Benchmarkportal Certifies Canon a Center Of Excellence For Seventh Consecutive Year

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Benchmarkportal Certifies Canon USA A Center Of Excellence For Seventh Consecutive Year

Company Continues Tradition of Securing Top Honors in Customer Service and Support Industry

MELVILLE, N.Y. — At the heart of a successful business is dedication to customer service and support. Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in digital imaging solutions, is proud to announce that for the seventh consecutive year its Technical Support Center has earned the “Center of Excellence” certification by BenchmarkPortal, one of the most prestigious certifications in the customer service and support industry.

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Tamron SP 45mm f1.8 VC review (very sharp images, Camera Labs)

Tamron 45mm
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Camera Labs reviewed the new, image-stabilised Tamron SP 45mm f1.8 Di VC USD. This is a pretty interesting prime lens that comes with an affordable price tag ($599) and promises to deliver bang for the bucks. From the conclusion (emphasis mine)

The new Tamron 45/1.8 VC is a very versatile and interesting lens: It offers a fast f/1.8 aperture combined with image-stabilization that is good for two stops in my tests. Both allow the lens to hold out longer in dimly lit situations. It produces very sharp images with very little coma right into the corner of a full-frame sensor. And it’s relatively small and light. But it does not produce the same Bokeh as a 50/1.4 or 55/1.4 lens and it has color aberrations which show up although not as prominent as with Tamron’s 35/1.8 VC. But with a sharpness / resolution that it is better than any other lens in this comparison apart from the Zeiss Otus the Tamron 45/1.8 VC clearly earns a Highly Recommended. Regarding this performance the price of the new Tamron seems OK. And I’m really looking forward for Tamron to design a 85mm f1.8 VC lens! Read the review…

Tamron SP 45mm f/1.8 Di VC USD Amazon | Adorama | B&H Photo – for sample pics click here. Key features:

  • Canon EF Mount/Full-Frame Format
  • Aperture Range: f/1.8 to f/16
  • One LD Element, Two Aspherical Elements
  • eBAND and BBAR Coatings
  • Fluorine Coating on Front Element
  • USD AF Motor, Full-Time Manual Focus
  • VC Image Stabilization
  • Rounded 9-Blade Diaphragm
  • Moisture-Resistant Construction
  • Includes SILKYPIX Developer Studio

Canon Powershot G5 X review (Photography Blog)

Powershot G5 X
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Photography Blog tested Canon’s new pocket-sized, 1 inch sensor Powershot camera, the Canon PowerShot G5 X.

The Canon PowerShot G5 X is an excellent compact camera for enthusiast photographers, offering a very good built-in viewfinder, a fast lens, a wealth of options for shooting both stills and video, excellent image quality, speedy auto-focusing, intuitive and configurable handling, and solid construction. The 4.2x zoom lens may limit its appeal somewhat, as will the lack of 4K video recording, but for us, the new G5 X is the best-balanced model out of the G3 X, G5 X and G9 X range. Read the review…

The Canon Powershot G5 X sells for $749 (it”s actually $50 off regular price): B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA. Key features:

  • 20.2MP 1″ High-Sensitivity CMOS Sensor
  • DIGIC 6 Image Processor
  • 4.2x Optical Zoom f/1.8-2.8 Lens
  • 24-100mm (35mm Equivalent)
  • 2.36m-Dot Electronic Viewfinder
  • 3.0″ 1.04m-Dot Multi-Angle Touchscreen
  • Full HD 1080p Video Recording at 60 fps
  • Built-In Wi-Fi Connectivity with NFC
  • ISO 12800 & 5.9 fps Continuous Shooting
  • Manual Control Dials, Star Shooting Mode

The story behind the PowerShot G5 X, by the men who made it (CPN interview)

Powershot G5 X
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The Canon Professional Network posted an interview with the engineers who developed the Canon Powershot G5 X.

The launch of the PowerShot G5 X – with its electronic viewfinder (EVF) plus classic DSLR handling in a compact body – was a significant moment for Canon. In an in-depth interview, CPN discovers the technical challenges faced by the PowerShot development team (below) – Takashi Yoshida, Ryuji Fukute, Kenji Ito, Koki Kitaya, Atsushi Fujita and Yoshikazu Sakagami from the Image Communication Products Operations Department and Yoshihiro Miyazawa from the Design Centre. Together they discuss the technical and design challenges they faced when turning concept into reality. Read the review…

The Canon Powershot G5 X sells for $749 (it”s actually $50 off regular price): B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA. Key features:

  • 20.2MP 1″ High-Sensitivity CMOS Sensor
  • DIGIC 6 Image Processor
  • 4.2x Optical Zoom f/1.8-2.8 Lens
  • 24-100mm (35mm Equivalent)
  • 2.36m-Dot Electronic Viewfinder
  • 3.0″ 1.04m-Dot Multi-Angle Touchscreen
  • Full HD 1080p Video Recording at 60 fps
  • Built-In Wi-Fi Connectivity with NFC
  • ISO 12800 & 5.9 fps Continuous Shooting
  • Manual Control Dials, Star Shooting Mode

Canon EF 35mm f/1.4L Mark II review (not a new world wonder, photozone)

EF 35mm F/1.4L II
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Renowned lens testing site photozone.de felt the pulse of Canon’s new and highly acclaimed EF 35mm f/1.4L II lens. In the conclusion they write (emphasis mine):

The Canon EF 35mm f/1.4 USM L II is certainly an improvement over its predecessor but it’s not a new world wonder either. Resolution-wise it is tack sharp in the image center. At f/2-f/2.8 it is pushing the 50mp sensor of Canon EOS 5Ds R to its limits. However, the borders aren’t quite so hot especially at large apertures. To be fair though – at large aperture you don’t tend to require sharp corners anyway and unless you super-size your posters, it’s not that significant. Most users are also using full format cameras with a much lesser resolution. Still, we are seeing the limits of what’s possible today. Read the review…

The Canon EF 35mm f/1.4L II features Blue Spectrum Refractive Optics, a technology developed by Canon.

Canon EF 35mm f/1.4L II: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA. Key features:

  • EF Mount L-Series Lens/Full-Frame Format
  • Aperture Range: f/1.4-22
  • Blue Spectrum Refractive Optics
  • Two Aspherical Elements, One UD Element
  • Subwavelength and Fluorine Coatings
  • Ultrasonic Autofocus Motor
  • Full-Time Manual Focus Override
  • Weather-Sealed Design
  • Rounded 9-Blade Diaphragm

Sigma 20mm f/1.4 DG HSM DxOMarked (a tempting lens)

Sigma 20mm F/1.4
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DxOMark posted the lab results of their Sigma 20mm f/1.4 DG HSM tests. Needless to say, the Sigma 20mm f/1.4 DG HSM performance is stellar, and the lens easily beats the Zeiss Distagon T 21mm f/2.8 ZE as well as the EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM. Oh, and the Sigma costs much less than the lenses it beats.

From the conclusion:

Sigma continues to raise the bar with this new addition to their Art series primes. The new Sigma 20mm f/1.4 DG HSM compares very favorably with the Zeiss Distagon T* 2.8/21, even outperforming it when stopped down, and it looks very promising against the relatively new Nikon Nikkor 20mm f1.8G ED.

Canon has yet to upgrade its old EF 20mm f2.8 from the film days, but it offers some excellent zooms that cover 20mm; however, even when stopped down, they lack the edge-to-edge sharpness of the Sigma. Of course, the Sigma is an ultra-high-speed model that’s suited to a variety of subjects, including indoor scenes with low ambient light levels, as well as landscapes, and even architecture […]. At around $899, the Sigma is competitively priced and difficult to ignore. If you’re in the market for a 20mm, this model is definitely worth a closer look.

Sigma 20mm f/1.4

Sigma 20mm f/1.4 DG HSM  B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA

[via DxOMark]