Canon Asia posted the first 2 parts of an article about the history of Canon’s EF lenses (I think there will be a third part).

• The history of Canon EF lenses, part 1: The Dawn Era – Birth of the Fully Electronic Mount
• The history of Canon EF lenses, part 2: The Growth Era – Advent of the Digital Age

How it started:

In March 1987, Canon released the “EOS 650”, the first Canon camera that was built in with a professional AF system. This also marked the birth of the EF lenses. I can still recall that prior to the launch of the EOS series, the biggest concern among Canon users was whether Canon would make changes to the existing FD mount standards. Until then, the FD mount adopted by Canon cameras before the EOS series had commanded tremendous support among both professional photographers and advanced amateurs. The view of the majority was that developing an AF system was unlikely to necessitate a change in the mount standards. However, contrary to the popular anticipation, Canon chose to break away from the traditional FD mount with the adoption of a brand new EF mount standard for its EOS series. This decision led to distress among users who possessed a large number of FD lenses, some of whom even saw it as an act of “betrayal”. Today, many years after its launch, it is almost impossible to find any user who would disagree that the decision made by Canon then was correct.

 

The object in the picture above is a new accessory for cleaning your DSLR’s sensor (remove dust on sensor). It’s actually the same principle of a vacuum cleaner, packaged into a lens shape.

The accessory is made by Chinese manufacture Nisshin Seiko, and for the time being it is available only for Canon mounts. Yes, you mount the “cleaner” on your DSLR as you would do with a lens. The accessory comes with a red ring that in some way resembles Canon’s “L” lenses.

The retail price is 3,500 Yen/210 Yuan/$34. For the time being it is not available in the USA.

Update: via DCFever I found the following video on YouTube (spoken in Japanese). It appears that the “vacuum cleaner” is (also) produced by the Japanese company Fujin.

[xjrumo.com via The New Camera]

Canon press release:

Canon aids relief efforts following earthquake in southwestern China

TOKYO, August 5, 2014—On August 3, a powerful earthquake struck southwestern China’s Yunnan Province, causing extensive destruction and loss of life. We at Canon would like to extend our heartfelt condolences to all those affected by this disaster and our thoughts go out to those suffering in its aftermath.

While we realize that the road to recovery will be challenging and time-consuming, we hope that the region will soon be able to begin the rebuilding and healing process.

The Canon Group is making a donation of RMB 3.2 million (approximately US$518,000) to aid in the relief efforts for the earthquake victims. The organization that will receive this donation is still under consideration.

Image © Bloomberg
Bloomberg reports that Canon lowered its full-year sales forecast because of low demand by consumers, caused by users switching to smartphones for their photographic needs. Sales are a projected 3.78 trillion yen ($37 billion) for the current fiscal year, that’s 2.1% less than the the previous forecast.

Says Makoto Kikuchi, chief executive officer at Myojo Asset Management Co.:

“Demand for compact cameras declined sharply because of smartphones […] Canon was too aggressive with their SLR sales forecast. People who want them have already bought them.”

Canon sales of SLR cameras dropped from 2.1 million units to 1.7 million units in the 2nd quarter 2014, the sale of compact cameras decreased by 36%.

[Bloomberg via The New Camera]

PocketWizard MiniTT1 for Canon

PocketWizard’s MiniTT1 and FlexTT5 radios are now compatible with the Canon EOS 70D, EOS-1D X, and EOS 6D.  You have to update the firmware in order to get the compatibility of the radio triggers.

[via fstoppers]

 

By CanonUSA on Youtube:

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