New Zoom Lens from Canon
- At November 14, 2014
- By John
- In Canon, Lens
0
Mark II of the Popular 100-400mm F4.5-5.6 L Lens Announced
Click for larger view
Of particular interest to myself, the much rumoured replacement from the 16 year old, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L, push-pull, zoom lens has finally been announced from Canon.
Read More»10 Changes I’d Make to the 5D Mark-III
- At December 21, 2013
- By John
- In Camera, EOS 5D Mark III, Gear, Uncategorized
- 0
OK, I know the 5D mark-III is a dam fine camera, and for many it may be approaching perfection, but while I love my 5D-III there are still many aspects of the current Canon DSLR design that really infuriate me.
Eyepeice Blind for EOS 5D Mark-III
- At July 23, 2013
- By John
- In Accessory, EOS 5D Mark III, Gear
- 6
As I mentioned in my article Stepping Up to the Mark-III, Canon’s third incarnation of the EOS 5D, the Mark III, still lacks a proper eyepiece blind or eyepiece shutter. This really should be standard on a professional camera in this price range and seems like a pretty serious omission. Instead Canon have provided a rather inadequate piece of rubber which comes affixed to the Canon strap. The 5D Mark-III uses the much larger EG Eyecup, as opposed to the smaller EB eyecup used on the previous models. Thus the rubber Eyepiece Shutter (Canon’s rather inappropriate terminology not mine) is much wider than it’s predecessors, yet is made of the same flimsy rubber, so is a complete waste of time. Mine won’t even slide on properly.
Read More»6D vs 5D Mark III Comparison on ePHOTOzine
- At February 13, 2013
- By John
- In Camera, EOS 5D Mark III, EOS 6D, Gear, Gear Review
- 1
How does the 6D compare to the 5D Mark-III?
Well, if you want to find out, ePHOTOzine has just published a rather interesting comparison between the Canon full-frame DSLR’s, the Canon EOS 5D mark-III, and the recently released EOS 6D. Back in September 2012 I suggested that the 6D may have been pitched by Canon to take on the mantle previously held by the 5D, with the latter moving up market. This review seems to suggest the same, with the 6D’s features and pricing offering a very tempting package for 5D and even 5D mark-II owners looking to upgrade.
Firmware Update for the Canon 5D Mark-III Annouced
Canon have announced a new firmware update from the Canon 5D mark-III. Nothing unusual in this you may think but this update won’t actually be available till April 2013. That’s around 6 months, so what’s going on?
Well, the firmware update is primarily in response from feedback from the movie fraternity to provide substantial improvements in the video facilities such as providing HDMI output. Most of this may be of little consequence if you’re primarily a stills photographers, however, as some recent online rumours have suggested, the autofocusing abilities will also be greatly enhanced to allow autofocusing with lenses apertures down to f/8. Currently autofocus can only be achieved with apertures down to f/5.6, so this means that 1.4 and 2x extenders can be used with many more lenses and should significantly improve the the 5D mIII ability in the sports and and wildlife genres. This will truly mark the 5D mIII as an all allrounder, and put it up there with capabilities of the previous 1D series cameras.
Why the long wait you may ask, six months is some way off? Well I suspect many of these changes are still under development or in the testing phase, although there are rumours to suggest the firmware release will coincide with another major camera release. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
Details from the Canon website can be found here.
The Canon 6D – A New Challenger to the 5D’s Reign
- At September 29, 2012
- By John
- In Camera, Gear
- 1
A New Full Frame DSLR From Canon
As an occasional visitor to the Canon Rumours website I was aware that a new Canon DSLR was imminent but I must admit the announcement of the EOS 6D at the 2012 Photokina show took me by surprise. I, like a few other I suspect, were contemplating an EOS 3D, something that would sit in-between the 5D MIII and the EOS 1DX in Canon’s line up. However the more I look at the 6D’s specs the more this camera seems to make sense, so lets take at look what’s in stall for potential 6D owners:
Read More»Canon Anounce EOS 5D Mark III
- At March 02, 2012
- By John
- In Camera, Gear
- 0
5D Mark-III revealed by Canon
Well the long wait is over and the much anticipated announcement of the Canon EOS 5D Mark III hit the press and web this morning. The rumour mill has been abound and plentiful in recent weeks, in anticipation of the big announcement from Canon, and specs for the 5DII’s replacement have been quoted anywhere from 18 to 36 mp. Now all is revealed.
Read More»Why Aren’t Extended Timer Facilities Built-in to my DSLR?
- At October 19, 2011
- By John
- In Accessory, Gadget, Gear, Gear Review
- 0
On the weekend whilst photographing the limestone pavement on top of Malham cove in the Yorkshire Dales I lost my remote timer switch. It was dangling from my camera and got tangled up in my tripod legs as I was moving my tripod; one of the legs closed, snapped the timer cord out of the socket on the side of the camera which then disappeared down one of the deep grykes in the limestone pavement, never to be seen again. Thankfully it wasn’t an original (and very expensive) Canon TC-80N3 remote timer; my original TC-80N3 bit the dust last year when I managed to dangle it in salt water on a Scottish beach, this latest disaster was a only a considerably cheaper eBay clone.
Read More»Benro C-298 Carbon Fibre Tripod
- At February 21, 2011
- By John
- In Gear, Gear Review, Tripods & Heads
- 0
Equipment Review & Retrospective
Reviewing a tripod nearly 5 years old may seem that I’ve missed the boat somewhat, but there’s a message to this story …
Back in October 2006 I purchased what I thought was my first professional quality tripod. Up until then I’d survived using a Manfrotto (Bogen) 190 Pro B aluminium tripod which, although adequate, I’d found weighty and not particularly stable, with the metal centre column being quite prone to vibration and an elastic wobble. This hampered the use of a large or heavy lenses and was especially prevalent under windy conditions. I also wanted a lighter, more compact tripod I could take on my travels. Carbon fibre tripods
Read More»New Prototype 200-400mm f/4.0 Zoom Lens goes on Show from Canon
- At February 08, 2011
- By John
- In Gear, Lens
- 0
Equipment Announcement
“LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y., February 7, 2011 – Canon Inc. today announced the development of a new super-telephoto lens, the EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM EXTENDER l.4x, for use with all EOS SLR cameras. A prototype of the new lens will be exhibited at the CP+ tradeshow, held in Pacifico Yokohama, from February 9 – 12, 2011.”
Much to everyone’s surprise Canon announced a whole host of stuff yesterday including two new entry level DSLR’s, two new flash units, and upgrades to their wildlife long focal length specialist lenses. The latter comprise the EF 500mm f/4.0 MII and the EF 600mm f/4.0 MII, both of which are expected to be commercially available some time in March, but as you’d probably expect these are going to be very, very expensive and as such only available to serious pro’s and those blessed with wads of spare cash.
However, what really caught my eye was the announcement of a prototype EF 200-400mm f/4.0 IS USM EXTENDER 1.4x lens. That’s some title! Nikon wildlife photographers have long since been extolling the virtues of the Nikon 200-400mm f/4 AF-S lens which also received an upgrade last year. This is a lens favoured by British wildlife photographer Andy Rouse and is generally accepted as just about the best multipurpose, wildlife zoom lenses around. It’s also a gap in the market place that Canon had failed (as yet) to match. Canon do of course have their EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6mm IS USM lens ( one of which which I own), but this design is getting quite long in the tooth and whilst it performs admirably on sensors sizes up to 12mp, todays 21mp plus sensors highlight it’s short comings in the digital age.
If you examine the press release picture above you can’t help but notice that peculir looking bulge on the left side rear of the lens. This houses the in-built 1.4x extender, and has a lever just above to engage or disengage the extender elements. The 1.4 extender can boost the zoom range from 200-400mm to 280-560mm. On an APS-C sized sensor then this would be the equivalent of a staggering 448-896mm! However, don’t get your hopes up as Canon failed to state whether this configuration will autofocus on the semi-pro and consumer bodies. The new lens will feature Canon’s high-performance Image Stabilizer technology and advanced optics materials such as fluorite crystal to provide top notch optical performance.
You may also notice the camera has a fixed tripod collar, 3 stabilization modes and also features a Focus Pre-set button. All new stuff.
A a wildlife photographer this sounds like a dream lens and one I’d truly love to own, however it is just a prototype and still obviously at the development stage. I just hope that when it does eventually hit the market it’s not going to be priced so ridiculously that photographers like myself will never be able to afford it. Maybe I am just dreaming though!