Canon EF 400mm f/2.8L IS III Teardown (Lens Rentals)

Canon EF 400mm
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Roger Cicala and Aaron Closz of Lens Rentals disassembled the Canon EF 400mm f/2.8L IS III lens, a lens that costs like a used car.

From their conclusion:

The spring-loaded adjustable collar collection is something of a mystery to us and will remain so until we can spend some days doing optical adjustments on one. The use of the same motor as the RF lens is very interesting in several ways. Only some more tear downs will tell us if this is just a superior motor type that Canon is going to use in all electrically focused lenses (I suspect this is probably the case), or just in lenses with a lot of glass in the focusing element (another likely thing).

Canon has really been very quiet about this lens, despite the known changes inside. I had a lot of trouble finding out which elements are fluorite (two of them are, apparently). There has been some talk about improved focusing speed and accuracy, which I assume has something to do with the new electronic focus system, but not much.

The teardown is explained step by step with a lot of pictures, see it here.

All images © lensrentals.com and used with permission.

Canon EF 400mm f/2.8L IS III at a glance:

  • EF-Mount Lens/Full-Frame Format
  • Aperture Range: f/2.8 to f/32
  • Super UD and Fluorite Elements
  • Super Spectra and Air Sphere Coatings
  • Ring-Type Ultrasonic Motor AF System
  • Customizable Electronic Focusing Ring
  • Optical Image Stabilizer
  • Weather-Sealed Design, Fluorine Coating
  • Detachable, Rotatable Tripod Collar
  • Rounded 9-Blade Diaphragm

Canon EF 400mm f/2.8L IS III: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA

Canon EOS R and Nikon Z 6 Behind Sony a7 III, DPReview Thinks

Canon Eos R
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DPReview compares the Canon EOS R with the Nikon Z 6 with the Sony a7 III. Not surprisingly DPReview thinks that Canon and Nikon can not hold up t the Sony a7 III.

From their conclusion:

Even without thinking about lenses, it’s clear that Nikon and Canon still have some work to do to catch up with Sony’s half-decade headstart. It’s not an insurmountable difference, though and both brands have brought their extensive experience of ergonomics and user interfaces, which Sony should probably be worried about.

All three cameras can produce excellent images but the Sony more readily adapts to a wider range of situations. The Nikon acquits itself well for certain types of photography, while also doing unexpectedly well at video, but the Z 6 has the least dependable AF system of the trio, which counts against it. Canon has tried to make an easy-to-use camera, rather than simply mimicking its DSLRs, but, while we’re not fully convinced by the results of this first attempt, it’s still a very able camera.

Ultimately, though, the decision is likely to come down to what lenses you own, which lenses you plan to buy and how much faith you have in each company to produce camera bodies to match your needs, several years down the road. Because, if you’re trying to avoid major costs later, the camera body you choose now is likely to commit you to a new lens system for the foreseeable future. Read the comparison here…

While it is true that Sony has a better sensor performance, there is little more than this. Ergonomics on Sony’s a7 III are terrible, for instance. This kind of review/comparison does not take into account a lot of parameters, like reliability, lens ecosystem, customer service, color science, just to name a few. Judging a camera based solely on the sensor performance seems a bit of a stretch to us.

Canon EOS R:

America: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA
Europe & UK: Amazon DE, Amazon UK, Amazon IT, Canon IT, WEX Photographic, Canon FR, Canon UK, Canon DE

Luminar 3 with Libraries Review and Demonstration (and you still can get it at a special price)

Luminar 3
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Dustin Abbott had a lock on the upcoming Luminar 3 with Libraries photo editing software.

Skylum will release Luninar 3 with Libraries tomorrow. December 18, 2018. Pre-orders are available and if you order before tomorrow you can get Luminar 3 with Libraries at a discounted price. And it gets better: you can preorder it today with an additional $10/€10 discount using code “WATCH“ at checkout, and hence paying $49/€49 instead of $59/€59. Luminar 3 includes the highly anticipated library module that will make it a full fledged alternative to Lightroom. Luminar 3 will be made available for download on December 18, 2018. If you pre-order before 12/8 you get a bunch 0f bonus items.

Pricing:

● New users can purchase Luminar for $49/€49 using coupon code “WATCH“
● Current users of Luminar 2018 can upgrade for $39/€39 with coupon code “WATCH“).

Bonuses:

● US$20 gift card to Manfrotto & Gitzo
● 3 video tutorials by Dan Kordan
● 3-month ViewBug membership
● 2-month KelbyOne membership
● Free eBook from Rocky Nook
● US$300 OFF Iceland Photo Tours

Canon RF 24-105mm f/4L Review And Sample Photos (by Alik Griffin)

Canon Rf 24-105mm
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Photographer Alik Griffin posted a comprehensive field review of the Canon RF 24-105mm f/4L lens, the kit lens for Canon’s EOS R full frame mirrorless system.

He used the RF 24-105mm f/4L mainly as a landscape lens while capturing Japan’s Fall colors.

In the conclusion Alik says:

The Canon RF 24-105mm f/4 is very sharp with great image stabilization, outstanding contrast and color rendering, nice pop with only some minor yet, easily correctable flaws. Build quality is also really solid and the lens isn’t too heavy either. The best part is the price.

For the landscape, travel photographer, the Instagrammer that wants to shoot a reflection the golden gate bridge through a chain link fence off his smart phone, or whatever it may be, this lens is outstanding for all casual shooting styles.

The lenses main weakness is the f4 aperture. You’ll notice most of [the photos in Alik’s review, editor’s note] are of landscapes and travel. I just haven’t been in love with any portraits I’ve shot. It’s fine for shooting portraits with an awesome backdrop where it’s all about the environment, but when it comes to shooting beauty portraits, you’ll most likely eventually want a faster lens ( faster lens means f2.8 or f2 something like that ).

However, if you’re in a studio shooting models against a backdrop where it’s all about fashion, production design and hair & makeup and less about bokeh, f4 is great. You’ll even get a little more pop if you’re using strobes, which means really stunning, high contrast punchy images. I haven’t tested yet, but I can almost bet you this lens has more pop than the 28-70mm f2 which will need massive glass to produce that aperture. Something to consider if you plan on shooting at f4 or f5.6.

I actually really love this lens, and it’s the first zoom lens I’ve used in a long time where I don’t feel like I’m really compromising quality for versatility. I usually don’t say this in my reviews, but if you’re stepping into the EOS R system, and you don’t have the EF 24-105mm f4, you should seriously consider this lens!

Alik Griffin’s complete review of the Canon RF 24-105mm f/4 comes with a huge set of beautiful sample pictures, and examines thoroughly all aspects of this lens. Be sure to have a look.

Canon RF 24-105mm f/4:

America: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA
Europe & UK: Amazon DE, Amazon UK, Amazon IT, Canon IT, WEX Photographic, Canon FR, Canon UK, Canon DE

Canon RF 50mm f/1.2L Teardown (new optic with new technology, Lens Rentals)

Canon RF Vs EF 50mm F/1.2 EOS R System
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Roger Cicala and Aaron Closz of Lens Rentals tore down the Canon RF 50mm f/1.2L, the showcase lens for the new Canon EOS R system.

It seems that for once they were a bit overwhelmed by Canon’s latest optical masterpiece. From the conclusion:

[…] the R lenses are not only entirely new optics, they are also largely new electrical and mechanical systems. There are a lot of different things in here that we haven’t seen in any Canon EF lenses. Some of them we should have expected, like the increased electronics going to the control ring. Others we don’t really understand yet, like the tension spring in the ring USM motor or the increased electrical shielding.

[…] We also saw lots of new stuff we don’t completely understand yet and a level of complexity we weren’t expecting.

[…] the RF lenses contain some new technology they [Canon, editor’s note] haven’t used before. There’s a lot of engineering that’s gone into these. Things are different inside here. As we’ll see in the next teardown we do, some of that is carrying over to at least some EF lenses. What does this mean? It means Canon has invested very heavily into developing the lenses of the R system. This level of engineering didn’t all happen in the last year, they’ve been working on this for quite a while.

You can see a few images of the teardown below, though I recommend you head over to Lens Rentals for the many pictures and the step by step description of the teardown. Just don’t do it a home yourself.

The Canon RF 50mm f/1.2L is a highly regarded lens, universally seen as one of the two lenses Canon made to showcase the possibilities of their new RF mount (the other one being the RF 28-70mm f/2L.

Canon RF 50mm f/1.2L:

America: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA
Europe & UK: Amazon DE, Amazon UK, Amazon IT, Canon IT, WEX Photographic, Canon FR, Canon UK, Canon DE

Canon PowerShot SX70 HS Review (mixed bag overall, Photography Blog)

Canon PowerShot SX70 HS
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PowerShot SX70 HS at a glance:

  • 20.3MP CMOS Sensor
  • DIGIC 8 Image Processor
  • 65x Zoom Lens
  • 21-1365mm (35mm Equivalent)
  • 2.36m-Dot OLED Electronic Viewfinder
  • UHD 4K Video Recording, 4K Time-Lapse
  • Image Stabilization
  • Built-In Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
  • Continuous Shooting up to 10 fps
  • Zoom Framing Assist

Photography Blog reviewed the Canon PowerShot SX70 HS.

The new Canon PowerShot SX70 HS is something of a mixed bag overall – it takes a few steps forward in terms of the features that it offers, but one big step backwards in image quality.

We praised the SX60 HS for its excellent image quality, but unfortunately the same can’t be said for the new SX70 HS. The new 20 megapixel sensor is just too noisy, even at base ISO 100, with the camera effectively offering a usable range of just 100-400 before fine detail gets obliterated. This is only made worse by the camera’s massive zoom range, which demands that use the higher ISO speeds in anything but good light to help keep shutter speeds fast enough to avoid camera shake. As most people buying this camera will be doing so for the massive zoom lens, they’re only going to be disappointed when looking close-up at their zoomed-in shots.

They also have good things to say, read the review here.

Canon PowerShot SX70 HS is in stock now and ready to ship:

America: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA
Europe & UK: Amazon DE, Amazon UK, Amazon IT, Canon IT, WEX Photographic, Canon FR, Canon UK, Canon DE