Deal Alert: Canon Rebel SL1 with 18-55mm IS STM – $486

Top Rated Plus eBay seller 6ave (99.2% positive ratings) has a super deal going on: the Canon Rebel SL1 (EOS 100D) with the EF-S 18-55mm IS STM lens .Free shipping in the USA. Compare to $599.99 on Amazon.

More good deals on Canon gear at eBay and in the box below.



Tamron Announces Development of Fast And Image-Stabilized SP 15-30mm f/2.8 Di VC USD Ultra-Wide Angle Lens (world’s first in this category)

SP 15-30mm f/2.8 Di VC USD

Found via DicaHub (translated)

Press release:

Tamron announces development of F/2.8 fast ultra-wideangle zoom lens with VC (Vibration Compensation), world’s first in its category

XGM (eXpanded Glass Molded Aspherical) element and LD (Low Dispersion) glass elements deployed in the front group ensures outstanding image depicting performance. Proprietary eBAND coating coupled with improved BBAR coating efficiently reduces ghosting and flare inherent to wideangle focal lengths to an absolute minimum.

September 12, 2014, Saitama, Japan. – Tamron Co., Ltd. (President & CEO: Morio Ono), a leading manufacturer of precision optics, announces development of a new ultra-wideangle zoom lens for full-frame DSLR cameras with a fast F/2.8 aperture and VC (Vibration Compensation), the world’s first in its category. The price and launch date are to be determined. The lens will be showcased at the Tamron booth at Photokina 2014, September 16- 21, 2014 in Cologne, Germany (Photokina Booth Number: Hall 4.2 D10 – E19).

Click here to open the rest of the article

Canon Patent For 10-22mm Lens With Liquid Element (it’s not the first)

Lens With Liquid Element

Egami (translated) spotted a patent filed by Canon for 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 lens with a liquid element. Liquid lenses work by applying an electric voltage to an electrolytic solution (that’s the liquid) in order to curve its surface (called meniscus). This is not the first patent of this kind filed by Canon (1 | 2). Hard to say if such a lens will come to the market any time soon.

  • Patent Publication No. 2014-145883
    • Published Date 2014.8.14
    • Filing date 2013.1.29
  • Example 4
    • Zoom ratio 2.07
    • Focal length f = 10.30-13.12-21.35mm
    • Fno. 3.23-3.62-4.63
    • Half angle ω = 52.86-46.03-32.50 °
    • Image height 13.60mm
    • The overall length of the lens 135.13-133.91-135.09mm
    • BF 0.15mm
  • Canon patents
    • And by varying the shape of the boundary surface, thereby changing the refractive power
    • Zooming, and has a refractive power element is positive, the element is negative
    • And reduce the variation of the curvature
[via Egami]

Can You Focus On A Flying Dragonfly And Follow It? (yes, with the EOS 7D Mark II)

EOS 7D Mark II
EOS 7D Mark II, EF 600 f4 IS II, f/7.1, ISO 320, 1/1600, manual exposure
(
Image © Romy Ocon – All pictures used with permission)

Thanks for the tip.

From all the hands-on and previews about the Canon EOS 7D Mark II I am reading, there is one thing that always always stands out: The EOS 7D Mark II is an auto-focus champion. There are professional photographers saying the EOS 7D Mark II’s AF is better than the AF featured on the EOS-1D X.

Philippine based photographer Romy Ocon is a wildlife photographer and he loves to shot birds in flight. He got a pre-production model of the EOS 7D Mark II and is testing it. While waiting for a good shot, he thought he could try the EOS 7D Mark II’s AF on a flying Dragonfly. We are talking about a 2 inch long insect here. And the 7D Mark II delivered! Below you can see a crop of the image. It’s simply amazing. This isn’t an easy task neither for the photographer nor for the camera. Kudos.

Mr. Ocon also wrote about the EOS 7D Mark II AF on a forum:

I’ve shot hundreds of frames at BIFs [Birds in Flight, editor note] in two days, in a wide range of lighting, with sky and terrestrial backgrounds, with varied plumage colors and flight trajectories. IMHO, the 7D Mark II is the best focusing DSLR (in terms of AF speed, focus accuracy and ease of use) I’ve shot at flying birds. I’ve not used the 1Dx though, so I’m not sure how the 7D MII’s AF compares with that body. But I’d certainly prefer the new camera over my 1D MIV and 5D MIII if my main basis of choice are AF performance and frame rate.

With the 7D MII’s amazing AF, BIF photography has become much easier for me.

That’s what Canon is doing: they make solid and well performing DSLRs for serious photographers. Canon does not make fancy gadgets, they make excellent cameras and lenses. And the EOS 7D Mark II once more shows that Canon knows very well what they are doing and what professional photographers want.

There are more sample pics shot with the EOS 7D Mark II on Romy Ocon‘s site, check it out. More EOS 7D Mark II coverage on Canon Watch here.


Crop from the image above (© Romy Ocon)

[via romyocon]

Amazon changed the shipping date of the EOS 7D Mark II to October 30 (previously November 28). In Germany Wex Photographie is accepting pre-orders for the EOS 7D Mark II (€1,699).

World-wide pre-order links after the break

Click here to open the rest of the article

Canon Patent For 2x Teleconverter With Diffractive Optical Element

Canon PatentCanon Patent

Egami (translated) spotted a patent filed by Canon for a 2x teleconverter which incorporates a diffractive optical element.

  • Patent Publication No. 2014-145870
    • Published Date 2014.8.14
    • Filing date 2013.1.29
  • Example 1
    • Focal length -109.09mm
    • Magnification 2.00x
    • 4 group 9-lens configuration
    • One plane diffraction plane (the first group)
  • Master lens
    • Focal length f = 293.76mm
    • Fno. 2.91
    • Half angle ω = 4.21 °
    • Image height Y = 21.64mm
    • The overall length of the lens 275.41mm
    • BF 53.79mm
    • 15 sheets 11 groups lens configuration
    • Protective glass 1
    • Rear filter 1
    • UD 2
    • Fluorite 1
  • Canon patents
    • I and the diffraction plane cemented surface of the cemented lens closest to the object side
    • This arrangement can suppress the flare
[via Egami]

Behind-The-Scenes on Top TV Show ‘Homeland’ (why they use Canon cameras)

The cinematographers behind ‘Homeland’ reveal how Canon EOS-1D C and EOS 5D Mark III DSLRs and Cinema EF lenses have helped give the hit TV show its look. Video at CPN.