Great news for you Canon dSLR Dads. Canon has just extended their winter rebate program until February 17, 2008. Now you get a chance to wait until after the big PMA2008 announcements before making your purchase decision. For those of you who are not aware, the 580 EX II flash and the following lenses are discounted:
Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM (Amazon, B&H Photo) save $125
Lawrence Ripsher has posted a review of the Canon EOS 1D Mark III (Amazon, B&H Photo) on his Photo Journal Blog.
I’ve been the owner of a 1D Mk3 since early December 2007 and this review comes about a month in after many thousands of actuations. For those of you who are not familiar with my background, I have shot Canon for some time now (having transitioned over from Nikon) and shoot a variety of subjects including sports, portraiture, street and what I call narrative photography. For examples of my work, you can click on the galleries to the left (or simply follow this review).
The Canon EOS 1D Mark III has had quite a ride. Released as part of Canon’s 20 year EOS anniversary strategy it was both highly anticipated and widely applauded when it was announced. From the outset it has arguably generated more noise (of the vocal kind) than any other camera in the market today, with the possibly exception of the Nikon D3. Leading the emotionally charged opinions on the camera have been photographers from all walks – some highly respected professionals, some skilled amateurs, some hopeful hobbyists and typically, an even greater number of users who have never touched this particular camera. The 1D has been heralded as everything – from the greatest sports and photojournalism camera in the world today, to a huge disappoint and failure. Even in the already emotional and divided world of camera equipment forums, the Canon 1D Mark III has shown an extreme example of split opinion. (more…)
Canon announced their new EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS lens back on August 20, 2007 along with new EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens (Amazon,B&H Photo). It is not yet shipping, but Klaus Schroiff over at PhotoZone.de has already picked up a sample for review.<
Technically the Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS is a tiny lens with a great performance potential. The resolution is very good across the range. Chromatic aberrations are basically a non-issue. The level of distortions remain moderate. The most obvious flaw is, unsurprisingly, vignetting at large apertures. The build quality is fine for a lens in this class and it is one step up from the EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS that we’ve seen here recently. Regarding the target market you may surely forgive the plastic mount. The AF (micro-) motor is pretty fast and silent. So’s everything cool here ? Well, the AF accuracy didn’t really convince in the field – specifically at the wide-end of the zoom range – but to be fair this is much better on an EOS 40D (e.g.) with its improved AF capabilities. I had some trouble with the image stabilizer in the field but according to early reader feedback this impression seems to be an exception to the rule. If so the EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS has certainly the potential to be another hot seller.
40D dSLR with the EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Lens (at Amazon or B&H Photo)
You may note that the neither the original EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 USM, EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM (Amazon, B&H Photo), nor the new EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens (Amazon,B&H Photo) are offered as part of a kit package like the 20D or 30D did. Hmmm, maybe Canon will introduce a new EF-S lens or two at PMA. Will Canon finally have an 18-200mm IS to compete with Nikon? At a minimum they need something in the 18-135mm range. We shall see in one month……
Happy Holidays everyone. Nikon ramps up production on the D300, and then all of a sudden, Canon lowers the price on the 40D. Right now, you can get the Canon EOS 40D for $1,149 at B&H Photo. That’s $150 off (more…)
PhotoZone puts Canon’s latest entry level EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS lens (Amazon and B&H Photo) through the test, and the results are impressive for a kit lens:
The Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS is the next generation budget “kit” lens for Canon EOS APS-C DSLRs. It is a long awaited and, frankly, urgently needed successor for the rather mediocre EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 II which was not able to convince anymore ever since the release of EOS 20D. However, Canon did not only improve the optical design – they also added an image stabilizer, changed the finish and introduced circular aperture blades for a better bokeh (out-of-focus blur). (more…)
EOS Digital-series SLR cameras have passed the 10-million unit threshold
PRESS RELEASE – TOKYO, December 20, 2007 – Canon Inc. today announced the achievement of a new camera-manufacturing milestone as combined production of the company’s EOS-series film and digital single-lens reflex (SLR) cameras passed the 30-million mark. Additionally, production of EOS Digital-series SLR cameras has passed the 10-million unit threshold. (more…)
Nikon’s been getting a lot of the press recently, but Canon has new cameras too. The new 40D was announced the same time, but has been shipping since early fall. With that, I present you dSLR Dad’s with all the information you need to justify spending more money. (more…)
The Canon EOS 1D Mark III has been selling for quite a while now (since February 23, 2007 at Amazon). Unfortunately, the pro community have been quarrelling with Canon over the poor performance of the 1D Mark III’s servo-autofocus engine, especially at high temperatures. Rob Galbraith’s site has been out in front of this issue since the beginning (June 19 was his first update). Now Rob has released an update assessing the 1D Mark III’ssub-mirror fix and v1.1.3 firmware.(more…)