Hacking Photography - one Picture at a time
I guess Eye-AF is the future. Following Sony’s and Nikon’s Eye-AF releases, Canon could not afford to be left behind. So, Canon is releasing their own firmware for the Canon EOS-R which mainly includes a new eye-AF functionality.
While Canon HK published the news about two weeks ago, the actual update became available via Canon Canada only now.
An integrated flash can come in handy for photographers, but it’s useless for vloggers and video makers. However, a new Canon patent could resolve this. It shows a set of LED lights integrated with the pop-up flash to provide DLSR video makers with a continuous light source.
Canon Asia has “pre-announced” that there is to be an upcoming v1.2.0 firmware for the Canon EOS R mirrorless camera. I’m not sure what a “pre-announcement” is. An announcement to say there’ll be an announcement? Isn’t that still just an announcement?
Anyhoo (yes, it’s a word), there’s a new firmware coming. And it’s coming at some point around the middle of April. It offers improved Eye-Detection Autofocus supporting Servo AF when shooting still images and provides fixes for several EOS R bugs.
Published in the Japan Journal of Applied Physics, Canons is working on a new global shutter CMOS sensor with dual in-pixel charge domain memory. The rather technical paper explains the research and development of the new sensor technology.
This new technology would allow camera manufacturers (or, at least Canon) to remove the final major mechanical component from camera bodies. With a global electronic shutter, there is no need for a physical mechanical shutter anymore.
I’d think most people were pleasantly surprised with the release of the EOS RP. Full-frame mirrorless cameras were getting increasingly sophisticated, which is a good thing, but they were getting increasingly expensive along the way. After all, it’s the enthusiast and prosumer crowd that wants mirrorless cameras more than anyone else.
Top tier professional photographers are still largely sticking with traditional DSLRs, for now. The only full-frame mirrorless options for that growing crowd of serious but not seriously paid photographers were the now-5-year-old (time is really flying) Sony A7 II or the even older and clunkier A7. Anything with current tech would run you $2,000 minimum, namely the A7 III. I’m not saying this camera wasn’t an absolute steal considering what it can do, but $2,000 is still a lot of money for most people who do not shoot full-time for a living and leaves little room for modern, mount-native glass. If only there was something to fill that gap.
It looks like Canon may be hoping to succeed where Nikon failed with its short-lived KeyMission series of cameras. The folks at Cinema5D spotted a rather interesting looking camera on the Canon stand at CP+ 2019 this year, and so they had a quick chat with them about it. It looks like Canon may be planning to tackle the action camera market.
The video above is in Japanese, although it comes with English subtitles. So make sure to turn those on if you’re having a little trouble following the conversation.
Along with the new Canon EOS RP, Canon has announced six new lenses. Sort of. They haven’t announced that the lenses are available, or when they’ll be available (other than “later in 2019”), just that they’re under development.
Five of the lenses are clearly aimed at professional users, offering the “Holy Grail” with 15-35mm, 24-70mm and 70-200mm f/2.8 zooms, as well as two 85mm f/1.2 lenses. But they’re not forgetting those who love their superzooms, either, with a 24-240mm f/4-6.3.
As well as expanding their EOS R camera and RF mount lens lineups, Canon still seems to be going pretty hard on the long telephoto lenses for the EF mount. Canon News has discovered a number of US patents alluding to what appears to be the recently released 400mm f/2.8L IS III USM, which stole all of Sony’s “Lightweight” thunder, as well as new 300mm f/2.8, 500mm f/4, and 800mm f/5.6 telephoto lenses.
Hot on the heels of Canon’s recent Canon RF Mount lens rumours are image and spec leaks for a new Canon EOS RP full frame mirrorless camera.
Published by Nokishita, the images show a body that seems significantly smaller than the existing Canon EOS R, suggesting that it won’t be the super high-resolution pro body that many have been expecting. The specs, too, also seems to suggest that this is the lower end model that was rumoured back in November.
In a recent interview, Canon’s president Fujio Mitarai expressed not-so-optimistic predictions for the future of the camera business. He admitted that Canon’s sales have declined by around 10% in the past couple of years, and he believes that it will get even worse. According to Mitarai, the digital cameras market could shrink by as much as 50% within the next two years.
You can find out more about John on his website and follow his adventures on YouTube and Facebook.
can change a lens mid-rappel, swap a memory card while treading water, or use a camel as a light stand.
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JP’s photography is available for licensing at Stocksy United.
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