Tamron 70-210mm f/4 Di VC USD (A034) review (D. Abbott)

Tamron 70-210mm F/4
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Tamron 70-210mm f/4 VC USD at a glance:

  • EF-Mount Lens/Full-Frame Format
  • Aperture Range: f/4 to f/32
  • Ultrasonic Silent Drive Autofocus Motor
  • VC Image Stabilization
  • Fluorine-Coated Front Element
  • Moisture-Resistant Construction
  • Rounded 9-Blade Diaphragm
  • Compatible with TAP-in Console

Dustin Abbott concluded his exhaustive review of the Tamron 70-210mm f/4 Di VC USD (A034), a relatively inexpensive option in this zoom range.

From the conclusion:

There’s a lot to like about Tamron’s most recent lens, from the build to the excellent magnification to the excellent price. The Tamron 70-210mm f/4 VC provides a nice alternative to existing options, yet Canon may have upstaged Tamron with the recent announcement of the EF 70-200mm f/4L IS II, a heavily updated and improved lens. Still, for those on a budget, the reality that the new Canon will cost 50% more than the Tamron might still be a compelling factor. At the same time, however, I cannot deliver complete approbation of the A034, as I felt that in some areas it underperformed my expectations. It is a sharp lens, but is clearly outclassed by the larger Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 G2 lens. I found the autofocus a little slower than expected (the recent Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 VC was much faster) and also found the autofocus a little more prone to hunting in some situations.

Dustin’s review comes with sample images, comparisons and more information about the Tamron 70-210mm f/4 Di VC USD. The video below sums it up very well.

 

Tamron 70-210mm f/4 VC USD

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Canon EOS M50 field test (a lot for the money, Imaging Resource)

Canon Eos M50 Mark Ii
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Canon EOS M50 at a glance:

  • 24.1MP APS-C CMOS Sensor
  • DIGIC 8 Image Processor
  • 2.36m-Dot OLED Electronic Viewfinder
  • 3.0″ Vari-Angle Touchscreen LCD
  • UHD 4K and HD 720p120 Video Recording
  • Built-In Wi-Fi with NFC, Bluetooth
  • Dual Pixel CMOS AF
  • ISO 100-25600, Extended ISO 51200
  • Combination 5-Axis Image Stabilization

Imaging Resource field-tested the Canon EOS M50, the company’s latest mirrorless camera.

From the conclusion:

A well-rounded, easy-to-use M-series camera that offers a lot of features for a low price.

The biggest strengths of the EOS M50 are its good design, great touchscreen interface and strong autofocus performance. The camera is easy to pick up and use, which is important for a camera in this segment. However, that doesn’t mean it’s not a powerful and capable camera. You can easily take full control of the camera and get your creative juices flowing. The image sensor holds up well in many situations too, allowing for a good amount of versatility and flexibility in a wide array of shooting situations. Read the review…


The Canon EOS M50 got a price drop and now starts at $629 for the body only.

Canon EOS M50

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Kamlan 28mm f/1.4 lens sample pictures

Kamlan 28mm F/1.4
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The Kamlan 28mm f/1.4 (announcement) will be available for Canon EOS M systems, and for Sony E, Fuji X, and M4/3 mounts. You can order it for $199 on this Kickstarter page. Delivery is expected for August 2018.

DPReview posted a set of sample images shot with the Kamlan 28mm f/1.4, unfortunately not on a Canon EOS M but on Fuji and Sony gear. The Kamlan 28mm f/1.4 lens appears to be a pretty good performer for the money it costs.

Skylum releases Aurora HDR 2018 (ver. 1.2.0)

Aurora HDR 2018
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Skylum Software released the free Aurora HDR 2018 version 1.2.0 update. Among the many new features, this version focuses on a faster and more efficient workflow. See all new features  and addition below.

A collection of bonuses will also be included with every purchase (worth $128, see at bottom of post). Aurora HDR 2018 now supports the Loupedeck editing console.

This is new in Skylum Aurora HDR 2018 version 1.2.0:

  1. Speed boost for editing and adjusting. We’ve dramatically increased performance across all areas of Aurora HDR 2018 1.2.0 on Windows and Mac.

  2. Fast single-file opening. With an improved image processing engine, Aurora HDR is now much faster when opening single files.

  3. Loupedeck integration (for Mac&Windows). Now, users can quickly process photos in Aurora HDR using physical dials, knobs, and keys.

  4. Batch processing (for Windows). Aurora HDR 2018 1.2.0 will allow Windows users to edit a large number of photos simultaneously.

  5. Better memory management. Aurora HDR 2018 1.2.0 is also optimized to make better use of memory, with more intelligent memory management and improved stability.

  6. Windows version catches up to Mac version. Windows users will receive a flip/rotate tool, bringing Aurora HDR for Windows more in line with its macOS counterpart.

  7. Aurora HDR now supports more cameras than before. The full list across both Windows and MacOS includes: Canon EOS 3000D / Rebel T100 / 4000D, FujiFilm X-H1, FujiFilm X-A20, FujiFilm X-A5, FujiFilm X-E3, Olympus E-PL9, Panasonic DC-GF10 / Panasonic DC-GF90, Panasonic DC-GX9 / DC-GX7MK3, Panasonic DC-TZ200 / DC-ZS200 / DC-TZ202 / DC-TZ220 / DC-ZS220 / DC-TX2, PhaseOne IQ3 100MP Trichromatic, Sony A7 III.

More after the break…

Click here to open the rest of the article

Deal: SanDisk 64GB Extreme PLUS UHS-I microSDXC Memory Card with SD Adapter – $39.99 (reg. $55.99)

SanDisk 64GB Extreme PLUS
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SanDisk 64GB Extreme PLUS at a glance:

  • 64GB Storage Capacity
  • UHS-I / V30 / U3 / Class 10
  • Max. Read Speed: 95 MB/s
  • Max. Write Speed: 90 MB/s
  • Min. Write Speed: 30 MB/s
  • Records Full HD, 3D, and 4K Video
  • Water, Shock, X-Ray, & Temperature Proof
  • Includes SD Adapter
  • Built-in Write-Protect Switch on Adapter
  • Downloadable RescuePRO Recovery Software

B&H Photo has SanDisk 64GB Extreme PLUS UHS-I microSDXC Memory Cards on sale at $39.99. Compare at $55.99. SD adapter is included.

More selected deals…

Canon working on AI powered predictive camera control system, patent suggests

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Another pretty interesting patent that shows how much Canon is investing in research. Canon patent application US20180077345 discusses a predictive camera control system that takes viewers interests into account, for instance during a sport event.

Such a system is capable to recognise where people in a stadium is looking, what captures their interest most at a given time, and then can adjust its cameras to point in the same direction. A system that learns from user behaviour what gets the most attention by the viewers. This AI powered system (using neural networks) tracks the eyes of the viewers to learn where they are looking at, and is able to recognise which player attracts most looks from viewers. The system’s cameras are then set to capture what captures the interest of the crowd. I guess this may change the rules for future coverage of big sport events (but the system can virtually be used also for other purposes).

From the patent literature:

A computer-implemented method and system of selecting a camera angle is described. The method comprises determining a visual fixation point of a viewer of a scene using eye gaze data from an eye gaze tracking device; detecting, from the eye gaze data, one or more saccades from the visual fixation point of the viewer, the one or more saccades indicating a one or more regions of future interest to the viewer; selecting, based on the detected one or more saccades, a region of the scene; and selecting a camera angle of a camera, the camera capturing video data of the selected region using the selected angle.

[…] A system, comprising: an eye gaze tracking device for detecting eye gaze data of a viewer of a scene; a multi-camera system configured to capture video data of the scene; a memory for storing data and a computer readable medium; and a processor coupled to the memory for executing a computer program, the program having instructions for: detecting, using the eye gaze tracking data, a visual fixation point of the viewer and one or more saccades of the viewer relative to the visual fixation point; determining an object of interest in the scene based on at least the detected one or more saccades of the viewer, the object of interest being determined to have increasing relevance to the viewer of the scene; and selecting a camera of the multi-camera system, the selected camera having a field of view including the determined object of interest in the scene, the second camera capturing video data of the determined object of interest.

[pdf-embedder url=”https://www.canonwatch.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/US20180077345A1.pdf”]

More Canon patents.