Lucie Technical Awards introduce “Chuck Westfall Technical Education Award”

chuck westfall
Chuck Westfall © Harris Fogel

The Lucie Technical Awards aim to honor the large and small companies, as well as the individuals, who have advanced the photographic industry in a given year. The Lucie Technical Awards are an initiative of the Lucie Foundation, and a sister program of The Lucie Awards. The Lucie Awards are hosted at Photo Plus Expo 2018.

For the first time the Lucie Technical Awards will present the “Chuck Westfall Technical Education Award“, named after the late Chuck Westfall, a Canon legend and the company’s most prominent spokesperson and “technical educator” for the masses. And a very nice person. Chuck Westfall passed away in March 2018.

Press release:

Los Angeles, CA—The fourth Lucie Technical Awards, an annual initiative of the Lucie Foundation and sister program of the Lucie Awards, will take place in New York City. The awards will be held on Thursday, October 25, 2018, during the PhotoPlus International Conference + Expo at the Jacob Javits Convention Center. There will be a 5:30 p.m. reception followed by the 6:30 p.m. awards presentation.

Held just prior to the Lucie Awards weekend, the Lucie Technical Awards embraces a large and critical segment of the photographic community. The awards honor the large and small companies as well as the individuals that have advanced the photographic industry in a particular year. All-inclusive, these awards intend to encompass items such as cameras, lenses and lighting as well as accessories, printers, software and more.

Fourth Lucie Technical Awards Feature Chuck Westfall Award

In addition, this year for the first time, the Lucie Technical Awards will be presenting the Chuck Westfall Technical Education Award. The award is named in honor of the late legendary Canon spokesperson who was a “teacher of technology” to journalists and industry members for more than 35 years.

Despite his long battle with cancer, Chuck Westfall remained a transcendent, authentic spirit who loved photography and the photo industry. This distinguished honor is bestowed on an influential voice in the photographic industry who displays an extraordinary commitment to as well as love for the art and technology of photography.

Moreover, the recipient will have demonstrated a tireless effort to share their extensive knowledge with others, either through interactions with the media, written or published documents, as well as public appearances and presentations.

“For the fourth year in a row, we spotlight an ever-growing segment of our beloved photographic community by embracing those whose penchant for the technological lifts up the talented image makers. Many of whom we honor just a few days later at the Lucie Awards,” said Hossein Farmani, the founder of the Lucie Technical Awards. “It is also with great pleasure that we add the Chuck Westfall Technical Education Award, to the festivities.”

The 16th Annual Lucie Awards will follow on Sunday, October 28, at Zankel Hall in New York City’s Carnegie Hall.

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Samyang MF 85mm f/1.8 ED UMC CS lens review (fantastic quality, ePhotozine)

Samyang MF 85mm F/1.8
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Samyang MF 85mm f/1.8 ED UMC CS at a glance:

  • F-M-Mount Lens/APS-C Format
  • 136mm (35mm Equivalent)
  • Aperture Range: f/1.8 to f/22
  • One Extra-Low Dispersion Element
  • One High Refractive Index Element
  • Ultra Multi-Coating
  • Manual Focus Design
  • Non-Rotating 62mm Filter Mount
  • Rounded 9-Blade Diaphragm

Samyang just announced the Samyang MF 85mm f/1.8 ED UMC CS for mirrorless systems, Canon EOS M included.

ePhotozine tested and reviewed the Samyang MF 85mm f/1.8 ED UMC CS (although not on a Canon EOS M camera, but on a Sony A5100).

From the conclusion:

There are so many excellent lenses, and the Samyang MF 85mm f/1.8 ED UMC CS is another one. Fantastic quality, very nicely made, excellent price, compact and light… the only thing not to like is that focusing can be a bit tricky. However, to be fair, this depends also on the actual camera used. If used on a tripod with careful, magnified focusing, then the results possible from this lens are exemplary.

The Samyang (aka Rokinon) MF 85mm f/1.8 ED UMC CS sells for $399 and can be pre-ordered at B&H Photo and Adorama

Canon EF-M 32mm f/1.4 STM lens for EOS M System Gets Another Mention, Announcement Soon

Canon EF-M 32mm F/1.4 STM EF-M 22mm Canon Lenses
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Nokishita suggests that Canon might very soon announce the Canon EF-M 32mm f/1.4 STM lens for the Canon EOS M system. A welcome addition to the EF-M lens lineup in any case. This will be the fastest Canon lens for the EOS M system.

A new and fast prime lens for the Canon EOS M system was rumored since a while and an announcement expected. A much needed lens for the EOS M system, in my opinion. So far the EF-M 22mm f/2 STM pancake lens was the only Canon offering if you wanted a fast prime with auto-focus. Other manufacturer make manual focusing lenses up to f/1.2 with native EF-M mount.

Canon Patent Application for Long Eye Relief Optics in EVF

Canon Patent
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Canon patent application 2018-124349 discusses optics for long eye relief (Wikipedia) in an Electronic View Finder (EVF). This is particularly useful for people wearing glasses. Otherwise they would struggle to see the whole image in the EVF. This patent application might actually go into production sooner or later.

More Canon patent applications are listed here. Some particularly interesting patent applications we think might get into production in the next few years are these:

[via Hi Lows Note]

 

Save up to $340 on refurbished gear at Canon Direct Store (Labor Day Sale)

labor day

The Canon Store is offering up to $340 off on select refurbished gear. Click here to see all items eligible for a discount. The offer expires 9/3/18.

All refurbished gear listings at Canon Store:

More selected and exclusive deals…

Samyang 85mm f/1.8 UMC CS announced (Canon EOS M System)

Samyang MF 85mm F/1.8
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Samyang (aka Rokinon, and other brand names) announce the Samyang 85mm f/1.8 UMC CS lens for mirrorless camera systems, Canon EOS M included. The Samyang 85mm f/1.8 will be available in September 2018.

Press release:

Samyang unveils the MF 85mm F1.8 ED UMC CS lens for mirrorless cameras with APS-C crop sensors

Samyang Optics launches a new manual-focus lens for mirrorless shooters: The MF 85mm F1.8 ED UMC CS is designed for use with APS-C sensor mirrorless cameras in the following mounts: Sony E, Fujifilm X, Canon M, and Micro-Four-Thirds. It is competitively priced and light-weight. This medium telephoto lens inherits the renowned image quality of Samyang’s manual focus series and also boasts beautiful out of focus bokeh and availability for a variety of cameras.

Ideal portrait lens, with a fast, bright maximum aperture

This manual-focus 85mm F1.8 ED UMC CS lens is a medium telephoto lens, with a similar angle of-view to a 135mm lens when compared to full-frame cameras. The Samyang MF 85mm F1.8 ED UMC CS is designed with 9 lens elements in 7 groups and it delivers high resolution from the centre to the corners of the image. A high-refractive and an extra-low dispersion element, along with Ultra Multi-Coating (UMC) help minimise chromatic aberrations and deliver clear, vibrant images. This lens is ideal for portraits, with beautiful bokeh from its floating-element system. Its low-light performance and shallow depth-of-field are especially useful features.

Wide range of uses, with crystal-clear resolution

The compact and light-weight design offers the portability and comfort needed for a long day’s shooting. This lens would be the ideal choice for keen photographers who want to capture everyday moments in high-resolution. The Samyang MF 85mm F1.8 ED UMC CS has a host of features including its outstanding optical performance. Its wide range of uses include portraits and other close-ups such as food, as well as landscapes and many other situations.

More fun with Manual Focus lenses

The MF 85mm F1.8 ED UMC CS lens is perfect for shooters who want to have more involvement and express their own characteristics through their images. The Samyang MF 85mm F1.8 ED UMC CS weighs in at just over 300g and measures approximately 8cm long (without the hood and lens caps). Photographers can expect superb, emotional and unique images from this compact companion.