Canon UK takes part in Byte Night 2016 charity event

canon rumors

Canon UK press release:

United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, 13 October 2016 – Canon UK, a leader in imaging solutions, were participants in the Byte Night London 2016 charity event last week, organised by Action for Children. The team raised £9,500 that will go towards helping disadvantaged young people across the UK.

The annual ‘sleep out’ event saw the ‘Carry on Canon Campers’ team, consisting of 14 employees, give up their beds to spend a night on the banks of the River Thames outside Norton Rose Fulbright on Friday, 7th October. They joined 1,250 other sleepers from across the technology and business sector to support some of the 80,000 young people who find themselves homeless in the UK every year through no fault of their own. To date, over £806,000 has been raised from Byte Night with a target of £1.4 million to be raised by December.

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Canon ready to launch own satellite in space, equipped with EOS 5D series cameras

canon rumors

Canon is going to explore new frontiers. Nikkei Asian Review reports that Canon is preparing the launch of a miniature satellite the company developed.

The launch is expected for March 2017 and it will be a trial mission. Such small satellites are employed for commercial applications, such as agriculture, container tracking at ports or disaster prevention. Without much fanfare, Canon developed a first prototype of the satellite, and will sent it into orbit with the help of  the Indian Space Research Organization. The satellite weighs 65kg (around 143 pounds) and measures 85cm x 50cm x 50cm (2.8×1.6×1.6 feet). It will mount a telescope with a Canon EOS 5D camera mounted on. There is no precise indication of which camera it is exactly. However, the camera can capture images with around 1 meter resolution. That means it can determine the size of vehicles, buildings and farms, or to collect data about landslides or earthquakes.

The satellite will be operated for two years. Canon will examine the photographic performance of the system, and they will look out for other companies needing such services. Canon expects sales of about 50 billion yen ($482 million) by around 2020, and 100 billion yen in 2030. Canon will equip their miniature satellite with their own optical technology, and face overall production costs of under 1 billion yen, which is not much for this kind of industry.

The satellite’s orbit is at about 500km (310 miles), and it will turn around our planet 15 times every day.

Back to the used camera, which is “based on EOS 5D technology”. I guess it could be the Canon EOS 5D Mark III or EOS 5D Mark IV. More likely it is the EOS 5Ds or EOS 5Ds R, since they have 50MP resolution.

[via Nikkei]

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS II review

EF 24-105mm F/4L IS II
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At a glance:

  • EF-Mount L-Series Lens/Full-Frame Format
  • Aperture Range: f/4 to 22
  • Four GMo Aspherical Elements
  • Air Sphere Coating
  • Ring-Type Ultrasonic Motor AF System
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • Internal Focus; Full-Time MF Override
  • Zoom Lock Switch; Fluorine Coating
  • Dust- and Water-Resistant Construction
  • Rounded 10-Blade Diaphragm

Photography Blog published their exhaustive review of the new Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS II lens. They found that the EF 24-105mm f/4L IS II is “much better” than the lens it replacers, the highly popular Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS.

In the conclusion they write:

[the EF 24-105mm f/4L IS II] offers a very versatile focal range whilst being tack-sharp from 24mm to 50mm, both in the centre and at the edges of the frame. Sharpness at 70-105mm isn’t quite as good when shooting wide-open at f/4, but overall the Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS II USM delivers excellent sharpness across the frame. Vignetting at wide-open apertures and some barrel distortion at 24mm are the only other real optical issues of note.

Build quality is excellent, certainly up to the usual L-lens standard, and Canon also provide a very good lens hood and padded case. Focusing was very quick and quiet on the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV that we tested the lens with, and manual focus over-ride at any time is a great feature, as is the effective built-in optical image stabilisation system, now worth up to 4 stops rather than the 2.5 stops that the previous model offered. Read the review…

The Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS II is expected to ship in the next weeks. Pre-order it at B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA

Canon Powershot G1 X Mark III coming with APS-C sensor? [CW2]

Powershot G1 X II
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Interesting rumor that came in (thanks). May the Canon Powershot G1 X Mark III feature an APS-C sized image sensor? According to our (new) source it will.

The rumor has some chance to be real. Actually, the PowerShot G1 X Mark II (and G1 X Mark I) features an 1.5″ sensor. This sensor is 20% smaller than an APS-C sensor (and around 5.6 times larger than the one found in the Canon PowerShot G16). Since the G1 X Mark III always had a pretty big sensor, tending towards the size of APS-C, the company may well have decided to put an APS-C sensor in the upcoming Powershot G1 X Mark III.

The Powershot G1 X III may be announced in Q1 2017. I think it will still have a 1.5″ sensor, but I can’t leave out the possibility of an APS-C sized sensor. What do you think? Sound off in the comments section.

Still Live: Canon EOS 5D Mark IV deal – $3,199 (reg. $3,499)

EOS 5D Mark IV
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At a glance:

  • 30.4MP Full-Frame CMOS Sensor
  • DIGIC 6+ Image Processor
  • 3.2″ 1.62m-Dot Touchscreen LCD Monitor
  • DCI 4K Video at 30 fps; 8.8MP Still Grab
  • 61-Point High Density Reticular AF
  • Native ISO 32000, Expanded to ISO 102400
  • Dual Pixel RAW; AF Area Select Button
  • Dual Pixel CMOS AF and Movie Servo AF
  • 7 fps Shooting; CF & SD Card Slots
  • Built-In GPS and Wi-Fi with NFC

Top Rated Plus seller ElectronicsValley on eBay (99.7% positive ratings) has the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV on sale at $3,199. Compare at $3,499. Free shipping. Please note: this is an import item, 1 year seller warranty applies.

Rokinon 35mm f/1.2 ED AS UMC CS Lens for Canon EF-M available for pre-order

Rokinon 35mm F/1.2
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At a glance:

  • EF-M-Mount Lens/APS-C Format
  • 56mm (35mm Equivalent)
  • Aperture Range: f/1.2 to f/16
  • One ED and Two Aspherical Elements
  • Ultra Multi-Coating
  • Manual Focus Design
  • Rounded Nine-Blade Diaphragm

The new Rokinon 35mm f/1.2 ED AS UMC CS lens for the Canon EOS M system is available for pre-order at $499 at B&H Photo. Product description after the break.

Rokinon 35mm f/1.2
Rokinon 35mm f/1.2

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