Faithful to its age-old fame, Carl Zeiss shows us a new wide-angle lens aiming at the high-end of the market, at least because of the “widigantic” aperture of f/1.4.

Available in Canon and Nikon mounts at 1385€, from the first quarter of 2011.

I is often quite difficult to find the user manual of a good SLR camera like the Canon EOS 550D (aka Canon T2i or Kiss X4). This is the reason why I decided to share with you the result of my searches. You will become able to evaluate correctly the features of the this nice SLR camera, the Canon EOS 550D.

• Canon EOS 550D PDF User Manual (Canon Europe)
• Books about the Canon EOS 550D (Amazon.com)
• Canon EOS 550D PDF User Manual (local download)
• Mode d’emploi du Canon EOS 550D (PDF de Canon Europe)

You can download them freely.

Canon EOS 60D

This month of August 2010 is definitely rich in news of importance for the expert photographer. After Nikon and Sony, Canon is ready to present its new offering. Where Sony had 4 new DSLR cameras, Canon has one new Canon EOS 60D and 4 high-quality new lenses.

Canon EOS 60D

This is a very coveted market segment where Canon places its new Digital SLR photo camera, the EOS 60D. It comes right after the Canon EOS 50D and brings a nice set of improvements that will be welcomed by all Canon lovers.

More pixels (as usual) with an 18 mega-pixel APS-C CMOS sensor (borrowed to the Rebel T2i or EOS 550D), continuous shooting at 5.3 frames/s, a sensitivity range of ISO 100-6400 (extendable to ISO 12800) and the Canon EOS 7D metering system. These are systematic improvements to the existing EOS 50D. Canon is used to small increments in this camera range, but they decided to be more consistent than usual.

On the other side, to avoid direct competition with the EOS 7D, the new EOS 60D is actually a smaller, lighter body than the 50D, and it sports a new articulated tilt-and-swivel LCD screen.

In the same direction, we can no longer be surprised to see than the EOS 60D uses SD/SDHC/SDXC memory cards.

Canon EOS 60D

Main features:

• 18 MP CMOS sensor (APS-C)
• Digic 4
• Sensitivity: 100-6400 ISO (Hi: 12800 ISO)
• Exposure Metering: iFCL system (already used in the EOS 7D)
• Continuous shooting: 5.3 frames/s
• Viewfinder: 98% with 0,95x (interchangeable focusing glass)
• Full HD Video mode (from 1080p @ 30 fps) with manual control
• 9-point AF system (new system all Cross-type Sensors, all f/5.6 except for f/2.8 center)
• Improved Autofocus for Video capture and supporting LiveView mode
• LiveView mode
• In-camera RAW image processing: brightness, contrast, white balance or correct distortion or chromatic aberration
• Tilt-and-swivel 3″ LCD screen (1040k pixels)
• Integrated flash GN13 (able to control distant flashes)
• SD/SDHC/SDXC memory card slot
• 800g

This is nice to see Canon able to reposition the elements of its DSLR camera offering after the introduction of the EOS 7D which was temporarily reducing the readability of the whole range. Now, the EOS x0D (with 60D now) is clearly positioned between the 550D and the 7D. And it is a damn-good camera, too.

New lenses

EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM

Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM

“Lightweight, compact and versatile”, this is a good description of a zoom lens that is covering an important product range.

A little more than 1000g and a price that should be accessible (let’s see when Canon gives a precise figure).

EF 8-15mm f/4L Fisheye USM

Canon EF 8-15mm f/4L Fisheye USM

Simultaneously a zoom lens and a fisheye! And it is opening at f/4!

This lens will probably be expensive (the L marking and the red ring is a sure sign), but there is not much competition here.

EF 300mm f/2.8 L IS II USM

Even more expensive, here comes a prime lenses that needed a little refreshing:

EF 300mm f/2.8 L IS II USM

Many a wildlife photographer will be interested by what is often considered as the last reasonable prime lens (wide opening and long focal length). AF speed and price will be a deciding factor (we have to already assume exceptionally good optics, in part due to the 2000 g of glass and metal).

EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II USM

You still have money and pro needs, here comes the heavy-weight:

EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II USM

I would even be frightened to ask for the price. The quality will probably be superlative and the weight is not for everybody: 3850 g.

That’s not all!

If you still don’t have enough (I know that the YLovePhoto readers are exceptionally demanding, but I hoped you would already be satisfied…), Canon has other ideas to appeal to you. They announced new focal extenders (EF 1.4x III & EF 2x III).

And they have been showing the first pictures of what will be the new 500mm and 600mm pro L tele-lenses (500mm F/4L IS II USM & 600mm F/4L IS II USM).

Did you notice? Canon will soon have fully renewed its range of white tele-lenses with the same high-level quality of optics, improved AF, and improved image stabilization. It’s time to go and attack a bank (your account will certainly not be enough).

An enormous overhaul of the Canon offering for pro and expert photographers.

(more…)

Canon APS-H 120MP sensor

In a rather unusual move, Canon has announced a surprising sensor the developed: a 120 Mega-pixel APS-H sensor.

APS-H is the size of the photo sensors used in the EOS 1D series (clearly Pro cameras). And this big sensor has a huge amount of pixels (nearly 7.5 times larger than the company’s highest pixel count commercially available sensor), and is able to do HD video capture on 1/6th of its surface or 9.5 fps continuous shooting.

There is no immediate commercial application to expect from this technology demonstrator, but this is an impressive achievement.

Nota bene: The latest Canon demonstrator of this kind had 50 MP in 2007.

It seems that the announcement of the Canon EOS 60D will be done on September 26th. Until then, the feature list of the Canon ESO 60D is still a bunch of rumours.

In parallel, we have to wait for what will probably be a set of two new high-end tele-photo lenses. Maybe two white pro ones. Canon Rumors says: 300 f/2.8L IS & 600 f/4L IS.

Old pictures

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It seems that Sony is not as tight-lipped as usual in the preparation of the upcoming Photokina show in Köln, Germany at the end of next month. The offering is now nearly certain: 4 Alpha cameras and a set of lenses can be expected. They should be announced on August 24 (next week).

• Alpha 33 (a pellix camera with a 14 MP sensor)
• Alpha 55 (a pellix camera with a 16.7 MP sensor, 10 fps, ISO 100-25600, 15-point AF, EVF – all to be confirmed)
• Alpha 560 (with 14MP sensor, 5 fps, ISO 100-12800, 15-point AF, swivel display – near certain feature set)
• Alpha 580 (same as A560, with 16MP sensor)

Note: Pellix is the name usually applied to describe a camera where there is no mobile mirror, but a pellix semi-transparent mirror which is providing a simultaneous and continuous AF while bringing light to the photo/video sensor. For more information about it, see the Wikipedia articles in both English and German. The presence of Pellix should also allow to keep a LiveView operation during the photo/video capture (probably in association with an Electronic View Finder or EVF).

Images of the A55 and A33

Alpha 33 - front	Alpha 55 - front
Alpha 55 - back	Alpha 55 - back
Alpha 55 - front	Alpha 55 - back
Images from DChome

A33/A55 size

What is now certain is that the Alpha 33 and Alpha 55 will be very small indeed. They are smaller than the smallest existing Alpha cameras (the Alpha 290). They are nearly as small as the NEX-5 camera.

Thanks to SonyAlphaRumors, you can see a marketing-based and meaningful size comparison:

Alpha 33 vs. Samsung NX10 vs. Panasonic G2

As was reported here about a month ago, Canon does not believe that it is necessary to leave the traditional APS-C DSLR format factor to compete with the EVIL cameras. Sony seems to have understood this too. But they decided to provide both the (still?) smaller ones (NEX series) and continuously shrinking ones (Alpha series). It will be interesting to see how this works in the end.

At least, Canon appears right and we can expect to see similar comparisons appearing with Canon bodies of the near future.

Compatible lenses for NEX

Additionally, some companies are rumored to be interested in providing a real competition in terms of lenses for the NEX camera range (Sony will no longer be alone). If Zeiss and Leica are actually present there in a few weeks, it will mean that this NEX camera series will certainly be a huge success, if only because of the large advertisement effort supported by several companies at the same time. However, it is nearly impossible to sort out the good information and the false rumors in what is said from all sides.

Canon G12

CNET Asia seems to have been observed while preparing the article for the upcoming compact point-and-shoot digital photo camera following the Canon G11. The main features of the Canon G12 will be:

• 10 mega-pixel CMOS sensor
• 5x optical zoom (28-140mm equivalent)
• 2.8″ tilt-and-swivel LCD
• Manual exposure control
• HD quality video capture
• Multi aspect ratio image capture
• Optical image stabilizer
• High Dynamic Range mode

Source: Canon Rumours.

Next Canon announcement, of September 22nd, should be used to present the newest Canon EOS 60D.

As we all know, the upcoming Photokina in September is already the center of rumours coming from all parts. I have been trying to give an idea of what could be coming for the major brands in the DSLR market, concentrating mostly on the new bodies to be seen. But there is no end to the list of rumours about lenses. So, let’s try to make a summary of the most common ones, with no order or no probability figures.

photo credit: nhuhoai

• Samsung NX line would receive 3 new lenses according to Korean DDaily: Pancake 20mm, 20-50mm zoom and Macro 60mm lens.
• Canon could come with 3 lenses of its own: Possibly including an EF 16-50 f/4L H-IS.
• Panasonic already announced a 3D lens for the micro-4/3 (Lumix G-series). It should be visible in September and available in December.
• Samyang (the new company you should consider for compatible lenses) is readying a 35mm f/1.4 with manual focus, for the Samsung NX line. 8mm (fisheye) and 85mm have been rumored too.
• Nikon is said to be preparing at least three lenses: Nikkor AF-S 85mm f/1.4G N, Nikkor 24-120 f/4 ED VR N, Nikkor 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6 ED VR DX. They could possibly add a 18-200mm f/5.6 or a 28-300mm f/5.6.
• Sony has already said that we will see a 500mm f/4 G (big grey tele-lens for rich pro photographers) and a wide-angle lens Zeiss Distagon T* 24 mm f/2 ZA SSM, but the rumour has that it will not be the only lenses for the Alpha series. Sony could also present one or two lenses for the NEX line, on top of the 18-200mm already promised for mid-September 2010.

Of course, those could be announced a little before the Photokina show (brands try to steal the wind from the other by moving ahead of time).

The Short-term DxO Optics Modules Roadmap is very clear: Canon EOS 60D available at most in December 2010.

There, it’s no longer a leak, but a confirmation.

But, nothing about the feature list, of course…

Thanks Liaud.

Canon Japan’s Image Communication Products head Masaya Maeda revealed to Reuters what seems to be that Canon will not be part of the race to get a new EVIL (Electronic Viewfinder, Interchangeable Lens). Canon is thinking about using its own good position in the SLR market to build more small SLR cameras at a rock bottom price, rather than trying to create a new line of EVIL cameras.

It makes senses, for them.

Canon just announced the availability of a new firmware (v1.2.2) for the Canon EOS 7D.

Main features:

• Fixes a phenomenon in which the set aperture moves when shooting movies in manual exposure mode using some Canon lenses (such as macro lenses).
• Fixes the AF point-selection behavior of the C.Fn III-7 (Manual AF pt. selec. pattern) custom function when set to [1].
• Fixes the AF point display for the viewfinder electronic level when shooting in the vertical position.
• Corrects misspellings in the Spanish and Thai menus for applicable products.

Firmware Downloads from the Canon (Japan) web site: Canon EOS 7D firmware.

photo credit: eirikso

Canon launches two new firmwares (surprisingly, both hold the same version number v1.0.8, but they are really two different firmwares split at birth for two different cameras).

For the Canon EOS 1D Mk-IV, this is the correction of a bug around the aperture management in video mode.
For the Canon EOS 550D, menus have to be corrected/updated.

As usual, the downloads will take place from the Canon Japanese web site:

• Download Firmware Update 1.0.8 pour Canon EOS 550D
• Download Firmware Update 1.0.8 pour Canon EOS 1D Mk-IV

Canon 60D mockup (source: www.fetdigitaal.nl)

Even for Canon, next September will see the Photokina show in Koln (Germany). It is often the occasion when brands of photo manufacturers launch the photo cameras they expect will be doing the big sales of the end of the year (a period that is really good for the amateur photography market). This year should not be any kind of exception and Canon has several cards to draw. So, I will not fail to try my hand at a few previsions from the information I got (sometimes they are incoherent, but they are often consistent when they reach my mailbox). The real difficulty for Canon predictions comes from the lack of precision of the current rumours.

To start with something really obvious, it is no longer possible to sort out rumour and fact about the Canon EOS 60D. At the beating heart of the EOS range of D-SLR cameras, the Canon EOS 50D has long been waiting its replacement (The 50D was launched at the end of 2008!). However, the launch of the Canon EOS 7D let think that this xxD series was at its end. But with time, rumours about an upcoming EOS 60D did not stop. Since the EOS 7D is also reaching a 5 quarters availability, it is possible to imagine that time has come to see either one or both replaced. And, consequently, most of the rumours are only that: Rumours… only based upon the wishes of their authors.

To give you a hint at what this new camera could be, here are possible features:

• 18 MP digital sensor
• Sensitivity: ISO 100-6400
• Continuous shooting at 7 fps
• 9-point AF system
• Fixed LCD (maybe tiltable)
• New user interface
• (Minor) improvements to the EOS 7D video capture mode, already in 1080p (FullHD)

But this is still to be confirmed and stays quite imprecise.

Curiously, since the Canon EOS 60D is still a very active hypothesis despite the lack of serious confirmation from the manufacturer, the replacement of the Canon EOS 1000D is not attracting a lot of credible leaks (despite some isolated DIY rumours, here and there). However, there is a very good chance that Canon will offer a new solution in the lower price range (Canon EOS 2000D) to counter-act the ever-more-present competition in the “less than 500€” market which is starting to be very active (Just look at the launch of the Sony Alpha 290 or the price reductions of the Pentax K-x, not even counting the strong offers from Olympus or Samsung). The photo sensor will have to leave the dusty floor of 10 MP, probably to re-use some of the already existing technology of its bigger brothers, but without reaching the expensive 18 MP level (15 MP would be perfect). The only really important issue will be to ensure very low manufacturing costs while staying in the race and it is difficult to precisely forecast the corners that the engineers will have to cut short; However, the higher the resolution, the more expensive the components (and not only the sensor itself).

Additionally, CR speaks more about new lenses for the end of August (in preparation of the Photokina show): EF 60 f/2.8 IS Macro, and EF 24-70 f/2.8L IS.

So, not many fixed certainties, but it is very probable that Canon will make the landscape clear at the end of August to prepare the Photokina 2010 Fair, either with a Canon EOS 60D, or a Canon EOS 2000D, or both.

In the last few days, we heard quite good news from both Nikon and Canon (the obvious leading companies of the Digital SLR camera market).

Nikon boasted about its first place in Japan sales of SLR cameras in the first half of 2010 (January to June). What is interesting is that they exchanged positions in the list (compared to 2009) and, also, that Panasonic is still in the third position with more than 10% of market share.

Canon moving down by 8% is a major setback. Sony being far from the third spot is also quite a surprise, but it probably reflects the aging of its SLR line of cameras. Both companies still have some work to do here.

However, Canon had also very good news to announce: Their profits tripled over a year. And this comes mostly from photo cameras and laser printers. It means that the market is here. The crisis is over in the photography world (Canon sales are up 15%).

This is the best way to prepare the end of the year 2010: Plenty of product stacking up to grab the renewed interest of avid photographers! Photokina will be interesting.