EOS 5D Mk 2 Rumors Picking Up Again
Posted on April 23, 2008 by Mark
Tags: canon, dslr, eos 5d mk ii, rumor mill | Leave a Comment
Well it seems the Canon EOS 5D Mk II rumors are picking up again. These last few days have seen traffic to this site more than double, and most of the inbound hits have been from people looking for information on the new EOS 5D.
So is there a new news story about the new 5D floating around out there?
If you’ve got some news about the upcoming 5D Mark II, then please feel free to share it here — it seems a lot of people will be interested in it!
Sigma DP1: Here in Spring?
Posted on February 6, 2008 by Mark
Tags: pma, sigma, DP1, compact camera | Leave a Comment
Sigma seem to be edging a little closer to getting the much anticipated DP1 compact digital camera to market. Announced at the PMA 2008 show, the DP1 should be hitting stores in Spring of this year. The DP1 has a sensor around the size of those found in most DLSRs, which means (in theory at least) much lower noise images, and assuming the lens on the DP1 is good then the images shold rival those produced by a digital SLR. Sigma make some very good lenses for SLRs, and because the DP1 has a fixed focal-length lens (at 28m) then they shuoldn’t have to make any compromises in this lens. It promises to be very good indeed!
As I’ve always said, I’m a little disappointed the lens will only be an f/4.0. I think this will be a little dark and will limit some of the creative capabilities of this camera. It should really be f/2.0 in my opinion, and this is the thing most likely to limit it’s appeal. For me at least.
On the plus side, this is a giant leap in the right direction. DSLR users are always moaning that they can’t find a decent quality compact camera, and now they can. (Of course, I’ve not seen the camera in real life so I can’t say that for sure, but on paper at least it looks like a brilliant bit of kit.)
I will endeavour to get my hands on one as soon as I can, so watch this space for an update.
Sigma DP1 statement
Posted on November 30, 2007 by Mark
Tags: sigma, DP1 | Leave a Comment
At last there has been some news on the DP1 from Sigma. Sigma say they “found it was difficult to achieve image quality as good as in our other SD cameras.” The long and the short of this is that they’ve had to do a lot of work on the image processing pipeline in the camera, but the camera started alpha testing again in November.
Woohoo!
I for one am really looking forward to seeing this camera when (if) it comes out. I just hope it lives up to all the hype and expectations that people have for it!
Two new super-telephotos from Canon
Posted on October 19, 2007 by Mark
Tags: canon, lens, lenses, press release | 1 Comment
Canon have announced two very nice sounding super-telephoto lenses that are currently in development: the Canon EF200mm f/2L IS USM and EF800mm f/5.6L IS USM, both of which are ‘L’ lenses featuring Image Stabilization and top-notch build quality.
I think the 800mm is going to be way out of my price range, but I’ll be interested to see what the 200mm costs. I’ve been considering the 200mm f/2.8L for the last year or so (I never rush into purchases), but I find the smilarity to the 70-200mm f/2.8L too close to make it an easy decision. I tend to prefer prime lenses because they’re lighter, and this is why I have held of getting either of these two lenses in the past. So I’ll be interested to see if these lenses are ever released for sale.
From the press release:
CANON U.S.A. TO EXHIBIT TWO NEW TELEPHOTO LENSES UNDER DEVELOPMENT AT PHOTOPLUS EXPO
LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y., October 15, 2007 – Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in digital imaging, today announced the development of two all-new telephoto lenses for use with its EOS SLR cameras: the EF200mm f/2L IS USM and the EF800mm f/5.6L IS USM. The Company will exhibit prototypes of the new lenses at PhotoPlus Expo, October 18 to 20.
The new Canon EF200mm f/2L IS USM and EF800mm f/5.6L IS USM, both of which are L (luxury)-series lenses incorporating a high-performance Image Stabilizer, feature optical systems utilizing special optical materials such as fluorite to correct chromatic aberrations, making possible high-resolution, high-contrast shooting performance.
The Canon EF200mm f/2L IS USM, targeting users who seek a brighter lens for portraiture and indoor sports photography, realizes a large aperture of f/2. The EF800mm f/5.6L IS USM, expected to deliver telephoto performance surpassing the current top-of-the-line EF600mm f/4L IS USM super telephoto lens, is being developed in response to requests from users working in the fields of sports and news photography who are looking for a high-performance lens that offers a longer focal length.
…
As these new lenses are currently under development, pricing and availability information is not yet available.
So I wonder what these beauties are going to ship for?!
Nikon Raises the Stakes
Posted on August 24, 2007 by Mark
Tags: canon, nikon, D3, D300, eos 1ds mk iii, Powershot G9 | 3 Comments
There has been some interesting news this week. Canon have announced their EOS 40D (no surprise there), the EOS-1Ds Mark III, and what looks like a pretty good little compact, namely the PowerShot G9 (with RAW again!).
On paper the 40D looks pretty nice. Canon seem to have finally taken on board the suggestions of Phil Askey and countless others to add a warning beep when you open the CF door while data is still being written (and not to shut down, loosing all the images still in the buffer).
The Canon EOS 1Ds Mk III is as desirable as ever. It’s a 21.1 megapixel full frame sensor, wrapped up in a weather proof and robust body. It’s capable of shooting 5 frames per second.
Not to be outdone, Nikon yesterday announced two new digital SLRs: the D3, and the D300. The D3 is the most significant release from Nikon in a very long time as they have finally built a full frame sensor into one of their cameras. Again on paper, the D3 looks very nice indeed (and I’m a Canonophile). It’s a 12.1 Megapixel full frame camera (just like my Canon EOS 5D then…), it shoots upto eleven frames a second (which is impressive), it has dual CF card slots, HDMI out (about time someone did this), and has something called a virtual horizon display in the viewfinder, which sounds pretty nifty.
So what will be next? This Nikon D3 will have a big impact on the pro users from the Nikon camp who always had to move to Canon if they wanted full frame. In my opinion Canon don’t need to worry so much about that (if anything the increased interest in full frame may be good for them), but what Canon do need to do is look at their entry level digital SLRs. I think Nikon generally have a better offering at this end of the market, and if Canon wants to compete here they need to build cameras the feel better in the hand and that cost less.
The EOS 350D and 400D are both very fine cameras, but when a novice walks into a shop and holds a Nikon D40 it’s no surprise they like the D40. It feels better in the hand (feels better quality in my opinion), and is usually cheaper. No competition! But it’s these people that are going to move on to bigger and better cameras, so if they’ve already got the kit then they’re unlikely to swap brands at that point.
I wonder if Canon are really going to loose out here? I guess a lot of people moving to digital SLRs in the last few years have come from film, and had lenses etc. They stuck to the brand they were used to because that’s just what you do.
Now, with interest in photography seemingly at an all time high, loads of people are buying DSLRs who have never had an SLR in the past. If they all start buying Nikons then Canon is going to feel this impact for a long time to come.
Come on Canon - pull your socks up!
Canon compete with Sigma for large sensor compacts market
Posted on July 16, 2007 by Mark
Tags: canon, dslr, sigma, DP1, compact camera, cmos, sensor, noise, news, rumor mill, ccd | Leave a Comment
Reported over the weekend, Canon are building a 55 billion yen ($451 million) factory in Japan to double its production capacity of image sensors used in digital cameras. The significance of this is that Canon will be manufacturing complementary metal oxide semiconductors (CMOS) sensors for both Digital SLRs and compact digital cameras.
In the past Canon have always used CCD sensors (made by Sony I think) in their compact cameras, so the move to homemade CMOS sensors (which generally give better quality images) could be quite significant. Given the huge interest by photographers in the Sigma DP1 (the first compact digital camera to have an APS-C sized sensor), I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see Canon try and move into this market and create compact cameras with much larger CMOS sensors than is normal.
Related: Sensor size and noise in digital cameras | Sigma DP1 discussions
Park Cameras - a bit of confusion?
Posted on July 10, 2007 by Mark
Tags: canon, park cameras, curiosities | Leave a Comment
I was just over at the Park Cameras website looking for prices on a longish lens, and came across this exceptional bit of pricing!
If you buy the Canon EF 300mm f/4.0L USM IS on it’s own it will set you back £888.00. However, they also do a specially priced bundle: the Canon EF 300mm f/4.0L USM IS along with a Canon EF 1.4x II extender (teleconverter). This package is priced at £1,228.00, meaning the 1.4x extender is adding an extra £340.
This is all well and good, but when investigating the price of the 2x extender, I noticed the price of the 1.4x extender on its own: only £219.00! So how can the bundle price cost more than the individual prices?!
Come on Park Cameras, sort it out!
Rumor mill: Canon EOS 7D
Posted on July 3, 2007 by Mark
Tags: canon, dslr, eos, eos 5d mk ii, eos 7d, rumor mill | 1 Comment
Would you credit it? I’ve just been googling (for something entirely unrelated), and came across several sites talking about the brand spanking new EOS 7D! This will (allegedly) be full frame, loads of megapixles, supper fast in every way possible, and be cheap. Hmmm. Another suggestion was that it will be a 1.3x crop instead (i.e. the same as the EOS 1D). Now that’s an interesting thought: a new 1.3x body…
So what happened to the EOS 3D?
Looking back to the days of film (as is frequently done when people try to predict the future cameras from Canon), the EOS 3 was introduced fairly late in the EOS film time line. The EOS 5 (EOS A2/EOS A2E) was launched in 1992. I had one of these and it was a lovely camera. Six years later came the EOS 3, but in the UK there was never officially an EOS 7. I say ‘officially’ because there was, except it was called the EOS 30.
So what does history tell us? Well, not a lot frankly. The days of film were a slow era, with with little change required from year to year. However with the rapid advances in technology these days we see new bodies hitting the market all the time. The progression (in my opinion) cannot be compared to the old film body evolution when trying to predict future Canon DSLRs.
Another point to remember is that the market is significantly different today than it was in the 80’s and 90’s. When I first got into photography (which was only in the early 90’s as I recall), it was quite a strange thing to be seen using an SLR if you weren’t someone’s granddad. I remember going on field trips at school and university being the only one with an SLR.
It’s a different world though these days. With the amazing accessibility of digital photography and the continual craze for ‘gadgets’, having a DSLR seems to be the “in thing”. It doesn’t matter if you know what an aperture is or understand how the light meter works these days - if you’re anyone then you simply must have a DSLR!
Maybe I’m being a bit extreme…. I just remember saving for nearly two years to get my first DSLR, but seeing gadget freaks snapping them up “because they’re cool toys” used to really annoy me (people with far more money than sense). These were the kind of people that would leave the thing on fully automatic (green star) and snap away, never ever considering the possibility of venturing into aperture priority, let alone using exposure compensation or, dare I say it, manual mode!
I’m having a rant now which means it must be time to stop. So EOS 7D? EOS 5D Mk II? Who knows? Does anyone really care? Well, sadly a lot of us do. But the important thing is not to have gadget envy - it doesn’t do you any good. Instead, get out there, understand how your camera works, and use the thing.
Happy snapping!
Pentax K100D Super
Posted on June 28, 2007 by Mark
Tags: dslr, news, pentax, K100D Super | Leave a Comment
Pentax have announced an the K100D Super, an update to the Pentax K100D digital SLR. This update adds CCD-shift Shake Reduction (which we already saw on the K10D), increased ISO 3200 sensitivity, something called Auto picture mode, SDM (Supersonic Drive Motor) lens support and a dust removal system* which operates in the same manner as the K10D.
I must confess that I don’t really keep up to speed with camera gear that isn’t Canon (or sometimes Nikon and Sigma), so I don’t have a lot more to say on the matter. The ‘new’ features aren’t exactly impressive, but the truth of the pudding is in the eating, so we’ll have to wait and see some images from the camera before making any conclusions about it’s ability.
*I’ve often wondered where all the dust collected by these shaking sensors goes — does it just build up at the bottom of the frame?!
Sigma UK Broken Into. Again.
Posted on June 28, 2007 by Mark
Tags: sigma, news, theft, lens | 1 Comment
The Sigma Imaging (UK) Ltd warehouses in Welwyn Garden City (Hertfordshire, UK) were broken into on the night of Friday 15th June. This is the second time the warehouse has been broken into in just six months. Last February thieves got away with 45 lenses, wheras this time it took them several hours to remove equipment and load it into a lorry.
As Sigma have a record of all the stolen products and their serial numbers, it will be a bit hard to shift the gear now I would have thought. But if you have any information about the raid, or if you spot any Sigma lenses being sold at lower than usual prices you should contact Detective Constable Derek Hill on 01707 638145. Alternatively, you can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.
keep looking »