Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS II service notice, possible AF malfunction (update)

 

EF 24-105mm f/4L IS II

UPDATE 2: The service notice has been removed from Canon Philippine’s site. Don’t know the reason.

UPDATE: The [Submit] button mentioned in the service note below does not appear to work. Did not work for me, got also same feedback from readers.

Canon Philippines issued a service note for the Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS II USM lens. The lens may have AF issues at the wide angle.

Thank you for using Canon products.

We have determined that some EF 24-105mm f/4L IS II USM lenses exhibit an AF operation-related malfunction. The details of the phenomenon and Canon’s service policy are described below.

We would like to offer our sincere apologies to users who have been inconvenienced by this issue. Going forward, we will spare no effort in our quality management to make sure our customers can use our products with confidence.

Phenomenon

At the wide-angle end, focus is not achieved properly when a peripheral AF points are selected, regardless of the AF area selection mode.

Affected Lenses

If the first two digits in the serial number (see the image below) of your lens are ”48”, ”49”, ”50” or ”51”, then your lens MAY POSSIBLY be affected.

How to check if your lens is affected:

  1. Click the search button below to display the serial number input screen.
  2. Input your lens’ serial number (10 digits) and then click the [Submit] button.
  3. One of the following three messages will be displayed.
    “Your lens is NOT an affected product”
    “Your lens is an affected product”
    “Invalid number”

Please head over to Canon Philippines and open the service notice text to access the [Submit] button.

[via IR]

Canon Rebel T6 kit deal, with EF-S 18-55mm & 75-300mm lenses, 16GB card, bag and lens cleaning kit – $449

rebel t6Canon Rebel T6 at a glance:

  • 18MP APS-C CMOS Sensor
  • DIGIC 4+ Image Processor
  • 3.0″ 920k-Dot LCD Monitor
  • Full HD 1080p Video Recording at 30 fps
  • 9-Point AF with Center Cross-Type Point
  • Extended ISO 12800, 3 fps Shooting
  • Built-In Wi-Fi with NFC

Good Canon Rebel T6 starter kit on sale for $449 at B&H Photo. The kit contains:

  • Canon Rebel T6
  • EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II Lens
  • EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III Lens
  • EOS Shoulder Bag 100ES
  • Zeiss Lens Care Kit
  • SanDisk 16GB Extreme UHS-I SDHC Memory Card

You also get 4% B&H Rewards.

Today’s Gold Box and one day only deals at Amazon USAmazon DEAmazon UKB&H Photo, eBay and Adorama

Canon EOS M5 review by Imaging Resource, best Canon mirrorless so far

Canon Eos M5 Mark Ii Mirrorless

Canon EOS M5: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA

At a glance:

  • 24.2MP APS-C CMOS Sensor
  • DIGIC 7 Image Processor
  • 2.36m-Dot EVF, Touch and Drag AF Control
  • 3.2″ 1.62m-Dot Tilting Touchscreen LCD
  • Full HD 1080p Video Recording at 60 fps
  • Built-In Wi-Fi with NFC, Bluetooth Smart
  • Dual Pixel CMOS AF
  • Up to 9 fps Shooting and ISO 25600
  • Digital IS 5-Axis Image Stabilization

Imaging Resource reviewed the Canon EOS M5. There are a lot of things the reviewer liked about the EOS M5, like the new 24MP sensor, overall speed, good high ISO performance, and excellent color and hue accuracy.

In the conclusion they write:

The Canon EOS M5 offers image quality comparable to many other APS-C cameras, and the body itself offers a lot of physical controls plus (for the first time in the EOS M series) a built-in electronic viewfinder. Dual Pixel CMOS AF and a DIGIC 7 image processor combine to help the M5 deliver good performance across the board. Despite a few shortcomings, including a sparse EF-M lens lineup (although you can use EF/EF-S lenses with a separate adapter) and lack of 4K video, the EOS M5 is the best mirrorless camera that Canon has produced so far […] Read the review at Imaging Resource

The weak spot of the Canon EOS system is the limited availability of native lenses. That said, it must also be said that Canon’s Dual Pixel AF technology works so good that most EF and EF-S lenses mounted through the adapter work without issues and without AF slowing down or getting erratic. The EOS M5 is Canon’S most powerful and feature-rich mirrorless camera so far.

Canon Rebel T7i (EOS 800D) Review by DPReview

Canon Rebel T7i (EOS 800D)

Canon Rebel T7i:  B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA

Canon Rebel T7i at a glance:

  • 24.2MP APS-C CMOS Sensor
  • DIGIC 7 Image Processor
  • 3.0″ 1.04m-Dot Vari-Angle Touchscreen
  • Full HD 1080p Video Recording at 60 fps
  • 45-Point All Cross-Type Phase-Detect AF
  • Dual Pixel CMOS AF
  • Up to 6 fps Shooting and ISO 51200
  • Built-In Wi-Fi with NFC, Bluetooth
  • HDR Movie and Time-Lapse Movie
  • Movie Electronic IS, Feature Assistant

The Canon Rebel T7i is collecting positive reviews everywhere. It’s easy to use yet powerful enough to satisfy the absolute beginner as well as the more experienced photographer.

Photographic authority DPReview makes no exception, lauding the Rebel T7i “guide modes”, which aim at those photographers who still want to learn the basics of photography. It seems Canon made good job implementing the guide mode.

Guide modes are pretty common on cameras of this type but I’ve rarely seen one that helps with learning how the camera operates beyond guide mode, rather than leaving you stuck in a simplified mode forever. This, combined with the consistency of performance between shooting through the optical viewfinder and rear screen (in terms of both speed and effectiveness), makes the T7i one of the easiest DSLRs to use if you’re not familiar with their operation. It also means it’s one of the easiest cameras to capture video with.

Read the review at DPReview.

Sigma 135mm f/1.8 Art is an incredible lens, fast and sharp, Imaging Resource reports

Sigma 135mm F1.8

Sigma 135mm f/1.8 Art at a glance:

  • EF-Mount Lens/Full-Frame Format
  • Aperture Range: f/1.8 to f/16
  • Two FLD Elements, Two SLD Elements
  • Super Multi-Layer Coating
  • Hyper Sonic AF Motor, Manual Override
  • Rounded 9-Blade Diaphragm
  • TSC Material, Brass Bayonet Mount
  • Compatible with Sigma USB Dock

It appears Sigma build another engineering masterpiece with the Sigma 135mm f/1.8 Art.

Imaging Resource posted a full technical review and a real world sample gallery. They are definitely enthusiastic about this lens, calling the Sigma an “incredible lens” and saying “this is one of the sharpest, if not *the* sharpest, lens [they have] ever tested”. From the conclusion:

The Sigma 135mm ƒ/1.8 DG HSM “Art” is one of the sharpest lenses we’ve ever tested. It’s not an inexpensive lens, but for what you get — great build quality, outstanding sharpness, little to no chromatic aberration, and almost zero distortion — the lens is worth every penny, and destined to become a modern classic.

The Sigma sells for $1,399, which I think is a more than fair price for such an outstanding lens.

Sigma 135mm f/1.8 Art: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA

World-wide order and pre-order links after the break.

Click here to open the rest of the article