Canon USA announced updated availability dates for five of its EF lenses.
Below the summary:
• Canon EF 8-15mm f/4L Fisheye USM lens is scheduled to be available in late July 2011
• Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens is scheduled to be available in late August 2011
• Canon EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens is scheduled to be available in late August 2011
• Canon EF 500mm F4L IS II USM lens is scheduled to be available in December 2011
• Canon EF 600mm F4L IS II USM lens is also scheduled to be available in December 2011

Canon EF 8-15mm f/4L Fisheye USM lens
The Canon EF 8-15mm f/4L Fisheye USM lens is expected to be available in late July for an estimated retail price of $1,399.

Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens
The Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM lens is expected to be available in late August for an estimated retail price of $6,599.

Canon EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens
The Canon EF 400mm f/2.8L IS USM lens is expected to be available in late August for an estimated retail price of $10,499.

Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM Lens for Sports and Nature Photography
The Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM lens is expected to be available in December for an estimated retail price of $9,499.

Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM Lens for Wildlife and Photojournalism
The Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens is expected to be available in December for an estimated retail price of $11,999.
The full Press Release on Canon Usa

You can pre-order:
EF 8-15mm F4 L Fisheye USM on BH
EF 300mm F2.8 L IS II USM on BH
EF 400mm F2.8 L IS II USM on BH
EF 500mm F4 L IS II USM on BH
EF 600mm F4 L IS II USM on BH

“Welcome to Project Imaginat8ion, the first ever user-genereted photo contest inspire a Hollywood short film. In the next month, 8 photos will be chosen by Ron Howard to set the stage for his next production.”

This time your imaginary will inspire a Hollywood short movie.
It is a collaboration with a big director in which your photo-idea becomes an interactive work-table with Canon and Ron Howard to set the stage for this peculiar production.
An opportunity for Canon photographers and an opportunity for Canon to draw new ideas and stimulation from his creative community.

Canon Usa “has launched a new multi-dimensional marketing campaign, “Long Live Imagination,” which centers on a unique collaboration with one of Hollywood’s most influential directors, Ron Howard. On May 22nd, Ron Howard and Canon U.S.A. invited photographers of all levels to submit their most imaginative photographs based on a series of movie themes for “Project Imagin8ion,” the first user-generated photo contest in history to ultimately inspire a Hollywood short film. The “Long Live Imagination” site, designed as an interactive and engaging community for Canon users and photography enthusiasts, launched on May 22nd at www.youtube.com/imagination. The contest and this site will foster dialogue amongst the community, and directly with Canon, inspiring everyone to new levels of creativity.”

“I’m known as a narrative storyteller, so when Canon approached me to partner on the ‘Long Live Imagination’ campaign, I was moved by the opportunity to collaborate with the masses, tapping into consumers’ creativity and using their photos as building blocks to produce a film,” said Howard. “I hope the project stimulates people’s imaginations whether they are an amateur photographer, a world traveler or a proud parent, and I hope what we create is meaningful.” Canon USA Press release

EOS-1D Mark IV price: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA EOS 5D Mark II: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA EOS 7D: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA EOS 60D: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA

Technicolor cinestyle gave a strong push to all Canons movie and somehow this supports the lack of Canon’s news .
Surely these are good times for Sony, Panasonic… but we know, we must be patient and wait. Meanwhile things mature and lead to new and ever better solutions…
Take a look, a lot of video on the net are showing a huge euphoria of cinema.

Click those direct links to check the price:
EOS-1D Mark IV price: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA EOS 5D Mark II: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA EOS 7D: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA EOS 60D: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA

Sigma announced his flagship DSLR, the Sigma SD1.

Available on early June, price $ 9.700 (almost 3.5x time the price of a Canon 5D MK II ).

The price at the moment is more discussed than technical characteristics, but we think in a short time the discussion will be much more about the technical features.

Here the SD1 features:” a weather-sealed magnesium alloy body, and a newly developed APS-C sized Foveon X3 image sensor which is quite a bit larger than those used in past Foveon DSLRs. The new sensor in the SD1 outputs images with 15 megapixel (4,704 x 3,136 pixel) resolution — a 78% increase in linear resolution as compared to the previous generation Foveon chip used in Sigma’s SD15 DSLR.

Other significant features of the Sigma SD1 include dual TRUE II (“Three-layer Responsive Ultimate Engine”) image processors capable of bursts of up to 5 frames per second for 7 RAW frames, a new 11-point, twin cross-type, phase detection autofocus sensor, ISO sensitivity from 100 to 6,400 equivalents, shutter speeds from 30s to 1/8000s, a pentaprism viewfinder with 98% coverage, and UDMA compatible Type-I CompactFlash storage.“

We said: so much effort for such a small sensor! It’s not so small but, considering the price…seems to be for the best Full Frame Lenses and: Where is gone our Bokeh? Anybody understanding photographic lenses vs. sensor size?

In any case, we are excited waiting to see the performance of the new Foveon .

Sigma APO 120-300mm F2.8 EX DG OS HSM/ Canon mount released on April 29, is now on sale
and Sigma also reported the release date for Nikon: May 20.

. Designed for use with full frame digital SLR cameras. May also be used with smaller APS-c size sensors
. Splash-proof feature protects the lens from the effects of harsh weather conditions
. Offers Sigma’s OS System (Optical Stabilization) allowing handheld photography even in low-light situation
. HSM (Hyper-Sonic Motor) ensures a quiet & high-speed auto focus
. FLD glass elements with performance equal to fluorite glass for compensate for color aberration

Rugged, image stabilization and image quality comparable to the large aperture telephoto zoom lenses OS-powered mechanism. FLD 2 glass, SLD adoption of a single glass, chromatic aberration correction to the limit. Inner zoom, focus and inner adopted, zooming, focusing less fluctuation of aberration, and excellent performance throughout the zoom range description.Anti-shake compensation effect of approximately four minutes of stage and carried the OS. This is quite useful for hand-held telephoto shooting. Dedicated APO TELE CONVERTER EX DG (sold separately) can also be used. Sigma

Click those direct links to check price and availability: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA

Shanghai, May 18.In an interview with Reuters Fujio Mitarai chairman of Canon told that expectations are to recover the supply chain more quickly than originally estimated.
“We now forecast (production) to return to normal by the end of June.”
This makes the return to good news really close.
Not so long to wait for!
The full interview on Reuters