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The Canon EOS RP Camera Review has been significantly updated.
 
Now included are ISO noise test results and a look at the dynamic range (with comparisons available). A handful of sample pictures and product images have been added, many additional details have been included and a few corrections were made.
 
Canon EOS RP – B&H | Adorama | Amazon US | Henry's | Wex
 
Canon EOS RP + EF 24-105 IS STM – B&H | Adorama
 
Canon EOS RP + RF 24-105 IS USM – B&H | Adorama | Amazon US | Henry's | Wex

 
From the Phlearn YouTube Channel:
 
Today Aaron shows you how easy it is to make your own custom brushes in Photoshop! Learn how to turn any shape into a brush and how to add randomness as you paint, perfect for creating realistic atmospheric effects like rain, fog, and snow. Best of all, our new custom snow brush is included for free in the sample image download!
 
Download the Sample Image and Custom Brush
 
B&H carries Adobe Photography Plan subscriptions.

B&H has the BlackRapid Sport Breathe Camera Strap available for $62.86 with free expedited shipping. Regularly $73.95.
 
This is by far my favorite type of strap (I still use the older non-Breathe Sport-RS version). Don't forget, you can convert this strap for Arca-type plate compatability very easily. [Sean]
 
Product Highlights
 

• Cross-Body Strap for Right-Handed Users
• Places Camera Upside-Down Against Waist
• Allows Easy and Fast Access to Camera
• Nylon Webbing, 65.7" Adjustable Length
• Moisture-Wicking, 4.0"-Wide Shoulder Pad
• Spring-Loaded Bumper Locks for Camera
• Durable, CR-3 ConnectR Locking Carabiner
• Brad Breathe Stabilizing Strap
• Dual Harness with Second Strap, CoupleR
• FR-5 FastenR Breathe, Soft Pouch

February 20, 2019, Saitama, Japan - Tamron Co., Ltd. (President & CEO: Shiro Ajisaka), a leading manufacturer of optics for diverse applications, announces the development of two new lenses for full-frame DSLR cameras—the 35-150mm F/2.8-4 Di VC OSD (Model A043) zoom lens and the SP 35mm F/1.4 Di USD (Model F045) fixed focal lens; and a new high-speed ultra wide-angle zoom lens for Sony E-mount full-frame mirrorless cameras—the 17-28mm F/2.8 Di III RXD (Model A046).
 
Tamron will display these new lenses at CP+ 2019, the World Premiere show for camera and photo imaging, beginning February 28 through March 3, 2019 at Pacifico Yokohama.
 
Product Names
 

• 35-150mm F/2.8-4 Di VC OSD (Model A043) For Canon and Nikon mount
• SP 35mm F/1.4 Di USD (Model F045) For Canon and Nikon mount
• 17-28mm F/2.8 Di III RXD (Model A046) For Sony E-mount (full-frame)

Fast compact Portrait Zoom breaks new ground: 35-150mm F/2.8-4 Di VC OSD (Model A043)
 
The new compact Model A043 is designed for fast handling and easy transport, and features a zoom that extends from 35mm to 150mm, incorporating the 85mm focal length (often regarded as optimum for portrait shooting). It offers a fast F/2.8 aperture at the wide-angle end while maintaining a bright F/4 at the telephoto end. For close-focusing, the MOD (Minimum Object Distance) is 0.45m (17.7 in) across the entire zoom range. Delivering superb image quality, precisely placed LD (Low Dispersion) glass elements and aspherical lenses quash degrading optical aberrations. Furthermore, the Model A043 incorporates the Dual MPU (Micro-Processing Unit) system, which assures optimal AF performance and effective vibration compensation.
 
Note: All DSLR camera functions are possible when the Model A043 is attached to a mirrorless camera via the manufacture’s adapter.
 
Fast fixed focal lens boldly demonstrates Tamron’s lens-making expertise: SP 35mm F/1.4 Di USD (Model F045)
 
Tamron’s SP lens series was born in 1979, based on the concept of delivering lenses for taking the perfect picture for those who love photography. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the series. In celebration, Tamron has developed the Model F045, the distillation of Tamron’s accumulated lens-making expertise and craftsmanship. This orthodox fixed focal lens, which some consider the most basic of all interchangeable lenses, is the embodiment of all optical technology and manufacturing knowhow Tamron has developed to date.
 
The Model F045’s unprecedented high-resolution image quality and beautiful, appealing background bokeh lets photographers capture any scene down to the finest details. The external lens barrel was developed through tireless pursuit of operability and durability, focusing constantly on the needs of photographers. This lens is equipped with a fast F/1.4 aperture and high-speed, high-precision AF functionality offering exceptional reliability, plus various other features for increased convenience, making it the perfect everyday lens for your creative pursuits. It is ideally suited for nearly every photographic genre, including photojournalism, landscape, sports, street life, wedding groups and family snapshots.
 
Note: All DSLR camera functions are possible when the Model F045 is attached to a mirrorless camera via the manufacture’s adapter.
 
High-speed ultra wide-angle zoom lens for Sony E-mount cameras is extremely compact and lightweight: 17-28mm F/2.8 Di III RXD (Model A046)
 
The Model A046 achieves an astonishingly small diameter for a high-speed ultra wide-angle zoom lens, as witnessed by its modest 67mm filter size. Its unprecedented light weight and compact size provide excellent balance when used with a full-frame mirrorless camera, making it easy to carry, and enabling it to cater to a wide range of scenes and shooting conditions. The Model A046 offers a fast F/2.8 aperture throughout the entire zoom range, and delivers high-resolution and contrast edge to edge. The combination of ultra wide-angle focal length, fast constant F/2.8 aperture and an MOD (Minimum Object Distance) of 0.19m (7.5 in) at the wide-angle end encourages richly expressive and creative photography in a multitude of scenarios. The Model A046’s AF drive system is powered by the RXD (Rapid eXtra-silent stepping Drive) stepping motor unit, enabling it to deliver high-speed, high-precision and superbly quiet operation suitable for shooting video as well as still photographs.
 
Specifications, appearance, functionality, etc. of the above-mentioned three products are subject to change without prior notice.

From Tamron:
 
Firmware v.3 for 100-400mm F/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD (Model A035) for Canon*
 

• Enable general operations on Canon EOS R by the firmware updating.

NOTE: Canon Mount Adapter EF-EOS R is required to attach the lens to Canon EOS R.
 
* A separately sold TAP-in Console is needed for an update.

Through midnight tonight Eastern Time, B&H has the HP 15.6" ZBook 15 G4 B&H Custom Mobile Workstation available for $1,099.00 with free shipping. Regularly $2,089.00.
 
Product Highlights
 

• Designed for the Creative Professional
• 2.8 GHz Intel Core i7-7700HQ Quad-Core
• Upgraded to 32GB RAM
• Includes 256GB PCIe M.2 SSD
• 1TB 5400 rpm 2.5" Hard Drive
• 15.6" 1920 x 1080 SVA Display
• NVIDIA Quadro M1200 Graphics Card (4GB)
• Thunderbolt 3 | USB 3.0 | HDMI 1.4 | VGA
• Windows 10 Pro (64-bit)
• Includes B&H Installation Services

See today's full list of B&H Deal Zone Deals for excellent savings opportunities.

Through midnight tonight Eastern Time, B&H has the SanDisk 128GB Extreme PRO UHS-II microSDXC Memory Card with USB 3.0 Adapter available for $49.95 with free shipping. Regularly $99.95.
 
Note: The 64GB model is also reduced.
 
Product Highlights
 

• 128GB Storage Capacity
• UHS-II / U3 / Class 10
• Max Read Speed: 275 MB/s
• Max Write Speed: 100 MB/s
• Min Write Speed: 30 MB/s
• Records Full HD, 3D, and 4K Video
• Shock/Temperature/Water/X-ray Proof
• Includes USB 3.0 Card Reader
• Downloadable ResucePRO Deluxe Software

See today's full list of B&H Deal Zone Deals for excellent savings opportunities.

 
From the LensRentals Blog:

You guys have watched us gut a lot of lenses and cameras over the years. So I thought it would be fun for you to see us put one together from scratch. Compared to many of the lenses we’ve taken apart, this is all mechanical lens is rather simple: no focus motors, image stabilizers, etc. But even a simple lens is a very complex structure. This post will probably give you a good idea of how much mechanical design is required to make even a very basic lens.
 
The lens is also unique; it’s a prototype C-4 Optics 4.9mm f/3.5 circular fisheye. It’s a massive lens giving a 270-degree field of view, meant for immersive video and specialty shots. To give you an idea of what 270 degrees means, the lens sees behind itself. An ultra-wide 15mm fisheye lens gives a 180-degree field of view while an 11mm rectilinear lens is less than 120 degrees.
 
The closest thing that’s existed to this is the 1970s classic Nikkor 6mm f/2.8 fisheye, which gave a 220-degree field of view, weighed 5 kg, and can be rarely found for $100,000 and up these days. The C-4 optics lens weighs every bit as much as the Nikkor, but should be far sharper, have less distortion and vignetting, and cost somewhat less than those do today. (‘Somewhat’ being defined as ‘less than half’.)
 
So let’s put stuff together!

See the entire illustrated assembly at the LensRentals Blog.

The EOS 6D Mark II is the smallest, lightest and least expensive latest-model Canon full frame DSLR and the EOS RP enters the market as the smallest, lightest and least expensive Canon full frame mirrorless interchangeable lens camera (MILC). With the EOS RP using a slightly-modified EOS 6D Mark II sensor, these two cameras produce nearly identical image quality. However, the difference between DSLRs and MILCs is rather big with the difference between electronic viewfinders and optical viewfinders being a primary difference. That page discusses the advantages and disadvantages of each design and I'll forgo most additional discussion in that regard in this comparison. Let's dive into the advantages of each camera model:
 
Canon EOS RP Advantages
 

• DIGIC 8 vs. 7
• More AF points (via viewfinder): 4,779 vs. 45
• Eye AF vs. no
• 100% viewfinder coverage vs. 98%
• Lower light AF working range: EV -5 vs. EV -3
• Lower light exposure metering: EV -3 vs. EV 1
• .CR3 RAW file type with C-RAW vs .CR2 with M-RAW, S-RAW
• 4k video
• Headphone jack vs. no
• Supports SD/SDHC/SDXC UHS-II vs. UHS-I
• Smaller size: 5.22 x 3.35 x 2.76" vs. 5.67 x 4.35 x 2.94"
  (132.5 x 85.0 x 70.0mm vs. 144.0 x 110.5 x 74.8mm)
• Lighter weight: 17.1 oz vs. 26.98 oz (485 vs. 765g)
• Lower price
• Can utilize RF lenses

Canon EOS 6D Mark II Advantages
 

• Cross-type AF points vs. single-line-sensitive
• Has greater auto exposure compensation range: +/-5 EV vs. +/-3 EV
• Faster continuous shooting rate: 6.5 fps vs. 5 fps (4 fps with Servo AF)
• Shorter viewfinder blackout during continuous shooting
• Has built-in GPS vs. optional accessory
• Has much longer battery life: Approx. 1200 vs. 250
• Uses N3 type remote controls vs. E3
• Has top LCD and more buttons

 

 
Summary
 
With these two cameras having the same heart, the imaging sensor, producing similar image quality, it is especially interesting to compare these two models. If photographing action is on your to-do list, the 6D Mark II is probably better-suited for your needs and some of the other 6D II advantages are important for certain uses. The travel-friendly smaller size and lighter weight along with the wallet-friendly lower cost are going to win the RP a lot of hearts as will some of its other features including the larger, full-coverage viewfinder and 4k video. The purchase of either of these models over the other can be justified, but I expect the RP to quickly become the more popular option.
 
More Information: Canon EOS RP | Canon EOS 6D Mark II
 
Specifications: Canon EOS RP compared to the Canon EOS 6D Mark II
 
 
Get your EOS RP or 6D Mark II Here:
 
Canon EOS RP: B&H | Amazon | Adorama | WEX
 
Canon EOS 6D Mark II: B&H | Amazon | Adorama | WEX
 

by Sean Setters
 
Holidays offer great opportunities for gift giving and flowers, although possibly a bit cliché, are still very often appreciated, which is why a bouquet of flowers has been sitting on our living room hutch since Valentine's Day. But while flowers are intended to be enjoyed by the recipient, there's no reason why we as photographers can't take advantage of the beautiful subjects at hand to add some colorful floral images to our portfolios.
 
A few evenings ago after my wife had retired for the evening, I took her bouquet into the studio to try one of my favorite techniques for photographing flowers – focus stacking. After perusing the options available in the bouquet, I settled on a type of flower that I've photographed before, a type of Peruvian lily. The colorful, elongated spots found on the leaves as well as the easily visible inner structures of these flowers make them ideal candidates for photographing.
 
I set up my Canon EOS 5D Mark III and Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM + 36mm extension tube on a sturdy tripod and Arca-Swiss Z1 ball head set to f/9, 1/160 sec, ISO 100 and tried several compositions with the Peruvian lily that caught my eye. A studio flash on each side of the bouquet provided the light required for a proper exposure at those settings, and Magic Lantern's Focus Stacking feature was used to increment focus for the focus bracketed images. After capturing all of the variations, I brought the images into Canon's Digital Photo Professional to see which one (or ones) might work well for further processing. Finding a series that I really liked, I opened the relevant RAW files in Helicon Focus (my preferred focus stacking software), compiled the images and output the result as a DNG.
 
Looking closer at the result in Photoshop CC, I realized that I hadn't captured enough depth-of-field in my focus bracket to fully cover the parts of the plant I wanted in focus. As such, instead of having crisp lines in places where I wanted to emphasize details, I had soft transitions that didn't seem to meld with the rest of the focus stacked image.
 
From a photographic standpoint, my attempt at a pleasing focus stack image was a failure. But then I had a moment of inspiration.
 
My wife is a huge fan of impressionist paintings. In fact, not more than a couple of weeks ago she insisted we see (aka, dragged me to) the impressionist art exhibit that was showing at the Jepson Center for the Arts ("Monet to Matisse: Masterworks of French Impressionism"). The nice thing about impressionism is that crisp details are not a notable quality of the creative movement; in the case of my image, I could use impressionism to hide the major flaw in my image. Keep in mind, rarely is an image made visually palatable if you have to "save it in post." But in this case, it seemed to work just fine.
 
After searching for several years for a Photoshop plug-in that could convincingly turn an image into a painting, I finally found Topaz Impression and never looked back. It's been an excellent find and has opened up a new door for monetizing my images. Or in this case, just saving one.

B&H has a Used Really Right Stuff BH-40 Ball Head with Full-Size Lever-Release Clamp (Condition: 9+) available for $319.95 with free shipping. Compare at $415.00 new.
 
Product Highlights
 

• 18 lb Load Capacity
• Max Height: 3.0"
• 90-Degree Notch for Portrait Orientation
• Separate Tension Control Knob
• Panning Base with Engraved Degree Marks
• Base Diameter 2.1", Ball Diameter 1.6"
• Weight: 17.1 oz
• Accepts Optional Arca-Type Plates

B&H typically offers a 90-day warranty on used items. Please check the product listing above to verify.

Adorama has the Flashpoint Junior Steel Wheeled Stand - 12' available for $149.95 with free expedited shipping. Regularly $179.95.
 
Product Highlights
 

• Massive strength and balance
• For the biggest Junior Pin lighting fixtures
• Great for boom and remote arms
• All steel and aluminum construction
• Spring loaded risers
• 12 feet of pure power
• No scuff locking polyurethane casters

From Tamron:
 
Products to be sent to and updated by Tamron
 
For details about the service, please contact your nearest Tamron dealer. For the list of Tamron dealers, please click here.
 
Service for compatibility with Canon EOS R
 
New firmware version makes the model compatible with Canon "EOS R" and Canon "Mount Adapter EF-EOS R" for general operations(*).
 

Model	Product	Mount	Supported Camera Models	Info
A011	SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD	Canon	EOS R	Firmware released on Feb. 19, 2019

(*) Functions used on DSLR cameras

B&H has the Dracast 728B LED Panel available for $199.00 with free shipping. Regularly $299.00.
 
Product Highlights
 

• Bi-Color: 2300 to 6800K
• High Color Accuracy, CRI 96
• 0-100% Dimmable, Beam Angle: 25°
• Measures 12.4 x 13 x 2.6"
• Optional V-Mount Batteries
• 100 to 240 VAC Adapter
• 5/8" Receiver

Through midnight tonight Eastern Time, B&H has the Davis & Sanford TR654C-36 Traverse Carbon Fiber Grounder Tripod With Ball Head available for $99.99 with free shipping. Regularly $169.99.
 
Product Highlights
 

• Load Capacity: 12 lb
• Max Height: 65"
• Min Height: 9"
• Folded Length: 18.5"
• Leg Sections: 4
• Weight: 3.25 lb
• Reverse-Folding Legs
• Ball Head with Arca-Type QR Plate
• Rubber and Spiked Feet
• Carrying Bag Included

See today's full list of B&H Deal Zone Deals for excellent savings opportunities.