Canon South-Africa Expo, Investments In Taiwan, And A New Canon Brand Ambassador

Alodia Gosiengfiao, Canon’s new Brand Ambassador – Image credit: infochat.com.ph

A quick round-up of news concerning the brand Canon. Let’s start with Canon’s South-Africa Expo (click here for the whole story):

Canon South Africa has announced that this year’s highly anticipated Canon SA Expo will be held from Friday, 30 November to Sunday, 2 December 2012 at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg, Gauteng.

The Canon SA Expo will be open from 10:00 to 18:00 daily and entrance will be free.

As with last year’s incredibly successful Canon SA Expo which attracted in excess of 13 500 visitors over the three-day period, Canon SA has taken it upon themselves to make this year’s show bigger and better.

The Expo will again showcase Canon’s wide range of consumer and selected business solutions. Visitors to this exclusively Canon Expo will also be the first to see and touch some of Canon’s latest technology.

There will also be a photographic competition. Each of the four winners will get an EOS 5D Mark III and an EF 40mm f/2.8 STM lens.

Next, cens.com reports (click here for the whole story) that

Canon Taiwan Inc, a Taiwanese affiliate under Canon of Japan known as a globally-leading digital still camera (DSC) brand, increased investment to NT$ 15 billion (US$ 500 million) in the camera-lens factories in the Taichung Export Processing Zone and Jiayi County, in Southern Taiwan.

[…] Canon Taiwan’s Jiayi plant focuses on producing its popular single-lens digital cameras series EOS-600D and 1100D, and will move all production lines of single-lens digital cameras to the Jiayi plant at the end of this year.

Finally, Alodia Gosiengfiao, a costume playing star, is Canon’s newest brand ambassado (click here for the whole story) for the Image Communications Products (ICP) division.

She considers Canon to be her number one brand of choice for gadgets because of its highly advanced features, superior quality, and numerous offerings, which are not limited to only professional photographers. “It really targets the community, what they want and need,” she declares. “The service is great; anything is accessible with Canon.”

Her plans with Canon include participating in conventions, encouraging people to join the photography community, modelling in monthly photo shoots, and meeting and working with people with the same interests—not too far from what she would do in the cosplaying industry.

Voigtlander 40mm f/2.0 SL-II In Stock & Ready To Ship (and more deals from B&H)

B&H has the Voigtlander 40mm f/2.0 SL-II in stock ($539, click here). Stock is limited, so, of you were waiting for this particular lens, don’t waste time.

There is more coming from B&H today. They have some cool discounts on battery grips for some Canon DSLRs, the offer is ending August 13th. Get the Vello BG-C2 Battery Grip for Canon EOS 5D Mark II sold for $54.95 (click here), or the Vello BG-C5 Battery Grip for Canon EOS T4i, T3i & T2i for $57 (click here), or the Vello BG-C6 Battery Grip for Canon EOS 60 for $57.50 (click here).

Finally, get a Pixma Pro 9000 Mk II with a Canon camera and save up to $400 (click here). For instance, you can get the Powershot G12 for $309.

EF 40mm f/2.8 STM Autofocus Problem – Product Advisory

Canon released a product advisory for the EF 40mm f/2.8 STM lens. Looks as if there is a problem with the AF-system: If pressure is applied to the lens barrel while the lens is mounted to the camera (pressure can be applied even while attaching the lens cap or while carrying the camera with the lens attached in a bag), the autofocusing function of the lens may stop working. The issue does not affect all lenses (according to the digital picture). Firmware releases that will address the issue are expected for August.

From Canon USA:

To Users of the EF40mm f/2.8 STM Interchangeable Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras

Thank you for using Canon products.

It has been confirmed that the autofocusing function of the EF40mm f/2.8 STM lens, which was released in June 2012, may not operate correctly.

The details of this phenomenon are described below.

Affected Product

EF40mm f/2.8 STM

Phenomenon

If pressure is applied to the lens barrel while the lens is mounted to the camera (pressure can be applied even while attaching the lens cap or while carrying the camera with the lens attached in a bag), the autofocusing function of the lens may stop working.

*This phenomenon does not occur during normal shooting.

*This phenomenon does not result in a malfunction of the lens.

Workaround

When the above phenomenon occurs, detach and reattach the lens, or remove and reinsert the camera battery to restore the operations.

Market Support

The firmware to address this phenomenon will be available for download in late August, 2012.

Once this firmware is ready, we will make an announcement on our Web site.

Support

This information is for residents of the United States and Puerto Rico only. If you do not reside in the USA or Puerto Rico, please contact the Canon Customer Support Center in your region.

[via thedigitalpicture]

[Review] Another EF 40mm f/2.8 STM Review

Canon’s new, cute EF 40mm f/2.8 STM ($199, click here) is getting lots of reviews, and most of them are more than just positive. The review I cover today comes from fstoppers, and it is the most critic review I saw so far (although it is outlining the strengths of the lens). Sample pics shot with an EOS 7D, a Rebel T4i/650D and a EOS 5D are available for download (scroll down to the end of the post).

[via fstoppers]

[Review] EF 40mm f/2.8 STM Sample Pics And Another Review

Canon’s little pancake, the EF 40mm f/2.8 STM ($199, click here), is getting a lot of attention. That’s no surprise, given the outstanding performance this lens delivers (especially in regard to its price). DPreview published sample pics shot using the EF 40mm f/2.8 STM (click here). The sample pics were shot using an EOS 5D Mark III and an EOS 5D Mark II for full-frame images, and using a Rebel T4i/650D and a Rebel T3i/600D for the APS-C images.

Our friend Carl over at photographic-central posted an exhaustive review of the pancake. Carl used a full-frame (an EOS 5D) and an APS-C camera (an EOS 50D) for his tests. His review confirms the exceptionally good performance of this pancake lens. From the conclusion:

Overall the Canon EF 40mm STM f/2.8 lens is a lot of bang for the buck. Certainly better results can be had with lenses at different focal lengths in the max magnification (macro) and bokeh categories but the 40mm STM does quite well considering its price anyway, especially so on the APS-C format. Sharpness is never an issue at f/4 and beyond on both formats, and sharpness only gets better up to f/8 corner to corner where it seems to reach its peak when all things are considered (center is barely softer at f/8 vs f/5.6). Barrel distortion at least in field conditions, is slightly noticeable but not really a problem.

Vignetting shows up even on APS-C but nearly gone at f4. Any weaknesses this lens exhibits (very few) are more pronounced on a full frame sensor but this lens still performs well over all considering its low price. Color and contrast are just phenomenal at f/4 and beyond on both formats, a highly desirable trait indeed. Flare can show up in extreme circumstances so I recommend a hand/hat/hood to combat it if its a problem for you.

EF 40mm f/2.8 STM availability and price check: [shopcountry 5686]

[Rumor] More Canon Mirrorless Speculations

Canon Mirrorless Concept By D. Riesenberg

More Canon Mirrorless newsbits (aka rumors, :-)) have shown up. CR reports that the mirrorless camera will «launch with at least 2 lenses and an EF adaptor. One lens will be a wide angle “kit” lens as well as a telephoto lens». Let’s hope the adapter will also be able to take EF-S lenses (we all hope so!). Moreover, the rumors CR is reporting are saying that Canon’s new primes – the 24mm f/2.8 IS USM, 28mm f/2.8 IS USM and the EF 40mm f/2.8 STM – have been thought to go along well with the upcoming mirrorless camera Canon is working on. Makes sense IMO. No exact information about the camera body: «the camera will use the 14mp CMOS G1 X sensor. A “good” ISO range and “average” video performance. A video focused camera could be “in the future”». The rumors make sense. There is only one thing that continues to baffle me: the supposed date for the announcement, July 24th. In the midst of the summer? Strange day for a new camera announcement.

Price check of the cited gear:
EF 24mm f/2.8 IS USM: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA EF 28mm f/2.8 IS USM: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA EF 40mm f/2.8 STM: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA

[via CR]