Canon Ranks First Among Japanese Companies For Corporate Emission Performance

 

Canon press release:

Canon earns highest ranking among Japanese companies in 2013 Climate Counts science-based corporate emissions performance study

TOKYO, January 30, 2014—Canon Inc. announced today that, in a collaborative study on corporate emissions performance conducted by Climate Counts1 and the Center for Sustainable Organizations,2 Canon earned a fourth-place ranking, the highest of any Japanese company included in the survey.

The 2013 Climate Counts Science-Based Carbon Study analyzes the operational emissions of 100 global corporations between 2005 and 2012 to determine their performance against science-based targets. The companies included in the study spanned 10 industries, including technology, healthcare, oil & gas, and consumer goods. The study relies on a metric developed by the Center for Sustainable Organizations (CSO) called the Context-Based Carbon Metric.3 Embedded in CSO’s metric for purposes of the Climate Counts study were science-based emissions targets developed by Tellus Institute, an interdisciplinary not-for-profit research and policy organization.

The study evaluates sustainability performance not only in terms of the environment, but also from social and economic perspectives, assessing and ranking each company’s performance based on emissions per dollar of contribution to gross domestic product, as well as the amount that the company contributes to GDP.

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Canon Supports Young Filmmakers at Berlinale Talents 2014

 

Canon Europe press release:

Canon supports the next generation of filmmakers at Berlinale Talents 2014
London, UK, 29 January 2014 – Canon is continuing its support for budding filmmakers with the second year of its partnership with Berlinale Talents – a creative networking event for emerging film industry talent that is part of the Berlin International Film Festival. As Principal Partner of Berlinale Talents, Canon will present a number of master classes for over 300 promising talents in the film industry, featuring world-class workshops with cinematographers and the latest Canon equipment.
Berlinale Talents 2014.jpg
The main venue of Berlinale Talents – HAU Hebbel am Ufer (HAU1)
© Berlinale 2013, photo Peter Himsel
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Canon Releases Financial Results For 2013

Canon

Canon published their financial results for the year 2013. There is a lot of material to read and dive into. I suggest you go for the presentation material, since it is a summary of the much more comprehensive Financial Results. All files are PDFs.

From the incipit of the  Financial Results document:

Looking back at the global economy in 2013, although the U.S. and Japanese economies began heading toward moderate recoveries during the latter half of the year, the economic downturn in Europe continued to drag on while the economies of emerging countries such as China faced slowdowns. As such, contrary to expectations at the beginning of the year, the global economy remained stagnant. As for exchange rates, the correction of the historic high value of the yen continued, with a trend toward a weaker yen growing increasingly clear.

As for the markets in which Canon operates amid these conditions, owing to the economic slowdown, flat demand led to a continuation of the harsh business environment especially for consumer products. Among office multifunction devices (MFDs), color models continued to drive growth while demand for laser printers realized a turnaround toward recovery. Although demand for interchangeable-lens digital cameras continued to show strong growth in Japan, demand overseas fell short of the previous year’s level as the economic rebound in such markets as Europe and China takes longer than expected. As for digital compact cameras, demand continued to shrink in both developed countries as well as emerging markets. Overall market demand for inkjet printers, hit by the prolonged economic downturn, also declined in all major markets. In the industry and others sector, a rebound in capital investment for memory devices led to a pickup in demand for semiconductor lithography equipment in the latter half of the year, while demand for lithography equipment used in the production of flat panel displays (FPD) showed healthy market growth for mid- and small-size panels used mainly in smartphones and tablet PCs, and a modest recovery for large-size panels.

[via CR]

Canon EOS-1D X Firmware Update Article By Canon Digital Learning Center

[shoplink 4119]EOS-1D X Firmware[/shoplink]

Two weeks ago Canon released an important firmware update for the Canon EOS-1D X. This is a big update that brings improvements for auto-focus, exposure control, and more.

The Canon Digital Learning Center published a long and detailed article to explain all what you need to know about the firmware update. The highlights that come with the update:

  • Autofocus: improve low-light focus capability when tracking moving subjects in AI Servo AF
  • Autofocus: expanded range of Accel./Decel. Tracking settings toimprove AI Servo AF stability when focus-tracking subjects moving at a consistent speed.
  • AF point management: Orientation Linked AF adds a new option toregister only AF points rather than AF point plus area; Auto AF point selection in AI Servo can now start from the same AF point used last during Manual AF point selection.
  • Exposure control: Make Auto ISO even more viable (two important new changes), and a new option to maintain consistent manual exposure, even if aperture changes (such as if a tele extender is removed and shooting immediately begins after it’s removed)
  • Customization: New “back-button” options to instantly change AF characteristics on-the-fly

How To Get Notified When The Samyang 10mm f/2.8 Will Be Available

Samyang 10mm

In December 2013 Samyang announced a new, exiting ultra-wide angle lens, the Samyang 10mm f/2.8 The lens will be available for Canon’s EF and EF-M mount (among other mount types). For some sample pics head over to Samyang’s website.

The lens is not yet available for pre-order, but you can get notified when you can order it:

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Canon DLC Publishes Cinema EOS White Papers

The Canon Digital Learning Center published 4 new Cinema EOS white papers. The new papers are:

NEW: Personality of the Canon Cinema EOS Lens: Design Strategies
The newer generation of Cinema EOS lenses came from multiple optical design resources within Canon, such as ourEF Lens and Broadcast Lens designs.

NEW: Personality of the Canon Cinema EOS Lens: Image Sharpness
A design goal with the Cinema zoom lenses was to achieve an overall optical performance that would equate with the best of contemporary prime lenses over their respective focal lengths.

NEW: Personality of the Canon Cinema EOS Lens: Color Reproduction
The new generation of Canon Cinema lenses paid high attention to optimizing color reproduction of the lens-camera system, such as how it reproduces skin tones of various ethnicities.

NEW: Personality of the Canon Cinema EOS Lens: Contrast
Achieving a high contrast ratio is universally sought by cinematographers and is always a central design goal for the optical designers.

You have to scroll down and click on the Additional Resources links to download the Cinema EOS white papers