Canon is once again talking about their 250mp image sensor that <a href="http://www.canonrumors.com/canon-develops-aps-h-size-cmos-sensor-with-approximately-250-megapixels/" target="_blank">they showcased at the Canon EXPO</a> back in September. This time, they’ve presented a paper at the ISSCC 2016 Conference (All About Sensors).</p>
<p><a href="http://harvestimaging.com/blog/?p=1536" target="_blank">Harvest Imaging</a> has this to say about what Canon presented:</p>
<blockquote><p>Hirofumi Totsuka of Canon presented a 250 Mpixel APS-H size imager : 1.5 um pixel pitch (4 sharing) made in 0.13 um technology node.   The device is consuming 1.97 W at full resolution 5fps.  An interesting build-in feature of this sensor is the following :  ALL pixel signals are converted by column SS-ADCs with a single ramp, but in front of the ADC, each column has its own PGA that can be switched to 4x or 1x gain, depending on the signal level.  So when the pixels are sampled, a first check is done to look whether the signal is above or below a particular reference level, and then the right gain of the PGA is set to 1x or 4x.  Simple method, but I think that the issues pop up in the reconstruction of the signal at the cross-over point between the two settings of the PGA.</p></blockquote>
<p>This sensor does not mean that the APS-H sensor size is returning. We imagine that whenever the 250mp sensor comes to market, it will be in a full frame application.</p>
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<p>We’re getting closer to NAB 2016 in Las Vegas, and the cinema related patents are starting to roll out. The most recent is for a <a href="http://egami.blog.so-net.ne.jp/2016-02-11" target="_blank">CN-E 24-70mm f/2.8</a> lens</p>
<p>Patent Publication No. 2016-14816 (Google Translated)</p>
<ul>
<li>Published 2016.1.28</li>
<li>Filing date 2014.7.3</li>
<li>Zoom ratio 3.00</li>
<li>Focal length 24.00 48.00 72.00</li>
<li>F-number 2.80 2.80 2.80</li>
<li>Half angle of 32.94 17.95 12.19</li>
<li>Image height 15.55 15.55 15.55</li>
<li>The total lens length 241.06 241.06 241.06</li>
<li>BF 49.16 49.16 49.16</li>
</ul>
<p>We expect to see at least 2 new lenses from Canon for NAB 2016, as well as more information about the 8K replacement to the Cinema EOS C500 camera.</p>
<p>More to come on NAB in the near future…</p>
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<p>The Sigma Austria Facebook page is teasing a new lens to be unveiled on February 23, 2016. By the shape of the outline, it looks like they may be teasing a telephoto zoom lens faster than f/2.8.</p>
<p>If you have more information than that, please let us know.</p>
<p>The world is waiting for Sigma to release an 85mm f/1.4 Art series lens, and it looks like we’ll have to wait a little while longer.</p>
<p><em>Thanks Alexander</em></p>
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<strong>MELVILLE, N.Y.</strong> – On February 7<sup>th</sup>, the top sports photographers from across the country gathered in the San Francisco Bay Area to cover the Big Game between the teams from Carolina and Denver. With more than 70 percent* of the photographers in the San Francisco stadium using Canon EOS DSLR cameras and EF lenses, Canon’s iconic white lenses filled the sidelines from the opening kickoff to the final whistle.</p>
<p>“Seeing such a large number of the country’s most talented sports photographers choosing Canon equipment to photograph the country’s biggest sporting event of the year is always such a humbling honor for Canon. Their iconic images of the game will be seen by millions of people around the world for years to come, and this drives Canon to ensure both our products and support live up to the requirements and expectations of our loyal customers,” said Yuichi Ishizuka, president and COO, Canon U.S.A., Inc.</p>
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<p>Veteran sports photographers and Canon Explorers of Light Peter Read Miller and Damian Strohmeyer were on the sidelines using the brand-new EOS-1D X Mark II DSLR Camera, the first public use of the camera in the U.S. since being announced to the public on February 1. “The EOS-1D X Mark II is a marked improvement in file quality, and the performance was huge at higher ISO,” said Strohmeyer. “This camera is a big step up!”</p>
<p>A full complement of friendly and knowledgeable staff from Canon Professional Services (CPS), a fixture at major sporting events throughout the year, were on site at the stadium for the entire weekend providing comprehensive equipment maintenance, extensive equipment loans and expert technical support to the major photo agencies and individual photographers covering the game. “The equipment loan from CPS really gave us some opportunities for our coverage we wouldn’t have otherwise,” said Carlos Avila Gonzalez, photo/video journalist for the San Francisco Chronicle. “When an event as large and globally renowned as this is in your area, you have to step up to deliver the kind of work that keeps readers and viewers engaged and constantly seeing your publication as the go-to source for visual content. Canon’s help with equipment allowed us to provide that kind of coverage.”</p>
<p>Canon Professional Services will be proudly attending to photographers at over 32 events this year including major sporting, auto racing, Hollywood, and political events throughout the year.</p>
<p>In addition to the lenses on the sideline, Canon’s line of HD broadcast lenses were also used extensively to help deliver the game to more than 110 million television viewers.</p>
<p>For more information about CPS: <a href="http://www.cps.usa.canon.com/" target="_blank">http://www.cps.usa.canon.com/</a></p>
<p>For more information about the EOS-1D X Mark II DSLR camera: <a href="http://usa.canon.com/EOS1DXMarkII" target="_self">http://usa.canon.com/EOS1DXMarkII</a></p>
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A strange patent for an EF-S 18-100mm f/3.5-5.6 IS optical formula has appeared. I don’t imagine this patent is for a product we’re actually going to see, just something not that obvious in the design.</p>
<p>Patent Publication No. 2016-1224 (Google Translated)</p>
<ul>
<li>Published 2016.1.7</li>
<li>Filing date 2014.6.11</li>
<li>Focal length 18.59 47.22 94.99</li>
<li>F-number 3.60 4.92 5.88</li>
<li>Half angle of view (degrees) 36.31 16.14 8.18</li>
<li>Image height 13.66 13.66 13.66</li>
<li>The total lens length 137.78 158.04 178.30</li>
<li>BF 35.39 52.79 64.61</li>
</ul>
<p>Looking at the length of the lens, this doesn’t appear to be a compact design for a special DSLR either. We have seen patents for zoom lenses in the past that just seem to randomly end at 100mm.</p>
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Roger over at LensRentals.com has written great article on optical quality assurance and what goes into making sure you get a lens that works as intended.</p>
<blockquote><p>After we published a number of posts about copy-to-copy variation, people were quick to say that this company or that needs to ‘just’ improve quality control. I totally agree but realize most people don’t have a clue what ‘improving quality control’ would really look like. I think they have some vague idea of hiring a guy named Joe to sit at the end of the assembly line, check all the lenses, and reject all the bad ones. Optical quality control for lenses is way, way more complicated than that.</p>
<p>Before we start, let’s get a couple of things out of the way.</p>
<ol>
<li> If you expect that the lens you buy has the exact same MTF that the manufacturer published, then don’t read this. You’ve got too much reeducation to do.</li>
<li> If you ever say, “for that kind of money I expect perfect” please don’t read further. Perfect doesn’t exist. For $20,000 and up you can get pretty close. For $2,000 you should be able to get reasonably close.</li>
</ol>
<p>On the other hand, a reasonably expensive lens should have reasonable quality control and minimal copy-to-copy variation.  We know it can be done; some manufacturers are already doing it. Others totally suck. But when they suck, sticking Joe at the end of the assembly line won’t really fix things. If you want to read this pretty long article, I’ll explain why, and also explain some of what can be done. <a href="http://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2016/02/optical-quality-assurance" target="_blank">Read the full article</a></p></blockquote>
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