Happy Birthday Ansel Adams

Ansel Adams

Well, it’s not Canon related, but I hope you appreciate.

Today is Ansel Adam’s birthday, he would turn 111 years old if he were still alive today. Quoting The Huffington Post:

Adams began his career as a photographer in the early 20th century selling snapshots of Yosemite National Park. Obsessed with fine-tuning his craft, the San Francisco-born artist was known to dabble in everything from soft-focus imagery to etching before settling on a photographic style marked by sharp contrast and intense exposures. Over the course of his 60-year career, he worked closely with fellow photographers Fred Archer and Alfred Stieglitz, showed his work at a major retrospective at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and helped to found the major photography magazine, Aperture.

[via Huffington Post]

Canon Product Advisory For Speedlite AF Assist Beam Issue on EOS 5D Mark III and EOS -1D X

Speedlite AF assist beam

Ok, Canon reacted to the problem of the auto-focus beam issue observed using Speedlite AF assist beam with a Canon EOS 5D Mark III (price & specs) or Canon EOS-1D X (price & specs). Everything started when a user posted about the problem in the Canon USA EOS forum, getting the following answer from a forum moderator (I reported about this here):

Canon has confirmed that, depending upon the shooting conditions, it may take slightly longer for the EOS 5D Mark III and EOS-1D X digital SLR cameras to acquire focus when using the Speedlite’s AF Assist Beam, compared with that of the EOS 5D Mark II and EOS-1D Mark IV digital SLR cameras using the Speedlite’s AF Assist Beam. We are developing a firmware update to enhance the focusing feature for the EOS 5D Mark III and the EOS-1D X. The schedule for release of this firmware update will be announced shortly.

Yesterday Canon USA released the following product advisory:

Thank you for using Canon products.

Affected Products

EOS 5D Mark III Digital SLR Camera

EOS-1D X Digital SLR Camera

Details

Depending upon the shooting conditions, it may take slightly longer for the EOS 5D Mark III and EOS-1D X digital SLR cameras to acquire focus when using the Speedlite’s AF Assist Beam, compared with that of the EOS 5D Mark II and EOS-1D Mark IV digital SLR cameras using the Speedlite’s AF Assist Beam.

We are developing a solution to enhance the focusing feature for the EOS 5D Mark III and EOS-1D X and plan to release a firmware update based on following estimated schedule:

EOS 5D Mark III: (estimated) Late April, 2013

EOS-1D X: (estimated) Late May, 2013

Support

This information is for residents of the United States and Puerto Rico only. If you do not reside in the USA or Puerto Rico, please contact the Canon Customer Support Center in your region.

If you have not already done so, please register your Canon EOS 5D Mark III Digital SLR Camera or your Canon EOS-1D X. Digital SLR Camera. By registering, we will be able to notify you via email about future service upgrades.

Thank you,

Customer Support Operations

Canon U.S.A., Inc.

Contact Information for Inquiries

Canon Customer Support Center

Phone: 1-855-CINE-EOS (toll free)

1-855-246-3367

TDD: 1-866-251-3752

Email: [email protected]

For additional support options: pro.usa.canon.com/support

Canon EOS 5D Mark III price check: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA Canon EOS-1D X price check: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA

A Bit Of Everything

We Like That: Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM For $840

Yes we do, we really like such good deals when they come from a reliable seller. Top rated plus eBay seller getitdigital (39235 ratings, 99.6% positive) has the Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM on sale for . That’s around $200 less than usual, even with the Canon Rebates going on. As free bonus items you get an UV filter and a lens cap keeper. Free shipping and USA warranty.

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM core specs:

  • 24-105mm standard zoom lens with f/4 maximum aperture for Canon EOS SLR cameras
  • 1 Super UD glass element and 3 aspherical lenses minimize chromatic aberration and distortion
  • Ring-type USM system delivers silent but quick autofocus (AF); full-time manual focus
  • Image Stabilizer technology steadies camera shake at up to 3 stops; weighs 23.6 ounces
  • Dust- and moisture-resistant; measures 3.3 inches in diameter and 4.2 inches long; 1-year warranty

Image Stabilizer – Ideal for handheld work, IS Image Stabilizer allows use of shutter speeds up to 3-stops slower with no perceptible increase in image blur.
Fixed Aperture – With no change in aperture over the full focal length range, photographers can set exposure at the widest aperture and zoom through to 105mm without slowing shutter speed.
Super UD and Aspherical Lens Elements – Constructed with one Super-UD glass element and three aspherical lenses, this lens minimizes chromatic aberration and distortion. The result is excellent picture quality, even at wide apertures.
Ring USM – Ring USM (Ultrasonic motor) uses ultrasonic frequency vibrations to drive responsive, near-silent high speed auto focus. Good holding torque stops the focusing lens group with precision without overshoot. Full time manual focus override is available without having to switch out of AF.
Super Spectra Coatings – Optimized Super Spectra lens coatings and lens element shaping suppress flare and ghosting – more prone to occur with digital cameras due to reflection off the image sensor. Coatings also help achieve true color balance and increase contrast for vivid hi-fidelity images.

Specifications
Weight: 1.5 lb (670 g)
Length: 4.2″ (107mm)
Filter Size: 77mm
F/Stop Range: 4-22
Minimum Focus Distance: 1.48′ (0.45 m)
Magnification: 1:4.3
Angle of View: 84 – 23° (full-frame cameras)
Groups/Elements: 13/18
Maximum Diameter: 3.3″ (83.5mm)

 

Nippon Camera Magazine Predicts Next Canon Announcements (70D, T5i, EOS Me, 7D2, 3D)

Nippon Camera Magazine

This showed up on pentaxforums. Japanese photographic magazine Nippon Camera Magazine published a graph with supposed Canon camera names and announcement dates. These are

  • Canon EOS 70D in March
  • Canon EOS Kiss X7i (Rebel T5i/EOS 700D) in June
  • Canon EOS Me (next mirrorless camera) in July
  • Canon EOS 7D Mark II in September
  • Canon EOS 3D (the mighty big megapixel DSLR) in October

What do you think?

 

$2000 Instant Rebate On Canon EOS C300 (and more cool stuff from Adorama)

cool stuff from Adorama

Today we have some cool stuff from Adorama. Adorama has an instant discount program for the Canon EOS C300 going on. Instead of $15999, the C300 is on sale for $13,999 (click here). The offer is for both the EF (click here) and PL (click here) mount versions.

Before I forget it: Adorama started a best shot contest. The price is an EOS 6D (or a camera of another brand).

Adorama also has the instant rebates program going on on selected Canon lenses and Speedlites (click here to see all items on sale). For instance:

Finally, if you have some old Canon body you want to get rid off, and if you are looking forward to get a Sony camera (you do? shame on you!), then Adorama has the right deal. For a limited time (until March 3rd), they offer a trade in-trade up special promotion when you trade in an old and even non-working camera to credit towards a new Sony RX1 and Sony RX100 (the credit applies right on the invoice). How does it work? Order a Sony RX1 (do it here) or a Sony RX100 (do it here) and email [email protected] to let Adorama know so that they can apply the trade in discount. The trade in credit is not fixed to a given amount, it depends, but in any case it is consistent enough to make it worth. For instance, when trading in a PowerShot SD1000 (even a broken one) to purchase the Sony RX100 (would cost $648) you will receive around $80 as credit for the purchase, effectively paying $568. The whole operation is quick and effortless. But do you really want to give away your Canon camera, even if it is not working? :-)