Update #2 – Canon EOS 70D May Be Announced On March 22

EOS 70D
The Canon EOS 60D

UPDATE 2: another invitation showed up (CR), for March 22nd:

UPDATE: CR reports that product announcement invites have been sent out for March 21, 2013 in the Czech Republic, see below:

There is something going on, no doubt about that.

I previously reported that one of the prediction made by Nippon Magazine we reported first here at Canon Watch got a confirmation. Possible, rumored announcement dates for the EOS 70D were the 19th or 26th of March 2013. Nippon Magazine predicted an EOS 70D announcement for March.

Now there is a new rumor stating that the EOS 70D could be announced on March 22nd. A possible product announcement by Canon could happen that day. Let’s wait and see. However, it is definitely time for  Canon to announce the Canon EOS 70D.

There are no specifications for the upcoming successor of the Canon EOS 60D (refurbished with the EF-S 18-135mm IS lens for $829 at B&H and Adorama), except that it should bring the xxD line-up to a more pro level, as the EOS 50D still was. In other words: compared to the EOS 60D the EOS 70D will push specification to a higher level.

Canon EOS 60D price check: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA [via PR]

Canon Deals Round-Up (EOS 6D, EF-M 22mm, EF-S-18-200, EF 70-300)

Canon Deals

Let’s start with a pretty cool Canon EOS 6D kit bundling the Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS USM lens and a Lexar 16GB SDHC Professional 400x Class 10 UHS-I Memory Card and a Lowepro Adventura 170 Shoulder Bag; all together for $2,329 at B&H (click here). The final price shows up after having added the kit to the cart.

Next, we have the EF-M 22mm f/2 STM pancake lens for the EOS M mirrorless system (price & specs), sold for $245 at B&H (click here).

Canon Deals

 

Finally, there are two lens deals on eBay, the Canon EF-S 18-200mm F/3.5-5.6 IS sold for , and the Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM sold for . Both lenses are sold by Top rated plus eBay seller getitdigital (>39700 ratings, 99.5% positive). Free shipping and USA warranty.

  

Get Close With The Canon EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II Lens

EF 400mm f/2.8L

The Canon EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II lens ad campaign was developed at Mohawk College, Hamilton ON, Canada, Art Director: Stephen Sandian. It appears the ads are trying to suggest you can get close to a subject without risk when using the EF 400mm. :-)

The EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II is a rather pricy lens, it sells for $11,500 (B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA). If this is too much for you, and you want to get close and intimate (at least photographically speaking) with bears and tigers, you can always rent the lens at borrowlenses.

EF 40mm f/2.8L

EF 400mm f/2.8L

EF 400mm f/2.8L

[via adsoftheworld]

Canon EF-M 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM Review (slrgear)

EF-M 18-55mm

Lens specs:

  • Standard Zoom Lens for EOS M Camera
  • Compact & Lightweight Design
  • Movie Servo AF Function
  • 4 Equivalent Stops of Shake Correction
  • Dynamic IS (Movie Shooting Mode Only)
  • Three Aspheric Lens Elements
  • Minimum Focusing Distance: 9.8″ (25 cm)
  • Max Magnification: 0.25x

slrgear reviewed the Canon EF-M 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM lens (price & specs), part of the Canon EOS M (price & specs) ecosystem. For the time being there are only two lenses for the EOS M, the other one being the EF-M 22mm f/2 STM (price & specs), but there should soon be more lenses.

Some excerpts from the review:

  • The Canon EF-M 18-55mm ƒ/3.5-5.6 IS STM provided surprisingly sharp results. When used wide open at ƒ/3.5, there is some slight corner softness, but the majority of the frame is very sharp. Stopping down to just ƒ/4 (or after 24mm, ƒ/5.6) provides very sharp images
  • The [lens] provides acceptable performance between 24mm and 45mm, but we note some obvious chromatic aberration present in the extreme corners of the frame at the wide and tele settings (18mm and 55mm – take a look at [slrgear’s] sample images for further detail)
  • There is some slight corner shading […]: used at the ƒ/3.5 (at 18mm) setting, the corners show up around a half-stop stop darker than the center of the frame.
  • The EF-M 18-55mm is equipped with Image Stabilization, which works quite well for this lens.
  • [Conclusion:] For a small and relatively inexpensive lens, the Canon EF-M 18-55mm ƒ/3.5-5.6 IS STM provides very good results, typically of kit zoom lenses.

Canon EF-M 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM price check: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA Canon EOS M price check: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA EF-M 18-55mm [via slrgear]