Tag: canon

Canon to halt development of film cameras

Nicolai Grossman Leave a comment

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s Canon Inc. said on Thursday that it would halt development of new film cameras to focus resources on digital models, the latest sign of the rapidly fading role of film in photography.

A spokesman at Canon, the world’s largest maker of digital cameras, said it made the decision to freeze development of both compact and single lens reflex (SLR) film models because the markets for both are shrinking.

Canon said it would continue to produce and sell existing models and make a final judgment on the business in the future while monitoring market demand.

Continue reading at Reuters

This is becoming a familiar story. It sucks, but I can’t say I’m surprised. At least they’re keeping the current models around, which IMO is a very good thing. If you’ve already got money in Canon EOS glass for digital, US $300 for an Elan 7N body is one hell of a value if you want to shoot film.

Via Plaid Jello

Canon TS-E 24mm lens – a review and discussion

Nicolai Grossman Leave a comment

Northlight Images have posted a comprehensive review of Canon’s 24mm tilt/shift lens, which allows a limited set of view camera-like movements for perspective and focus manipulation:

Keith recently obtained a Canon TS-E 24mm 3.5L lens primarily for interior and exterior photography of buildings. There are quite a few reviews of the TS-E 24mm on the web, but we wanted to give a bit more of a feel for what it is actually like to use a shift lens for real (on a Canon EOS 1Ds). Given the very wide angle pictures you can get with a 16mm lens and the ease of correcting perspective in Photoshop, why bother with this manual focus lens and all the extra effort involved in using it? This review/article is intended to give an overview of some of the effects, and has links to more detailed technical info at the end.

Read review at Northlight Images

Via Photography Blog

Canon update EF 85mm f/1.2 L lens to Mark II

Nicolai Grossman Leave a comment

From Canon’s press release:

"Canon today releases its latest professional L-series prime lens: the exceptionally fast EF 85mm f/1.2 II USM. With the widest aperture of any lens in the current EF range, the new model becomes Canon’s definitive portraiture lens, offering extremely fine control over depth of field and consummate low light performance. With vastly improved auto focus speed, the lens replaces the popular EF 85mm f/1.2L USM. As with all L-series lenses, the EF 85mm f/1.2 II USM incorporates the very finest standards of precision optics.

EF 85mm f/1.2 II USM – €2,049

Features

  • Canon’s finest standards of image quality
  • Latest Ultrasonic Motor (USM) for fast and near silent auto focus
  • Full-time electronic manual focus override
  • Super Spectra coatings and optimised lens element shaping to suppress flare and ghosting
  • Large circular aperture diaphragm for good background bokeh and ‘removal’ of distracting backgrounds
  • Distance information passed back to the new E-TTL II flash algorithm of all current model digital EOS cameras
  • Lens hood and pouch included in the box

(end quote)

Check out sample images and complete press release & specs on dpreview.com.

Canon launch Flash Work site for EOS flash photography

Nicolai Grossman Leave a comment

Canon just launched a new mini-site dedicated to flash photography with the EOS/EOS Digital + Speedlite combo. It also has a Lighting Techniques section with diagrams and example photos that applies to flash in general.

Also, I strongly recommend that anyone using EOS flash—on film or digital bodies—read NK Guy’s excellent article, Flash Photography with Canon EOS Cameras, on photonotes.org, as many times as it takes to truly understand it. It’s long and complicated, but explains exactly how the whole system works, and has definitely helped me make better flash photos with the EOS system.

New Zeiss lenses announced: ZF (Nikon F mount) and ZS (M42 mount)

Nicolai Grossman Leave a comment

Zeiss announced their new range of ZF lenses a day early in issue 23/Jan 2006 of Camera Lens News.

Highlights:

  • As previously hinted, they will indeed be in Nikon F mounts. They will all be primes.
  • Announced are a 50mm Planar T* (7 elements in 6 groups) and an 85mm T* Planar (6 elements in 5 groups). Both are f/1.4 – f/16, click-stopped in half-stop increments. There’s a technical data sheet here. They’re expected to be available in early summer 2006.
  • They will have "round" irises but the number of blades wasn’t mentioned.
  • As a surprise, the same lenses will be issued in parallel as the ZS range with identical optics but with M42 mounts, with the idea that they be used with adpater rings, which will make this range useable on, among other systems, Canon EOS and FD bodies as well. I didn’t see any mention about whether the lenses will be shorter to compensate for the thickness of the adapter ring or not, so infinity focussing ability for the ZS range is currently unknown [to me].
  • The lenses will be made by Cosina.
  • Zeiss will be setting up a new distribution network to replace? in addition to? their normal distributors. Details will be announced at www.zeiss.com/photo

There’s also a Q&A about the range with Dr. Winfried Scherle, VP & General Manager, Camera Lens Division and Kornelius Mueller, Marketing Manager of Zeiss.