Canon sponsors Hack the Visual hackathon in London

Canon press release:

Canon sponsors Hack the Visual hackathon in London

LONDON, 27 May 2015 – Canon, a leader in imaging solutions, is sponsoring the ‘Hack the Visual’ 48-hour hackathon event, to engage with talent in London’s Tech City and support the creation of new digital imaging ideas and applications to enrich people’s lives.

The event, organised by Imaging Mind – 26 to 28 June at IDEALondon – aims to bring together over 100 participants and challenge them to uncover the hidden possibilities of imaging and technology and bring new perspectives on visual culture.

“Digital technology has transformed visual culture over the past couple of decades. With almost one trillion images forecast to be taken this year alone, we believe the way people will live with photos will be profoundly different in the future. We see a huge opportunity to innovate in this field by embracing today’s creative technologists,” says Alberto Spinelli, Director of Digital Services at Canon Europe.

“Last month we acquired London based start-up Lifecake, accelerating the development of our digital consumer services proposition. The Hack the Visual event will help us to build relationships with more talent in this space that we can potentially help nurture and grow and pave the way to broadening our digital ecosystem,” Spinelli continued.

“Anyone with a passion for visuals, regardless of whether that stems from a technology or an art perspective, is welcome. The best ideas are generated when teams come from a diverse mix of backgrounds and experience. We want people to embrace the true spirit of a hackathon, to share, collaborate, have fun and really run wild with their ideas.” commented Floris van Eck, CEO, Imaging Mind.

Click here to open the rest of the article

Canon EOS 5DS and EOS 5DS R shipping June 5th

Thanks Doug!

It appears the new high resolution Canon EOS 5DS and EOS 5DS R cameras will start shipping next Friday, June 5th. That’s what the product page at Adorama suggests (see image above). Orders will be filled on a first come first serve basis.

Pre-order the EOS 5DS and EOS 5DS R:

Canon EOS 5DS availability check for your country: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA, Canon EOS 5DS R availability check for your country: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA

Canon EOS 5DS
Image: © Canon

Canon lost trial in patent infringement cause (sensor technology)

Canon Rumors Color Calibration
View Post

Company Intellectual Ventures accused Canon of patent infringement. Canon lost. Two image sensor patents are concerned: US6,221,686 “Method of making a semiconductor image sensor” and US6,023,081 “Semiconductor image sensor.”

Delaware Intellectual Property Litigation published a document with the motivations (see pages 11-19).

By Memorandum Opinion entered by The Honorable Sue L. Robinson in Intellectual Ventures I, LLC, et al. v. Canon Inc., et al., Civil Action No. 11-792-SLR (D.Del., May 18, 2015), the Court granted plaintiff’s alternative motion for a new trial regarding infringement of U.S. Patent Numbers 6,121,960 (“the ‘960 patent”) and 5,754,348 (“the ‘348 patent”) after concluding that defense counsel in his closing argument improperly played the role of expert witness by inferring from factual testimony that the accused devices did not meet the claim limitations arguments.  The court found such argument to be contrary to a pre-trial agreement that defendant would not present any evidence of non-infringement, including evidence of a lack of a subjective intent to infringe, particularly given that the Court previously barred certain testimony from plaintiff’s witnesses on the topic during the trial.

[via Image Sensors World]

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM hands-on review

50mm F/1.8
View Post

Photography Bay posted a short hands-on about the new Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM lens, initial thoughts and sample photos inlcuded. The conclusion nails it:

If you are a Canon shooter and you don’t have a 50mm lens in your bag, the new EF 50mm f/1.8 STM is the next lens you should buy. It’s useful enough and affordable enough that everyone should consider picking one up.

Head over to Photography Bay for the review. The new Nifty-Fifty is in stock and sells for $125 at Amazon | B&H Photo | Adorama | DigitalRev (ships world-wide).

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM availability check for your country: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA.

EF 50mm f/1.8 STM specifications (taken from Adorama’s product page):

  • Compact, Lightweight Fixed Focal Length Lens: ideal for everyday photos, and with a large f/1.8 aperture, a perfect lens for low-light photography and creative background blur.
  • 80mm effective focal-length: when attached to an APS-C camera optimal for portraits and photos of fast moving subjects such as children and pets.
  • A stepping motor (Gear-type STM): supports the Movie Servo AF function in providing smooth and quiet continuous AF during video recording, as well as when shooting photos.
  • Improved exterior design: includes new focus ring placement making it the most compact Canon 50mm lens.
  • Metal mount: helps provide stability and ruggedness.
  • Optimized lens placement and coatings: help deliver outstanding color balance, while minimizing ghosting and flare.
  • Circular aperture (7 blades): helps deliver beautiful, soft backgrounds. h
  • Minimum focusing distance: of 14in (0.35m); maximum magnification of 0.21x

The technology behind the Canon EOS 5DS and EOS 5DS R – Interview with developers

5ds

Canon Asia posted an interview with the deveolpment team behind the Canon EOS 5Ds and EOS 5Ds R. An excerpt:

Question:What was the reason for not changing the AF sensor? Was it because the performance of the system on the EOS 5D Mark III was good enough?

Answer: Yes, you are right. The EOS 5D Mark III and the EOS 5DS series share exactly the same principles of forming an image on the focal plane. It can handle any number of pixels as long as the level of accuracy is maintained. The existing AF sensor is perfectly fine since it has a sufficiently high level of detection performance.

[…]

Question: What changes were made to the existing firmware following the upgrade of the pixel count to about 50 megapixels?

Answer: The huge amount of data has a significant impact on the firmware. In order to ensure speedy and smooth data processing under such conditions, advanced and complex processes are needed, such as parallel processing while switching between the memory spaces. As there is limited space in the built-in memory of the camera, it is important to consider how this space can be utilised most effectively.

Read the interview at Canon Asia.

Mirror Vibration Control System (image credit: Canon) – a) Down Cam Gear, b) Up Cam Gear, c) Mirror-driving Motor, d) Sub Mirror Bound Suppression Mechanism, e) Main Mirror f) Down Spring, g) Down Cam Gear, h) Up Cam Gear, i) Main Mirror Balancer, j) Mirror-driving Motor

Want to have a look at the EOS 5DS and EOS 5DS R features? The user manuals for the Canon EOS 5DS and EOS 5DS R can be downloaded at Canon Europe. Canon’s new EOS 5DS and EOS 5DS R are available for pre-order:

Aquatica announce A5Dsr housing for Canon EOS 5DS, EOS 5DS R and EOS 5D Mk III

a5dsr

Aquatica announced a new housing compatible with the new Canon EOS 5Ds and EOS 5Ds R. and with the EOS 5D Mark III. The Aquatica A5Dsr housing will sell for $ 3,399.

Press release:

Aquatica housing for the Canon 5Ds, 5Dsr & 5D Mk III is being introduced!

The Aquatica Team is proud to introduce to you the new Aquatica A5Dsr housing for the upcoming Canon 5Ds, 5Dsr and the existing 5D Mk III. Scheduled for shipping around July 1st.

THE DESIGN

Our Design team has refreshed the housing design for the 5D line of cameras with new improved operational ergonomics. This precision housing follows in the steps of a very time proven lineage of underwater camera housings for the constantly evolving 5D camera line up. Aquatica has been on top of the 5D program since they introduced the original one a decade ago, much like the 5D camera did, our housing has evolved into a fine imaging tool that mirrors the constant evolution of technology and the input of highly respected professional’s image makers from around the world.

IKELITE TTL OPTION & EXPOSURE CONTROL

Now offering original internal TTL circuitry from Ikelite as an option, this 5Dsr housing edition brings creativity to a new level, strobe exposure control is right there, were it is supposed to be, you can now tweak your lighting exposure or even go fully manual right at your fingertips. Controlling the amount of light entering your camera is paramount to the success of any image maker, and the A5Dsr housing controls for aperture, shutter, ISO and strobe exposures are all a “hands on the grips” approach. Every one of these is positioned to be intuitive, eliminating confusion and making the housing a natural extension of the photographer.

a5dsr3

[via DPG]
Click here to open the rest of the article