April 3rd, 2012 by Allison Gibson Posted in Blog, Cameras, News
Canon announced today the EOS 60Da DSLR. Not to be confused with the Canon 60D (reviewed here), the 60Da is “optimized for astrophotography.” It offers a modified infrared filter and a low-noise sensor with heightened hydrogen-alpha sensitivity. These modifications, according to Canon, allow the camera to capture photographs of “red hydrogen emission” nebulae and other cosmic phenomena. In other words, it’s built for those shooting in a specialized field.
While this isn’t a mainstream image maker, we can’t help but be fascinated (is “star struck” too horrible a pun?) by the camera. One Canon exec says, “This new camera enables an accurate depiction of a part of our solar system which is hard to achieve with conventional cameras but should be enjoyed and celebrated.” It features a 1,040,000 dots 3-inch Clear View LCD screen and ISO speeds up to 6400 expandable to 12800. Oh, and “The improved infrared-blocking filter is a modification suited specifically toward astronomy enthusiasts to achieve a hydrogen-alpha light sensitivity that is approximately three times higher than that of a normal Canon DSLR camera. This produces a 20-percent higher transmittance of Hydrogen Alpha line, or H α wavelength, allowing astronomers to capture crisp, clear images of reddish, diffuse nebulae.”
Should astrophotography be your thing, the Canon EOS 60Da will be available starting this month from select dealers for an estimated $1,499.00.
(Canon)
January 9th, 2012 by Allison Gibson Posted in Blog, Cameras, CES, News
The latest offering in Canon‘s prosumer PowerShot G series is the new G1 X. Announced today—the first official day of CES—the G1 X features a 1.5-inch 14.3-megapixel CMOS sensor (compared to the G12‘s 1/1.7-inch 10MP CCD sensor) as well as Canon’s DIGIC 5 image processor. It also boasts an ISO range of up to 12800 for low-light capture and an f/2.8-f/16 4x optical zoom lens. With a price tag of $800, the G1 X costs as much, if not more, than an entry-level Canon DSLR, which might turn off those photographers who are shopping around for a next level camera to step up their image quality and feature set from a compact point-and-shoot, especially if they’re looking to get into a system with interchangeable lenses. However, the Canon G series has for more than a decade now been a favorite everywhere camera for professional and enthusiast shutterbugs when they need to reach for a more portable option that will still make great images.
The Canon G1 X will be available for $799.99 in February.
(Canon)
November 4th, 2011 by Allison Gibson Posted in Blog, Cameras, News
Canon announced today the Cinema EOS System—an all new Hollywood-grade lineup of 4K EF cinema lenses, the EOS C300/C300 PL digital cinema camera, and a new 35mm full-frame sensor DSLR (pictured above) that’s still in development, which will shoot 4K video.
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October 18th, 2011 by Allison Gibson Posted in Blog, Cameras, News
Canon announced today the EOS-1D X—the company’s new flagship DSLR, which they’re calling “a high-speed multimedia juggernaut.” The model will replace both the 1Ds Mark III and the 1D Mark IV in the EOS lineup. So what makes the 1D X worthy of being called a juggernaut? Maybe the fact that the new “completely revolutionized” camera features three image processors, including Dual DIGIC 5+ processors, which Canon says are “capable of delivering approximately 17 times more processing speed than DIGIC 4,” though it also features a DIGIC 4 for metering and AF control. And speaking of AF, the 1D X includes a new 61-Point High Density Reticular AF, “the most sophisticated DSLR AF system Canon has ever released.” All AF functions can be accessed quickly via their own menu tabs, and you can create customized settings of tracking sensitivity with the new AF Configuration Tool. For those photographers who’d like input on AF settings, it comes with a built-in Feature Guide to recommend settings based on subject matter.
The 1D X features a brand new 18-megapixel full frame CMOS image sensor, which Canon says produces the lowest noise of any EOS digital camera so far. The sensor uses pixels that are “1.25 microns larger than those in the EOS-1D Mark IV sensor and .55 microns larger than those in the EOS 5D Mark II sensor”, in addition to gapless microlenses, to achieve high sensitivity for those clean captures. The camera’s ISO range is adjustable from ISO 100 to a whopping ISO 51,200 within standard range, and can be expanded to 102,400 and 204,800, which Canon says are “ideal for law enforcement, government or forensic field applications.” So, there’s that, if you’re in the habit of shooting in those conditions.
The 1D X is also Canon’s first EOS DSLR to feature Multiple Exposure capability, combining up to nine separate shots into a single image, in-camera—viewed in real time on the LCD monitor—speeding up your post-processing work, at least what’s usually required to remedy exposure problems. The 1D X records full HD video at 1080p, like its predecessors, but now notably features automatic splitting of movie files when a single file exceeds 4GB, allowing for continuous video recording up to 29 minutes and 59 seconds across multiple 4GB files. This was an upgrade requested by documentary filmmakers who’ve previously worked with Canon DSLRs. Another request from Canon shooters was to include dual card slots for instant image back-up and more storage capacity, and the 1D X delivered.
The Canon EOS-1D X is scheduled to be available in March 2012 and will be sold body-only at an estimated price of $6,800.00. See the full press release below.
click thumbnails to enlarge
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September 7th, 2011 by Allison Gibson Posted in Blog, Cameras, IFA
images © Lynne Eodice for Digital Photographer
Last week we reported on Canon’s three new PowerShot digital cameras. DP reporter Lynne Eodice was able to get a hands-on look at the new models on the show floor at IFA Berlin.
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