Canon EOS-1D X Review (ephotozine)

New Canon EOS-1D X Firmware Released

ephotozine reviewed Canon’s professional flagship, the Canon EOS-1D X (price & specs). Highly weather-sealed body, an advanced AF system, plenty of controls, outstanding low light performance. This toy has everything a professional photographer may wish. In the verdict they write:

If you’re looking for the ultimate in speed, image quality, and performance, as well as exceptional low light performance then the Canon EOS 1D X certainly delivers in abundance. With extremely high ISO settings available it’s possible to shoot in low light situations hand-held where you would normally have to setup a tripod and timer, as long as you don’t mind using these higher ISO settings.

[…]

The Canon EOS 1D X gives the best low light high ISO performance of any full frame Digital SLR yet! One of the biggest negatives about this camera is the price, with the Canon EOS 1D X being one of the most expensive full frame Digital SLRs available, however, for those seeking the ultimate in speed, and low light performance, the price will be justified, assuming you have the budget for it.

They list the following pros:

  • Exceptional high ISO performance
  • Excellent image quality
  • 2 year warranty offered on Canon Pro bodies
  • Extremely solid build quality
  • Large, bright optical viewfinder
  • Fastest shooting full frame DSLR available
  • Large bright optical viewfinder
  • Great 3.2inch screen
  • High speed focus

and cons:

  • Size, Weight
  • Expense (Nikon D4 cheaper)
  • Lacks in camera HDR of following models

The EOS-1D X got a “highly recommended” rating. Canon EOS-1D X price check: [shopcountry 4119] [via ephotozine]

Metabone Does The Optical Voodoo (want faster and wider lenses?)

This is the perfect Monday morning news. Want to use the awesome Canon lens collection on your MFT gear? And maybe you want your EF lenses to get faster and wider? Sounds impossible, or sounds like magic? Well, it is possible, at least it appears to be.

Metabones just announced the new “Speed Booster” Adapter that makes any Canon full-frame (i.e. EF and not EF-S) lens faster and wider (some say also sharper)! Philip Bloom posted this for first, and he explains how it works:

“The Metabones ‘Speed Booster’ is a 0.71 x focal reducer, that will effectively turn your full frame 50mm f/1.8 lens into a 35mm f/1.2 lens. Note, doing so (as a guide) will increase the aperture of that lens by one stop. It will be available in January 2013 from Metabones’ web site http://www.metabones.com and its worldwide dealer network for US$599 / £372 plus shipping and applicable taxes and duties“

Let me sum it up:

  1. The adapter reduces the image circle of full-frame lenses in order to cover the MFT sensor area
  2. You can use only full-frame lenses (Canon EF lenses)
  3. While the adapter supports automatic aperture and image stabilization it doens’t support AF control

Here is an image that shows you how it works:

The image circle gets reduced and this actually doesn’t decrease the image quality!

Below is a video sample shot by Philip Bloom using an Canon EF 17-40 f/4L lens shot at 24mm and a Sony FS100 camcorder

Take some time to read Philip Bloom post (there are more videos, lots of information, excerpts from the adapter’s white paper) and let me know what you think about all this optical voodoo. This is what Philip Bloom thinks:

Does it work? Well yes. After what has been some very speedy non scientific tests, I am very happy with the images produced so far. From what I have seen, will I be ordering one on release? Again yes, yes I will. The adapter I’ve tested is a prototype, so final judgment should be reserved until a production version is used and tested. I love that I can have a real 50mm on the FS100.

[via 43rumors]

 

Sigma 35mm f/1.4 Review (The Digital Picture)

The Digital Picture reviewed the Sigma 35mm f/1.4 (price & specs), a lens highly appreciated also by other reviews. About Sharpness:

The Sigma 35mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM Lens is an impressively sharp lens – with very sharp center and mid image circle results even at a wide open f/1.4 aperture. Full frame f/1.4 peripheral image circle results are still quite good, but softer than the center results. Results are slightly sharper at f/2, but the clearing vignetting is the biggest difference noticed by stopping down. Don’t expect center-of-the-frame image quality to noticeably improve by stopping down beyond f/2. Corners slowly improve until becoming very impressively sharp at f/5.6.

About image quality:

The impressiveness of the Sigma 35mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM Lens’ image quality becomes most apparent when comparing the results to the other great 35mm lenses. I have not used a lens of any focal length (Canon, Nikon, Zeiss, …) that delivered better/sharper image quality at f/1.4. This comparison of course includes the also-impressive Zeiss 35mm f/1.4 Distagon T* ZE Lens and the Canon EF 35mm f/1.4 L USM Lens.

About auto-focus:

While it is not perfect, I’m finding the Sigma 35 to perform close to the Canon 35 L in AF accuracy. A somewhat consistent and quite noticeable front focus problem on both of my 5D Mark III bodies required AFMA to correct. You may want to capture multiple images in situations with especially shallow DOF – which will be closer to MFD (Minimum Focus Distance). Note that the focus-and-recompose technique can begin to fail as shallower DOF is achieved.

And finally:

I think that the Sigma 35mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM Lens is my new favorite Sigma lens. Perhaps the “A” plate on the barrel represents this lens’ report card grade average, showing that it has brains to go along with the great looks.

There is much more in The Digital Picture‘s review, lot’s of details, so be sure not to miss it.

Sigma 35mm f/1.4 price check: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA

More Canon PowerShot N Tidbits

Above: Engadget’s first impressions. Canon USA PowerShot N page.

Digitalcamerainfo’s first impressions: The PowerShot N is Canon’s boldest move toward a future that just won’t come to pass: a future where compact cameras can go toe-to-toe with mobile devices in terms of wireless connectivity. In the (harsh) conclusion they write:

At its core, the N is just a capital-letters Cheap Point-and-Shoot with a wacky design. There is simply no good reason for a camera like this to have wireless connectivity if it can’t handle sharing as seamlessly as a smartphone.

PetaPixel’s first impressions:

The uber-compact body looks and feels nice in the hand, and can easily be carried around in your pocket without causing too much of a bulge. It’s light, and won’t weigh you or your bag down if you carry it around everywhere you go. It’s a camera that’s just as compact as a smartphone, but offers nice advantages: a longer-reaching optical lens and a larger sensor are two of the main ones.

Slashgear’s first impressions:

That’s a healthy amount of features for this little 12-megapixel shooter, but this still has plenty of the features you’d expect. These include low-light performance, ISO up to 6400, and the ability to capture video in 1080p. Canon says the PowerShot N will begin shipping in April 2013 and will come with a price tag of $300, which doesn’t seem too bad.

The PowerShot N, which will cost $299 and be available soon, can be pre-ordered at the following links (along with all the other Canon gear that was announced at CES 2013, click on shopname): B&H | Adorama.

Canon’s promo video for the PowerShot N

The Inner Life Of A Canon EOS-1D C

Canon Rumors had a chance to have a look inside an EOS-1D C, but no pictures were allowed to be taken.

They write that the differences (internally) are minimal, mainly visible by the heat sink that is used to dissipate the heat produced by the camera because of the 4k circuitry.

The real interesting thing is that the EOS-1D X has tokens of the EOS-1D C firmware and that features are locked by software switches. But hackers be warned: Canon will throw tons of lawyers to anyone who dares to manipulate an EOS-1 body at the software level (read: modify, extend, hack the firmware). Will this stop all the skilled hackers out there? Maybe it does.

Finally, the astronomic price of the EOS-1D C ($11.999). The answer is: limited production. By no way comparable to the Canon EOS 5D Mark III (price & specs), the EOS 7D (price & specs) or the Rebel T4i/650D (price & specs). Moreover, the software that’s featured in the cam had its share of costs.

The Canon EOS-1D C is in stock at B&H (click here). Canon EOS-1D C price check: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA [via CR]

 

Canon PowerShot N First Impressions Round-Up

12MP, tilting touchscreen, built-in Wi-Fi capabilities, an 8X-optical-zoom lens, 3.09 x 2.37 x 1.15 inches… Canon’s latest fun toy wasn’t expected. Let’s see some of the first hands-ons that showed up on the net. The PowerShot N, which will cost $299 and be available soon, can be pre-ordered at the following links (along with all the other Canon gear that was announced at CES 2013, click on shopname): B&H | Adorama.

Canon PowerShot N availability check for your country: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA (you probably have to wait some time)

Techradar: They found good: Easy to use, One-touch Wi-Fi, Small size, Good sensor, Responsive touch-control. Not so good: Slightly awkward to hold, Little manual control, Restricted LCD movement. More:

The PowerShot N is all about creating images quickly and easily, so naturally all the exposure modes are automatic. Program mode provided the most control, with aspects such as exposure compensation and white balance being adjustable. Alternatively, there are some creative shooting options with filter effect such as Fish-eye Effect, Miniature Effect, Soft Focus, Toy Camera Effect and Monochrome.

PCWorld:

This little box of a 12-megapixel camera also doesn’t have a traditional shutter button or zoom control. Instead, you trigger the shutter by pressing a ring around the lens, and you operate the zoom lens by rocking a second lens-ring control back and forth with your finger. You can also focus and take a photo by tapping the camera’s 2.8-inch capacitive touchscreen, which is definitely responsive

t3.com:

It’s an interesting idea, and perhaps something that will genuinely appeal to the left-handers out there, but we found the camera to be quite uncomfortable to use, and we didn’t really warm to the strange design even after a lengthy play.

Canon USA PowerShot N page

Finally, a video by Whatdigitalcamera:

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