Canon Working To Make IBIS Units Smaller, Patent Suggests

Ibis Units
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It took Canon a long time to feature IBIS (In Body Image Stabilization) on their cameras. Now they are actively researching how to make it better. The Canon EOS R5 already has the best in its class.

Canon patent application 2020-140104 (Japan, spotted by Canon News) discusses technical aspects related to making an IBIS unit smaller. IBIS units are relatively bulky and take a considerable amount of space inside the camera. A smaller IBIS unit might mean an overall smaller camera.

More Canon patent applications are listed here. Some particularly interesting patent applications we think might get into production are these:

Canon Announces Three New Canon PIXMA Printers For Home or SOHO

Canon Pixma
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Canon released three new wireless Canon PIXMA printers for home or small business operations.

Canon press release:

Now is the Ideal Time to Refresh Your Home or Small Business Office Setup with a New Canon PIXMA Printer

MELVILLE, NY, September 2, 2020 – Over the past few months, you’ve probably added some mileage to your desktop printer – by printing documents for school, work, and/or to help keep children entertained. Continuing the tradition of producing quality printers ideal for both work and play, Canon U.S.A,. Inc., a leader in digital imaging solutions, today announced three new PIXMA printers: the PIXMA TR8620 Wireless Home Office All-in-One Printer, PIXMA TR7020 Wireless All-in-One Printer and the PIXMA TS6420 Wireless All-in-One Printer. Designed with easy connectivity and setup in mind, a sleek and compact design – and the reliability that comes with a Canon PIXMA series printer continues with these latest models.

“In 2020, we have seen the at-home and small business needs of our customers continue to evolve rapidly and Canon is proudly invested in striving to make sure the wants and needs of our various customers are met,” said Tatsuro “Tony” Kano, executive vice president and general manager of the Canon U.S.A., Inc. Imaging Technologies & Communications Group. “These new PIXMA printers are a proof point in our steadfast commitment to making quality imaging products that provide ease and convenience to consumers in their home or small-business offices.”

Beneficial for a makeshift, work-from-home office or at your desk in a business office, the PIXMA TR8620 is the business personal printer to have at your disposal. This model features all the essential printer functions including print, copy, scan and fax as well as an ADF (automatic document feeder) for easy paper handling.

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Friday Hacker Blogging: How To Watch Star Wars In Linux Terminal (and update on Canon hacker attack)

Star Wars In Lunux
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For the Friday Hacker blogging series here is something that’s as fun as it is useless, but it will appeal to all those hardcore Star Wars fans.

You can watch Star Wars in Linux terminal (not just Linux, every *nix flavor will likely work). We are not talking about a digitally remastered version here, no high res graphics or else. In fact there are no graphics in a modern meaning. All you have to do is to enter the following command in your terminal:

telnet towel.blinkenlights.nl

You can stop the “movie” with ctrl-j, and then type quite to exit.

Should you not have telnet on your system you can easily install it. For instance on Ubuntu or Debian: 

sudo apt install telnet

Here are two screenshots.

Ready for Star Wars in Linux terminal?

Canon Ransomware Attack

Here is also an update on the ransomware attack against Canon. See here for an update or if you don’t know what a ransomware attack is. The Maze ransomware gang updated their leak site and now it states that “0.2%” of Canon data was published. Previously it was 5%. We do not know yet what exactly that means. Also, we obtained a copy of the leaked Canon data and can confirm it does not contain sensible sensitive or otherwise critical information.

Screenshot from the Maze leaks site

You can use the Friday Hacker Blogging post to discuss whatever topic you want. Please be respectful and polite.

Save 30% On DxO Nik Collection 3 ($99 for limited time, reg. $149)

Nik Collection 3 Photo Editing Software
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DxO Nik Collection 3 is currently discounted by 30%.

Click here to get DxO Nik Collection with a 30% discount.

Nik Collection 3 won an EISA award for “Best Product” in the photo software category:

Nik Collection 3 by DxO is a suite of eight powerful photo-editing plug-ins for Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom and DxO PhotoLab, that helps photographers take their images to the next level. Together the plug-ins allow a wide range of effects to be applied quickly and easily to images, such as great black & white conversions, attractive colour adjustments and creative treatments, and new in this version, comprehensive geometric corrections. A new non-destructive mode allows you to export images as TIFF files and tweak your edits, while keeping your original images safe and your adjustments reversible.

Click here to get DxO Nik Collection with a 30% discount.

Nik Collection 3 is an awesome photo editing software. The video below tells you more.

Skylum Announces LuminarAI, A Novel Way To Edit Photos With Artificial Intelligence

Luninarai
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Skylum announced LuminarAI, the “first image editor fully powered by artificial Intelligence“. If you want you can preorder LuninarAI at the special price of $69 (limited time). Learn more about LuminarAI here.

Press release:

Skylum aims to reinvent traditional photo editing, announces LuminarAI

LuminarAI empowers visual communicators to make great photos with unique AI. Everyone can create amazing images faster while having fun.

NEW YORK, NY – September 3, 2020​ —​ ​This morning, Skylum unveiled a revolutionary approach to photoediting, LuminarA​I​.​​ Unlike other photo editors that takea time-consuming approach based on tools, LuminarA​I ​focuses on results. This revolutionary application and plug-in will be released this holiday season.

LuminarA​I makes complex editing easier than ever before thanks to unique AI-powered tools. LuminarA​I removes boring and complex tasks without sacrificing professional quality. Artificial intelligence lets the visual artist focus on results and not the process. Everyone can make amazing photos free of complexity, yet full of creativity, thanks to artificial intelligence.“

LuminarA​I​ will bring an entirely new,non-conventional approach to the world of photo editing, focusing on the results instead of the process,” said D​ima Sytnik, CPO of Skylum​. “We’ve designed LuminarA​I​from the ground up to change how people interact with their images. We’re really excited to see what Luminar​AI​ can do for creatives everywhere.”

LuminarA​I is designed for visual communicators, every day people and professional photographers alike. It’s made for those who rely on pictures to communicate their important messages and grow their opportunities or reputation: Bloggers, entrepreneurs, educators, marketers, small and medium-sized businesses, and many others. It lets everyone tell their story with rich and expressive images like never before. With LuminarA​I everyone can make amazing images in an efficient way.

Artificial intelligence is the core of LuminarA​I

Compared to traditional image editors, LuminarA​I​offers acompletely different approach. Built from the ground up to leverage artificial intelligence, LuminarA​I ​simplifies complex tasks and removes boring manual work.

Portraits take on new life​.

  • Use​ BodyA​I ​and ​FaceA​I ​to gently sculpt and refine a portrait.
  • Create eyes that are rich and expressive with ​IrisA​I​.
  • Remove blemishes and imperfections naturally with ​SkinA​I​.

Landscape photography has never looked better.

  • Add depth and detail to skies with ​AtmosphereA​I ​and SkyEnhancer​.
  • Transform a photo and add an all-new sky in seconds with​ SkyAI
  • Bring warmth with ​Golden Hour​ or even enhance the sun with ​Sunrays.​

Professional finishing with less hassle.

  • Looking for more detail and texture? Then​ StructureA​I​ is the perfect addition.
  • Get the perfect crop with​ CompositionA​I ​and fix crooked images
  • With AccentA​I​, a photo has perfect exposure and color.

With LuminarA​I​, amazing photos are just two clicks away.

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Canon EOS R5 Review And Comparison With EOS 5D Mark IV

Canon EOS R5 Review
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Here is an interesting Canon EOS R5 review for commercial and portrait photography, and it comes with a comparison to the EOS 5D Mark IV.

The comparison with the EOS 5D Mark IV makes a lot of sense, not least because Canon sees the EOS R5 as a mirrorless alternative to the 5D series. The exhaustive Canon EOS R5 review comes from John Gress:

After using the R5 for a full month as a professional commercial studio and portrait photographer, who shoots some video, I have decided to fully switch from the 5D Mark IV. It took me a while to test everything from auto focus, to tethering to video (including overheating) and how to get the best color out of the new RAW files. This video also covers post production in DPP (Digital Photo Professional), Lightroom and Capture One 20.

You can follow John Gress also on Instaram

Index:

  • 3:33 Autofocus
  • 11:17 4:3 Masking / Cropping
  • 14:04 EVF Image Review
  • 14:42 Tethering
  • 16:25 Exposure simulation
  • 19:39 Shutter Mode
  • 25:09 Image Quality
  • 32:11 Video Quality & Overheating
  • 37:24 Form Factor

The EOS R5 seems to be highly regarded as a stills camera. In particular, the EOS R5 autofocus system seems to be huge leap forwards. More Canon EOS R5 review stuff is listed here, for the EOS R6 see here. User manual are available for download for the EOS R5 and the EOS R6. My opinion(s) about the EOS R5 overheating hysteria is listed here.

Canon EOS R5 body and kits preorder links:

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