Canon PIXMA PRO-10 Review And Super Deal ($299), and EOS 6D ($1638), and 24-105 f/4L IS ($725)

pixma pro-10

dpreview reviewed Canon’s PIXMA PRO-10 printer and gave it a Gold Award. They liked:

  • Excellent print quality, both in color and B&W
  • Chroma optimizer reduces gloss differential, bronzing
  • Metamerism is minimal
  • Solid feel and high quality construction
  • Strong support from Canon for third party papers
  • Profiling software included
  • Wi-fi connectivity in addition to USB & Ethernet

Super deal at Adorama: The WiFi-enabled Canon PIXMA PRO-10 Professional Photo Inkjet Printer is on sale just $299 (click here) after $200 instant rebate and $200 mail-in rebate. Limited stock so hurry up! Free shipping and free photo paper.

And there is more!!

Top rated eBay seller getitdigital (42127, 99.6% positive) has the Canon EOS 6D body only on sale for and they have the Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS lens for .; That’s more than $420 off the regular price.

Even more deals. On Amazon, for limited time only, save $148 on select Canon EOS Rebel T5i and SL1 SLR Camera bundles on Amazon.com.

  • Canon EOS Rebel T5i (EOS 700D) with 18-55mm EF-S IS STM Lens and EF-S 55-250mm IS II Telephoto Zoom Lens – $1,050 (click here)
  • Canon EOS Rebel SL1 (EOS 100D) with 18-55mm EF-S IS STM Lens and EF-S 55-250mm IS II – $950 (click here)
  • Canon EOS Rebel T51 (EOS 700D) with 18-135mm EF-S IS STM Lens and EF-S 55-250mm IS II Telephoto Zoom Lens – $1,249 (click here)

Top rated eBay seller vstarsales (13721 ratings, 99.7% positive) has the Rokinon/Samyang/Bower 35mm T1.5 Wide Angle Cine Lens with de-clicked aperture for . Compare at $549. A lens cleaning pen and kit are included.

Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4 DC Macro OS HSM Review (Imaging Resource)

Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4 DC

Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4 DC Macro OS HSM
[shopcountry 13357]

Specifications (from B&H’s product page)

  • Aperture Range: f/2.8-22
  • Hyper Sonic AF Motor
  • Optical Stabilizer
  • Macro Capabilities
  • Compact and Lightweight TSC Construction
  • FLD, SLD, and Aspherical Lens Elements
  • Super Multi-Layer Coating
  • Compatible with Sigma USB Dock

The Imaging Resource reviewed Sigma’s latest addition to their “Contemporary” line-up, the Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4 DC Macro OS HSM. Some excerpts:

  • The Sigma 17-70mm “C” is surprisingly sharp, especially when compared to its predecessor
  • Chromatic aberration is handled quite well outside of the extremes in the focal ranges capable of the lens (23-50mm), but at the 17mm and 70mm ends we note some considerable chromatic aberration
  • Corner shading is only a problem in two cases: when the lens is used at 17mm, or when the lens is used at any other focal length and at its widest aperture
  • […] the lens was able to focus between infinity, close-focus and back to infinity in around one second
  • 0.34x magnification [for macro]
  • With the new “Contemporary” 17-70mm ƒ/2.8-4 OS HSM “C”, Sigma’s created a smart and stylish upgrade to its kit-lens alternative. There’s a good recipe for sales here: make it look awesome, and don’t jack up the price too much.

 

Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM 1.4x Review (PetaPixel)

 EF 200-400mm f/4L

Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS Extender 1.4x
Amazon | Adorama | B&H

Product description (from B&H’s product page)

  • High-Performance Telephoto Zoom Lens
  • Canon EF Mount
  • Aperture Range f/4-32
  • Built-in 1.4x Extender
  • Three-Mode Optical Image Stabilization
  • Ring USM Autofocus & Internal Focusing System
  • Power Focus Mode for Smooth Focus Shift
  • One Fluorite and Four UD Lens Elements
  • Fluorine Front & Rear Lens Coating
  • Highly Resistant to Dust and Water

PetaPixel reviewed Canon’s new super-telezoom monster that costs like a small car, the Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS Extender 1.4x. Lots of sample images, also to test the built-in 1.4x extender. Some excerpts from the review:

  • The image quality of the Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L is, in a word, excellent. Even when shot wide-open at f/4 or f/5.6, the contrast and sharpness of the lens is very good.
  • Autofocus is very fast and decisive, even on the EOS 5D Mk IIIbody
  • “Sharpness” is the middle name of the Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L.
  • […] the Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Extender 1.4x lens is very sharp, very fast with autofocus and very versatile in terms of focal length.
  • Crisp, tack sharp and contrasty, the photos are what [you] would never have expected from a super telephoto zoom with an extender.
  • […] Canon priced the EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Extender 1.4x lens at exactly what it is worth.
Ef 200-400mm f/4L
Three stabilizer modes (image courtesy: PetaPIxel)
EF 200-400mm f/4L
The EF 200-400mm f/4L IS 1.4x has “Power Focus”, good for videography (image courtesy: PetaPixel)
[via PetaPixel]

Rokinon 35mm T1.5 Wide Angle Cine Lens Review And Deal – $480

Top rated eBay seller vstarsales (13721 ratings, 99.7% positive) has the Rokinon/Samyang/Bower 35mm T1.5 Wide Angle Cine Lens with de-clicked aperture for . Compare at $549. A lens cleaning pen and kit are included.

The Phoblographer reviewed the Rokinon 35mm T1.5:

If you are looking for an affordable option for a cine-like lens, this is a one to  consider. You have a sturdy build for the barrel, nice color, although in my use, this depends on what profile you use.Aesthetically this lens is handsome. I do really wish that if you are going to give me a wide open T stop of 1.5 that it would be just a little bit sharper.

How To Install Magic Lantern – A Step-By-Step Video Guide

Given all the (justified) hype around Magic Lantern’s RAW hack more and more Canon users want to install the firmware hack. The most amazing results are obtained with the EOS 5D Mark III, but also a five year old camera that was never thought to shot video, the EOS 50D (here on eBay), can produce amazing results with the Magic Lantern hack.

Dave Dugdale from Learning DSLR Video made a video that shows step-by-step how to install the Magic Lantern hack. As Dave suggests, it is best to install first the stable version of Magic Lantern before playing around with the alpha-releases (or nightly builds) that deliver the RAW video output.

Be sure that the battery is fully charged before starting the installation process. You have to reset the camera to factory settings, then you have to format the memory card. After that you plug the card in you computer and copy the downloaded files on it. Finally, the card goes back in your camera, where you navigate to the firmware update menu. When all is done correctly you will see the screen output below.

magic lantern

[ISO 1200 via PetaPixel]

Canon C300 Video-Reviews (P. Bloom and others)

EOS C300

The Canon EOS C300 and C300/PL are discounted to $13,999 at B&H (click here) and Adorama (click here).

Let’s start with a short SciFi movie (That Day) shot by Philip Bloom on the Canon C300. Bloom says (source: creativeplanetnetwork):

For my part as DP, I had to decide which camera I was going to shoot this on, how to shoot it, and what I needed to achieve this. I decided upon the C300…why the C300? Well first off it is my newest camera and I really wanted to see it pushed in this situation. I was looking at the F3 which would have worked great, but for me this camera made more sense. Especially as it’s the EF version and there would be some hand-held work. Those IS lenses are a dream for that.

 

Zac Nicholson shot No Place On Earth, a movie about how 38 Ukrainian Jews hid from the Nazis for 18 months in 1942. About the Canon C300 he says (source: motionvfx):

I had been using the Canon EOS 5D Mark II for a lot of my own documentaries and narrative experimental work. (…) I think Canon was the first to understand what they had created for filmmakers in the DSLR market, and then to push that beyond its boundaries into new areas. For a long time I had been waiting for something I would be comfortable shooting movies with that didn’t use film. The EOS C300 camera was what I had been waiting for. I have heard other filmmakers praise the EOS C300 camera, and everything I saw from it was extraordinary. Plus, I’d be able to use my Canon EF lenses with the EOS C300 camera. As soon as the EOS C300 camera became available I bought one, and it has exceeded my expectations. I have been shooting with it ever since and it’s basically been my workhorse, the camera I hope to shoot with every single time I go out. There were a lot of things that we did with the EOS C300 camera for No Place on Earth that were in environments that were so difficult to shoot in that we could not have physically or logistically done them with a larger digital cinematography camera, especially one requiring assistants. The EOS C300 camera provides a small, almost DSLR-like shape and structure, which is highly portable and maneuverable, and yet it gives you a sensor that can match those of the larger digital cinema cameras.”

 

The utility of the C300 in shooting documentaries is well known. Rick Gershon made the film Surviving the Peace: Angola, documenting the problem of people in Angola, still struggling with landmines 10 years after the end of the civil war. About the C300 he says (source: motionvfx):

Despite the few things that bothered me about the C300, I found it to be a phenomenal verite-style documentary camera. In fact, for this type of work, given the form factor and features of the camera, in my opinion, there is not a better camera out there right now for guys like me. (…) Working with the C300 in a documentary setting was a really great experience. I was truly blown away with just how user friendly the camera was and how quickly I became comfortable with it. And of course the footage speaks for itself.

 

Finally, a short video by Italian filmmaker Aldo Ricci. The video is in Italian and has English subtitles. C300 vs Maserati, good challenge! :-)