Jan, Feb 2006: Canon EOS News and What's New at The-Digital-Picture.com

Monday, February 27, 2006

Vignetting results have been added to the ...

Canon EF 28mm f/2.8 Lens Review

Saturday, February 25, 2006

I have added lots of thoughts to the ...

Canon EOS 30D Digital SLR Camera Review (hands-off at this point)

Thursday, February 23, 2006

Amazon and Adorama are taking orders for the new EOS 30D (I expect it will ship well before the May 15th ship date Amazon is suggesting).

Canon EOS 30D (Body Only) @ Amazon
Canon EOS 30D (w/ EF-S 18-55mm Kit Lens) @ Amazon

Canon EOS 30D (Body Only) @ Adorama
Canon EOS 30D (w/ EF-S 18-55mm Kit Lens) @ Adorama

Imaging-Resource.com has published a short interview with Chuck Westfall, Canon USA's Director of Media and Customer Relationship.

Wednesday, February 22, 2006

I have added a feature summary and some thoughts to the ...

Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM Lens Review
Canon EF 85mm f/1.2 L II USM Lens Review

I share the sentiments of most of you regarding the somewhat-less-than-overwhelming feature set of the new EOS 30D. However, we must keep in mind that the 20D is an excellent camera - and the 30D will be even better. OK, if that didn't help much, go buy some new lenses! :)

Looking for some new wallpaper? Not for your house, for your computer. Canon has posted three EOS 30D wallpaper variations here ...

30D
30D Parts
30D with a Printer

Tuesday, February 21, 2006

Canon has unleashed its PMA 2006 Digital EOS-relevent press releases ...

Summary Information Press Release

Canon has introduced the much awaited and rumored replacement (well, not officially the replacement, but ...) for the EOS 20D - the
Canon EOS 30D Digital SLR Camera.
I don't like to publish unsubstantiated rumors - and this time I'm glad I didn't as many of the rumored features were incorrect. The EOS 30D represents an incremental upgrade to the 20D retaining many of the 20D's key features including its imaging sensor. One thing everyone will like is the 30D's lower price.

A new L-Series lens will always raise my pulse - this time it is an upgrade for the EF 85mm f/1.2 L. Canon has announced the
Canon EF 85mm f/1.2 L II USM Lens.
While it appears very similar in build to the original 85L, it promises much faster focusing and improved image quality. While the 85 L is a superb portrait lens, the 85 L II should be an excellent indoor action sports lens as well.

Canon displays its commitment to the EF-S line of lenses by introducing the
Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM Lens.
This fast, fixed f/2.8 aperture lens with L-Series-quality optics, 3-stop Image Stabilization and framing similar to 27-88mm on a full frame body promises to be a winner. Deep down I was hoping the "-S" would not be a part of this lens' specs, but I think Canon has announced a valuable lens regardless.

Note: The Canon press releases are linked to from the "Other Information" section of each of the above links.

Canon has brought a new site section entitled Flash Work online. Lots of information designed to improve your flash photography is available.

Still more ... A new section has been published in the Canon Digital Learning Center regarding the relatively new Picture Styles parameters.

Monday, February 20, 2006

Three more Canon lenses have been added to the vignetting database. They include the ...

Canon EF 20mm f/2.8 USM Lens
Canon EF 28mm f/1.8 USM Lens
Canon EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Lens

Friday, February 17, 2006

Adorama has at least one refurbished Canon EF 300mm f/2.8 L IS USM Lens for $3,300 - a great deal for a great lens! Adorama's Canon-refurbished lenses are like new. Act fast as I'm sure it will not last long.

Wednesday, February 15, 2006

Five Canon lenses have been added to the vignetting database. They include the ...

Canon EF 20-35mm f/3.5-4.5 USM Lens
Canon EF 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 II USM Lens
Canon EF 24mm f/2.8 Lens
Canon EF 35mm f/1.4 L USM Lens
Canon EF 400mm f/2.8 L IS USM Lens

So you chipped the finish on your prized white Canon L series lens. Did you know that Canon sells white L Series touchup paint? Although it is not cheap ($14.41 for 100g plus $8.00 or so for shipping), you can order it through Canon Parts. The part number is CY9-8078-001. The phone number to order in the US is 1-732-521-7230.

Thursday, February 9, 2006

Some new reviews online ...

Wimberley Tripod Head II Review
Canon BG-E4 Battery Grip Review (for EOS 5D)
Giottos Rocket Blower Review (updated - three sizes included)

The new Wimberley Head II is very nice - I was skeptical when I heard it was coming (the old one was good). See the new/old comparison image using a mouseover near the end of the review.

Tuesday, February 7, 2006

I have added 8 more lenses and 540 additional images to the vignetting sample database. Enjoy!

Thursday, February 2, 2006

Happy Groundhog Day to the USA! I am sure Punxatawny Phil saw his shadow this morning (he always does) and we will have 6 more weeks of winter. While the celebration does not mean much to me personally, this site usually sees a bump in the number of visitors on this day. You see, when people Google "groundhog picture", this picture is one of the first results returned. Oh well.

Firefox users should be looking at a much nicer graphical layout now. Most pages on the site have been updated for better browser compatibility. Firefox still has problems with clearing CSS floats - a few additional issues remain.

Wednesday, February 1, 2006

I have added a new section to the reviews - showing lens vignetting on a full-frame body (Canon 1Ds Mark II) and allowing comparisons with other lenses in each of the 3 currently-available views. The current database has 35 lenses and 1500 sample images in it. I'll be adding many more lenses over the next few weeks. Here is a starting point to see the new information ...
Canon EF 16mm f/2.8 L USM Lens Vignetting

Along with the visual vignetting information, I added a Canon Lens Vignetting page to the Canon Lenses section.

Please send me feedback and suggestions - let me know what you think of the new section. Much more to follow.

Tuesday, January 31, 2006

Canon has introduced two new focusing screen sets for their 1D *, 1Ds * and 5D camera bodies. Photographers interested in square or 4x5/8x10 final output may have interest in these new screens.

Monday, January 30, 2006

Sigma UK has a sense of humor! Read this humorous Sigma UK Press Release.

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Amazon.com is having an electronics sale through January 30th. Find the item you want in the reviews (here), then click on one of the Amazon links to find the sale price. Note: Amazon requires many of the lenses to be added to your shopping cart to reveal the price. You can simply remove the item if you do not wish to buy it.

In other news, I have received my Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens back from Canon service. Canon replaced the lens with a new model (the box has the now-famous blue dot on it). The rays-of-light flare issue is gone and the lens works excellently.

Friday, January 20, 2006

Canon has announced that it has produced the company's 30-millionth EF Lens. There are a lot of Canon EF lenses floating around this planet!

Van Niekirk has a very nice by-example guide to using hot shoe flashes.

Adobe has released Camera Raw 3.3.

Thursday, January 19, 2006

While I typically present Canon-specific news on this page, there have been a couple of big industry announcements made recently that I feel may be of interest to Canon users as well.

First, Konica-Minolta has announced that it is withdrawing from the camera and photo business.

Also, Nikon has declared film dead - for them at least. Nikon has announced that it plans to discontinue most of its film cameras.

Wednesday, January 11, 2006

Canon Europe CPS has posted Issue 15.

Monday, January 9, 2006

Canon USA's web site has some relatively new and interesting links - one is titled "Getting the most out of your Macro Lens", another is titled "Using IS Lenses for Better Results". Finds the links on the bottom right of the linked page.

Friday, January 6, 2006

As I've said before, the current Canon rebates can make for some excellent deals. I don't expect to see lens deals this good until at least next fall (if they offer the triple rebates again). That said, the current rebates expire in a little over one week - January 15th. If you have been indecisive about buying one of these items, now is the time to act.

While the site seems quiet (few significant updates), a great deal of work is going on behind the scenes. I hope to bring you an even more useful site in the coming year. Stay tuned.

On a more frustrating note ... As I indicated before, I am acquiring many third party lenses (primarily Sigma) for review. The frustrating part is that I have had to return 4 lenses for focusing problems so far - two Sigma 70-200mm F/2.8 EX DG HSM Lenses, a Sigma 50-500mm F/4-6.3 EX DG HSM Lens and a Sigma 15-30mm F/3.5-4.5 EX DG Lens. I will only have 10 Sigma lenses by the time the replacements show up - this is not a good experience to date. Canon is not immune to this problem, but out of nearly 70 Canon lenses I've owned, only four have needed repairs including the recalled Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens. The purpose of this note - just venting. :)

Happy New Year!