Canon and Sony News for Feb 2012 (Page 4)

J&R just started accepting Nikon D800 and Nikon D800E preorders.

This is another chance to get on the top of a preorder list for this very popular new Nikon DSLR.

OneCall is also now taking Nikon D800 and Nikon D800E preorders.

From Tom Nickell & DeluxGear:

Protect Your Investment in DSLR Lenses

Help Develop Lens Guards for Large Primes and Zooms

Lexington, KY, Tuesday, January 31, 2012 — DeluxGear announces the development of 3 new Lens Guards for large lenses. It’s teaming with Kickstarter to fund Lens Guards to fit lenses from 3.6 inches (8.6 cm) in diameter all the way to 6.6 inches (15.8 cm).

The new XL, XX-L, and Jumbo Lens Guards will protect 200mm through 800mm prime lenses from Canon, Nikon, Sigma and others. They will also cover popular zoom lenses, like the Nikon 14-24mm, 80-400mm and 200-400mm, the Sigma 80-400mm, 100-300mm, 50-500mm, and 300-800 mm, and the Tamron 200-500mm.

“These lenses cost thousands of dollars, and yet there have been no solutions to protect them while on your camera....until now,” states Tom Nickell, the CEO of DeluxGear. “Anyone who has one of these larger lenses, including outdoor and sports photographers, will find Lens Guards to be an inexpensive form of insurance.”

The larger size Lens Guards offer the same quality and protection as DeluxGear’s current Lens Guard line. Each is a padded cover that fits snuggly over the end of the lens to protect lenses and filters and help avoid costly trips to the repair shop. The cushiony, shock-resistant inner core is made of 0.25” (6mm) thick closed-cell neoprene and is encased in a tough 0.08” (2mm) Santoprene outer cover. This powerful combination absorbs impact and prevents scrapes, scratches, and dents to lenses. According to Lens Guard inventor, Michael Dowell, “It is like the bumper of a car, providing more protection than lens caps, filters, or hoods.“

Kickstarter is the world’s largest funding platform for creative projects. Anyone can become a “Backer”, pledging any amount for projects they support. Backers of this DeluxGear Kickstarter project can choose from several reward levels, and can receive limited edition Lens Guards at a price less than they will be sold for after the product launch. The funding goal of $8,000 must be reached by March 5th.

“Customers regularly ask for larger size Lens Guards,” according to Nickell. “Our designs are nearly complete. With Kickstarter, we can prepare for production. This project is engaging the photo community to get these Lens Guards into the market so photographers can begin using them!”

Pledges raised through Kickstarter will go towards molds, dies, raw materials, and completing the first production run. The Lens Guards will be Made in the USA.

For more information on the campaign, or to make a pledge, go to Kickstarter at: http://kck.st/w7Cze3

About DeluxGear

DeluxGear is a Lexington, Kentucky-based manufacturer and marketer of innovative camera accessories. DeluxGear was founded in May of 2007 by Michael and Sandra Dowell. Michael is a professional photographer and inventor of the patented Lens Cradle TM, Lens Guard TM, and PinPoint TM. DeluxGear sells to professional and amateur photographers all over the world.

B&H carries DeluxGear products including the currently-available Lens Guards.

CPN Europe has launched a new section of their website devoted to Canon's new Cinema EOS system.

I have not made it a secret (to you or Canon) that I want a Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 IS L USM Lens. With today's announcement of the Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L II USM Lens, my hopes for such a lens in the near future are certainly diminshed.

If you want IS and don't need the f/2.8 aperture to stop action in low light and to maximize background blur within this focal length range, consider getting the Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM Lens.

Interesting that the Tamron 24-70mm f/2.8 Di VC USD Lens was announced only one day prior. The performance of this lens, of course, remains to be determined.

A big question is: Will the 24-70 L II be worth the $930.00 ($1,030 after instant rebate) price premium over the 24-70 I ($2,299.00 vs. $1,369.00/$1,269.00)? Canon has been turning out some excellent zoom L lenses recently and my hopes are high that this will be another one of them. My prediction is that the II will be worth the price premium - just as the Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS II USM Lens was worth its premium price over the Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM Lens.

It is normal for a new lens model to be priced significantly higher than the previous model. But when the price disparity is this high, the used price of the old model can actually go up instead of down. I've heard from several of you hoping that a copy of the old model might be had at a much reduced price. That the Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L USM Lens price (both new and used) is not going to drop is my (wild) guess.

I have submitted a request to Canon USA PR to receive a call from a Canon technical expert (such as Chuck Westfall) to answer some questions I have (the protocol that Canon USA now requires media outlets to follow), but that call has not yet be returned. I will be sure to update you with what I learn.

The new Canon EF 24mm f/2.8 IS USM Lens and Canon EF 28mm f/2.8 IS USM Lens look interesting. At their relatively high price point, I'm not sure why Canon did not choose to make them "L". These small and light lenses could be very useful. Their performance will of course determine how useful they will actually be.

Nikon D800 information has been showing up all over the web today. Here is a compilation of some of it:

The Nikon USA D800 product page has plenty of information.

The Nikon Imaging D800 Product Page includes product images, key features, features explained, specifications, system chart, full resolution D800 and D800E sample photos, a downloadable PDF brochure and a link to the Nikon D800 microsite which features the work of Benjamin Antony Monn, Cliff Mautner, Jim Brandenburg and Rob Van Petten.

Cliff Mautner has a blog post as does Rob Van Petten and John Wright.

Rob Van Petten has a video: