Canon RF 50mm f/1.2L Teardown (new optic with new technology, Lens Rentals)

Canon RF Vs EF 50mm F/1.2 EOS R System
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Roger Cicala and Aaron Closz of Lens Rentals tore down the Canon RF 50mm f/1.2L, the showcase lens for the new Canon EOS R system.

It seems that for once they were a bit overwhelmed by Canon’s latest optical masterpiece. From the conclusion:

[…] the R lenses are not only entirely new optics, they are also largely new electrical and mechanical systems. There are a lot of different things in here that we haven’t seen in any Canon EF lenses. Some of them we should have expected, like the increased electronics going to the control ring. Others we don’t really understand yet, like the tension spring in the ring USM motor or the increased electrical shielding.

[…] We also saw lots of new stuff we don’t completely understand yet and a level of complexity we weren’t expecting.

[…] the RF lenses contain some new technology they [Canon, editor’s note] haven’t used before. There’s a lot of engineering that’s gone into these. Things are different inside here. As we’ll see in the next teardown we do, some of that is carrying over to at least some EF lenses. What does this mean? It means Canon has invested very heavily into developing the lenses of the R system. This level of engineering didn’t all happen in the last year, they’ve been working on this for quite a while.

You can see a few images of the teardown below, though I recommend you head over to Lens Rentals for the many pictures and the step by step description of the teardown. Just don’t do it a home yourself.

The Canon RF 50mm f/1.2L is a highly regarded lens, universally seen as one of the two lenses Canon made to showcase the possibilities of their new RF mount (the other one being the RF 28-70mm f/2L.

Canon RF 50mm f/1.2L:

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 PowerShot SX70 HS Review (mixed bag overall, Photography Blog)

Canon PowerShot SX70 HS
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PowerShot SX70 HS at a glance:

  • 20.3MP CMOS Sensor
  • DIGIC 8 Image Processor
  • 65x Zoom Lens
  • 21-1365mm (35mm Equivalent)
  • 2.36m-Dot OLED Electronic Viewfinder
  • UHD 4K Video Recording, 4K Time-Lapse
  • Image Stabilization
  • Built-In Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
  • Continuous Shooting up to 10 fps
  • Zoom Framing Assist

Photography Blog reviewed the Canon PowerShot SX70 HS.

The new Canon PowerShot SX70 HS is something of a mixed bag overall – it takes a few steps forward in terms of the features that it offers, but one big step backwards in image quality.

We praised the SX60 HS for its excellent image quality, but unfortunately the same can’t be said for the new SX70 HS. The new 20 megapixel sensor is just too noisy, even at base ISO 100, with the camera effectively offering a usable range of just 100-400 before fine detail gets obliterated. This is only made worse by the camera’s massive zoom range, which demands that use the higher ISO speeds in anything but good light to help keep shutter speeds fast enough to avoid camera shake. As most people buying this camera will be doing so for the massive zoom lens, they’re only going to be disappointed when looking close-up at their zoomed-in shots.

They also have good things to say, read the review here.

Canon PowerShot SX70 HS is in stock now and ready to ship:

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

Deal: DJI Mavic Pro (Fly More Combo) – $869 (reg. $1299, today only)

DJI Mavic Pro
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DJI Mavic Pro (Fly More Combo) at a glance:

  • Gimbal-Stabilized 12MP / 4K Camera
  • OcuSync Transmission Technology
  • Up to 4.3 Mile Control Range
  • Up to 27 Minutes Flight Time
  • GPS- & Vision Position-Based Navigation
  • FlightAutonomy with Obstacle Detection
  • DJI GO App-Based Control and Monitoring
  • Top Speed of 40 mph in Sport Mode
  • ActiveTrack Subject Tracking Modes
  • Tap- and Gesture-Based Commands

Only for today (12/12/18) B&H Photo has the DJI Mavic Pro (Fly More Combo) on sale at $869. Compare at $1,299. Free shipping.

More selected and exclusive deals…

Canon Dominates: EOS R Ranked First By Map Camera

Canon Eos R Firmware Update
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Things look good for the EOS R in Japan. Map Camera reports that the EOS R was the top selling camera in November 2018. This stats are slightly different from BCN. BCN considers different camera kits while Map Camera rolls up all kits to a camera model.

The ranking:

  1. Canon EOS R
  2. Sony α7 III
  3. Nikon Z6
  4. Fujifilm X-T3
  5. Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100M6
  6. Sony α7R III
  7. Nikon Z7
  8. Olympus Tough TG – 5
  9. Nikon D850
  10. Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II

The Nikon Z6, although released earlier than the EOS R, didn’t manage to get above rank 3. The Fujifilm X-T3 on the other hand shows it can hold up to the full frame cameras and gets a respectable 4 place. It’s the highest ranking APS-C camera. However, it’s Canon to dominate. And that’s after just a short time the EOS R was released. So much to the “Canon has failed/is dead/will die soon” arguments.

[via Digicame Info]

Nikon Z6 Review (excellent image quality, great FF MILC, ePhotozine)

Nikon Z 6
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Nikon Z6 at a glance:

  • 24.5MP FX-Format BSI CMOS Sensor
  • EXPEED 6 Image Processing Engine
  • UHD 4K30 Video; N-Log & 10-Bit HDMI Out
  • 273-Point Phase-Detect AF System
  • Built-In 5-Axis Vibration Reduction
  • 0.80x 3.6m-Dot EVF with NIKKOR Optics
  • 3.2″ 2.1m-Dot Tilting Touchscreen LCD
  • 12 fps Shooting; ISO 100-51200
  • Top-Panel Dot-Matrix OLED; XQD Card Slot

ePhotozine completed their comprehensive review of the Nikon Z6.

From the conclusion:

If you don’t need the 45mp of the Nikon Z7 and want the higher continuous shooting speed, as well as better noise performance, then the Nikon Z6  would be a great choice. Image quality is excellent, with great noise performance, and Nikon’s tried and tested colour reproduction.

It’s a shame the battery life isn’t better, and there will be people who will find one memory card slot an issue. There will also be those that prefer SD cards due to the wide support for them (for example, built-in card readers in laptops), but with the purchase of an XQD card reader, this is quite easily resolved.

Focus performance is very good, with a high success rate, thanks to on-sensor phase detection focus points, although the lack of eye detection focus will be disappointing to those who have used it and seen the benefits. Read the review…

Nikon Z6:

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

Kipon Announced 8 Different Baveyes/Focal Reducers For Canon EOS R And Nikon Z Systems

Kipon
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Kipon announced eight Baveyes/focal reducers for the new Canon EOS R and  Nikon Z mounts

  • Baveyes Pentax645-Nikon Z 0.7x
  • Baveyes Pentax67-Nikon Z 0.7x
  • Baveyes MAMIYA645-Nikon Z 0.7x
  • Baveyes Hasselblad V-Nikon Z 0.7x
  • Baveyes Hasselblad V-EOS R 0.7x
  • Baveyes MAMIYA645-EOS R 0.7x
  • Baveyes Pentax67-EOS R 0.7x
  • Baveyes Pentax645-EOS R 0.7x

The adapters are already listed on Adorama | Amazon | eBay

Press release:

KIPON Baveyes introduces a lineup of the world’s first lens adapters that bring the famous medium format optics to Sony E, Leica SL and Leica M ,Nikon Z, Canon R 35mm full frame cameras, virtually eliminating any crop factor image loss and maintaining diagonal angle of view.

The transformation results in a 0.7x factor to the original lens focal length with a gain of one stop in lens speed. Foremost in the advanced adapters, is the custom designed five element multicoated formula by German optics research institution, with the ability to use full frame SLR lenses on crop sensor camera bodies and mirrorless cameras.

Many medium format lenses are legendary for contrast, flare resistance, color saturation, bokeh and are in a class of theirown compared to even the best 35mm format glass. And the Sony, Leica ,Nikon, Canon image sensors, in the heart of their robust camera bodies, give new life to these medium format legendary lenses. The retailer price for these optic focal reducer is 695USD ,can order from Amazon Japan and Tmall China and Ebay factory shop from this week.