Monday, September 29, 2008
ISO12233 resolution chart sample crops from the Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III have been added to the following lens reviews:
Canon EF 100mm f/2 USM Lens Review
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM Lens Review
Canon EF 135mm f/2L USM Lens Review
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Awesome SandDisk memory card sale at Adorama (while supplies last - these are after rebate prices):
(OOS) SanDisk 16GB Extreme III CompactFlash Card - $14.95 to $24.95
(OOS) SanDisk 8GB Extreme III CompactFlash Card - $6.62 to $19.95
SanDisk 4GB Extreme III CompactFlash Card - $11.28 to $17.95
SanDisk 2GB Extreme III CompactFlash Card - $8.28 to $14.95
(OOS) SanDisk 8GB Extreme Ducati CompactFlash Card - $36.62 to $44.95
SanDisk 4GB Extreme Ducati CompactFlash Card - $16.62 to $24.95
SanDisk 8GB Extreme III SDHC Card - $16.62 to $19.95
SanDisk 4GB Extreme III SDHC Card - $12.95 to $15.45
As always, use good rebate practices when fulfilling the promotion. I've participated in many SanDisk rebates and have never had a problem, but some people have not been so fortunate. Follow directions carefully and keep copies of everything you send. Count on the process taking at least the amount of time indicated on the form.
Canon has posted 3 full resolution 5D Mark II video clips from "Reverie".
These are short (12-17 sec) clips but very large files (57-82 MB each).
Saturday, September 27, 2008
A few sample pictures have been added to the Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 Di Macro Lens Review.
Friday, September 26, 2008
The Canon EOS 50D Owner's Manual is available for download (6.5 MB PDF).
X-rite has posted a challenging (to some of us at least) online Color IQ test.
Sample pictures have been added to the Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM Lens Review.
I'm behind on a lot of projects (too many ideas - not enough time) - post-processing has been one of them. I'll try to get samples from several other lenses online in the near future.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Lensbaby Introduces New Line of Lenses for Creative Photography.
Canon U.S.A. has announced that it will be instituting a new Canon Professional Services (CPS) program beginning in the first quarter of 2009.
The Canon Rebel XS Virtual Tour
is now showing at the Canon Digital Learning Center.
The video is loading very slowly at the moment - hit the pause button and do something else while it loads.
Maybe the Vincent Laforet video is using all of the CDLC's available bandwidth.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Adobe Photoshop CS4 has been Introduced.
For additional information, go to the Adobe Photoshop CS4 Learning Center at PhotoshopUser.com and the Layers CS4 Learning Center at LayersMagazine.com.
I plan to upgrade - I imagine most Photoshop users will do the same. Amazon.com is taking preorders.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
J&R just started taking preorders for the Canon EOS 5D Mark II. I can't remember seeing preorder lists for any Canon product fill nearly as fast as the 5D II lists have - here is another chance to get near the top.
Canon EOS 5D Body
Canon EOS 5D with 24-105mm L Lens (again - great deal)
The Adorama "Refurbished By Canon"
inventory has a record number of listed items - 94 are available.
Part of the reason for the large quantity is that there are various kits of the same cameras listed, but
lots of great lenses, bodies, flashes ... including the Canon EF 400mm f/2.8L IS USM Lens are available.
Expect like-new equipment at nicely reduced prices.
Michael Reichman has posted a 5D Mark II preview at Luminous-Landscape.com.
Michael is captured by the HD video feature and his preview focuses on this.
Canon USA has posted a Canon EOS 5D Mark II Sample Video
independently-produced by Canon Explorer of Light Vincent Laforet.
Keep in mind that most 5D Mark II sample videos posted online are going to be greatly reduced because of the extremely large size of the original files -
360MB per minute according to Michael.
The Sigma 24-70mm F/2.8 EX DG HSM Lens has been announced.
"HSM" is the big addition to the current version of this lens - in title at least.
Friday, September 19, 2008
The Carl Zeiss Distagon T* 21mm f/2.8 Lens has been announced.
Calumet has the 5D Mark II available for Preorder.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
RitzCamera.com has the Canon EOS 5D Mark II available for preorder. This is another opportunity to get on the top of a list that I expect to become very long.
Canon EOS 5D Body
Canon EOS 5D with 24-105mm L Lens (great deal)
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Amazon.com also has the 5D Mark II available for preorder.
Adorama has the Canon EOS 5D Mark II available for preorder.
I have not seen so much excitment over a new camera in a long time - preordering early will likely be necessary to get a 5D II without a long wait.
Canon EOS 5D Body
Canon EOS 5D with 24-105mm L Lens (great deal)
If you plan to use this camera for HD video, you might want to take advantage of the SanDisk 16GB Extreme III 30 MB/s CompactFlash Card deal at Adorama.
Finally, the Canon EOS 5D Mark II has been introduced!
The review placeholder page has links to press releases, the 5D II web site and other information.
Also announced today is the Canon EF f/1.4L II USM Lens.
Canon Subwavelength Structure Coating -
This new lens coating is used on the 24mm L II.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
The moon is waxing ("Destined Evolution"). I'm not an astronomer, but shouldn't the waxing moon be illuminated on the right side - not the left? A waning moon is illuminated on the left. Regardless, the ad is changing. Canon is hopefully bringing us something very worthwhile after an ad campaign like this.
The Canon Connection Issue 4 3rd Quarter 2008 is available for download (4MB PDF). Page 4 is the start of an interesting article regarding the Canon EOS-1D Mark III AF issue - "EOS 1D Mark III Autofocus Decoded". Other articles include "The New Rebel XS and Speedlite 430EX II", "A Fresh Look at Wireless" and more.
Two new articles have been posted at the Canon Digital Learning Center. One is titled "EOS 50D: Quick Control Screen" and the other "EOS 50D: Peripheral Illumination Correction".
Monday, September 15, 2008
Carl Zeiss has announced a Canon EF mount for a pair of their lenses (additional compatible lenses are promised). These are MF-only lenses, but contain electronics for aperture and focus confirmation. Read the Carl Zeiss Canon EF-Mount Lens Press Release for more information.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
OneCall has the Canon EF-S 18-200mm IS Lens available for preorder - $699.99.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
OneCall has the Canon EOS 50D available for preorder (free shipping):
Canon EOS 50D Body - $1,399.00
Canon EOS 50D with EF 28-135mm IS Lens - $1,599.00 (good deal)
Canon EOS 50D with EF-S 18-200mm IS Lens - $2,499.00. (ouch) Update: now $2,099
The SanDisk memory rebates (3.3 MB PDF) are expiring on September 28th.
Adorama has the
SanDisk 16GB Extreme III 30 MB/s CompactFlash Card
for only $79.95 plus shipping after $90 MIR.
This great deal gets even better if you buy more than one.
Adorama
now has the 50D available for preorder:
Canon EOS 50D Body - $1,399.00
Canon EOS 50D with EF 28-135mm IS Lens - $1,599.00 (good deal)
Canon EOS 50D with EF-S 18-200mm IS Lens - $1,999.00. (realistic price)
Monday, September 8, 2008
Friday, September 5, 2008
Canon is running teaser ads for what appears to be a not-yet-announced DSLR. The Canon.com corporate site is running a full browser window flash animation titled "Destined Evolution" and Canon Europe is running a banner ad stating "The EOS Story Continues ... See the Future of Photography ... Stay Tuned ..."
In both cases, the name of the camera is not visible and the ad is not click-able.
The Canon EOS Rebel XS / 1000D price is falling -
J&R has the
Rebel XS Kit on sale for $615.88.
Canon Taiwan to Boost Lens Production Capability - Press Release
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Think Tank Photo Airport Check In Review
Amazon.com has the
Canon EF-S 18-200mm Lens available for preorder.
I expect demand for this lens to be high.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
OneCall has a 20% off coupon code "FALLDEALS" valid on accessories from B&W Schneider, Dotline, Joby, Lenmar, Lowepro, Lumiquest, Optech, ProMaster, Slik, Tamrac, Tiffen and Varta. This offer is valid August 19 - September 8, 2008.
ISO12233 resolution chart sample crops from the Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III
have been added to the following lens reviews:
Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM Lens Review
Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM Lens Review
I like both of these lenses - one delivers very good image quality for the price, the other delivers images that will set your work apart from the crowd. Here is a Canon 85mm Comparison.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Amazon.com now has the Canon EOS 50D available for preorder.
Canon has released EOS Rebel XSi / 450D Firmware v1.0.9.
"Firmware update Version 1.0.9 incorporates the following fixes.
1. Fixes a phenomenon in which AEB (Auto Exposure Bracketing) shooting does not operate normally under specific conditions.
2. Fixes a phenomenon in which the Live View exposure simulation warning indication does not properly display during Live View shooting.
3. Fixes a phenomenon in which images cannot be played back after continuous shooting when a printer is connected to the camera or a video output terminal is used.
Version 1.0.9 firmware is for cameras with firmware up to Version 1.0.4. If the camera's firmware is already Version 1.0.9, it is not necessary to update the firmware."
Monday, September 1, 2008
Tamron has a new rebate promotion running through December 31st.
I don't get much time to talk about all of the accessories I use, but Western Digital's Passport portable hard drives are one of my most-used accessories. Buy.com has the Western Digital 250GB Passport Essential USB 2.0 Hard Drive on sale for $89.99. It wasn't long ago that I paid twice that price for one of these. If you are not backing up regularly and storing the backup off site, you are at a very high risk of losing you digital images. This would be a good time to start this habit - This little drive helps make the habit an easy one.