Remains of the Day

Canon Wins 2012 Technology And Engineering Emmy® Award

Canon USA News:

The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Honors Canon's Work on Improvements to Large Format CMOS Imagers for Use in High Definition Broadcast Video Cameras

LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y., October 22, 2012 – Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in digital imaging solutions, announced today that Canon Inc. will be recognized at the 64th Annual Technology & Engineering Emmy® Awards for “Improvements to Large Format CMOS Imagers for Use in High Definition Broadcast Video Cameras.” Presented by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS), the Technology & Engineering Emmy® Awards honor development and innovation in broadcast technology and recognize companies, organizations and individuals for breakthroughs in technology that have a significant effect on television engineering.

Canon debuted its award-winning large format CMOS image sensor in its acclaimed EOS C300 Digital Cinema Camera in November of 2011 at a global launch event held at Paramount Studios in Hollywood. By exploring alternatives to the established Bayer color filter array algorithms, Canon was able to achieve an overall image quality capture through its CMOS sensor that has helped bring digital cinema closer to the superb aesthetics associated with 35 mm motion picture film.

Read the rest of the news here.

Deal: Rich Canon Rebel T3i/EOS 600D Kit With Two Lenses And More Stuff For $799

The Canon Rebel T3i/EOS 600D kit with the 18-55mm and 55-250mm IS has gone down to $799 at most sellers. But top rated seller beachcamera on eBay is selling the kit ($799) with some additional stuff like a bag, an extra battery, an UV filter, a 16GB memory card, a memory card reader and a full sized tripod. A great starter kit. You get the following items:

Limited quantity. It will last as long as supply lasts.

 

What Is Canon Going To Do Next? (new rumor tidbits) -Update

The big question: What is Canon going to do next?

Canon Rumors reports that Canon is developing a new Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L IS II lens, primarily to take advantage of new technologies that reduce the weight (which is an issue in an 800mm telephoto lens). There is no information about the timeline. CR also pointed on the fact that the EF 200mm f/2L IS was announced together with the EF 800mm f/5.6L IS II back in 2008

Canon Rumors is also reporting that Canon wasn’t all that happy with the probably photo-shopped picture of the upcoming (so I think) 46 MP DSLR that showed up on B&H and immediately disappeared (to be honest: there is no evidence that the pic really showed up on B&H’s site). That’s somewhat strange, as CR points out: Why get upset if there is no reason to be? I still think that the image was photo-shopped. On the other hand. if Canon really got upset because of the image, then we are allowed to think that there is something more waiting to be discovered (at least a real 46MP DSLR in developement). No news about the name. For the time being EOS-1S is the most quoted, in the past we saw EOS 3D, EOS 4D and EOS-1D S. Al sources said it will be a series-1 shaped body. But there is more. It appears that Canon could make an announcement before the end of the week, at Photoplus in NY, although there have not been sent out any media invitations. Strange.

Update. Northlight Images [via CR] got slightly different informations, referring to two big megapixel DSLR, still in an 1-series shaped body. Prototypes or gear in its early developement state.

From the US, a 39MP sensor in a 1 series body, has apparently been used for several test video productions. In the Far East, two other comments both pointed to ‘well over 50’ MP, once again in a 1 series body. All stressed that these were not production model test cameras.

And then….then there are the usual suspects: EOS 700D, EOS 70D (the EOS 60D is listed as discontinued on Amazon Germany), EOS 7D Mark II, the pro-oriented mirror-less camera we hope Canon is working on. No news here. Do you know something?

As usual with rumors, we can only wait and see what happens.

Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L IS price check: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA

What Is Canon Going To Do Next?

Remains Of The Day

Canon EF 28mm f/2.8 USM IS Reviews And Video (Update)

Update: added another EF 28mm IS USM review.

The Canon EF 28mm f/2.8 IS USM succeds the EF 28mm f/2.8, a lens that was in production for 25 years and has now been discontinued. The old Canon 28mm can still be found on Amazon ($349) and on . 28mm on a crop sensor give you a focal length of 45mm, near the normal focal length (50mm). I like the focal lenght on the crop body and I own the old Canon 28mm. It is one of the lens I use more often on my crop body, especially for street photography.

The new Canon EF 28mm isn’t an earthshaking technical progress. Focal length and maximum aperture didn’t change, although Canon widely changed the optical design. An ultrasonic motor that drives the auto-focus and image stabilization are the new features. A fast and very silent auto-focus isn’t a bad feature, though the micro-motor on my EF 28mm has never been to slow, it was louder. Canon claims the IS gives you 4 stops, although you should probably consider a more realistic figure of 2-3 stops. Uh, and the price, which is around three times the price of its predecessor.

A relatively fast prime (f/2.8) that’s not an “L” lens and goes over the counter for $800/€700. There is nothing revolutionary or innovative in this Canon prime. It’s a well built lens (though not being an “L” lens the build quality is very high), and it doesn’t extend and hence is little exposed to dust and water. It has a rock solid, reliable performance, sharpness is absolutely impressive, it’s lightweight, and wouldn’t it be for the price I am sure this could be a bestseller. Some macro capabilities are also given, the lens has a 0.2x magnification and a close-focusing distance of 23 cm (9 inches). Here are some Canon EF 28mm f/2.8 USM IS reviews for you to check.

Photozone.de writes

The Canon EF 28mm f/2.8 USM IS is, undoubtedly, a high performance lens with only a few weaknesses. The center performance is breathtaking and the border quality is also very good if you close the aperture by a stop or so. The lens is also capable of keeping its performance in close-focus scenarios. The low amount of lateral CAs contributes to the high sharpness perception as well. The lens produces a slight amount of mustache-style barrel distortion which is lower than most zoom lenses. The vignetting characteristic is a a weak spot – at max. aperture there’s quite a bit of light falloff so you should stop down to at least f/4 to reduce the issue to a more sane level (unless you’re after the effect, of course).

From Slrgear’s lab test:

Sharpness
On a sub-frame camera such as our studio Canon 7D, the lens provides excellent sharpness across its aperture settings; on a full-frame camera, the corners of the lens show a little softness.

Mounted on the Canon 7D, the lens provides consistent sharpness from its widest setting of ƒ/2.8 through to ƒ/11; while it’s not tack-sharp, it is very sharp indeed. Diffraction limiting sets in appreciably by ƒ/16, and there is a generalized softness when fully stopped-down at ƒ/22.

Mounted on the full-frame Canon 1Ds mkIII, we noted a bit more of the lens’ corners: specifically, it’s a bit soft in the extreme corners when used wide open at ƒ/2.8 and ƒ/4, and while the central region of the frame offers excellent results for sharpness, the corner areas trail very slightly behind.

 

[Update] Another detailed review with samples (and comparison with other Canon primes) can be found at The Digital Picture. Some excerpts:

I am modestly surprised that Canon decided to not include the Canon EF 28mm f/2.8 IS USM Lens in the L Series, but, like the 24 f/2.8 IS, the 28 f/2.8 IS has image quality that challenges these impressive lenses. The 28 f/2.8 IS has a price that makes adding the extra red paint around the end of the lens seem logical. […]

With good technique and a stable, standing shooting position, I am getting a very good percentage of sharp shots at 1/5 – 1/4 second. Beyond 1/4 sec, the keeper rate drops off gradually with sharp images still obtainable at close to 1 sec exposures. The IS assistance I experience is about 3 stops. […]

In a quiet environment, you will be able to hear the shuffling of elements inside the lens while autofocusing, but … this is one of the quieter-focusing lenses available.

Canon EF 28mm f/2.8 USM IS Reviews

Canon EF 28mm f/2.8 IS USM price check: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA

Canon EF 28mm f/2.8 price and availability check: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA