am spoiled by how easy it is to work with a Canon camera, but I find the Sony to be absolutely impossible to use for fast work. The ergonomics are just awful. Nothing is in the right place or within reach of your fingers. The camera, even with the grip, is too small, too skinny and to light for its own 24-70 lens, which, by the way, is too big, heavy and long compared to the Canon. Nothing wrong with a big lens, but when the grip of the camera is so skinny, it becomes a problem. The EVF is horrible. It flickers at night with lights and it "lies". You never know what you are going to get. It is either too bright or too dark and everything looks artificial. It has a proximity sensor for switching from EVF to LCD but if the camera is on a table and you are trying to go thru the menus or look at photos, the sensor thinks your hands are your face and it will turn off the LCD in favor of the EVF. Totally stupid. The Menus and interface are super slow. Like everything else on the camera, it takes time. Nothing like the "instant everything" on the Canon. The battery has a bad life and Housed in a plastic container in the grip, it looks cheap and "consumer"... My main problem with the camera is the EVF/LCD combo. Let's say you take a photo looking thru the EVF; there are a couple of choices for auto review: 1 is off, 2 seconds, etc. So, turn it off, and the EVF is blank and ready for another photo, but you don't see the photo you just took unless you click the play button, which takes a bit of time, btw... So, choose 2 seconds, you see the photo on the LCD but ALSO on the EVF. So, you don't really know of you are looking at the live image or the one you just took until you press the shutter half way!

Quality wise, it is an impressive camera. The photos are just perfect. Great focusing, great Dynamic Range and accurate colors, but in my opinion and for my needs, it doesn't work. It is not a true Professional camera. It's great for tripod and studio work or landscapes but if you need ergonomics to change things on the fly while shooting, it sucks. Sadly, it is not for me. I really wanted to like it but I am disappointed. Hopefully Canon will introduce a mirrorless camera in September at Photokina. I will wait and stick with my 1DX II until then. Back to B&H the Alpha a7R III goes. Happy Shooting!

Roger and Aaron at Lensrentals.com decided to do a teardown of the brand new Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L IS II after having one return from a rental with a malfunctioning IS unit. Don’t worry about the reliability of the IS unit, as its the same one that Canon uses in its newer lenses and has proven to be very reliable.
Rent the Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L IS II | Buy the Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L IS II
Roger discovered after doing MTF testing on a batch of the EF 70-200mm f/4L IS II lenses, that the copy variation was the lowest he’d ever seen for a zoom lens. Canon’s manufacturing abilities are obviously on display here, though they’ll never go public with how they’re assembling lenses now, but there are usually some clues in tear downs.

Lensrentals.com speculates:
We have some hints, and a...

Click to expand...

Continue reading...

Hi,

As title “Which used full frame body you will buy today if money no object?”

Please share your comments.

Thank you.

The new site is up and running pretty well, considering its only been 5 days. I have seen remarks about missing features or non working features, so I thought that we could put them in one place for CR guy to consider. I'd expect that some are already on his todo list, but there may be others that he can add. In some cases, our computers are the culprit, I found that out about my pc not working with certain features.

So, I'll start it off:

1. I miss the ability to have a single mouse click to see unread posts after posting in the forum, I must click the forum drop down link, then click new. A New button right next to the mark read button would make me more efficient. Am I missing something? Since my browser (Firefox) is not working right with some features, its possible.

Canon dropped the price of the 5DSR (and 5DS) in the UK by 20% today. Does this mean the Mk II is on its way?

The Tamron 17-35mm f/2.8-4 Di OSD, which leaked out earlier this week is likely going to be officially announced by Monday, August 6, 2018 at the latest, and according to Nokishita, you will be able to preorder this new lens then.
Pricing on the lens is 78,300 yen including tax, which roughly converts to $700 USD. We’d expect this lens to come in at about $499 USD before tax for American buyers.
The Nikon version is slated to start shipping on September 4, 2018, there is no word on when the Canon version will begin shipping.
Tamron has had a string of good value lenses over the last couple of years, and we’d expect the 17-35mm f/2.8-4 Di OSD to continue the streak.

Click to expand...

Continue reading...

https://www.dpreview.com/news/39641...nd-mindshift-gear-merge-into-a-single-company

First GuraGear somehow bought Tamrac but then disappeared itself.

Then Manfrotto wanted to get into bags so they bought Kata. Those Kata bag designs stuck around, but the yellow Kata trim/interiors were now Manfrotto red.

Now this. A well respected jack of all trades gear handling company (ThinkTank) just merged with a fairly innovative photo expedition/backpacking company (MindShift; check out their Rotation 180 packs for a taste of what they do).

Now it seems all the braver innovators (Peak, WANDRD, etc.) are staying private and profiting on Kickstarter rather than morphing into standalone web storefronts. Interesting times.

- A

hey guys. I'm on a struggle in choosing my new camera, that I will probably buy this Christmas. But i'm very very confused
I have about five L Glass from Canon, and my camera is currently a 7D (2009 version). Its impossible to say that Mirrorless isn't messing up the things on camera's market. So I don't really know what to do. Do you know when the new mirrorless canon will be ready ? Should I go for another brand like sony or nikon ? Also, what do you think about 5DMARK IV ? it will be enough for the next 5-8 years ? What would you guys do in this situation ?

Sorry for the bad english

The talk of what mount Canon will use on its first full frame mirrorless camera is likely the biggest question that exists about the new system. We have no heard two different people tell us pretty much identical things on the topic.
We’re told that there will be a new mirrorless mount for a full frame mirrorless camera, though we weren’t told if it’s a modified version of the EF-M mount or not.
That’s not all.
We’ve also been told that there will be a native EF mount full frame mirrorless camera coming as well. In what order these cameras would hit market is unknown.
We have heard previously that Canon plans to announce two full frame  mirrorless cameras within 6 months of each other, and this definitely points in that direction.

It’s possible we’ll get a compact EOS M style full frame mirrorless camera with a new mount and a DSLR style camera without the mirror equipped with the EF mount. There are...

Click to expand...

Continue reading...

About a year ago I sold off my Sigma 24mm art and replaced it with a EF 24mm f/1.4L II. I was sick of the inconsistency in focus of the Sigma art lenses in general, and I just wanted to change everything over to first party lenses.

However, the 24mm 1.4 II has consistently been my least favorite lens. The thing just seems soft at f1.4, and the focus doesn't seem very consistent. However I read the reviews of the lens, and they all heap praise on it, so I decided to get a second copy, and if it was significantly better, I'd sell off the one I least preferred.

Well, I got another one, and it seems just as bad as the one I've had, and disdained, for a year.

I recently bought Reican FoCal, and neither of the two EF 24mm f/1.4L II lenses ever achieve what would be considered "good" focus, according to the standards of that program. Most of my lenses are able to get sharper focus with the proper adjustments, even my 50mm 1.2L, which is often maligned for being soft.

So what's going on here? Did I get two poor copies of this lens? Is it just not a great lens wide open, contrary to the good reviews? I'm also wondering if maybe I'm expecting too precise of details from such a wide angle lens. But the FoCal program seems to confirm that both of these lenses just aren't that sharp.

On August 23, 2018, Nikon will unveil their new full frame mirrorless system and lens mount.
The Rumored Specifications via Nikon Rumors:

Two Nikon full-frame mirrorless cameras expected: one with 24-25MP and one with 45MP (48MP is also a possibility, previously reported in October last year).
BSI sensors (supposed to be new gen/tech with advanced AF).
5-axis in-body stabilization
9fps
Memory cards: XQD and CF Express (ProGrade is coming with a CF Express card).
EVF resolution: 3.6MP (I am not sure if this is MP or million dots).
Very good video AF features.
Video AF could be different for...

Click to expand...

Continue reading...

Hi Folks.
First of all, congratulations to Craig on the smooth transition to the new look, I expected far more disruption.
Now a question for the regular visitors, has the volume of posts / replies dropped significantly since the rebirth?
Is this a normal seasonal low or do people perhaps not like something about the new forum?
There are a couple of things I am having trouble with, I keep tapping ‘NEW’ to read the new posts in a thread then I ‘remember’ to just click the title, which is counterintuitive as previously that took you to the start of the thread! I also miss the ability to contract blocks, for example I have absolutely zero interest in video so used to contract that to just a header to reduce my scroll length, small things but...
Thoughts anyone!

Cheers, Graham.

Roger has made some OLAF-Testing with the updated 70-200/4.

It’s really, really good. It’s extremely consistent with low sample variation. Optically it’s everything I hoped for. Actual reviews are starting to trickle in, and if the IS and autofocus are as improved as the optics, this should be a home run for Canon.

MTF Tests for the Canon 70-200mm f/4 IS II Lens

Greetings Andy

Looks like a winner. Impressive step forward on the 70mm end.

This, it would appear, is what a sequel to a great L lens should look like.

https://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2018/08/mtf-tests-for-the-canon-70-200mm-f4-is-ii/

- A

Tubular barrel, Waterproof & built-in LED design unlock shooting possibilities.
Anhui China, Aug 1, 2018 – Venus Optics, the camera lenses manufacturer who had previously launched a number of unique Laowa camera lenses, are proud to announce the Laowa 24mm f/14 2x Macro Probe Lens, a unique & revolutionary macro tool.
Laowa 24mm f/14 2x Macro Probe is the world’s first consumer-grade probe lens that was developed to provide photographers and videographers with a new perspective and remove their shooting barriers while using conventional macro lenses. Below are the key features of this lens.

Bug-Eye Perspective
The new Laowa 24mm Probe lens can create a Bug-Eye perspective that cannot be done by conventional macro lens. Not only can it focus really close (2cm @ 2:1) and show a great amount of detail and texture, but also achieve a compelling wide angle ‘Bug Eye’ view (84.1°). More background details can then be included into the shots to create a very...

Click to expand...

Continue reading...

Found this big girl scurrying across a strand of web in front of me. Luckily she landed on a tree letting me get a pretty dramatic shot of her abdomen. Be sure to let me know how these look, trying to upload via the new mobile site for CR.

Nokishita has posted an official Canon PDF showing the full specifications for the upcoming Canon PowerShot SX740 HS.
It would seem pretty obvious an announcement is just around the corner, but it looks like it will be announced on its own as the rest of the Photokina announcements will happen in late August or early September.
Full Specifications after the break.




IMAGE SENSOR



Type
1/2.3 type back-illuminated CMOS


Effective Pixels
Approx. 20.3M [14]


Total Pixels
Approx. 21.1M


Aspect Ratio/Colour



Colour Filter Type
Primary Colour


IMAGE PROCESSOR



Type
DIGIC 8


LENS



Focal Length
4.3 – 172.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 24 – 960 mm)


Zoom
Optical 40x ZoomPlus 80x
Digital approx. 4.0x (with Digital Tele-Converter Approx. 1.6x or 2.0x [1])
Combined approx. 160x


Maximum f/number
f/3.3 – f/6.9


Construction
13...

Click to expand...

Continue reading...

For only a few more days, you can save on Skylum’s award winning Luminar 2018, savings apply to both the upgrade and full version of the software.
Coupon Code:

Save $10 (Or more depending on currency) on all upgrades and new purchases of Luminar 2018 Jupiter with the coupon code CANONRUMORS during checkout.

Learn more about Luminar 2018

Click to expand...

Continue reading...

My main man. Canon 5D Mark III, Super-Takumar 50mm f/1.4 @ f/1.4

Two of Sigma’s Art lenses join this year’s buyers’ guide showcasing the year’s best and most innovative technology products for professional photographers
Ronkonkoma, New York — August 1, 2018 – Sigma Corporation of America, a leading camera, DSLR lens, flash and accessories manufacturer, today announced that two of its newest Art lenses, the 70mm F2.8 DG Macro ($569; available in Canon, Sigma and Sony E mounts) and 105mm F1.4 DG HSM, the “Bokeh Master” ($1599; available in Canon, Nikon, Sigma and Sony E mounts), have been honored with Professional Photographer 2018 Hot One Awards. The annual Hot One Awards are given to innovative, exciting and inspiring technology products for...

Click to expand...

Continue reading...

Tony Northrup has amended his original review of the Canon EOS 6D Mark II and is now declaring it the best vlogging camera out there.
What changed his mind? Check out the video to find out.
Canon EOS 6D Mark II at Adorama
From Tony Northrup:
The Canon 6D Mark II really is the best vlogging camera for YouTubers who might need to film themselves at times. Canon’s Dual Pixel Autofocus (DPAF) simply works better than any of the competitors. The only camera that even comes close are Sony’s latest round of full-frame e-mount cameras, like the Sony a7 III. However, those cameras lack a selfie screen, and when they do focus during video, it isn’t smooth and cinematic. Besides the reliable face autofocus when recording, I’ve come to appreciate being able to use fast full-frame lenses, like the Canon 24mm f/1.4, to blur the background. The 6D...

Click to expand...

Continue reading...