US Jury Finds Canon EOS 1DS III, EOS 5D Mark II and Vixia Camcorders Infringe Patent Filed By Intellectual Ventures

Intellectual Ventures

A few days ago a US jury found that some of Canon’s digital cameras violate valid image-sensor patents owned by patent-licensing company Intellectual Ventures. The Jury held that the EOS 1DS Mark III, EOS 5D Mark II and Vixia Camcorders infringe 2 patents filed by Intellectual Ventures. So far Canon didn’t release any comment. The text below mentions also another company (Xilinx) Intellectual Ventures has settled a lawsuit against.

Reports Reuters:

[…] a U.S. jury on Friday found that Canon Inc violated two Intellectual Ventures patents over digital imaging technology. Damages will be decided at a later proceeding.

In a statement, Intellectual Ventures chief litigation counsel Melissa Finocchio said the company was pleased with the Canon verdict. An IV spokeswoman declined to comment on the Xilinx settlement. 

Representatives for […] Canon could not immediately be reached for comment

[…]

In the Canon lawsuit, also in a Delaware federal court, the jury on Friday upheld the validity of IV’s patents and found patent infringement, according to court filings. IV will now proceed to a second trial against Canon next week on two additional patents.

Read the rest at Reuters –>

[via law360]
Intellectual Ventures
The Canon EOS 5D Mark II

Confluence – A Documentary Shot in Idaho By Philip Bloom Using Canon EOS 7D and 5D Mark II

The above 53 minutes documentary was shot by Philip Bloom using a Canon EOS 7D (price & specs) and EOS 5D Mark II (price & specs) some time ago. Now it is free to view for anyone.

About the documentary:

The Lewiston / Clarkston valley has a rich history. It is here, at the confluence of the Clearwater and Snake Rivers, where Lewis and Clark camped on their westward journey over two hundred years ago. Residents boast that the valley is the gateway to Hells Canyon, that Lewiston was Idaho’s first capital. However, the valley also has a much darker past, one that many know about, but few publicly acknowledge. From 1979 to 1982, five people disappeared. Only three of the bodies have ever been found. All share one suspect.

I drove thru this beautiful valley last year while crossing the USA. I was invited by friends in Idaho, and I took this route to join them.

 

Canon Dominates World Press Photo Award

World Press Photo
Image via hastalosmegapixeles

This is a pretty interesting infographic made by the people at hastalosmegapixeles. The graphic shows a breakdown of the cameras used for the World Press Photo 2014 awards, won by Canon photographer John Stanmeyer. Canon dominates.

58% of the cameras used are Canon cameras, 28% are Nikon cameras. Canon is prominent with the Canon EOS-1D X (8%), the Canon EOS 5D Mark III (7%), and even with the relatively old Canon EOS 5D Mark II (7%). No surprise here: Canon rules the professional photographers world.

Nice to see that an entry-level camera, the Canon Rebel T3/EOS 1100D, is also part of the game (1%). The original article (translated) claims that 86% of the winners used Canon gear, but I can not see it in the info graphic. Finally, there is still people using film (2%), and mirrorless cameras do not appear to play any role (3%), but some are using compact cameras (2%).

[via The Phoblographer] EOS-1D X Firmware

Canon EOS 5D Mark III Records 24P RAW Video (thanks to Magic Lantern)

The skilled hackers at Magic Lantern discovered another hidden feature that can be activated on the Canon EOS 5D Mark III (price & specs).

At first they announced that they found a way to output RAW CineDNG on the EOS 5D Mark III and EOS 5D Mark II (price & specs). But it was not possible to record more than 12 fps at 1080p because of buffering issues. Later they announced that there is a way to record almost 1080p at 24fps (which can be cropped to 2.35:1 aspect ratio) as long as you are using a 1000x memory card.

This a major breakthrough for the ML team.There is a substantial difference between RAW video mode and regular H.264: more dynamic range and resolution at first instance.

Check the videos. The video above is RAW output, the video below was recorded in H.264 ALL-I with Cinestyle profile.

[via nofilmschool]

2K Raw DNG Possible On Canon EOS 5D Mark II And Mark III

The skilled hackers at Magic Lantern just discovered that 2k raw DNG output on both the Canon EOS 5D Mark II and Mark III is possible. For the time being it is not possible to record video, but it is expected that 24fps will be possible.

The idea is to intercept the DNG stream and to save frame sequences to the memory card. The ML team says the output can be used for single frames without shutter actuation. That’s great for timelapse photography:

No mirror flip or shutter curtain movement. This is a big deal for time lapsers who sometimes shoot 1000 or more shots in 1 sitting. This can significantly extend the life of their cameras. Also bodes well for RAW video in the future.

This looks to be a true breakthrough for the ML team. The information came from their Facebook page.

Canon EOS 5D Mark II price check: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA Canon EOS 5D Mark III price check: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA

[via EOSHD and nofilmschool]