The Canon EOS 6D Mark II is Casey Neistat’s new vlogging tool, here is why

Canon eos 6d mark ii deal
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Canon EOS 6D Mark II: [shopcountry 46185]

EOS 6D Mark II at a glance:

  • 26.2MP Full-Frame CMOS Sensor
  • DIGIC 7 Image Processor
  • 45-Point All-Cross Type AF System
  • Full HD Video at 60 fps; Electronic IS
  • 3.0″ Vari-Angle Touchscreen LCD
  • Dual Pixel CMOS AF and Movie Servo AF
  • Native ISO 40000, Expanded to ISO 102400
  • 6.5 fps Shooting; Time-Lapse & HDR Movie
  • Built-In GPS, Bluetooth, & Wi-Fi w/ NFC
  • Dust and Water Resistant; SD Card Slot

Video blogger Casey Neistat now uses a Canon EOS 6D Mark II (price & specs)  for his job. He switched from a Panasonic GH5. The reason? Better auto focus with Dual Pixel AF and better depth of field.

[via Fro Knows Photo]

Canon patent for a new EF 24-105 f/4 lens

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Another Canon patent. An optical formula for a EF 24-105 f/4 lens has been filed by Canon.

The mere fact that Canon (or any other company) makes a patent application for an optical formula (aka lens) does not mean you will see this lens anytime soon. Patents are primarily a way for companies to secure their research. Very few of the many Canon patents you are seeing on the net will ever make it into production.

However, we spend a lot of time to search for patents that might go into production. I think the following patents have a fair chance to be implemented in upcoming Canon cameras:

The patent we are featuring today has a very little chance to go into production in my opinion. However, it’s Canon research so we will feature it. Also, note that there is no image stabilisation in this optical formula.

Canon patent US20170374291 describes the optical formula for an EF 24-105 f/4 lens, a classic and widespread focal range for full-frame cameras. Nothing really new. The patent may apply to a lens Canon already made.

The abstract:

Provided is a zoom lens, including, in order from an object side, a positive first lens unit, a negative second lens unit, a positive third lens unit, a negative fourth lens unit, and a positive fifth lens unit, in which an interval between each pair of adjacent lens units is changed during zooming, in which the second lens unit moves during focusing, and includes, in order from the object side to the image side, a negative lens, a negative lens, a positive lens, and a negative lens, and in which a focal length of the second lens unit, a thickness of the second lens unit on an optical axis, a refractive index of a material of the positive lens included in the second lens unit, and an average value of refractive indices of materials of the negative lenses included in the second lens unit are each appropriately set.

Again, a patent application does not mean that the described technology will go public soon. Patents are in first place a way for companies to secure their research. What they throw to the market is another story.

Interview with the developers and engineers behind the Canon EF 85mm f/1.4L IS lens

Canon Ef 85mm f/1.4L
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Canon EF 85mm f/1.4L IS at a glance:

  • EF-Mount Lens/Full-Frame Format
  • Aperture Range: f/1.4 to f/22
  • One GMo Aspherical Element
  • Air Sphere and Fluorine Coatings
  • Ring-Type Ultrasonic Motor AF System
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • Dust- and Water-Resistant Construction
  • Rounded 9-Blade Diaphragm

As I wrote many times, the Canon EF 85mm f/1.4L IS is the hottest Canon lens of 2017.

Canon Asia’s Snapshot site posted an interview with the engineers and developers who thought, designed and built the Canon EF 85mm f/1.4L IS (price & specs).  The interview comes in two parts, part one is here and part two here. An excerpt from the interview:

When the product planning department requested development of this lens, our development department was initially stumped by the high degree of difficulty in the design. When equipping large aperture lenses with image stabilisation, the arrangement of the focus and image stabilisation groups is an important factor for determining the size and weight of the lens. Lenses with a small f-number (large aperture) characteristically have large diameter glass. The image stabilisation group, which is a part of the optical system, needs to be able to move to compensate for camera shake, which naturally makes the group heavy. An actuating force is also required to drive the group, and this further adds to the lens’ size and weight. Therefore, the development team’s first impression was that it would be almost impossible to develop the reasonably-sized, appealingly-priced 85mm f/1.4 lens with image stabilisation that the product planning department had requested.

Well, they managed to do it. This lens is a masterpiece. Kudos Canon!

More Ef 85mm f/1.4L IS coverage here. The Canon EF 85mm f/1.4L IS is in stock and sells for $1,599 at Amazon US,  Adorama, Canon Store, and B&H Photo.

More Canon EF 85mm f/1.4L IS order/pre-order links (if available in the respective countries):

[shoplist 46811]

Canon EF 85mm f/1.4L IS full review by D. Abbott

canon EF 85mm f/1.4L IS
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Canon EF 85mm f/1.4L IS at a glance:

  • EF-Mount Lens/Full-Frame Format
  • Aperture Range: f/1.4 to f/22
  • One GMo Aspherical Element
  • Air Sphere and Fluorine Coatings
  • Ring-Type Ultrasonic Motor AF System
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • Dust- and Water-Resistant Construction
  • Rounded 9-Blade Diaphragm

Reviewer and photographer Dustin Abbott, one of the more serious and reliable gear reviewer out there, posted his full review and final verdict of what likely is the hottest Canon lens of 2017, the Canon EF 85mm f/1.4L IS (price & specs). Sample photos shot with the EF 85mm f/1.4L IS can be seen here. A very interesting interview with the developers and engineers od the lens is here.

In the 17 minutes video review below, Abbott also compares the EF 85mm f/1.4L IS with similar lenses from other manufacturers. Btw, the Canon EF 85mm f/1.4L IS is Canon’s first 85mm L-grade lens with image stabilisation.

More Ef 85mm f/1.4L IS coverage here. The Canon EF 85mm f/1.4L IS is in stock and sells for $1,599 at Amazon US,  Adorama, Canon Store, and B&H Photo.

More Canon EF 85mm f/1.4L IS order/pre-order links (if available in the respective countries):

[shoplist 46811]

Canon patent to reduce moire artefacts in image data

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Here is another Canon patent application I think might go into production.

Canon patent application US20170358058 describes an algorithm to estimate and eventually correct moire artefacts in image data.

From the patent abstract:

An image processing apparatus includes an estimator which estimates a moire component included in an image based on optical characteristic information, a determiner which determines a correction amount based on the estimated moire component, and a corrector which corrects the image so as to reduce the moire component included in the image based on the correction amount.

Canon files a huge amounts of patent applications. That does not mean all the patents we spot will go into production. However, some patents actually have a chance to made it into production and I am trying to find them, like this patent to improve burst rate by compressing raw files, or this one describing an improved way to review photos from a sequential shot, or the patent that describes technology to improve wireless communication while reducing power consumption.

Canon starts fully automatized indoor farming with robots, report

canon rumors

Canon is active in various markets, here is another one I didn’t know about: automatized indoor farming.

Nikkei Asian Review reports:

TOKYO — Canon Electronics plans to open an entirely automated vegetable factory in 2019, seeking to lower costs by applying homegrown robotics technology to a burgeoning industry where stable profits remain tough to cultivate.

The Canon unit will convert empty space at a Gunma Prefecture facility into an indoor farm initially dedicated to growing lettuce and other green, leafy vegetables friendly to hydroponics. Robots will handle everything from planting seeds and transplanting seedlings to harvesting and packaging crops for shipment. Details such as annual production scale and sales targets will be settled later.

The company will partner with other businesses for know-how on managing the factory and building sales networks. Canon Electronics is also considering building a second such factory in western Japan.

The unit makes some of the manufacturing machinery on the automated production lines in Canon’s domestic camera business. Its delicate automation technology from that precision machinery will be put to use developing green-thumbed robots for the company’s new factory plan. Read the report…

Is Canon getting ready to jump into the pot revolution that just started in the US? :-) Just kidding, they are going to grow “lettuce and other green, leafy vegetables friendly to hydroponics”. Or what…?

Can’t wait to meet one of Canon’s “green-thumbed robots”.