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Canon 24-70 f2.8 L II

Feb 062012

10mm shorter and 150g lighter than the previous version, the Canon 24-70 f2.8 L IS II will be available in April for approximately $2300.

Key features

High-speed USM AF
Fluorine lens coating front and rear
9-blade circular aperture
Three Aspheric lens elements
One Super Ultra-low Dispersion lens element
Two Ultra-low Dispersion (UD) lens elements
Minimum focusing distance: 0.38m at all focal lengths
Improved dust and weather resistance
Improved durability for daily use
Front of lens doesn’t rotate during focusing
Manual focus possible in AF mode
Only lead-free glass is used

Canon 24-70 f2.8 II Leaked

Canon, Industry News 4 Responses »

Feb 062012

This one has been a long time coming! Reports of an updated 24-70 have been going around for two or three years. Initially it seemed like it was going to have IS but this photo leaked today (via Canon Rumors) shows that in fact it does not have IS.

82mm Filter Thread
Lighter than the original version (which is a bit of a beast!)
approx $1799

Canon Cinema EOS Cine Lenses In Development

Canon, Industry News No Responses »

Dec 162011

Shortly after the launch of the Canon C300 I interviewed one of Canon’s technical staff about the camera. At the time he mentioned to me that on top of the announced 3 EOS Cine prime lenses there were also two more in development. One wider and one longer. I now have a photo of these two prototype lenses, see below. It’s rare that unannounced lenses are shown so I thought it well worth a mention. No focal length is known at the moment, if I had to guess I would say 100mm or 135mm and 18mm?

On top of these primes, it would seem that there are also two new Cine zooms in development on top of the two that were officially announced announced alongside the C300. The 14-60 and the 30-300 that were announced, are MASSIVE lenses and they don’t really fit the C300 form factor for those who want lightweight rigs. There’s no way they could be handheld or used on Steadicam rigs but here are two NEW Cine zooms that are much much smaller and would seem to target the more portable market. I’d imagine these will be comparable in spec to the Angenieux 16-42 and 30-80 that are so popular in 3d rigs and Steadicam rigs at the moment though potentially one could offer a longer range like a 70-200 which is a popular lens for DSLR shooters.

When will we see these lenses ? Perhaps more info at NAB in the spring of 2012 but given the EF Cine primes that we do know about are not due until next summer I wouldn’t count on seeing any of these new ones on shelves until 2013.

Canon Launches New Range Of EOS Cine Lenses With EF Mount

Canon, Industry News No Responses »

Nov 032011

Alongside the launch of the new EOS C 300 video camera, Canon have also addressed peoples concerns with using regular EF lenses on these cameras for shooting video professionally. EF lenses were not designed with manual focus in mind and they can prove tricky to use when critical focus is necessary.

Those problems have now been addressed though with this new lineup which features a true cine style of long focus throw and detailed lens markings with distances as well as a manual aperture. All resolve to 4K:

Comparing Canon's MKII and MKIII Extenders

Comparisons, Gear Reviews, lenses 1 Response »

Aug 292011

In the Fall of 2010 Canon announced the introduction of new MKIII extenders to replace the previous MKII versions. Super Spectra coatings were introduced to help reduce ghosting and flare as well as fluorine coating to make water spots and finer prints easier to remove. I’ve always fond the MKII extenders to be extremely useful when used in the right circumstances so I was eager to try out the MKIII versions to see if there was an improvement.

Canon's new 300mm and 400mm F2.8 L IS II lenses now shipping to dealers.

Canon, Industry News No Responses »

Aug 252011

Canon have announced today that the brand new Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS II and Canon EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II are now shipping to dealers ! I expect these to be very popular, the 400mm in particular so if you’ve been waiting for one I’d urge yo to place an order pretty quickly! Initial reports of the 400mm performance have been glowing, particularly with regards to the performance with the new MKIII extenders (incidentally I will be posting my review of these this coming Monday). As I noted a few weeks back, the new cases for the 400mm lens even include dedicated slots for the extenders so they were clearly designed to be used heavily in this combination. Canon posted a fascinating article on CPN toady where Formula 1 photographer Frits van Eldik speaks of his experience using the new 400mm. He raves about it’s quality and AF tracking and includes some very interesting image samples. I also questioned F1 photographer Richard Heathcote about the new lens, knowing that he had also tested it while working for Getty Images. His response was similar to Frits van Eldik’s. He said with the new 1.4x MKIII , it performed identically to the current 600mm f4 L IS. Heavy praise indeed! I’ve written some thoughts on these new lenses HERE in the past. The 400mm in particular has an huge 27% weight decrease over it’s predecessor which takes it into the realm of the 500mm and will surely have it used by many more people.

New lenses available from the following places:

Canon 8-15 F4 L USM Fisheye Review

Canon, Gear Reviews, Industry News, lenses 3 Responses »

Aug 062011

The Canon EF 8-15 F4 L fisheye lens is one highly anticipated piece of glass ! First announced back in Autumn 2010 this is not a replacement of any existing lens, but an all new design with unique potential. Canon originally started with the 15mm f2.8 fisheye which was designed before the digital days. This lens provided a full 180 degree field of view on a full frame camera but users of 1.6 or 1.3 crop cameras were left with slightly less fishy look to their images. On the Nikon side of things, Nikkor released a beautiful 10.5mm fisheye for their crop cameras but Canon never followed suit. Sigma built a Canon mount 10mm fisheye and a few people got by with a Tokina 10-17 which did give you a wide view on a 1.3 crop camera but neither of these lenses were hugely high quality. I often use fisheye lenses in my action sports photography work but the problem is I shoot with a full frame Canon 5dMKII and a 1.3 crop Canon 1dMKIV. I’ve always made do with a 15mm f2.8 fisheye which is great on my 5d with it’s full frame sensor but always left me wanting when used on the cropped 1d. Well with this new Canon 8-15 they have solved my problem and designed a lens that can achieve a full 180mm field of view on any of their digital cameras, a simply fantastic idea.

Full review with video and samples after the break.

Canon's New 8-15mm F4 L Fisheye Hitting Stores Now

Canon, Industry News No Responses »

Jul 272011

The long awaited Fisheye zoom lens from Canon is finally finding it’s way onto store shelves this week in several places. I have written about this lens before and provided some of the first samples of it last month. I hope to have one in my hands within the next few days myself and I will be doing a thorough review at that time. This is a lens that will be fantastic for my line of work so it’s exciting to know it’s finally coming. Some stores do have long waiting lists for this one so if you fancy picking one up I’d place a pre-order as soon as possible.

For sale at:

B&H

Adorama

Amazon

NIkon launches wallet friendly 40mm Macro Lens

Site news No Responses »

Jul 112011

Nikon just launched a new lens in the DX lineup, the AF-S DX Micro Nikkor 40mm f/2.8G. Destined for a price tag of only $279.99 and coming to the US in August.

Full release

MELVILLE, N.Y. (July 12, 2011) – Nikon Inc. today introduced the new lightweight and versatile AF-S DX Micro NIKKOR 40mm f/2.8G lens to provide Nikon DX-format shooters macro capabilities at an affordable price point. Ideal for intimate details or general portraiture, the new AF-S DX Micro NIKKOR 40mm f/2.8G lens has a minimum focusing distance of just 0.53 feet (6.4 inches) to allow users to capture extreme close-up photographs and High Definition (HD) video with a life-size 1:1 reproduction ratio.

“This new NIKKOR lens is an ideal accessory lens for those who are ready to explore a totally new perspective, whether it’s extreme close-up detail or general still images and movies with flattering out of focus elements,” said Lisa Osorio, general manager of marketing at Nikon Inc. The new Micro NIKKOR lens delivers new and added versatility to the Nikon DX-format digital SLR system and provides DX-format shooters with compact optics that deliver excellent color reproduction and stunning sharpness.”

Weighing in at approximately nine ounces, the extremely compact and lightweight lens is an ideal “next” lens to complement any DX-format shooter’s growing D-SLR kit. The natural focal length (60mm, FX equivalent) and large f/2.8 aperture are ideal for a wide variety of applications, whether capturing close-up details in flowers and insects or shooting flattering portraiture with a pleasing bokeh.

For fast and whisper quiet autofocus operation, the new Nikon 40mm Micro lens also features Nikon’s exclusive Silent Wave Motor technology, which allows photographers to get even closer without disturbing a subject. For complete control, the AF-S DX Micro NIKKOR 40mm offers users both manual-priority autofocus (M/A) and manual focus (M) modes to quickly and easily switch focus modes on the fly. To help ensure amazing lens performance at close distances, this new lens employs Nikon’s Close-Range Correction System. With this system, the lens elements are configured in a “floating” design wherein each lens group moves independently to help achieve critical focus. Additionally, Nikon’s Super Integrated Coatings are applied to help reduce instances of lens flare and ghosting. The seven blade diaphragm also helps to create a more natural out of focus component.

The versatile and compact nature of the AF-S DX Micro NIKKOR 40mm f/2.8G lens combined with its affordability make it a great travel companion for any DX-format D-SLR, including the new Nikon D5100 and popular D3100.

Price and Availability

The versatile AF-S DX Micro NIKKOR 40mm f/2.8G will be available in August for an estimated selling price* of $279.95. For more information, please visit www.nikonusa.com.

Leica Unveils new 21mm f3.4 Super-Elmar

Industry News, Leica No Responses »

Jun 212011

NEW: THE LEICA SUPER-ELMAR-M 21MM F/3.4 ASPH.

Compact M lens with improved imaging performance sets new standards in wide-angle photography

Solms, Germany (June 21, 2011) – Leica Camera AG adds a new, high-performance wide-angle lens to its portfolio of short focal length lenses for Leica M cameras. The Leica Super-Elmar-M 21 mm f/3.4 ASPH. sets new standards in imaging performance. It is characterized by its particularly compact size and suitability for a wide range of photographic situations. Whether used for photojournalism, architecture or landscape photography, the Leica Super-Elmar-M 21 mm f/3.4 ASPH. provides photographers with an extremely small, light and versatile wide-angle lens, particularly suitable for travelling.

The performance of the Leica Super-Elmar-M 21 mm f/3.4 ASPH. is reminiscent of one of the all-time favorite classic M lenses, the Leica Super-Angulon-M 21 mm f/3.4. This highly praised lens was an integral part of the Leica M lens portfolio from 1963 to 1980 and made its name and reputation as an ideal tool for available light photography and photojournalism. Even today, the Super-Angulon-M 21 mm f/3.4 remains extremely popular and one of the most sought-after M lenses amongst connoisseurs of fine optics. Continue reading »