Jan, Feb 2007: Canon EOS News and What's New at The-Digital-Picture.com

Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Canon celebrates the 20th Anniversary of EOS. Take a nostalgic walk through the life of Canon EOS.

 
The new Canon Speedlite 580EX II Flash is now available for preorder at J&R. Once again, the big news here is the price - a hefty $499. At this price, the not-very-old 580EX looks like a bargain to me. If you are in the market for a great master-capable flash, but do not want to pay the money for the new 580EX II, I suggest you quickly buy one of the original Canon Speedlite 580EX Flashes while they are still available. I'm surprised that Canon didn't keep the 580EX in the product line at the middle price point (between the 430EX and the 580EX II).

 
The new Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8 L II USM Lens is now available for preorder at Adorama.com.

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

The new Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8 L II USM Lens is now available for preorder at Amazon.com. Perhaps the biggest news is that we now have a price for this lens - $1,599.00.

 
Canon has posted several new or updated product information pages on the Canon.jp site ...

Canon Speedlite 580EX II Flash
Canon Wireless File Transmitter WFT-E2/E2A
Original Data Security Kit OSK-E3

Thursday, February 22, 2007

Big news! Canon today has introduced the ...

Canon EOS 1D Mark III Digital SLR Camera
Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8 L II USM Lens
Canon Speedlite 580EX II Flash
Canon Off Camera Shoe Cord OC-E3
Canon Compact Battery Pack CP-E4
Canon Speedlite Bracket SB-E2
Canon Wireless File Transmitter WFT-E2
Canon Original Data Security Kit OSK-E3

The Canon EOS 1D Mark III is a significant upgrade to the Canon EOS 1D Mark II N. The review place-holder page (link above) contains images and links to the press release, a 63-page Canon White Paper and the Canon EOS 1D Mark III web site. I will be updating the 1D III page as more information is made available to me.

Better image quality - contrast and resolution - are promised for the 16-35 L II. Interesting is the larger 82mm filter thread specification.

The biggest news regarding the Canon 580EX II Flash (IMHO as always) is the weather sealing to match 1-Series bodies such as the new 1D III. Many of the related new accessories share this feature.

The Canon Wireless File Transmitter WFT-E2, in conjunction with the new Canon Software, offer some amazing bi-directional capabilities for shooting remotely.

For information regarding the other accessories, read the entire Canon PMA 2007 press release.

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

ISO 12233 chart sample crops and vignetting test results have been added to the ...

Canon TS-E 90mm f/2.8 Tilt-Shift Lens Review

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

ISO 12233 chart sample crops have been added to the ...

Canon EF 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5 USM Lens Review

Thursday, February 15, 2007

Sample pictures have been added to the ...

Canon EF 50mm f/1.2 L USM Lens Review

 
Wedding photographer and friend of the site Conrad Erb shows us how he repairs a Canon hot shoe. While I haven't needed his procedure, it is interesting to know a little more about the hot shoe itself.

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

You've heard this before, but this time I expect the end date to stick. There are only 5 days left to take advantage of Canon USA's Fall/Winter rebate program (ends Feb 19th). For the lenses included in this rebate, a better deal will not likely come along until the next fall/winter rebate program.

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

ISO 12233 chart sample crops have been added to the ...

Canon EF 14mm f/2.8 L USM Lens Review

Saturday, February 10, 2007

CORRECTION to the Arca-Swiss Monoball Z1 Ballhead Review. A friend pointed out that I was not using the Arca-Swiss FlipLock Quick Release Clamp properly. Though I wouldn't call it an intuitive design, the FlipLock does work as it should - fully releasing the camera/lens plate from the clamp. My apologies for my error - I have updated the review. Thanks Doug!

Friday, February 9, 2007

ISO 12233 chart sample crops have been added to the ...

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 II Lens Review

 
B&H currently has a huge selection of "10"-rated used Canon lenses. These lenses are in as-new condition (often Canon refurbished) with excellent prices - and they won't last long. Super telephotos available include the Canon EF 600mm f/4 L IS.

Thursday, February 8, 2007

Now online ...

Arca-Swiss Monoball Z1 Ballhead Review

The Z1 is functionally very similar to the older Arca-Swiss B1, but is smaller and significantly less expensive. I directly compare the Z1 to the B1 and the Really Right Stuff BH-55 in this review.

Monday, February 5, 2007

Chuck Westfall's February Tech Tips are online at DigitalJournalist.org.

Friday, February 2, 2007

Watch the manufacturing process of a Canon EF 500mm f/4 L IS USM Lens at the new Canon Virtual Lens Plant. There are 3 interesting flash movies that will take about 15 minutes total to watch.

Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Updated with ISO 12233 chart sample crops (including results for the Softfocus = 1 and 2 settings) ...

Canon EF 135mm f/2.8 with Softfocus Lens Review

Friday, January 26, 2007

Updated with ISO 12233 chart sample crops ...

Canon EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO IS USM Lens Review

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Adobe Photoshop Bridge CS3 Beta 2 is now available. This update requires the first CS3 beta to be installed on your system. It can be downloaded from the same link.

 
Microsoft has introduced Microsoft Photo Info. This is a free software tool that allows maintenance of EXIF info (including keywording). Another benefit is that it will display EXIF info for a file when you hover your mouse pointer over it in Windows Explorer. Check it out.

 
Also, don't forget the Microsoft RAW Image Thumbnailer and Viewer for Windows XP.

Monday, January 22, 2007

By request, today's site update is to the ISO 12233 Resolution Chart Sample Crop Tool itself. Selection boxes now allow direct access to the focal lengths and apertures available for each lens. This was a rather significant code change - please let me know if you notice anything broken in the process.

Thursday, January 18, 2007

Updated text and with ISO 12233 chart sample crops ...

Canon EF 180mm f/3.5 L USM Lens Review

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Updated text and with ISO 12233 chart sample crops ...

Canon EF 200mm f/2.8 L II USM Lens Review

Friday, January 12, 2007

Updated with ISO 12233 chart sample crops ...

Canon EF 400mm f/4 DO IS USM Lens Review

Thursday, January 11, 2007

Canon USA's current rebate program has been extended! In an unusual move, Canon has extended the Canon Fall 2006/Winter 2007 rebate program until February 19th (link is to the updated rebate form). This gives us another month to take advantage of the great deals.

 
Updated with ISO 12233 chart sample crops ...

Canon EF 400mm f/2.8 L IS USM Lens Review

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Some sample pictures have been added to the ...

Canon EF 70-200mm f/4.0 L IS USM Lens Review

I'm sure more and better samples will be added in the future as this lens is on my most-used short list.

Monday, January 8, 2007

Reminder: There are only a few days left to take advantage of Canon's Fall/Winter rebate program. For the lenses included in the rebate, a better deal will not likely come along until the next fall/winter rebate program.

 
There is a new round of Tamron Rebates available. Rebate amounts range from not-very-exciting to very nice on a select few lenses.

 
Chuck Westfall's January Tech Tips are online at TheDigitalJournalist.

Friday, January 5, 2007

Updated with ISO 12233 chart sample crops ...

Canon EF 300mm f/2.8 L IS USM Lens Review

Thursday, January 4, 2007

Updated with ISO 12233 chart sample crops ...

Canon EF 400mm f/5.6 L USM Lens Review

Wednesday, January 3, 2007

Updated with ISO 12233 chart sample crops ...

Canon EF 300mm f/4 L IS USM Lens Review