Top rated plus eBay seller getitdigital (>41000 ratings, 99.6% positive) has the Canon EOS 5D Mark III body only option on sale for . Free shipping, USA warranty, and limited supply. Very good price.

Image credit: ephotozine.com

New tidbits about the still not released Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS 1.4x.

Canon Rumors reports:

I spoke to someone at NAB last week about the yet-to-be-officiall-announced EF 200-400mm f/4L IS 1.4x. I was told that the lens is now “expected to arrive in the fall of 2013. The design and functionality of the lens are set, Canon is now waiting for the manufacturing process to be finalized so production can begin”.

I got to hold and play with the 200-400 a bit last week, and I must say the weight of it shocked me. It’s going to be pretty close to the EF 600 f/4L IS II. I’m sure everything else about the lens is top notch, as we’re still being told to expect a price north of $10,000 USD.

Time ago there was a hands-on video about the Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS 1.4x, I repost it here.

It has yet to be announced, we are waiting for it since long, but photographer Joshua Holko had the exclusive chance to preview the Canon EF 200-400mm f/4 IS with built-in 1.4x teleconverter. The video has been published at Luminous Landscape.

[via CR]

DxOMark reviewed Canon’s EF 400mm f2.8L IS II USM lens. Not much people can afford a lens that costs $10.999 (click here), but professional photogs needing a (super) telephoto with f/2.8, e.g. sport photographers, will be happy with this “completely uncompromising” lens. The lens was tested with a Canon EOS 5D Mark III (price & specs). DxOMark writes:

The design consists of 16 elements in 12 groups, including some fluorite glass. There is a ‘Subwavelength Structure Coating’ to reduce flare and a fluorine coating on the front and rear elements that makes cleaning easier. There is provision for internally mounted 52mm filters and for Gelatin filters too, this is just as well since the front of the lens is 163mm across, virtually ruling out using front mounted filters. The length is 343mm and the weight is 3850g: about the same as a new born baby!

The lens is incredibly sharp:

The Canon EF 400mm f2.8L IS II USM is one of the sharpest Canon lenses scoring 21 P-Mpix when measured on a Canon EOS 5D Mk III. This negligible difference between the sensor Mpix and the perceived sharpness is excellent. All of the measurements are good: the transmission is very slightly slower than stated; there is one tenth of one percent distortion! Too little to see and vignetting at 1.1EV is manageable, easily fixed with DxO Optics Pro. This is a top quality lens.

If your looking out for this baby, then I suggest you have a look at DxOMark’s review. In the conclusion they write:

if you need a wide 400mm lens for your Canon camera and you can afford it – and you can justify it – this lens is one of the sharpest DxOMark has tested on a Canon camera. It is big, it is very heavy, (though lighter than the Nikkor!) and it will require real skill to exploit the amazing effect that an aperture of f/2.8 can give on such a long lens, but it is very unlikely that you will be disappointed.

Canon EF 400mm f2.8L IS II USM price check: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA Canon EOS 5D Mark III price check: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA

Canon EF 400mm f2.8L IS II USM core specs:

• L-Series Optics
• Optical Image Stabilization – 3 Modes
• Fast Ultra-Sonic Motor (USM) Autofocus
• Full-time Manual Focusing Functionality
• High-speed CPU
• Autofocus Stop Feature
• Dust and Water Resistant
• Fluorite Glass for Improved Quality
• Protective Fluorine Lens Coating
• Security Slot for Wire-Type Lock

Great deal by seller bigvalueinc on eBay US: The Canon EOS M with the EF-M 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM lens for . All four color options available. Free shipping and limited stock.

Note: This is an imported model, the seller writes:

This product is an imported model. It is completely identical to the USA model and is produced by the same factories. This product comes set in English as a standard, with USA connections, and English manuals. Imported models do not carry a USA manufacturer warranty card. Your purchase is covered by a BigValueInc store warranty which covers you for 1 Year.

 

Video above: Lightroom 5 beta: Advanced Healing Brush

Adobe just made the public beta of Lightroom 5 available to the public (click here to download). Among the new features are:

• Advanced Healing Brush – Easily remove objects and fix defects—even those with irregular shapes such as threads or lint—with a single brush stroke. Take precise control over what’s being removed as you make unwanted objects just disappear.
• Upright – Straighten tilted images with a single click. Upright analyzes images and detects skewed horizontal or vertical lines. You choose one of four correction methods, and Upright can even straighten images where the horizon is hidden.
• Radial Gradient – Lead your viewer’s eye through your images with more flexibility and control. The radial gradient tool lets you create off-center vignette effects, or multiple vignette areas within a single image.
• Offline editing with Smart Previews – Easily work with images without bringing your entire library with you. Just generate smaller stand-in files called Smart Previews. Make adjustments or metadata additions to Smart Previews and your changes will be automatically applied to the full-size originals later.
• Video slideshow sharing – Easily share your work in elegant video slideshows. Combine still images, video clips, and music in creative HD videos that can be viewed on almost any computer or device.
• Improved photo book creation – Create beautiful photo books from your images. Lightroom includes a variety of easy-to-use book templates, and now you can edit them to create a customized look. Upload your book for printing with just a few clicks.

Some videos to introduce the new features of Adobe Lightroom 5…

Discover how to automatically fix common problems such as tilted horizons as well as converging verticals in buildings using Lightroom’s new Upright controls for perspective correction:

Learn how easy it is to apply local adjustments including modifications to exposure, contrast, sharpening and more, using the new non–destructive Radial filter in Lightroom:

Discover the new enhancements to Lightroom’s advanced Healing Brush including the ability to heal and clone non-circular brush spots as well as remove easy to miss sensor dust with using the new Visualization slider:

Adobe Lightroom 4 price check: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA

A new rumor regarding the Canon EOS 70D, the successor of the highly popular Canon EOS 60D (price & specs), surfaced on the web. While the announcement date of April 23th is still taken for valid, a new spec list showed up.

• 18mp Sensor (Same as SL1)
• DIGIC V
• 6.5fps
• SD Card
• Wifi
• GPS
• 3.2″ Touchscreen LCD (No mention of swivel)
• Magnesium Alloy Construction
• Weather-sealed
• Slightly larger than the EOS 60D
• $1199 USD Body Only

It is said that Canon will also announce a new lens when they announce the EOS 70D to the world. However, no mention about the kind of lens or the specs.

I have not much to add. As previously reported, and listed in the specs, the new sensor featured on the Canon Rebel SL1/EOS 100D will most probably be featured also on the Canon EOS 70D.

Canon EOS 60D price check: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA