Canon, the most mocked photo-tech company has to cope with repayments, still expanding and doing good

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The most mocked photography company of the last 5 years has to cope with some repayments. Doesn’t look like it’s drawing them back.

Nikkei Asian Review reports:

TOKYO — Canon will pay back more interest-bearing debt this year to improve its financial standing following the 2016 acquisition of a medical equipment business from Toshiba.

Repayment will double from 2017 levels to around 200 billion yen ($1.79 billion) in light of strong earnings last year, with an aim of whittling down borrowings from parties including Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ.

Canon upgraded its annual earnings forecast three times in 2017. The final projection called for net profit to increase roughly 60% to 245 billion yen on sales of 4.08 trillion yen, up nearly 20%. Mainstay businesses like digital cameras and office equipment have been faring well, along with such newer operations as medical equipment.

The Tokyo-based manufacturer bought Toshiba Medical Systems for about 665.5 billion yen in 2016. Interest-bearing debt reached 613.1 billion yen as of the end of that year, ballooning from 1.5 billion yen a year earlier.

The faster pace of repayment may also be driven by credit rating considerations. Moody’s Japan downgraded Canon from Aa1 to Aa3 in June 2016, citing a material increase in leverage from the purchase of the Toshiba unit. Until then, Canon had been the sole Japanese company with a Moody’s rating higher than Aa2.

Canon is expanding in various directions. Research and development of security, robotics, and medical seem to be on top of Canon’s agenda. Let’s hope some exciting EOS M lenses are too.

Sigma set to announce two new 70-200mm lenses ahead of CP+ (ART and CONTEMPORARY)

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Sigma will soon announce two new lenses for Canon EF and Nikon F mount. Both lenses are said to be on display at CP+ (which starts March 1, 2018). That’s what NikonEye is reporting. Well, they are reporting the F mount version but we have been told both lenses will come for the Canon EF mount too.

The two rumored lenses are a 70-200mm f/2.8 ART lens, and a 70-200mm f/4 CONTEMPORARY lens. No hints about the price for the time being.

We also expect Canon to announce a bunch of stuff ahed of CP+. Latest rumor has it there may be a prime lens for the EOS M system coming before CP+.

Stay tuned.

Canon TS-E 90mm f/2.8L MACRO review (highest quality and exciting creative possibilities, ePhotozine)

Canon TS-E 90mm f/2.8L MACRO
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Canon TS-E 90mm f/2.8L MACRO at a glance:

  • EF-Mount Lens/Full-Frame Format
  • Aperture Range: f/2.8 to f/45
  • One Ultra-Low Dispersion Element
  • One Aspherical Element
  • Air Sphere Coating
  • Maximum Tilt: +/- 10°
  • Maximum Shift: +/- 12mm
  • Minimum Focusing Distance: 1.3′
  • Maximum Magnification: 0.5x

ePhotozine posted their full review of the new Canon TS-E 90mm f/2.8L MACRO. The TS-E 90mm f/2.8L MACRO is a highly specialised lens that’s not for everyone (and not for everyone’s budget, it’s $2,199).

From ePhotozine’s conclusion:

Some lenses gel straight away, others grow on us and this one grows on us very quickly as the new possibilities of mixing a 90mm lens with macro and tilt and shift start to fire the imagination.

This is a specialised optic that would be delightful to own, but at the price level will probably be for professional photographers with particular applications clear in their minds. It will be a workhorse and it will earn money.

In the general marketplace it is expensive, but if it’s affordable then it will not disappoint. Canon are to be congratulated for producing such a wide range of specialist tilt/shift lenses that break new ground and push back the boundaries of creativity. Read the review…

This is another masterpiece by Canon, though this lens will be bought mostly by professionals who need this very kind of specialised lens. ePhotozine gave the Canon TS-E 90mm f/2.8L MACRO a score of 4.5/5.

Canon TS-E 90mm f/2.8L MACRO: B&H Photo | Adorama | Canon USA | Amazon

Two new EOS M lenses coming this year, a prime lens before March 2018? [CW3]

 

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Rumor has it Canon will announce two lenses for the company’s EOS M mirrorless system.

The two EOS M lenses are said to be a prime and zoom lens. The prime lens is said to be announced for CP+ (March 2018). No hints are given for the focal length, or for other specifications.

New EF-M lenses are rumored since a while, and we got a few suggestions it could be 35mm prime lens. However we haven’t heard anything since a long time about an EF-M 35mm lens so we do not think this old rumor is still reliable. The last time we heard something in this direction was one year ago.

All truth to be told, back in November 2016 we got a rumor saying Canon would announce a prime and a zoom lens for the EOS M system in 2017. It didn’t happen and since then I lost a bit of confidence about Canon’s plan with the EOS M system. A system that’s recognised to be powerful but to dramatically lack native lenses. Since the EOS M5 () and EOS M6 () you can properly use almost all EF and EF-S lenses via adapter (). Never the less it’s not the same as having good native lenses (something you get if you buy into Fuji’s mirrorless system).

Back to the rumor. If Canon is set to announce a new EF-M lens to display at CP+, it almost for sure will happen along with the announcement of Canon’s next mirrorless camera, the EOS M50.

Stay tuned!

[via CR]

Phase One’s Capture One 11 is 10% off for our readers

Capture one
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If you are looking for an alternative to Adobe Lightroom (because like me you do not like their subscription plans), there aren’t that much professional alternatives out there. But don’t despair, we have good news for you.

One of these professional alternatives is Phase One‘s Capture One 11. And here come the good news: we can offer you a 10% discount on Capture One 11. All you have to do is to use the coupon code “AMBCW” when checking out from Phase One’s web store.

Capture One 11 at a glance:

  • Image Processing and Raw File Conversion
  • Instant Tethered Capture and Live View
  • Layered Workflow and Annotations
  • Feather Mask and Refine Edge Tools
  • Catalogs and Sessions, EIP Export
  • Duplicate Checker, Grey Scale Mask Mode
  • Three-Phase Sharpening Tools
  • Updated Color Handling Tools
  • Over 400 Cameras & Raw Files Supported
  • For Mac OS X 10.11.6+ and Windows 10/8/7

Expertise from creating customized color profiles for more than 400 cameras, combined with Phase One’s dedication to creative freedom has brought recognition to Capture One’s workflow for the exceptional color handling, and for the precision editing tools. The video below gives you a quick overview about the software, the video after tells what’s new in Capture One 11

A rich set of webinars for Capture One are available on YouTube (for free). Some of the webinars are available in German too.

A single license for Capture One normally sets you back $299. With our code (AMBCW) for you it’s less than $270. Click here to head over to Phase One’s web- store.