Canon Patent For 85mm f/1.2, 100mm f/1.4, 24-70mm f/2.8, and 28-85mm f/2-2.8 Lenses for Mirrorless

Canon Patent
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Another Canon patent application spotted by Hi Lows Note.

Patent application 2019-49646A and 2019-49645A describes optical formulas for 85mm f/1.2, 100mm f/1.4, 24-70mm f/2.8, and 28-85mm f/2-2.8 lenses for mirrorless cameras.

Focal length: 86.5 mm
F number: 1.24
Image height: 21.64 mm
Lens length: 135.0 mm
Back focus: 13.5 mm

Focal length: 100.0 mm
F number: 1.46
Image height: 21.64 mm
Lens length: 142.0 mm
Back focus: 14.1 mm

Zoom ratio: 2.75
Focal length: 24.71 – 45.00 – 67.90 mm
F number: 2.88
Half angle of view: 41.21- 25.68 – 17.67
Image height: 21.64 mm
Lens length: 143.89 – 161.78 – 179.68 mm
Back focus: 13.42 – 27.34 – 38.58 mm

Zoom ratio: 3.04
Focal length: 28.00 – 53.77 – 85.00 mm
F number: 2.00 – 2.60 – 2.88
Half angle of view: 37.69 – 21.92 – 14.28
Image height: 21.64 mm
Lens length: 158.50 – 176.83 – 195.16 mm
Back focus: 16.00 – 28.52 – 41.05 mm

Canon celebrates 25th straight year of TIPA Awards

TIPA Awards
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Press release:

Canon celebrates 25th straight year of Technical Image Press Association awards

TOKYO, April 2, 2019—One Canon camera and three Canon lenses have been recognized with “Best Photo and Imaging Product” awards by the Technical Image Press Association (TIPA), representing 30 photo and imaging magazines from 14 countries and regions. Encouraged by these awards, Canon will continue to create products that meet the needs of a wide range of users, from entry-level to professional photographers.

CategoryProduct
Best Full Frame Camera AdvancedEOS RP
Best Mirrorless Prime Standard LensRF50mm F1.2 L USM
Best APS-C Mirrorless Prime LensEF-M32mm f/1.4 STM
Best DSLR Professional Prime LensEF400mm f/2.8L IS III USM

About the TIPA Awards

Held every year since 1991, the TIPA Awards recognize the best photo and imaging products announced during the previous 12 months based on such criteria as innovativeness, use of leading-edge technologies, design and ease-of-use. In 1992, Canon took home its first TIPA accolade for the EOS 100 SLR camera and, over 27 separate occasions since then, has been honored with TIPA awards for a total of 91 products and technologies*.

Canon EOS RP Review (gets a lot right, DPReview)

Canon Eos Rp Best Mirrorless
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DPReview completed their full Canon EOS RP review. They gave the Canon EOS RP an 83% score and a silver award.

Funny fact: DPReview learned they had “to create a new scoring category [since] this is the first camera to really fall into the ‘Entry-level Full Frame Camera’ space”. Well, a “kudos Canon” wouldn’t have been displaced.

From their conclusion:

The biggest trade-off comes from the 26.2MP full-frame sensor. Sure, with the right lenses, that large sensor gets you access to shallower depth-of-field (blurrier backgrounds) than cameras with smaller sensors. But when shooting in Raw, the RP’s images are also noisier than most current full-frame cameras, and similarly noisy to some APS-C cameras. The video features and quality will also disappoint power users, and the battery life is perhaps best described as ‘tolerable.’ It’ll get you through a day of heavy shooting, provided you turn the camera off between shots.

On the other hand, there’s a lot that the EOS RP gets right. The combination of pleasing JPEGs, an excellent grip, light weight, good controls, strong connectivity options and compact size is just a recipe for fun. The autofocus system is reliable, and Pupil Detection makes it easier to get perfectly focused portraits – though some competitors’ eye-focusing systems are more effective.

Read the review…

DPReview had an interview with Canon’s lens designers about the RF mount lenses.

Canon EOS RP:

America: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA
Europe & UK: Amazon DE, Amazon UK, Amazon IT, Canon IT, WEX Photographic, Canon FR, Canon UK, Canon DE

Canon Lens Designers Talk About Latest RF Mount Lenses in Interview

Canon RF 85mm
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DPReview sat down with Canon lens designers (Manabu Kato – Head of EF + RF mount R&D, Yoichi Sato – EOS camera electronics R&D, Shogo Yamaguchi – Optical planning specialist).

The interview was about the new Canon EOS RP, the six RF lenses Canon is set to announce soon, and in general what’s going to happen with the EOS R system.

Excerpts from the interview:

How do you prioritize which [RF mount] lenses to develop?

So the idea for the initial four lenses was we wanted to deliver the surprise factor, so we decided to deliver the 28-70mm, as well as the 50mm F1.2, with stunning resolution. That was the concept behind these two lenses.

With 24-105mm we thought it would be the best match as a standard zoom lens to the EOS R camera, and the 35mm F1.8 was supposed to be an affordable and compact travel companion. Those were the concepts behind the four initial lenses.

With the six additional lenses that we introduced as development announcements this time, we believe we will be able to deliver more surprise factors, for some models compactness. These two concepts with the addition of these models.

About the Defocus Smoothing technology.

Can you give any insight into the DS technology?

With lens such as the 85mm F1.2 bokeh is a really important factor, because it’s a portrait lens. We really wanted to deliver something that was not possible with the conventional lenses, so we decided to develop this technology of defocus smoothing.

The fact with our DS technology is that it’s a coating technology, so it’s relatively easy to apply this technology to a range of different lenses. This is all we can say at this moment.

Read the interview at DPReview.

Canon Introduces Two New UHDgc 2/3-Inch Portable Zoom Lenses For 4K UHD Broadcast

Portable Zoom Lenses
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Press release:

Canon Introduces Two New UHDgc 2/3-Inch Portable Zoom Lenses Designed For 4K UHD Broadcast Cameras

Two New Lenses Deliver Key Features for the Broadcast Industry: High Image Quality and Mobility 

MELVILLE, NY, April 2, 2019 – Canon U.S.A. Inc., a leader in digital imaging solutions, today announced the launch of two new additions to its UHDgc series of portable-zoom 4K UHD broadcast lenses: the CJ18ex28B and CJ15ex8.5B. These new lenses are compatible with 4K UHD broadcast cameras that have 2/3-inch sensors. Both lenses provide 4K UHD imaging quality at a price point that is affordable to the majority of the broadcast market. Additionally, the new lenses provide impressive UHD optical performance, while maintaining a compact and lightweight design to meet versatile and ever-changing needs of a broad range of video productions including documentaries, sports, events and news coverage.

The new Canon CJ18ex28B and CJ15ex8.5B portable zoom lenses utilize Canon’s proprietary optical design technology featuring materials such as fluorite and Ultra-Low Dispersion (UD) glass to achieve high 4K UHD performance across the entire zoom range. In addition, these lenses support the wide color gamut approved by the ITU-R BT.2020 UHD broadcasting standard. These features are essential to HDR imaging. The ergonomics and digital servo operational controls of the lenses are similar to Canon’s current lineup of portable zoom lenses, providing users with maximum mobility in a variety of shooting situations. 

The CJ18ex28B lens features a zoom range of 28-500mm (56-1000mm with built-in 2X extender), making it ideal for capturing crisp shots at long distances, while remaining compact enough to be operated in a shoulder-mounted configuration. The CJ15ex8.5B features Canon’s exclusive Vari-Angle Prism (VAP) Image Stabilization technology to help minimize vibrations on both the horizontal and vertical axes during mobile shooting, such as during sporting events. Both of these lenses fill a unique need for specialized shooting environments in the broadcast market. 

“The demand for affordable, high-quality 4K UHD lenses for television news has continued to grow year over year, and as the needs of our customers mature, Canon continues to evolve to meet the needs of end-users,” said Kazuto Ogawa, president and chief operating officer, Canon U.S.A., Inc. “These new UHDgc lenses provide the optical brilliance that makes Canon a leader in broadcast lenses, while maintaining a price point that fits the budgetary needs of a large segment of the industry.”

The Canon CJ18ex28B and CJ15ex8.5B 4K Portable Zoom Lenses will make their public debut at the NAB Show 2019 in Las Vegas from April 8th-11th in the Canon booth (C4425). 

Availability

The Canon CJ18ex28B and CJ15ex8.5B 4K Portable Zoom Lenses are scheduled to be available in the beginning of Summer 2019*. For more information, please visit, usa.canon.com/broadcast.

Canon Announces Four New Professional Camcorders With 4K/30p Video

Professional Camcorders
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As anticipated, Canon announced new camcorders ahead of NAB 2019. Pre-orders are open:

Press release:

Four New Canon XA Professional Camcorders Feature 4K 30p High-Quality Recording

XA55, XA50, XA45 and XA40 Camcorders Deliver Crisp 4K Imagery in Compact Bodies at Affordable Price Points

MELVILLE, NY, April 2, 2019 – Meeting videographer needs for a variety of applications, Canon U.S.A. Inc., a leader in digital imaging solutions, today announced four new additions to the lineup of XA Series professional camcorders, the XA55, XA50, XA45 and XA40. These four camcorders are the first in the series to feature 4K 30p recording. They also include a detachable XLR handle and the XA55 and XA45 each feature an HD-SDI terminal. In addition, the company has announced the Canon VIXIA HF G60 4K UHD camcorder, a budget-friendly, compact-and-lightweight camcorder.

“Often spending their days and nights working in fast-paced environments, videographers need a camcorder that is affordable, reliable, and delivers great images,” said Kazuto Ogawa, president and COO, Canon U.S.A., Inc. “These new camcorders meet the needs of a variety of users, including those capturing news, shooting influential documentaries, educating young filmmakers or developing content for their companies.” 

All of the camcorders feature Canon’s five-axis Intelligent Optical Image Stabilization system, providing users with powerful image stabilization via a Dynamic mode, which helps reduce image distortion, even when shooting while moving. The ergonomically designed and highly portable camcorders have a three-inch LCD touch panel screen and user-friendly, tilting, high-resolution Electronic View Finder (EVF).

The XA55 and XA45 are excellent options for news reporting and documentary shooting, while the XA50 and XA40 are geared more towards broadcasting schools, government agencies and corporate-video production companies. The affordable VIXIA HF G60 caters to advanced amateur videographers who need a 4K UHD camcorder to shoot a wedding or a student film project. 

The XA55 and XA50 camcorders both feature a 1.0-inch sensor, nine-bladed circular aperture and Dual-Pixel CMOS AF with a 15x (25.5-382.5mm) genuine wide-angle Canon optical zoom lens. For natural and realistic life-like imagery the XA55 and XA50 camcorders feature a Wide Dynamic Range (DR) Gamma mode. This lowers the barrier for focusing, especially when shooting in 4K, which requires strict focus accuracy. By suppressing overexposure in high- brightness areas of the composition, this mode helps achieve a wide dynamic range of 800 percent to help produce seamless tone gradations, resulting in smooth detail, accurate color and virtually no blown-out highlights. The camera’s Dual Pixel Focus Guide takes advantage of Dual Pixel CMOS AF data to display focus-assist information on the screen. The camcorders also record 4K UHD/30p (4:2:0 8 bit) and 1080p Full HD (4:2:2 10 bit) via SDI/HDMI Output in XF-AVC and MP4 format to dual-card SD card slots with dual and relay recording.

The XA45 and XA40 camcorders both feature a 1.0-inch sensor, eight-bladed circular aperture with the ability to record 4K UHD/30p (4:2:0 8 bit) and 1080p Full HD (4:2:2 10 bit) via SDI/HDMI Output) in MP4 or XF-AVC format to dual-card SD card slots with dual and relay recording. To help provide enhanced image quality over its predecessor, over sample HD processing can be utilized with information obtained from the 4K 1/2.3-inch sensor and the DIGIC DV 6 image processor. Both camcorders boast a 20x (29.3-601mm) genuine wide-angle Canon optical zoom lens.

The Canon VIXIA HF G60 4K UHD camcorder is packed with many of the same great features found in the XA55 and XA50, like a nine-bladed circular aperture, Dual Pixel Focus Guide and Wide DR, but with the budget- conscious user in mind. The affordable camcorder is an ideal tool for young videographers taking their first steps in the craft and will be sure to please due to its compact-and-lightweight form factor in addition to ease of use.

Additionally, Canon today announced firmware updates for the XF705, XF405/XF400 and VIXIA GX10 camcorders. New features by model include:

  • XF705: Firmware Version 1.0.1.1 now features improved zoom response when using the zoom ring or zoom rocker, improved focus following speed during zooming, and improved image quality of interlaced recording.
  • XF405/XF400: Firmware Version 1.0.3.0 now features IP streaming, the ability to set custom white balance, support for the reset function that resets the clip number when the reel number is set and improved image quality of interlaced recording.
  • XF405 only: Firmware Version 1.0.3.0 now features 3G-SDI mapping at level A and level B.
  • VIXIA GX10: Firmware Version 1.0.3.0 now features the ability to set custom white balance.

Pricing and Availability

The Canon XA55, XA50 and VIXIA HF G60 are scheduled to be available in June 2019 for estimated retail prices of $2699.00, $2199.00 and $1699.00, respectively. The XA45 and XA40 4K UHD video camcorders are all scheduled to be available in April 2019 for estimated retails prices of $2199.00 and $1699.00, respectively*. For more information, please visit, usa.canon.com.