Firmware Update for Canon EOS-1D C Will be Released in October

EOS-1D C

Canon will release a firmware update for their Canon EOS-1D C camera by mid october. The update brings lens aberration correction and audio recording with line input.

A new firmware update is available for the EOS-1D C. Firmware Version 1.3.x adds new functionality incorporating the following features and modifications:

Lens aberration correction with EF Cinema Lenses: Communication between Canon EF Cinema lenses and Canon cameras has had a few effects on the operation of the EOS-1D C. The following features are now available as menu options:

  • Peripheral Illumination Correction: This feature maintains even brightness from corner to corner of an image. This will virtually eliminate vignetting and any other unevenness of light across the image.
  • Chromatic Aberration Correction: This feature reduces color fringing in areas of an image with high contrast color. It reduces color bleeding, which is easily noticeable at edges and degrades perceived image quality.
  • In addition, communication between the lens and camera body will allow the F-stop to now be seen on the viewfinder. Focus position and F-stop will also now be recorded by the camera.
  • Flicker caused by manual aperture adjustment has been reduced with this update, this could cause slight underexposure which may result in exposure compensation in some cases.

Sound recording with Line input:

  • After requests from users in the field, audio recording through a mini plug (3.5mm) connected to the external microphone terminal is now supported. This will allow for the recording of audio sources other than microphones, such as mobile devices or audio players. The standard input level is -8 dBV and can reach an input signal of up to +6 dBV. Sound recording levels are adjustable at 64 sound-recording levels.

Service support start date is anticipated mid-October 2013. For information regarding the EOS-1D C firmware update (which must be performed by a Canon Factory Service center) please contact Canon Cinema EOS Support at 1-855-CINE-EOS (246-3367).

Canon EOS M and EF-M 11-22mm IS STM Issue (with firmware 2.0.2)

EF-M 11-22mm f/4-5.6 IS STM Review

Canon EF-M 11-22mm f/4-5.6 IS STM
[shopcountry 14076]

A Canon Watch reader (thanks MdB) wrote me an email reporting a strange issue he and another user are having with the Canon EOS M and the EF-M 11-22mm f/4-5.6 IS STM lens. MdB writes:

The problem: If you turn the camera on whilst the lens is already extended the M will not fire off a shot at all. If you turn the camera on and then extend the lens it works perfectly fine. If you turn the camera on with the lens already extended you have to retract the lens and then re-extend the lens and the camera will start shooting again.

The issue appears to show up even with the latest firmware (2.0.2). I tested this on my EOS M and the 11-22mm and could not replicate it.

Does someone here experience the same issue? Would be glad if you can post it in the comments. Thank you.

Five Consumer Directors Premiere Their Short Films at Project Imaginat10n Film Festival

Canon USA press release:

Canon U.S.A., Ron Howard and Bryce Dallas Howard Discover Five Consumer Directors to Premiere Their Short Films at the Project Imaginat10n Film Festival

10 Films Inspired By User Submitted Photographs Will be Packaged by Canon as “A Ron Howard Presentation” – The Winning Consumer Directors and Five Celebrity Directors: Eva Longoria, Jamie Foxx, James Murphy, Georgina Chapman and Biz Stone

MELVILLE, N.Y., September 19, 2013 – Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in digital imaging solutions, two-time Academy Award® winner Ron Howard, and Bryce Dallas Howard, one of Hollywood’s most versatile actresses and director of the 2011 short film “when you find me,” have announced the five winning consumer directors of the “Project Imaginat10n” film contest, which gave filmmakers of all skill levels an opportunity to showcase their creativity and storytelling abilities. Five celebrity directors also took part in the same creative exercise: Eva Longoria (film and TV actress), Jamie Foxx (Academy Award® winner), Biz Stone (co-founder of Twitter), Georgina Chapman (designer and co-founder of Marchesa) and James Murphy (founder of LCD SOUNDSYSTEM).

Click here to open the rest of the article

Hack: A Canon PowerShot A530 with CHDK Used to Shot (and send) Pictures from Stratosphere

There is not only Magic Lantern to get the juice out of your Canon DSLR, CHDK is a firmware extension for Canon PowerShot cameras (with many many supported PowerShots):

CHDK is a firmware enhancement that operates on a number of Canon Cameras. CHDK gets loaded into your camera’s memory upon bootup (either manually or automatically). It provides additional functionality beyond that currently provided by the native camera firmware.

To see all features click here, for an overview go here.  So, what do you need if you want to send images from the stratosphere to the ground? A lot of stuff I guess, but for the photographic part you’ll not need the high end gear you may think. Chris Stubbs is an apprentice electronic engineer who started a pretty cool project concerning high altitude balloon flights. To shot images he uses a Canon PowerShot A530 (here on eBay) with CHDK installed, and a cheap Radiometrix NTX2 FSK radio module that is so small it fits into the battery compartment.

There are a lot of technical details in Chris’ post, the project is described in every detail. Not a DIY weekend project but something you could replicate with a bit of patience and some technical skills.

Ready to go high (image credit: Chris Stubbs)
[via hackaday]

 

Canon Prototype Full-Frame Sensor Captures Fireflies at Less than 0.01 Lux

Screenshot taken from the video mentioned below

Canon published a press release about a prototype 35mm sensor (announced in March 2013). This sensor is capable to capture images in extreme low light, less than 0.01 lux. To give an example the full moon provides approximately 0.3 lux, the crescent moon approximately 0.03 lux. If you follow this link there is a sample video that shows what it is about.

The press release:

TOKYO, Japan, September 12, 2013—Canon Inc. has successfully captured video footage of Yaeyama-hime fireflies flying in darkness, a feat made possible by the high-sensitivity 35 mm full-frame CMOS sensor developed by Canon for video capture that was announced in March 2013.


  • Yaeyama-hime fireflies amid jungle vegetation
    (Photomontage created from video footage)

  • 35 mm full-frame CMOS sensor for
    Full HD video capture

The high-sensitivity, low-noise video-shooting capabilities of the dedicated 35 mm full-frame CMOS sensor1for Full HD video capture were made possible not only through the integration of the high-performance sensor technologies employed in Canon’s digital SLR cameras, but also through the incorporation of new pixel and readout circuitry technologies that reduce noise.

Using a camera prototype equipped with the CMOS sensor, Canon, in cooperation with ZERO CORPORATION,2 succeeded in capturing video3 of the Yaeyama-hime fireflies that inhabit Japan’s Ishigaki Island, located off the northeastern coast of Taiwan. No artificial lighting was used during shooting, which took place after sunset amid the island’s mountains. Despite an exceptionally dark shooting environment4 of less than 0.01 lux, a level in which the naked eye would have difficulty discerning surrounding objects, the CMOS sensor was able to capture not only the color of the light emitted by the fireflies, each of which measures only a few millimeters in length, and their movements, but also the surrounding vegetation in which the species lives. Plans call for the footage to be used to benefit future research into the Yaeyama-hime firefly.

In addition to astronomical and natural observation, Canon is looking into applying this CMOS sensor to medical research purposes as well as surveillance and crime-prevention equipment. Through the further development of innovative CMOS sensors, Canon aims to expand the realm of photographic possibilities while cultivating the world of visual expression.