Canon wants 50% market share of interchangeable-lens camera market, goes on the offensive with mirrorless

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Thanks to our friend EdinaMN Guy for tipping us.

Canon posted documents from the company’s Corporate Strategy Conference. Not only the giant is alive and kicking, but there is a clear statement by CEO Fujio Mitarai about Canon’s plans with mirrorless, and with interchangeable-lens cameras in general (emphasis mine):

Within existing businesses, there are market areas that are growing, such as color devices in MFDs and laser printers, and mirrorless in cameras. In these segments, by launching differentiated products that only we can provide, we will stimulate the market, grow our sales, and secure additional market share. For example, in our core camera business, in addition to our overwhelming share of the DSLR market, we will go on the offensive and work to expand our sales in the mirrorless camera market, which is exhibiting remarkable growth. This will allow us to reach our goal of 50% market share of the entire interchangeable-lens camera market.

This is a clear statement. Canon is now taking mirrorless seriously (see this report too). Canon is already the leader in the camera market, aiming at 50% of market share of the entire interchangeable-lens market appears to be a move to challenge all of the competition, or to warn them what is going to happen in the near future.

The conference documents are available online:

I’m always interested in your opinion, so feel free to sound off in the comment section.

A few of the slides of the presentation can be seen below.

Canon U.S.A. Lends Its Support to “Women Photograph”, to Promote the Representation of Female Photojournalists

Canon Rumors

Canon press release:

Canon U.S.A. Lends Its Support to Women Photograph, an Initiative Created to Promote the Representation of Female Photojournalists

Association Will Help Elevate the Voices of Female and Non-binary Photographers

MELVILLE, N.Y., March 8, 2018 – In conjunction with International Women’s Day (IWD), the global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women, Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in digital imaging solutions, is excited to announce their association with Women Photograph, a movement created to promote the representation of female photojournalists. Canon will work with Women Photograph to aid their travel grant program which funds female and non-binary photographers to attend workshops, hostile environment trainings, festivals, and other developmental opportunities.

Launched in 2017 and founded by photojournalist Daniella Zalcman, Women Photograph is an initiative to shift the gender makeup of the photojournalism community. A private database that includes more than 700 independent female documentary photographers based in 91 countries, any commissioning editor or organization can utilize the database for their photojournalistic hiring needs.

“I can’t think of a better way to celebrate this year’s IWD than to support an initiative that is enriching the professional advancement of female and non-binary photojournalists,” said Elizabeth Pratt, director of professional client development and support and Canon Professional Services. “Women Photograph has created a home for professional women photojournalists to showcase their work for potential clients and Canon is honored to help continue the momentum of this initiative.”

Canon Professional Services will host a Women Photograph Workshop at the Canon Customer Experience Center in Orange County, CA in December. Dates and details will be provided by Women Photograph.

“Canon is an ideal strategic partner as we ensure that our industry’s chief storytellers are as diverse as the communities they hope to represent,” said Daniella Zalcman, founder and director of Women Photograph. “So much of breaking into the photojournalism industry relies on networking and professional development events that can be prohibitively expensive and the generous support from Canon will help our photographers access these resources.”

For more information about Women Photograph or to learn more about the travel grant program and the upcoming workshop, log onto: https://www.womenphotograph.com/.

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Canon EF 85mm f/1.4L IS developers talk about the craft behind the lens

canon EF 85mm f/1.4L IS
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The Canon EF 85mm f/1.4L IS is in stock and sells for $1,599 at Amazon (world wide), Adorama, Canon Store, and B&H Photo.

Canon Europe posted an interview with the engineers who conceived and designed what is universally seen as the most exciting Canon lens of 2017, and as another optical masterpiece by Canon. The interview appears to be a slightly modified version of an interview posted December 2017 on Canon Asia’s Snapshot site (with more sample images).

The interview starts with Mr. Yamaguchi, Canon’s Product Planning Lead, next is Mr. Iwamoto, Canon’s Optical Design Lead, and finally Mr. Okuda, Canon’s Mechanical Design Lead.

Excerpt from the interview with Mr. Yamaguchi:

During the planning of the EF 85mm f/1.4L IS USM, we talked with many professional photographers, including wedding photographers, who would have many opportunities to use this lens. They told us that EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM is highly valued for its excellent expression and bokeh thanks to its large aperture. Being a heavy lens, however, it’s easy to get tired with extended use, and the autofocus speed is not necessarily satisfactory. Some said that even though it’s a large aperture single focal length lens, the addition of image stabilisation would allow worry-free shooting.

Excerpt from the interview with Mr. Iwamoto:

We focused on striking a balance between clarity of resolution for the centre of the screen that’s a feature of an L lens and the beautiful bokeh on the edges, ideal for popular portrait compositions with subjects in the centre of the frame, while taking realistic weight, size and cost into consideration.

[…]

In order to reduce the size of the entire lens, both the focus group and stabilising optical system must be lightweight and only move a small amount. For this lens, we used the following new optical arrangement from the front of the lens: the front group, the focus group, the diaphragm, the stabilisation optical system and the rear group.

Excerpt from the interview with Mr. Okuda:

Using highly durable ball bearings in the drive mechanism for this lens reduces load and improves resolution and accuracy. The use of ball bearings also contributes to high-speed autofocus. The heavy focus lens group must be driven with the limited power of the motor, but the focus lens can be driven quickly since the ball bearings reduce the load.

The interview comes with a lot of very interesting images of the interiors of the EF 85mm f/1.4L IS. Definitely worth to read. Read Canon Europe’s article “The craft behind the Canon EF 85mm f/1.4L IS USM lens“.

Canon firmware update for EF-M 15-45mm, 18-150mm, 55-200mm (Dual Sensing IS support for EOS M50)

Canon EOS M50
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Dual Sensing IS, a combination of lens and in body image stabilisation, was introduced with the PowerShot G7 X Mark II, and is available on the new EOS M50 (canon rumors).

To support Dual Sensing IS on the EOS M50, Canon released firmware update for the following EF-M lenses:

Canon EF-M 15-45mm f/3.5-6.3 IS STM (download firmware)
Canon EF-M 18-150mm f/3.5-6.3 IS STM (download firmware)
Canon EF-M 55-200mm f/4.5-6.3 IS STM (download firmware)

Canon U.S.A. Recognized by Public Lands Alliance for Continued Support of Yellowstone Forever

YELLOWSTONE FOREVER
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Canon press release:

Canon U.S.A. Recognized by Public Lands Alliance for Continued Support of Yellowstone Forever

Imaging company celebrated as “single largest funder of wildlife conservation and research” in Yellowstone National Park

MELVILLE, N.Y., March 5, 2018 – In celebration of its robust corporate social responsibility program, Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in digital imaging solutions, has been recognized with a 2018 Partnership Award from the Public Lands Alliance for the company’s role as the single largest funder of wildlife conservation and research in Yellowstone National Park as part of its support of the park’s nonprofit partner: Yellowstone Forever. For its efforts, Canon was awarded the Corporate Stewardship Award, which recognizes companies that work to help enhance the experience of visitors at public lands within the United States.

“We take great pride in our longstanding partnership with Yellowstone Forever and applaud the numerous initiatives that help further wildlife education and environmental research,” said Christine Sedlacek, senior director and general manager, Corporate Communications, Canon U.S.A., Inc. “It is with great pride that I, on behalf of Canon U.S.A., thank the Public Lands Alliance for the honor of receiving the Corporate Stewardship Award for our work with Yellowstone Forever, which we look forward to continuing for years to come.”

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A Bit of Everything (Canon EOS M100, EOS M5, G7 X Mark II, G1 X Mark III, EOS 6D & 6D Mark II)

Above: Canon G7 X Mark II vs. Apple iPhone X

How to Use Adobe’s DNG Profile Editor to Make Custom Camera Profiles – Digital Photography School

A Camera in One Hour: How CPS Saved the Day and My Photo Job – PetaPixel

Canon EOS M5 One Year and over 6000 Photos: Experience Review of an Awesome Piece of Gear – DE.Light Photo

Canon 6D vs 6D Mark II: A Real-Life Noise Comparison – PetaPixel

Here’s Why Canon Does Not Need to Innovate – Fstoppers

Review: The Canon G1X Mark III, an impulse buy – Ming Thein

Behind the scenes at the Canon lens factory in Utsunomiya – Amateur Photographer

The History of Canon’s L-Series lenses – Canon Europe

Canon EOS M100 Field Test – Part 1 – Part 2 – Imaging Resource

Canon’s Ultra Rare Lenses – Using the Canon 50mm f/1.0L – Lens Rentals Blog

Today’s Gold Box and one day only deals at Amazon US, Amazon DE, Amazon UK, B&H Photo, eBay, Adorama, and refurbished lenses and DSLRs at Canon Store.

Above: Levitation Photography – Tony & Chelsea Northrup

Above: I Switched from Canon to Fuji – Did I make the right decision? – Mark Duffy

Above: What I Added and What I Dropped in 2017 – Dustin Abbott

The BEST Vlogging Camera of 2018 – sawyerhartman