Tiffen 77mm Variable Neutral Density Filter at $59.95 (reg. $129.95), and more deals

Tiffen 77mm

Tiffen 77mm Variable Neutral Density Filter at a glance:

  • Provides 2 to 8 Stops of Light Control
  • Rotating Ring to Choose Degree of ND
  • Eliminates Buying Many ND Filters
  • Use to Create Blurs/Special Effects
  • Use with Film or Digital
  • Wide Outer Ring Reduces Vignetting
  • Black Aluminum Filter Ring
  • ColorCore Glass
  • Made in the USA

B&H Photo has a 2 days Deal Zone promotion going on, with some of their most successful deals of the last months, and it’s worth to have a look.

Among the list is the Tiffen 77mm Variable Neutral Density Filter, on sale at $59.95 after $50 instant discount and $20 mail-in rebate (instructions).

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Samyang AF 85mm f/1.4 EF for Canon mounts officially announced

Samyang AF 85mm F/1.4 EF

Samyang (aka Rokinon, Walimex) announced the company’s new Samyang AF 85mm f/1.4 EF lens. Sample pictures shot with the lens are here. The Samyang AF 85mm f/1.4 EF has a very compact size and is light, compared to Canon’s EF 85mm f/1.4L IS and Sigma’s 85mm f/1.4 ART lenses.

Compact and lightweight AF 85mm lens for superior portability

Change The Standard

Samyang AF 85mm F1.4 EF is designed with a bright aperture of F1.4. The new 85mm is formed of 9 elements in 7 groups, with 1 Hybrid aspherical lens. It also has Ultra Multi Coating, a feature used to reduce ghosting and lens flare. This lens provides smooth out-focusing and beautiful bokeh effect with excellent center resolution. The AF 85mm F1.4 EF lens is equipped with a variety of Samyang’s most advanced lens technologies, making it ideal for a variety of shooting situations – portraits, outdoor, pets and more. It is also lightweight and compact, weighs only 485g without lens caps and hood, maximizing portability and usability.

Compatible camera list (click)

  • As of June 2018, Samyang Optics has confirmed through internal testing that the following camera models work with the AF 85mm F1.4 EF lens. However, some camera functions may not be fully operational.
  • For mirrorless cameras, all camera functions are made fully operational only if the official “EF=EOS M” Canon mount adapter is installed.

 

Model name AF 85mm F1.4 EF
Aperture range F1.4 ~ 16
Lens optical Construction 9 ELEMENTS IN 7 GROUPS
Special lens Hybrid ASP 1
Coating UMC
Minium focusing distance 0.90m (2.95ft)
Maximum maginification ratio x 0.11
Filter size Φ77.0mm
Number of blades 9
Mount Canon EF
Angle of view 35mm 28.4˚
ASP-C 19.0˚
Maximum diameter Φ88.0mm
Length 72.0mm
Weight without lens cap, hood 485g
Weight 570g

 

AMS announces production of 48MP full frame global shutter sensor

Global Shutter

AMS CMV50000 at a glance:

  • 8T global shutter pixel with true Correlated Double Sampling (true-CDS)
  • Resolution of 7920×6004 at 30 frames per second
  • Low noise (8.8e) and high sensitivity (QE=60%), with on-chip noise reduction
  • Capable of using standard optics
  • 35mm full frame optical format sensor
  • Capture fast moving objects
  • Designed for high performance applications
  • Use in low light conditions

Belgian based company AMS (formerly CMOSIS) announced the start of production of their 48MP full frame sensor with global shutter and 30fps. For those interested in technical detail, here is a datasheet.

Press text:

High-resolution, high-speed CMOS image sensor for machine vision systems goes into mass production

Premstaetten, Austria (12 June, 2018) — ams (SIX: AMS), a leading worldwide supplier of high performance sensor solutions, today announced its CMV50000, a high-speed 48Mpixel global shutter CMOS image sensor for demanding machine vision applications, has gone into mass production.

It is available for purchase in high volumes now.

The CMV50000, which features a 35mm-format 7920 x 6004 array of 4.6µm-sized pixels based on a patented eight-transistor pixel architecture, is a breakthrough in CMOS image sensor performance. It operates at a fast 30 frames/s with 12-bit pixel depth at full resolution or a binned 4K and 8K modes, and even faster – up to 60 frames/s – with pixel sub-sampling at 4K resolution.

This means the CMV50000 can provide the detailed views of a large surface area that are required in factory automation applications such as automated optical inspection (AOI) equipment and systems for the inspection of displays of mobile phones, tablets, laptops and TVs. The combination of high frame rate and high resolution enables manufacturers to increase their already high throughput rates at consumer product assembly plants.

The low-noise ams pixel architecture offers excellent electronic shutter efficiency, and the global shutter operation produces distortion-free images of fast-moving objects. The sensor offers 64dB optical dynamic range at full resolution and up to 68dB in binned 4K mode. The image sensor benefits from the implementation of sophisticated new on-chip noise-reduction circuitry such as black-level clamping, enabling it to capture high-quality images in low-light conditions.

The outstanding performance of the CMV50000 lets manufacturers replace the charge-coupled device (CCD) image sensors which have traditionally been used in applications requiring ultra-high resolution. Now they can use a CMOS image sensor which is easier to implement in camera systems, uses less power and operates at higher frame rates.

The superior imaging performance of the CMV50000 was recognized earlier in 2018 when it was named the Biggest Breakthrough Development at the Image Sensors Europe Awards 2018.

“During recent months, ams has seen great demand for the CMV50000 from design teams developing new automated optical inspection systems and vision systems for testing flat panel displays,” said Wim Wuyts, Marketing Director for Image Sensors at ams. “The CMV50000 is now fully qualified and available to these manufacturers in production volumes. It is also about to be supported by a full demonstration system for evaluating the sensor’s performance.”

Both the monochrome and color versions of the CMV50000 are available in production volumes now. The per unit pricing is €3,450.

For sample requests and for more technical information, go to www.ams.com/Image-Sensor/CMV50000.

Save up to $400 on select Zeiss lenses at authorised retailer

Zeiss Lenses

B&H Photo is offering up to $400 discount on select Zeiss lenses. You also get 4% rewards on your purchase.

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Canon Patent to reduce image noise generated by the magnetic field of image stabilisation unit

Canon Patent

Well, this is an interesting Canon patent application we spotted (20180164603), and it shows how much care Canon applies to details.

Some background information first. Simplifying it very much, the image stabilisation system of a lens is build on top of a vibration gyroscope sensor. The process of stabilising an image in the lens occurs through a image (shake) correcting unit. The correcting unit uses electromagnetic fields, generated by applying current to a coil.

The generated electromagnetic fields can influence the electronic circuitry and hence may degrade the image quality by generating noise in the image. Turns out that shielding the coil isn’t that easy.

If I got the patent right, it tries to reduce the magnetic field by clever use of non-magnetically conductive materials and shielding. From the patent literature:

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an imaging lens including: a lens; an image shake correcting action unit provided movably in a direction perpendicular to an optical axis of the lens; a stationary unit for supporting the image shake correcting action unit; a permanent magnet provided on one of the image shake correcting action unit and the stationary unit and a coil provided on an other; a drive circuit for moving the image shake correcting action unit relative to the stationary unit; a mount section for being connected to an imaging unit having an imaging element; and a conductive member which is nonmagnetically conductive and disposed between the coil and the mount section so as to include a facing surface facing a surface formed by a binding wire of the coil and having a larger area than a surface formed by an inner periphery of the coil.

This patent application might go into production one day.

Other Canon patent applications we think might get into production in the next few years are these: