Canon Interviews Engineers on Dual Pixel CMOS AF Technology (EOS 70D)

EOS 70D

The Canon Digital Learning Center published an 8 pages interview with the engineers that are behind the Canon EOS 70’s new and groundbreaking Dual Pixel CMOS Auto-Focus system. The PDF file can be downloaded here (scroll down the page, the link to the PDF is at the bottom).

The text starts citing three widespread assumptions:

The correct way to take photos is by looking through an optical viewfinder and shooting

Live View is a subsidiary function, inferior to the optical viewfinder

The DSLR’s movie mode is so difficult, as to be usable only by a professional

And then goes on:

Dual Pixel CMOS AF is a new technology that will cast aside these assumptions. The entire surface of the sensor is lined with pixels composed of two photodiodes each, and the image plane phase-difference detection AF focuses using the phase-difference of the two parallax images.

Even when shooting with Live View, because it is phase-difference detection the AF is fast. Rather than pixels dedicated to AF, the pixels have both AF and imaging functions, all effective pixels can also be used for imaging. Now Live View Shooting will be a shooting method choice that is equal to optical viewfinder shooting.

Definitely worth a read!

[via NC]

Canon EOS 70D
[shopcountry 14246] [shoplink 14246]EOS 70D[/shoplink]

A Bit Of Everything

 

  • Canon 6D vs Canon 5D Mark III Which One to Buy
  • Canon SL1 review: Find out why the world’s smallest DSLR is much more than just a mini Rebel T5i – imaging-resource
  • Canon Powershot SX130IS- Review – photographic-central
  • Canon Powershot A1200 Review – photographic-central
  • Canon PowerShot A3500 IS Review – ephotozine
  • Canon IXUS 135 HD Wi-Fi Review – ephotozine
  • Canon Dims Sales Outlook as Smartphones Capture Snapshots – bloomberg
  • Canon previews a handheld version of its MREAL Mixed Reality tech at SIGGRAPH, we go hands-on (video) – engadget
  • AF Consistency of EOS 5D3 and EOS 40D with EF50 1.4, EF 100 f2, EF 24-105 IS L – photo.net
  • Talking Gear: Dissecting the EOS C500 Steadicam rig accessories – Canon Digital Learning Center
  • Canon EOS Speedlite Custom and Personal Functions – Canon Digital Learning Center
    • Virtually every Canon EX-series Speedlite, with the exception of the super-compact Speedlite 90EX, offers the options of Custom Functions (abbreviated “C.Fn”) within the flash itself. As they have done in EOS cameras since 1989, Custom Functions in a Speedlite allow the photographer to change default settings and control certain aspects of the way a flash operates. In effect, they can allow the user to personalize his or her flash units, just as the Custom Functions in a camera body allow the photographer to personalize their cameras.We’ll take a closer look at what the different Speedlite Custom Functions do, show different ways to access them and provide a better idea of how they can be used in real-world situations to improve your flash photography.
  • Photos of Falling Subjects Moments from Disaster – PetaPixel

Canon Deals of the Day: EOS 5D Mark III, EF 24-105mm, EOS 6D

Canon DealsCanon Deals

eBay seller bigvalueinc (98.2% positive ratings) has the Canon EOS 5D Mark III body only on sale for [shoplink 14962 ebay]$2,866.82 (click here)[/shoplink]. Free shipping. Not the 5D3 killer deal we had last week but still a good price.

Same seller bigvalueinc has the Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS lens on sale for [shoplink 14964 ebay]$733.79 (click here)[/shoplink]. UV filter as bonus and free shipping. The lens is available also on Amazon by a third party seller for even less, $724.82 (click here). Top Rated Plus eBay seller getitdigital (99.4% positive ratings) has the EF 24-105mm f/4L IS lens at a very good price, [shoplink 14965 ebay]$759.99 (click here)[/shoplink]; USA warranty and free shipping. Usually the 24-105mm sells for $1149.

Finally, two Canon EOS 6D deals that are not new but still live. Bigvalueinc has the Canon EOS 6D on sale for [shoplink 14761 ebay]$1,581.81 (click here)[/shoplink]. Same conditions as above.

The EOS 6D is on sale for less and with some bonus accessories by eBay seller 6ave (99.5% positive ratings) for [shoplink 14762 ebay]$1,572.61 (click here)[/shoplink]. The bonus items are: 2 replacement batteries, a compact charger, a case, and a pretty useless no-name 32GB memory card (see picture after the break). Want to know what Canon’s “entry-level” full-frame can do? Check this commercial shot entirely with a 6D.

All these deals can be found on dealsrunner.com.

Click here to open the rest of the article

(Update) More Canon EOS 70D Test Videos and Sample Pics

Thanks John (2 times) for pointing me to this!

Update: Polish site optyczne posted sets of sample pics taken with the EOS 70D at all ISO speeds. Some of the test scenes (bottles and pencils) have been used to test the EOS 650D, so you can compare them (scroll down to the sample pics).

Japanese site Digitial Life Innovator (translated) posted another video testing the Dual Pixel CMOS Auto-Focus of the [shoplink 14246]Canon EOS 70D[/shoplink]. There are also sample pics (original files available for download). I wasn’t able to understand (from the machine translated Japanese text) if they had a pre-production model of the EOS 70D (think so). However, the pics are all “out of the box” JPGs, and I think the image quality is impressive. They extracted frames from the video and made them available in a Flickr set.

It appears as if Canon made everything right with the EOS 70D. After long a true innovation by Canon. I bet the EOS 70D will sell very well, there is too much to love in this camera.

Canon EOS 70D pre-order and price check: [shopcountry 14246]

EOS 70D
Canon EOS 70D, EF-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM, 1/160, f/5.6, ISO5000, +1 EV (image credit: Digital Life Innovator)

 

Canon Germany Cashback Action: Last Days to Save up to Euro 300

Canon Germany Cashback

Until July 31, then it is over. Canon Germany has a cashback program going on (only for customers located in Germany). Depending by the item you purchase the cashback goes up to Euro 300. Too see how it works click here (German). On Amazon Germany, these are the items on offer (list is not complete since there are too much items):

  • €50 cashback for the EOS 700D, EF 40mm pancake, Speedlite 430EX – click here
  • €70 cashback for the EF 70-300, EF-S 18-200, EF-S 60mm macro – click here
  • €80 cashback for the EOS 60D and various 60D kits – click here
  • €100 cashback for the EOS 7D, 7D kits, EF-17-40, EF 100mm f/2.8, and more lenses – click here
  • €200 cashback for the EF 16-35mm, EF 8-15mm fisheye – click here
  • €300 cashback for the EF 24-70 f/2.8L II and the EF 70-200 f/2.8L IS II – click here