Canon and Sony News for Feb 2018 (Page 5)

From Canon USA:

MELVILLE, N.Y., February 13, 2018 – As a testament to the company’s strong standing as a good corporate citizen and its proactive approach to corporate social responsibility initiatives, Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in digital imaging solutions, has been recognized as one of the 2018 World’s Most Ethical Companies by the Ethisphere Institute, a global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices. This recognition is based on a variety of factors including: measuring and improving culture, leading with integrity and committing to transparency, diversity and inclusion. In 2018, 135 companies were recognized across 23 countries and 57 industries.

“I’d like to thank the Ethisphere Institute for this honor, which Canon takes great pride in,” said Kenneth Sharpe, Vice President, Corporate Audit, Ethics and Business Consultation, Canon U.S.A., Inc. “To be named as one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies is a true reflection of the values, culture and leadership that drive our organization. This distinction speaks to the integrity that is present throughout every level of our organization and represents the hard work and dedication of our cherished colleagues who work to meet this high standard every day.”

“While the discourse around the world changed profoundly in 2017, a stronger voice emerged. Global corporations operating with a common rule of law are now society’s strongest force to improve the human condition. This year we saw companies increasingly finding their voice. The World’s Most Ethical Companies, in particular, continued to show exemplary leadership,” said Timothy Erblich, Chief Executive Officer of Ethisphere. "I congratulate everyone at Canon U.S.A., Inc. for being recognized as one of the World's Most Ethical Companies."

The World's Most Ethical Companies assessment is based upon the Ethisphere Institute’s Ethics Quotient (EQ) framework, which offers a quantitative way to assess a company’s performance in an objective, consistent and standardized manner. The information collected provides a comprehensive sampling of definitive criteria of core competencies, rather than all aspects of corporate governance, risk, sustainability, compliance and ethics. Scores are generated in five key categories:

• Ethics and compliance program (35%)
• Corporate citizenship and responsibility (20%)
• Culture of ethics (20%)
• Governance (15%)
• Leadership, innovation and reputation (10%)

Research by the Ethisphere Institute has found that, when indexed, companies listed among the “World’s Most Ethical” outperformed the U.S. Large Cap Index over five years by 10.72 percent and over three years by 4.88 percent. Ethisphere refers to this as the Ethics Premium.

The full list of the 2018 World's Most Ethical Companies can be found at www.worldsmostethicalcompanies.com/honorees.

From the Adobe Blog:

Today we’re proud to release updates to the entire Lightroom CC ecosystem, including updates for Mac, Windows, Android, and iOS. We’ve optimized performance, added support for new cameras and lenses, and added some great new features for desktop and Android.

Our primary focus with this release was internal beauty, as we put a lot of effort into tuning and improving stability. In Lightroom CC on Mac and Windows, you’ll notice big improvements like moving to the next photo, grid scrolling, and exporting, while all apps have become a lot more stable. Download the latest updates via the Creative Cloud app and let us know what you think.

The February update includes other great features across the ecosystem:

LrCC desktop

Add copyright to imported images

The new Copyright preference (listed under Preferences -> General) enables you to automatically include your copyright on all photos added to Lightroom CC. All images added after you enable this preference will include your copyright.

LrCC Android

Geometry tab — premium editing features

Now the most powerful tools for correcting perspective distortion are available on a mobile device. Use the Auto Upright tools to automatically identify how to correct your photo or use the incredibly precise Guided Upright tool to take complete control over your photo. Additional control provided with the Geometry sliders helps you take the correction even further.

Available now on Android devices and coming soon to iOS.

Add watermark on export

First introduced for mobile on iOS and now available on Android, you can use the Watermark feature to add a text-based watermark when you share or save your photos. You can find this feature under the Preferences > Sharing Options menu.

Search your Lightroom library with Google Assistant — premium feature

Our Adobe Sensei-based search algorithms are now accessible from your phone’s home screen. Open the Google Assistant and, for example, say, “Search mountains in Lightroom” to launch Lightroom and find matching photos. This feature requires an internet connection and Android Marshmallow or later.

Add photos to Lightroom from your favorite apps

A new “Add to Lr” option is now available within the share sheet of your favorite apps, enabling you to send photos from another app directly into your Lightroom library, making it easier than ever to get all of your photos into Lightroom.

New Camera Support in Lightroom CC and Camera RAW 10.2

• Fujifilm X-A5
• Fujifilm X-A20
• Olympus PEN E-PL9
• Panasonic LUMIX DC-GF10 (DC-GF90)
• Panasonic LUMIX DC-GH5s

New Lens Support in Lightroom CC and Camera RAW 10.2

Experience faster Lightroom Classic performance on machines with 12 GB of RAM or more, when you import and export photos, move between photos in Loupe view, or create HDR images and panoramas.

Issues fixed in Lightroom Classic CC 7.2 (February 2018 release)

• Info overlay disappears when moving between modules
• Watermark omitted from embedded thumbnails of exported JPEGs
• Palette Gear not working in Dutch, French, Italian, Korean, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese, and Spanish

B&H carries Adobe Photography Plan subscriptions.

by Sean Setters

If you're like me, you sometimes get the itch to photograph something, but your immediate surroundings leave you somewhat uninspired. Thankfully, the Multiple Exposures feature found in most mid-to-high level Canon cameras can help with that.

Canon Cameras that can shoot multiple exposures in-camera include:

• EOS 1D X Mark II
• EOS 1D X
• EOS 5D Mark IV
• EOS 5Ds / 5Ds R
• EOS 5D Mark III
• EOS 6D Mark II
• EOS 6D
• EOS 7D Mark II
• EOS 80D
• EOS 70D

While most of the DSLRs above can be set to record the final multiple exposure image and the images used to create the final exposure, the EOS 70D, 80D, 6D and 6D Mark II only allow for saving the finished image (not the component images). This feature limitation can be important as you will not be able to create your own multiple exposure in post-processing using the component images.

While testing out some different lighting setups in my studio this weekend, I remembered that a dark silhouette-style portrait can create an ideal base for a multiple exposure image. However, I didn't want a complete silhouette, and instead opted to use two rim lights (studio strobes with gridded strip boxes) for the profile image so that the lit areas of my face and head would still be visible in the combined exposure. A single, bare 580EX Speedlite provided the lighting for the background.

With my base image captured and specified in the Multiple Exposure menu options, I switched my camera to Av mode (leaving the camera set to f/5.6 and ISO 320), walked out my studio door and searched for subject/composition that might work well for the multiple exposure. At first, the trunk of a large tree that borders the backyard caught my attention. This was the result:

If you'd like to try out your camera's Multiple Exposure feature, here are a few tips we outlined in our article, Multiple Exposures: Yet Another Way to Add Value to Your Wedding Services.

Set the camera as follows:

1. Create a silhouette image to use as the base layer. Note that the brighter areas of the each image will be what comes through prominently in the final image. An underexposed profile/silhouette set against a bright sky (or pure white background) tends to work well for a base layer.
2. Turn on Live View. Use the LCD's preview to help you align the next shot. Note that you may need to use negative exposure compensation (for both the base and second image) to keep from overexposing the final image.
3. Preview your results. If you don't like the final image, simply go back into the Multiple Exposure options and designate your original base image to be used for your next attempt.

From Sigma:

Front Conversion Service: Service Overview

To support the needs of virtual reality creators engaged in multi-camera videography, SIGMA is offering the new Front Conversion Service for the 14-24mm F2.8 DG HSM | Art lens . With this service, SIGMA converts the petal-type hood of the lens to an exclusive round component that lacks a light-blocking function. The new front helps prevent the lens from interfering with other lenses or from casting a visible shadow during multi-camera work. This is a for-fee service performed exclusively by SIGMA. Use of the service has no impact on the validity of the product warranty.

Cost, service time and warranty depends on each country and territory.

Please contact your nearest authorized SIGMA service station for more information.

Can you think of any other reasons why you would want to leave such a large front element unprotected? Also, can you spot another notable difference in the lenses pictured above, aside from the missing lens hood? My guess is that at least one of these pictures was taken earlier in production, when the final design hadn't been fully estabilished. [Sean]

From FastRawViewer:

What DPRSplit application is for:

Canon 5D Mark IV's sensor has a somewhat unusual pixel arrangement: each pixel is composed of two subpixels. If Dual Pixel RAW mode is enabled in the camera, the resulting CR2 file contains two images, or two frames: one composite, made from reading both subpixels, summed; and the other is made out of one set of subpixels.

The intended use of this arrangement is to enable some extra editing after the shot: because of the parallax between the subpixels, Canon Digital Photo Professional software allows one to perform microadjustment of focus, bokeh shift, and ghosting reduction.

However, there is one more possible use for a dual-pixel raw, which is not covered by the manufacturer: the second frame, the one that is made out of one set of subpixels, collects half of the light that the composite frame does, as if it was exposed one stop lower compared to the composite frame.

In essence, in Dual Pixel Raw mode, the camera records into one file some equivalent of two shots, bracketed by (approximately) 1 EV.

The DPRSplit application allows one to:

• Extract the second (1 EV down) frame or both frames from Dual Pixel RAW CR2 files;
• And save the extracted frames as DNG files.

Resulting DNG files can then be opened and processed in (practically) any raw converter featuring DNG support.

System Requirements

• Windows *: Windows 7 – Windows 10, 64-bit
• Mac OX: Mac OS X/macOS 10.6-10.13, 64-bit processor (so, all Intel Macs, except for some models from 2005-06 with Core Solo and Core Duo processors)
• Screen resolution no less than 1600x900
• 50MB of disk space for the application

Download: DPRSplit (Beta 0.8)

From the Christopher Burress YouTube Channel:

25 Hopefully helpful tips that you may not know, as fast as possible!

B&H carries Adobe Photography Plan subscriptions.

There's no denying that Canon's L-grade lenses are a dominant force in the photography industry. Just scan the sidelines of any major sports event and you'll see Canon's trademark white-toned L-series lenses documenting every play.

For a look back at the history of L-series lenses, Canon Europe has a special site which documents several L-series acheivements in design and manufacturing, many of them world's firsts.

Here are a few of the lenses and achievements highlighted on the site.

1982: FD 14mm f/2.8L – Ultra wide-angle generated by original design tool
Ultra wide-angle lenses require complex designs and sophisticated manufacturing techniques. The FD 14mm f/2.8L was developed using an in-house design tool with an aspheric lens element to eliminate distortion, and produce the widest rectilinear prime lens in the FD range.

1989: EF 50mm f/1.0L USM – Standard lens boasting the world's largest aperture
Fast prime lenses are not a modern invention! In 1989, this lens offered the world's widest aperture for a 35mm single lens reflex camera. It was achieved using a sophisticated optical design that included two ground aspherical lenses and four high-refractive index glass lenses to produce high contrast and low lens flare even wide open at f/1.0. A floating lens construction was used to ensure image quality even at short focus distances, and the USM (UltraSonic Motor) autofocus motor offered high-speed, silent autofocus with full-time manual override.

1993: EF 35-350mm f/3.5-5.6L USM – World's first 10x zoom
This was the first 10x zoom lens for an interchangeable lens SLR and proved a powerful and versatile lens for sports photography, where speed and manoeuvrability are paramount. Designed with a six-group configuration, this lens used the fifth group for zooming, and achieved both a high zoom ratio and a compact design. Two UD (Ultra-low Dispersion) lenses provided good correction of chromatic aberration, high resolution and high contrast, and it came with an easily adjusted tripod foot.

1997: EF 300mm f/4L IS USM – First L lens with image stabiliser
Handheld telephoto photography is always a risky business for sports and wildlife photographers because of the potential for camera shake, but when Canon introduced its IS (Image Stabilisation) system for the first time on a professional lens, it offered effective shake compensation of two stops. This made handheld photography possible in situations where a tripod might otherwise have been needed, and offered photographers much more mobility. The IS unit offered two modes: Mode 1 for stationary subjects and Mode 2 for panning/tracking shots. Chromatic aberration was suppressed with two UD lenses and the lens was developed for high resolution and contrast

2009: EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM – World's first Hybrid IS
Macro photography poses special problems for image stabilisation systems because it introduces a second type of potential camera movement parallel to the camera position. The solution was the EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS, and the first use of a new Hybrid IS system, designed to compensate for this ‘shift’ blur. In addition to a regular angular shake sensor, this lens introduced an additional acceleration sensor for movement parallel to the image plane. Data generated by the two sensors was used to drive the optical correction unit using specially-developed algorithms, and brought improved shake correction for macro photography.

2013: EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Extender 1.4x – First super-telephoto lens with a built-in extender
Teleconverters, – often known as 'extenders' – are widely used by sports and wildlife photographers to extend the reach of telephoto lenses. The gain in focal length is offset by a loss in maximum aperture, so they work best with a lens that has a wide maximum aperture to start with. The EF 200-400mm f/4L is the first super-telephoto to take this to its logical extreme and have a 1.4x converter built in. This extends its focal range to 280-560mm with a maximum aperture of f/5.6. Not only that, it can also be used with a regular EF 1.4x III extender to produce a further reach advantage up to 780mm, with an aperture of f/8 – still within the autofocus limits of cameras like the EOS-1D X II.

2015: EF 11-24mm f/4L USM – World's widest angle ultra-wide zoom
One of Canon's most spectacular ultra wide-angle lenses, the EF 11-24mm f/4L USM boasts the widest angle of view of any rectilinear (non-fisheye) lens, including primes. It makes use of some of Canon's key imaging and manufacturing technologies – including a ground aspherical lens, UD and super-UD lenses for chromatic aberration suppression, and both SWC and ASC anti-reflection lens coatings.

Check out The History of Canon's L-series Lenses at Canon Europe for more information, or find out more about Canon's current lineup here.

Photo District News (PDN) recently published an article describing the pitfalls of photographers (in some states) treating their crew as independent contractors.

From PDN:

Others in the industry are at risk if they don’t know that various freelance crew members qualify as employees, not independent contractors—at least in California and New York. Employers in those states—including photographers and producers—must withhold taxes from the wages of employees, provide workers’ comp and unemployment insurance, and in California at least, pay employees immediately at the end of a job.

“It’s a huge can of worms,” says a freelance ad agency art buyer who asked for anonymity to protect relationships with her clients. “[M]any New York agencies and most editorial entities are refusing to reimburse any cost associated with payroll.” Those costs can increase crew expenses on a shoot by 20 to 30 percent.

The statutory penalty under California law for “willfully” misclassifying an employee as an independent contractor is now a minimum of $5,000 per infraction. And the statutory penalty for failing to pay an employee in California at the end of a job—including a still photo shoot—is the employee’s day rate times the number of days the paycheck is delayed, up to a maximum of 30 days.

From the Adobe Photoshop Lightroom YouTube Channel:

Lightroom tips and tricks in 60 seconds or less from longtime Lightroom team member Benjamin Warde.

B&H carries Adobe Photography Plan subscriptions.

Prepare to be impressed: Image quality test results have been added to the Canon TS-E 90mm f/2.8L Tilt-Shift Macro Lens page.

Wipe the drool. This is not an inexpensive lens, but it is delivering extremely high image quality.

Note that results with extenders are included, showing that this lens can be used with those. The with-extender results show that great image quality remains available and extenders add significantly to the versatility of this lens.

Also note that shifted results are included. To accommodate the tilt and shift movements, the lens must produce an image circle larger than the designed-for sensor format requires. As the lens is shifted (and/or tilted), the periphery of this larger image circle comes into use. Thus, the shifted results have meaning and in this case, the shifted-"12mm" results show a very slight degradation in the corner.

To see the level of image quality being produced here, check out a comparison against one of the sharpest lenses available: Canon TS-E 90mm f/2.8L vs EF 300mm f/2.8L IS II Lens. Create your own comparisons.

The Canon TS-E 90mm f/2.8L Tilt-Shift Macro Lens is in stock at Amazon (only 2 in stock through Canon-authorized Beach Camera) and coming soon to B&H | | Adorama | WEX.

From the Adroama YouTube Channel:

'Through The Lens' is a web docu-series presented by ADORAMA. TTL is a look at the evolving aesthetic of photography as seen through this generation's creator class.

Tune in every Wednesday and Friday at 10:00 AM EST starting February 7, 2018 for a new creator.

Follow Elizabeth:
https://www.instagram.com/elizabethgadd/
https://www.elizabethgadd.com/

From Canon USA:

On February 6, 2018 we revised the availability of future Firmware from late February to a late March 2018 release.

We would like to inform you that release of firmware to enhance functions of the EOS 5D Mark IV, which was originally scheduled for November 29 at the same timing as the firmware updates for six other models (EOS-1D X Mark II: Ver.1.1.4; EOS-1D X: Ver.2.1.0; EOS 5D Mark III: Ver.1.3.5; EOS 5DS: Ver.1.1.2; EOS 5DS R: Ver.1.1.2; EOS 6D Ver. 1.1.8), has been postponed until late March 2018 for reasons related to firmware preparation. We would like to offer our sincere apologies to users of this product who have been inconvenienced.

In the firmware to enhance functions of the EOS 5D Mark IV, we are planning to incorporate the following enhancements:

• Support will be added for chromatic aberration correction, peripheral illumination correction, distortion correction, and Digital Lens Optimizer when using Digital Photo Professional to process RAW images captured with the following TS-E lenses: TS-E 17mm f/4L, TS-E 24mm f/3.5L II, TS-E 50mm f/2.8L MACRO, TS-E 90mm f/2.8L MACRO, or TS-E 135mm f/4L MACRO.
• Support will be added to fix a phenomenon* in which standard exposure may not be obtained, or an irregular exposure may result, when Silent LV (Live View) shooting with the following TS-E lenses: TS-E 50mm f/2.8L MACRO, TS-E 90mm f/2.8L MACRO, or TS-E 135mm f/4L MACRO.
• Support for Exif 2.31 will be added.

*This phenomenon occurs when tilt or shift is applied on a TS-E lens (TS-E 50mm f/2.8L MACRO, TS-E 90mm f/2.8L MACRO, or TS-E 135mm f/4L MACRO) during LV shooting when Silent LV shooting is set (set to Mode 1 or Mode 2 on the menu). For this reason, until the firmware update, when performing viewfinder shooting or LV shooting, please shoot with the Silent LV shooting set to [Disable].

Support

If you have not already done so, please register the EOS 5D Mark IV. By registering, we will be able to notify you via email about future announcements.

This information is for residents of the United States and its five territories only. If you do not reside in the USA or its five territories, please contact the Canon Customer Support Center in your region.

Thank you,
Customer Support Operations
Canon U.S.A., Inc

From SIGMA:

The SIGMA Corporation is pleased to announce the development of a new ultimate ultra-wide-angle zoom lens, SIGMA 14-24mm F2.8 DG HSM | Art.

Now SIGMA is introducing the 14-24mm F2.8 DG HSM | Art as the ultimate ultra-wide-angle zoom. While minimizing distortion, this lens offers outstanding F2.8 brightness throughout the zoom range and delivers top-level image quality at every focal length and every shooting distance. For these reasons, it is the definitive wide-aperture ultra-wide-angle zoom lens.

Features:

• Outstanding Art line image quality
• Compatible with Canon Lens Aberration Correction
• Dust- and splash-proof structure

Specifications

Corresponding AF Mounts

• SIGMA / NIKON / CANON

The Nikon mount version of this lens includes an electromagnetic diaphragm mechanism. Functionality may be limited on some camera bodies.

Release date and price: TBD
Accessories: Case, Cover Lens Cap (LC964-01)

From Canon USA:

Canon to Assist NBC Olympics in Providing Viewers with Outstanding HDTV Picture Quality and Long-Zoom Image Detail

MELVILLE, N.Y., February 8, 2018 – NBC Olympics, a division of the NBC Sports Group, has selected Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in digital imaging solutions, to provide a wide variety of HDTV Field, Portable and Studio lenses for its broadcast of the XXIII Olympic Winter Games, which take place in PyeongChang, South Korea, from February 8 - February 25. The announcement was made today by Chip Adams, VP of Venue Engineering, NBC Olympics, and Yuichi Ishizuka, President and COO of Canon U.S.A., Inc.

Over 70 Canon broadcast lenses will be used, including the DIGISUPER 95 TELE long-zoom field lens featuring a focal length of 1178mm (2356mm with 2x Extender); the DIGISUPER 27 studio lens providing crisp HD imagery in a studio environment; the HJ14ex4.3B wide-angle HD lens capturing a panoramic 96.3 degrees angle-of-view; and the HJ24ex7.5B HDTV field telephoto zoom lens, providing a remarkable 7.5-180mm zoom range in a compact, portable body.

“A Winter Olympics production can be tough on equipment and especially lenses,” said Adams. “Canon lenses have always proven themselves in difficult conditions. The images, equipment and the support we get from Canon are always exceptional.”

“We are honored to once again be chosen as the broadcast lens provider for NBC” said Yuichi Ishizuka, president and COO, Canon U.S.A., Inc.