Canon and Sony News for Nov 2014 (Page 3)
B&H has just started shipping preorders for the Canon EF 24-105mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM (currently in stock) and EF-S 24mm f/2.8 STM (released in limited quantity).
I love mountains, but not all mountains are created equally. Height is great, but a flat or round-top mountain, even if extremely high, is difficult to make photogenic. Give me a craggy, jagged-topped mountain with character and I can entertain myself for days. Add some color for an over-the-top mountain.
The Maroon Bells Scenic Area has mountains with character and Sievers Mountain, just north of Maroon Lake, is one of my favorites. Along with having character in its shape, this mountain has color character including the namesake "Maroon" with bands of light-colored rock running through it. While the top of this mountain alone can make a good photo, I worked a set of colorful aspens into the foreground so that the tops of the trees somewhat matched the craggy-ness of the mountaintop and added strong contrasting color. With some room to significantly change my shooting position, I adjusted the perspective so that the amount of trees showing in the frame was balanced relative to the amount of mountain showing. Said another way, the closer I approached the trees, the higher the percentage of the frame consumed by those trees and the larger the trees would appear relative to the mountain.
With the perspective I wanted, I then made use of a zoom lens to retain only what I wanted in the frame. In this case, that meant zooming to 57mm.
With a partly cloudy sky, good timing (note that the odds of good timing are greatly increased by patiently waiting) was required to get a dark foreground base, bright trees, shade on the mountain directly behind the tree tops and some direct sunlight on the mountain above. Blue skies are beautiful, but I often prefer that they remain a small part of my landscape images. In this case, the blue adds another color to the image and forms a solid, uninterrupted top margin to this scene that keeps the viewer's eye from leaving via the top of the frame.
I made strong use of the Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM Lens on this trip. Nearly every shot I captured with this lens was tack sharp. It is an awesome choice for tripod-mounted landscape photography.
A larger version of this image is available on Google+, Facebook and Flickr.
ISO 125
5760 x 3840px
The large percentage of the viewfinder covered by Canon EOS 7D Mark II AF system is a big deal, at least when shooting in AI Servo AF mode and when there is no time to recompose after focusing. The image shared with this post shows such an example.
The horse gallops toward the camera at perhaps 35-40 mph (56-64 kph). I want the rider to be in focus, but the horse's ears and mane strongly compete for the top AF point's attention as the animal quickly moves up and down. Having an AF point so close to the border of the frame allows me to (better) avoid the AF point's attention moving from the rider to the horse.
Good examples of situations requiring a wide-positioned AF point include any sports that involve running (track, baseball, soccer, football, field hockey, etc.). When a person is running fast, they lean forward and the head leads the lean. If the subject's eyes are not in focus, the shot is likely a throw-away. To keep the runner's eyes in focus requires an AF point placed on them and at the oft-desired near-frame-filling distances, an AF point positioned close to the frame edge is required. The 7D II has you covered here.
Cameras with a lower percentage of the viewfinder covered by AF points require similar subjects to be captured from a longer distance and/or with a wider focal length, meaning cropping is required to achieve the same desired frame-filling result. Cropping of course reduces final image resolution. The Canon EOS 7D Mark II's wide area AF system has you covered in these situations, allowing you to fully utilize its 20.2 MP sensor – this capability is a big deal.
From Canon:
TOKYO, November 13, 2014 — Canon Inc. announced today that the Company has been entrusted with the responsibility of processing the 30-meter-diameter multi-segment primary mirror to be incorporated in the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) currently under construction near the summit of Mauna Kea, Hawaii.
The creation of the TMT, a next-generation extremely large telescope, is being made possible through the cooperative efforts of Japan and four other countries. Construction of the telescope began in 2014 with completion scheduled for the early 2020s. Japan will handle the processing of approximately 30% of the 492 segments (574 when including replacement segments) that make up the TMT's primary mirror. Of the processing being handled by the team from Japan, Canon is currently responsible for grinding 26 segments and has already begun work.
The TMT's primary mirror will comprise an array of 492 hexagonal segments, each of which measures 1.44 meters diagonally with a thickness of 45 millimeters. The segments will be closely arranged, separated by gaps measuring only 2.5 millimeters wide, to create the 30-meter-diameter primary mirror. The primary mirror's construction requires the production of six each (seven when including replacement segments) of the 82 uniquely shaped segments used to create the mirror.
The processing work that Canon is responsible for requires that segments be processed at a level of precision measuring less than 2 microns Peak-to-Valley (P-V), a value that indicates differences in surface levels. This degree of precision is comparable to a variation in the surface evenness of the playing field housed in the Tokyo Dome sports stadium of less than 0.2 millimeters. To produce the segments, Canon is drawing on its various optical technologies cultivated through the manufacture of lenses and mirrors, namely grinding and polishing technologies, aspherical surface processing technologies, and measuring technologies. In particular, Canon will make use of its proprietary tools when grinding and polishing the aspherical surfaces to ensure the proper curvature required for each segment.
In addition to Canon's involvement in the TMT, the Company provided support for the large-scale optical-infrared Subaru Telescope, also located on Mauna Kea. Canon developed and produced the corrector lens used in the Subaru's Hyper Suprime-Cam ultra-wide-field prime-focus camera. In this way, Canon will continue to use its technologies to contribute to the development of the world's science, technology and natural science fields.
Canon will be exhibiting a prototype of a segment from the TMT's primary mirror, which was ground and polished by the Company, at the 2014 International Broadcast Equipment Exhibition (Inter BEE), to be held from November 19 to 21 at the Makuhari Messe in Chiba City, located east of Tokyo.
Overview of primary mirror segment production
The segments to be used in the TMT's primary mirror are produced by grinding and polishing the front and back surfaces of a circular glass material that is then subjected to spherical and aspherical processing. After cutting the glass into a hexagonal shape and adding holes, it is mounted on a Segment Support Assembly (SSA), a mechanism that enables precise adjustments to ensure the proper positioning of each mirror segment.
From Photoshelter:
In The 2015 Photographer’s Guide to Photo Contests, get a fresh look at over 25 photo competitions worldwide, including new insights on which photo contests are worth your time, and which you should skip.
Get details on a long list of photo contests, including:
- Sony World Photography Awards
- World Press Photo Contest
- PDN Photo Annual
- Wildlife Photographer of the Year
- Smithsonian Photo Contest
- Communication Arts Photography Competition
- Pictures of the Year International
- Plus many more!
We award each contest a star rating based on factors like entry fee, prizes and promised exposure, plus give you direct feedback from recent winners to help steer you in the right direction.
Something that all landscape photographers need to know is that the worst weather can bring the best photo conditions. For example, without rain, there are no rainbows.
I would like to say that I had spent all day climbing to the top of some remote mountain to capture this image, but ... in this case, I was simply driving from a gas station back to the hotel. When the clouds on the western horizon broke open just enough for the sun to shine under the heavy cloud cover and into the rain, I simply pulled off the road at a safe location and started shooting. In this photo, the very warm-colored last sunlight of the day is illuminating the rain along with an aspen grove at the top of a mountain near the town of Aspen, CO.
From a compositional perspective, I would like to have moved the bright aspen grove and mountain peak to the right (or left) to about 1/3 of the way into the frame. To do that would have required me to drive to a new location. Rainbows and the sun shining through small openings in clouds are both fleeting opportunities and I was not going to chance missing the opportunity.
The leftmost rainbow was easily the most eye-catching subject, so I placed it in the 1/3 (maybe 1/4) frame position. The strong, bright rain easily balances the bright rainbow and the small, faint rainbow remains in the frame on the right. The dark land in the base of the frame works with the dark cloud at the top of the frame to bring the viewer's eye inward. The near-centered mountaintop then works for me in this case.
Without being able to significantly change perspective at this very long subject distance, a telephoto zoom lens allows flexibility in final subject framing.
I love unplanned images such as this one. The only requirement (beyond knowing how to use your gear) is being there. So, be there!
A larger version of this image is available on Google+, Facebook and Flickr.
ISO 100
5760 x 3840px
I have loaded my expectations (including observations from a short hands-on time with this lens) onto the Canon EF 400mm f/4 DO IS II USM Lens Review page. I think that you and I are going to like what this lens delivers.
B&H is taking Canon EF 400mm f/4 DO IS II Lens preorders.
Canon China has posted the offical sample pictures for the Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM (preorder).
I have loaded an MTF chart comparison onto the Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM Lens Review page. Compare the 100-400 L II's MTF charts to those of the 100-400 L, 70-300 L and 400 f/5.6 L. With-extender charts for the new lens are included.
Again, B&H is accepting Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM Lens preorders and I recommend preordering early if you want this lens anytime soon. Adorama and Amazon are also accepting preorders.
While tinkering with the 7D Mark II and its Movie Servo AF feature, I wondered how much of a difference there would be in AF sounds captured by the built-in microphone when using various lenses. So I ran a small test...
I set up a the 7D Mark II on a slider so there would be a Movie Servo AF focus shift from a close subject (my Rokinon 8mm f/3.5 Fisheye) to a distant one (a fence) and tried the following lenses:
- Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM
- Sigma 50mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art
- Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM
- Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 STM
I moved the slider setup with each lens to get approximately the same framing. Note that ambient traffic was a variable throughout the testing; it may have reduced the apparent AF noise in a couple of the tests. But overall, it was still easy to draw a solid conclusion from the tests.
What I noticed...
The AF sound was definitely audible in three out of the four lenses, while the fourth (the STM lens) was virtually silent. Coincidentally, there was almost no nearby traffic sound when recording the test with the EF 40mm f/2.8 STM, which makes its silence all the more impressive. In addition to being inaudible, the STM lens's focus transition looked much smoother and more natural because the 7D II can customize Movie Servo AF with STM lenses; mine was set to Movie AF Servo Speed (Slow 3).
That's a big reason why the EF-S 24mm f/2.8 STM will be an excellent investment for anyone who has a 7D Mark II (or 70D, for that matter) and wants to create high-quality videos with the convenience of AF. And even though externally recorded audio will always be best (I use a Tascam DR-07 & Zoom H2N), it's nice that you can fall back on the camera's built-in audio when using AF with STM lenses if anything should happen to your main mic(s). [Sean]
From the Canon Professional Network:
"Top wildlife photographer and Canon Explorer Danny Green has long been a fan of Canon’s big zooms, and recently put the new EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens through its paces. CPN Editor David Corfield discovers how he got on...Read the entire article on the Canon Professional Network.Getting close to nature is what all wildlife photographers will tell you as their main motivation. Danny Green is no exception. As one of the UK’s finest natural history lensmen, his work is beyond compare when it comes to understanding the wild world around us.
Of course, in this business the tools help, and as a loyal Canon user Danny has based his business – and won his reputation – around the EF system of incredible lenses. And for the new EF100-400mm zoom, he has nothing but praise...
B&H has the Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM available for preorder.
I share my expectations along with specifications and product images on the Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM Lens Review page.
I can't wait for this lens!
The rumored-for-about-a-decade-replacement for a 16-year-old, very popular lens is certain to be in very high demand. While I do not yet have insight into the initial inventory levels for this lens, I highly recommend that you preorder immediately if you want one of these highly anticipated lenses anytime soon. I expect long lines to form for this one.
B&H is accepting Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM Lens preorders. Adorama and Amazon are also accepting preorders.
Canon U.S.A. Introduces New Super-Telephoto Zoom Lens, The Compact And Highly Mobile Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM
New Super-Telephoto Zoom Lens Delivers an Enhanced IS System Providing Four Shutter Speed Steps of Correction, a Rotation-Type Zoom Ring, and New Optical Element Formula to Help Maximize Image Quality
MELVILLE, N.Y., November 10, 2014 - Canon U.S.A., a leader in digital imaging solutions, today announced the highly anticipated Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L II USM lens, a second generation compact super-telephoto zoom lens featuring significant advancements in optical quality, image stabilization performance up-to-four steps, and rotating-zoom-ring design. This new L-series super- telephoto zoom lens features Canon L-series weather resistance and rugged magnesium housing to meet the needs of wildlife and sports photographers or photojournalists working out in the elements. Fully compatible with all EOS cameras, the EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L II USM features a completely redesigned optical formula containing one Fluorite and one Super UD lens element - a combination unique to lenses in this focal range - to help deliver sharp images with high resolution and contrast. This combination of elements helps thoroughly suppress chromatic aberration throughout the entire zoom range.
"The Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L II USM is the logical evolution of the very popular EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM introduced 16 years ago," said Yuichi Ishizuka, President and COO of Canon U.S.A., Inc., "This long awaited, next generation lens was developed to be a highly portable and adaptable telephoto zoom lens for today's modern professional and advanced amateur photographers."
For photographers who want to work as closely as possible to their subjects, the minimum focusing distance of the lens has been reduced to just 3.2 ft. (0.98m), resulting in maximum magnification of 0.31x. The original EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM was well known for its push-pull zoom adjustment, but the EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L II USM uses a rotation-type zoom ring similar to the one found on the EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM lens that allows for more precise adjustments, easier handling, and consistently excellent weight balance during handheld photography. In addition, the lens features an improved zoom torque adjustment ring that allows for the easy setting of zoom tension based on personal shooting preferences. The Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L II USM also features an inner focusing system, a powerful yet quiet Ring USM, a high-speed CPU and optimized auto focus (AF) algorithms for fast and accurate autofocusing in various shooting situations.
The Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L II USM features three Image Stabilization (IS) modes - standard, panning, and during exposure only. Each IS mode is individually engineered to help provide outstanding results in a wide variety of shooting situations, and all serve to satisfy the personal preferences of photographers based on the type of IS they desire. The optical IS provides up to four shutter speed steps of correction, increased from 1.5 steps in the previous model*. In addition, the EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L II USM features Canon's newly developed Air Sphere Coating (ASC) which helps to reduce backlit flaring and ghosting significantly, as well as a 9-bladed circular aperture Electro-Magnetic Diaphragm that helps to enhance beautiful, softly blurred backgrounds.
As with all L-series lenses, the Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L II USM is highly resistant to dust and water, with excellent durability in even harsh conditions, ideal for wildlife photographers even in rainforest environments, or sports photographers on the sideline grabbing action shots of the big game. Fluorine coating on the front and rear surfaces of the lens can repel dust particles and water droplets. It also makes smears and fingerprints easy to remove without the use of lens cleaning fluid. Included with the lens is the new ET-83D lens hood, that features a cleverly placed and convenient side window allowing the user to easily adjust specialty filters while the lens hood remains in place. In addition, the EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L II USM is equipped with a newly designed detachable tripod mount which can be removed to reduce weight during handheld operation.
Pricing and Availability
The Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L II USM Super-Telephoto Zoom Lens is scheduled to be available in December 2014 for an estimated retail price of $2,199.00.
So what happens when you give a film camera to a bunch of kids? Almost 7 full minutes of entertainment, that's what!
On a personal note, I consider myself fortunate to have grown up during the period of time when we were transitioning from film-based photography to digital. I have a lot of fond memories of film, like my mother teaching me how to load film as a kid and the many rolls of film I shot while visiting Europe as a teenager.
But even though I have fond memories of those magic rolls, I'd never go back. I've grown much too fond of the benefits of shooting with DSLRs to relive my childhood. :-) [Sean]
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