Canon Ships New EOS 5D Mark III Kit Starting November 2013

EOS 5D Mark III Kit

It was rumored, now it is official. Starting November 2013 the basic EOS 5D Mark III kit will be shipped with the EF 24-70mm f/4L IS lens and no longer with the Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens. There are (unconfirmed) rumors that Canon may discontinue the 24-105mm , which also gives a meaning to the recently announced Sigma 24-105mm DG OS lens. I am curious to learn if the old 5D3 kits (with the 24-105mm) will see consistent discounts.

Canon Deals: Refurbished EOS 7D ($920), EOS 6D w/ Accessories ($1573), and Rebates for the EOS 70D

B&H has refurbished Canon EOS 7D on sale for $919.95. Not bad for a still outstanding DSLR.

Adorama, on  the other hand, offers instant rebates and/or mail-in rebates on various EOS 70D kits – click here to see them all. Instant rebates go up to $300, mail-in rebates up to $400. These rebates expire October 31st at midnight.

And it is still Adorama that has a cool EOS 6D bundle for $1573. The bundle includes: SanDisk 16GB Class 10 memory card, a spare battery, Manfrotto 394 Aluminum 4 Section Photo-Movie Monopod, and a camera bag – all for $1573. Please note that the price shows up after checkout.

Canon EOS 5D Mark III Firmware Update Released (ver. 1.2.3)

Canon has released a firmware update for the EOS 5D Mark III.

Firmware
Firmware Version 1.2.3 incorporates the following improvements and fixes.

1. Fixes a phenomenon in which the flash may not fire depending on the timing of when the shutter button is pressed.
2. Fixes a phenomenon in which the AF microadjustment value may change.*
3. Fixes a phenomenon in which the LCD monitor may show a line of false color along boundaries of high contrast.
4. Fixes a phenomenon in which the histogram of a LiveView image is incorrectly displayed when an HDMI cable is connected.
5. Enables the brightness of the camera’s LCD monitor to be adjusted even when an HDMI cable is connected.

* The phenomenon listed in 2 was addressed with Firmware Version 1.2.1, and has been further improved with Firmware Version 1.2.3.

Firmware Version 1.2.3 is for cameras with firmware up to Version 1.2.1. If the camera’s firmware is already Version 1.2.3, it is not necessary to update the firmware.

When updating the firmware of your camera, please first review the instructions thoroughly before you download the firmware.

The new Firmware Version 1.2.3 can be downloaded by clicking here.

Support
This information is for residents of the United States and Puerto Rico only. If you do not reside in the USA or Puerto Rico, please contact the Canon Customer Support Center in your region.

Please register the EOS 5D Mark III. By registering, we will be able to notify you via email when future firmware updates become available for download. If you already registered, please ensure you are opted-in to receive the notification.

Thank you,
Customer Support Operations
Canon U.S.A., Inc

Contact Information for Inquiries
Canon Customer Support Center
Phone: 1-800-OK-CANON
1-800-652-2666
TDD: 1-866-251-3752
Email: [email protected]
For additional support options: www.usa.canon.com/support

Canon Germany Starts Professional Imaging (ProIG) Roadshow

Professional Imaging (ProIG) Roadshow

Canon Germany announced the upcoming Professional Imaging (ProIG) Roadshow, November 12-26. The roadshow will be held at 5 different spots in Germany:

12. November 2013:  Potsdam
14. November 2013:  Köln
19. November 2013:  Wörth am Main
21. November 2013:  München
26. November 2013:  Stuttgart

It addresses professional users as well as enthusiast photographers who are using Canon’s high end gear. Registration here. A machine-translated excerpt from the press release:

KREFELD 28 October 2013. Canon today announces its upcoming Professional Imaging (ProIG) roadshow, Canon’s Professional Forum, 2013, at. The ProIG Roadshow takes place from 12 to 26 November 2013 held at five different locations. It is aimed primarily at professional users in different market segments and dedicated amateurs who use high-end equipment. In addition to product demonstrations and live shoots and the entire ProIG portfolio is presented at a glance – from the professional cameras, the EOS-1D series, about XF camcorder, Cinema EOS, and broadcast to Pixma Pro printers, large format printers, projectors, network cameras and Reference 4K displays – the Canon Professional Forum provides an overview of all products and solutions around the topic of professional imaging. Services, such as the Dreamlabo finishing and the Canon Service Center Willich are on tour. There is a lot on offer – entry is free!

Canon Germany press release (translated):

Click here to open the rest of the article

Inspiration Matters More Than Gear (oh, really?)

Inspiration
Brooklyn Bridge, NYC. Shot with an EOS M and EF-M 11-22mm

Just to digress from the usual deals and news hunting. It’s about the Canon EOS M. Sort of defence of.

These little APS-C cam never received the merits it deserves, for a lot of reasons. No industry-standard auto-focus before the firmware update, poor marketing (does Canon believe in mirrorless?), a wave of harsh critics that missed the strong points of Canon’s first mirrorless system camera: A magnesium alloy body, excellent build quality, even more the image quality, very small size and light weight, well thought and super-usable touch screen interface, adapter for the whole line-up of Canon’s world leading EF and EF-S lenses line-up. Do you think that’s nothing. Well, no, it’s a lot. And it was the reason I was among the first to get an EOS M. I own all three lenses, and the adapter, and I just love this little camera.

The EF-M 11-22mm IS STM (price & specs) is my favourite toy for the time being (I love super wide angle lenses), followed by the sharp EF-M 22mm f/2 STM (price & specs). The lens I use less is the EF-M 18-55mm IS STM (price & specs). Not because it is not well performing, it’s because I have more fun with the other two.

Not all of the EOS M is to my full satisfaction. More annoying of anything else: I miss the optical view finder. I am not smartphone generation. I like taking pictures with my Galaxy S3 but do not feel comfortable with just a display when I am seriously into photography. For me the biggest drawback of the EOS M has always been the lack of a viewfinder – not the auto-focus. Battery time also is not great, I always have a spare battery with me.

The AF is poor? Anyone told you it is? Ask them if they ever used it. Ok, it’s not industry leading, but after the firmware update it is perfectly usable. It makes no sense to measure the EOS M in terms of sport photography or shots that happen in similar settings. The worst of the EOS M’s AF is the tracking. But then: for fast moving subjects I bet there is almost no one who uses a mirrorless camera instead of a DSLR. So the question is: how often do you shot a flying eagle, a running mountain lion, or whatever moves to or by you with a fast pace? Ok, you have childs that never sit still -this could be an issue. As I wrote before, for me AF has never been a serious issue, your mileage may vary. AF is very accurate btw.

So why all these writing? Simple: I stumbled over the pic above, one of the many I shot while travelling the US, and it drove me into the ideas I wrote down. The mantra “the best camera is the one you have with you” is well known to anyone of us. When I saw the picture I thought I may let my Canon EOS 70D I carry around all time at home and instead take the smart, light weighted  EOS M which doesn’t really need a bag to be carried around and always shots DSLR quality images. Ok, will miss the view finder but I may give it another try. It’s not to say that the pic above is a masterpiece (it definitely is not), it is to say that you can shot a cool picture, or a picture you will like and be happy with, without having to worry about gear. The pic above would look the same if it was show with the EOS 70D, the 6D or the 5D Mark III. It’s about having the tool (the camera) with you when you need it.

It’s my hope that Canon will once more try to make a mirrorless camera that will excite us, I mean something that shows what Canon can do (when they want). They gave us Dual Pixel AF on the EOS 70D, a real technological innovation and a game changer. This is a sensor technology Canon can not avoid to put into a mirrorless camera – it’s made for such cameras. Besides all rumours about the next EOS M, there will be an EOS M2 and Dual Pixel AF will for sure be built in. That’s granted. Oh, Canon, and, please, also a viewfinder.

Keep on shooting.