Archive for the 'Canon' category

You loved the Canon EOS 30D, then the EOS 40D. But since you’re hooked to buying always the best technology that money can buy, you are already looking for the next digital SLR camera from Canon. And you’re right. If something can be learned from history, the regular schedule of launches for the mid-range line of SLR cameras from cameras will bring us the Canon EOS 50D around the beginning of 2009.

Can you recognize the pattern?

But it does not tell us the features list of the future camera, unfortunately.

Some people have been speaking about seeing Canon moving into a much faster cycle of replacement for its D-SLR cameras. However, it seems that this is the case for entry level only. You can expect that competition is so hot there that the Canon EOS 1000D will need to receive a replacement in Spring 2009 already. But the Canon EOS 50D is aimed at a higher price point and more stable population of photographers. But it won’t be true forever (what about the Canon EOS 60D and then the EOS 70D?)

Currently, there are two groups of rumours running through the Internet forums about the future successor to the Canon EOS 5D digital SLR camera.

1. There will be two cameras at the same time (either Canon EOS 3D and Canon EOS 6D, or Canon EOS 3D and Canon EOS 7D) launched just before the Olympics (to allow pro photographers to publicly play with them during this very public event).
2. There will be two cameras at the same time (either Canon EOS 3D and Canon EOS 6D, or Canon EOS 3D and Canon EOS 7D) launched after the Olympics (usually pronosticated for Monday, September 8, 2008).

Did you notice the common points and the divergence?

Unfortunately, it is rather impossible to say where is the information and where is the fake news bit.

With the arrival of several Full Frame SLRs on the market, people start wondering what they should buy or what they should wait. Actually, we can expect to see very real price differences, so I thought it would be good to make a summary for us:

As you can notice, it is expected that the Sony Alpha 900 will be targetting low prices despite it’s 24MP sensor (or it will have a little Alpha 800 brother, while the Alpha 900 would shoot for a higher price point). But the current Canon EOS 5D seems to be an astonishingly good bargain (while stocks last).

After the thunder of the Nikon D700 launch (which lasted several days), it is interesting to see that the Internet users are actually rushing for information about the other offers of digital Single Lens Reflex (SLR) cameras in Full Frame format forecasted for the enxt few months:

• Nikon D3x because Nikon is not yet out of voice and they prepare a high-end pro SLR to go along with the D3; Probably beginning of 2009.
• Sony Alpha 900 because Sony promissed in September 2008 (launch at PMA in August 2008?) its super-hig-end 24 million pixels FF camera.
• Canon EOS 5D MkII because the replacement for the EOS 5D is coming soon (maybe not even waiting for August) and maybe with a cheaper little brother under the name of Canon EOS 3D.

In this beginning of the Summer, while many people are discussing about the arrival of the Nikon D700 (everybody seems pretty sure it will pop up this week), some are wondering whether the Canon EOS 40D will soon be replaced by a Canon EOS 50D. Nothing more than repeated wish lists in forums, but the trend is there still.

I have been asked by some people about the price of the upcoming Sony Alpha 900 flagship digital SLR camera. The problem is that there is no information filtering down from Sony. The only thing that we can say is that there is a body of indirect evidence that points to some pretty serious competition figures.

Nikon Rumours affirmed last week that the Nikon D700 (or D700 FX) will be priced just under 3000 USD. It has been said that the Canon EOS 5D MkII should arrives around 3500 USD, but the Canon EOS 5D is already sold under 2000 USD now. And the Nikon D3 (already previous generation camera) is still near 5000 USD, except in some very small on-line shops whose reputation is a bit low.

Not taking into account the actual performance and exact features of each, I would say that Sony will be able to position itself around 2000 USD which is the price point that Canon is setting for all the others. But keep in mind that there is a large body of amateurs enthusiasts that are ready to pay much more than the usual 600-1500 USD price tag for a digital SLR, but the competition is heating to bring Full Frame capability to the masses.

Your guess is as good as mine, but I would say that the tendency is to prepare to a very low price point. 2000 USD will be considered a turning point (notice how Canon is letting the price of the EOS 5D plummet down). A camera willing to position itself as top-quality Full Frame will probably aim at $2500 (I think the price of the Canon EOS 5D MkII or a possible Canon EOS 6D could climb there, not even speaking of a possible Nikon D3x in 2009 with a stratospheric price), but a product aimed at a larger market would have to start around $2000 and preparing for a street price going under this limit (this should be the case of the Nikon D700 -the name is referring more to the D300 than to the D3/D3x pro family- and of the Sony Alpha 900).

With all this talk about existing Full-Frame photo cameras (Canon EOS 5D, Nikon D3) and about possibly upcoming new ones (Sony Alpha 900, Canon EOS 5D Mk II or some other similar name, etc.) many photographers happy with their existing digital equipment are wondering: “What’s all the fuss about?”

And it’s a good question to ask, but the answer goes with some of the comments about sensor resolution. About the same people who noticed that resolution is not all that counts (despite what is said or implied by some of the major brands on this market) also understand that going Full Frame is a possibly very important decision for the attentive digital photographer.

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Canon is definitely an innovative brand for the marketing of photo products. For years, regarding single lens reflex cameras, Canon specialized in products clearly ahead of their time; I think about the Canon EOS 300D, of course, which surprised/shocked the market with a price so totally different from the rest of the digital SLRs that it allowed a whole new generation of photographers to move to digital. But there was also the Canon EOS 5D to bring a Full Frame sensor which is still appealing to many a photographer (wait for a post about this in a few days).

But Canon does not stop here. A few days ago, the Japan brand announced a Digital SLR, the Canon EOS 1000D / Canon Rebel XS opening the doors of the D-SLR market to those who where still staying with bridge cameras.

Of course, nobody could compare the technical features with the high-end products that is catching our attention in most of the posts here.

• 10 mega-pixels: it’s not much, but largely enough for 99% of the Sunday photographers
• 7-area AF: just right
• Continuous shooting at 3 fps in JPG (or 1,5 fps in Raw): certainly not pro-level, but more than enough to shoot holidays and families
• 2.5″ LCD with LiveView
• Price: 699.99€ / £579.99 with a lens (stabilized 18-55mm) or 599.99€ / £499.99 body only.
• Available August 2008 (no date for USA launch)

If this camera is aiming lower than the current Canon EOS 450D / Rebel XSi, it will still find some competition with the Nikon D60 and the Sony Alpha 200.

Images (sur DPreview).

There is no sign of the annoucement of a new successor to the Canon EOS 5D (under the name of Canon EOS 5D Mk II) for tomorrow, despite what had been forecasted by some. There was indeed a relatively safe information given on a DPReview forum indicating an August 2008 target (and a new EOS 3D series in 2009).

OK! If it was not enough to expect a couple of major announcements from Canon and Sony for the tough market of high-end digital cameras, there is another competitor appearing in the image.

According to Amateur Photographer, Samsung is preparing a Full Frame D-SLR camera to compete with Canon EOS 5D (or future 5D Mk II), with Nikon D3, with future Sony Alpha 900. We know that Samsung has a very good technology (shared with Pentax) and that the high-end market is calling for Full Frame sensors.

Nothing is certain, and we will probably have to wait until 2009, but things are moving fast in Korea too.

If you have a simple Point-n-Shoot digital camera, you may not know it, but you are limited more by the marketing teams than by the real technical constraints of your hardware. But if your camera is from Canon you may find an easy way out.

The Canon Hacker’s Development Kit is an open-source software project that can be loaded on cameras using Canon’s DIGIC II or DIGIC III processors. Interestingly, it has the following features:

• It’s free (as in free beer)
• Its installation is completely reversible (it does not remove anything, does not replace the existing firmaware, just adds new features installed on-the-fly from an SD card)
• Faster shutter speed: up to 1/60,000 of a second!
• Slower shutter speed: down to 65 seconds!
• Automatic bracketing of exposures
• RAW file format
• Live histogram display
• Battery readout
• Scripted actions
• Longer videos
• More image compression options
• Use USB for remote control
• Depth-of-Field calculator

Impressive! The list is long enough to give your food for thought and it applies to an impressive list of compatible cameras.

Sources: Wired article, CHDK source.

According to IDC, the sales of photo cameras progressed by 24% in 2007 to 131 million cameras. The global market is in the hands of several companies:

• Canon: 24.5 millions (18%)
• Sony: 20.9 millions (16%)
• Kodak: 12.6 millions (10%)
• Samsung: 11.7 millions (9%)
• Nikon: 11.4 mililons (8.4%)
• Olympus: 11.3 mililons (8.3%)

For the SLR market (Single Lens Reflex), two companies are overwhelming:

• Canon: 43%
• Nikon: 40%

Canon looses some ground to Nikon, but the margins were going down thanks to added competition.