Welcome to The Photo Video Guy. I share training, ideas, opinions and tips to help you make better photographs and videos.
Have questions? Excellent! Please click this link to fill out the simple form to submit a question
A new lens for the Nikon 1, Sony builds the sensor for the D800. Canon issues fw update for the 1Dx. New 24-70 arriving soon. Canon issues new patents. Canon dives deeper into video with two new cameras and four new lenses. Sony releases the NEX-5R. DP Review likes the RX-100. Pentax K30 hits retailers. Adobe has LR 4.2RC and ACR 7.2 RC. Specs for the Fuji X-E1. The Lenskirt. SmugMug price explosion
If you use Lightroom, it's possible at some time that you wanted to use a brush to adjust colours. It's easy enough to do, or appears so.
But that's not really what you want. What you want, is to be able to select a colour from the image you are working on, not some arbitrary picker from a box or worse trying to find a place in the box that matches the colour you want to work with.
Despite lots of great UI work, I think Adobe has dropped the usability ball on this one because while it is simple, it's not obvious or well documented. I give full credit to Rob Sylvan for teaching me how to do this.
When the colour picker box appears, click in it anywhere and hold the left mouse button down. Without releasing the mouse, drag the eyedropper into the image. You'll see the swatch box in the upper left of the Color Picker change to match wherever the eyedropper is stationed at any given time. When you find the colour you want in the image, release the mouse button and the colour is loaded into the swatch and the brush is loaded with that colour.
It really is simple, but the implementation could stand to be more intuitive. I tried to grab a screenshot but neither Skitch nor Grab would capture the image of the eyedropper, so you'll have to experiment yourself.
You may remember a screed from me about Canon's Pixma Pro printers and how they made me see red by printing things too red. I discovered SO MANY people had this issue, that even after going through the time consuming process to build custom ICC profiles for a few papers, I invested my hard earned dollars in an Epson 4900 and never looked back.
I recently was requested to generate a stack of small prints, generic 4x6s on glossy paper. The kind of thing that people carry around and hand out to friends and family. Running these on the Epson would be easy enough, but I have the 9000 Mk II and 9500 Mk II just sitting there, so I thought since no custom ICC profiles were required, I'd give them a shot again. This is a downside of being a printer. You become the target for everyone in your family to come to instead taking the card over to the local Walmart.
One of the good things about Canon Pixma Pro printheads is that they have tons of holes and so jams are rare. They do happen, and the printer utility offers a cleaning option and a deep cleaning option. Use with care because although the software warns you that ink is used in the cleaning process, two passes of deep cleaning will eat up about 1/8 of each ink tank. At about $20 retail per, that's frakking expensive for waste. Not having been born yesterday, I understand that the manufacturers treat printers as loss leaders and make all their money on the ink. (Can you hear me HP?)
The rule I've used for Canon printers is that so long as you let the printer make the decisions and print only on Canon paper, you'll get decent results. However, using ICC profiles and custom printing from Lightroom or Photoshop is a good way to raise your blood pressure because frankly the output sucks. This is common to Canon printers. Canon used to have a plug-in for Photoshop called Canon Easy-Photoprint Pro, that allegedly allowed the use of proper ICC profiles and different papers and that would give you good prints. Unfortunately, it was crap. Fortunately this sad state of affairs is changing.
After printing a run of 4x6s on Canon Glossy paper with Lightroom set to let the printer manage output, that turned out just fine for the project, I decided to see what updates Canon may have made and not told anyone about. Amongst the many I found was a new version of the plug-in. I said what the heck, I'll give it a shot.
Running the installer it detected Lightroom 4, Photoshop CS5 and Photoshop CS6 and offered to install itself. The downside is that these are plugins that bypass the native print engine in the application. The upside is that it doesn't fark up the native print engine. Canon makes fine cameras and lenses. Contrary to their own opinion, they are not a software company as evidenced by the lack of continuity checking and execrable user interface.
Kvetching aside, the new plug in actually does a decent job. It's slow to launch and not particularly intuitive, but when you use it, you can actually use third party paper and ICC profiles and get a decent quality print. It's still not up to the IQ of the Epson, but it is definitely not as likely to make you pop a blood vessel.
At many tradeshows I take the time to ask the Canon printer specialists why their printers print red from every app but the Canon printing apps. Only once was I told by a young guy, who was friendly and helpful, that Canon "knows" people like warm looking prints and that's the way they come. I pointed out the if you print on Canon paper from Canon's Digital Photo Professional that you actually get fairly lifelike colour. He smiled and noted that very few people use DPP. Fair enough, although I know many pros who have sunk $$$ into Canon printers who use DPP for all their printing because it has been the only way to not get cat-yack out of the printer. Every other Canon representative replied that if I use only Canon paper and just let the printer manage everything all will be well and that using third party papers would not give optimal results. No wonder that everyone who makes great papers does the ICC profiles for Epson seemingly first.
I do find that the Canon printers are ink pigs. If you are doing lots of Black and White, or want to, stay away from the 9000, only the 9500 Mk II is really good enough for serious black and white. It's a lot slower though.
Were I starting fresh with my own photographic printing, or more usefully, if you are, I would still suggest going with an Epson photograph printer. All in ones are pretty consistent (crap) from all vendors. Go dedicated if you are or think you might be, serious about making prints. However if you already have one of Canon's Pixma Pro series of printers, use the Easy-Photoprint Pro plugin with Lightroom or Photoshop, don't print through the native engine, and you will get better prints and waste less ink and paper.
There's really nothing like a print to get a viewer excited. It's tactile and it's so much more telling than an image on a screen. If you only need prints once in a while, use one of those Kodak kiosks in retail stores, or if you have a Costco nearby, use their lab. A lot of the Costco folks are Certified Photographic Counsellors, they do know their stuff. But if you are taking the time to edit, tune and enhance your images, making photographs instead of just taking pictures, you probably owe it to yourself to learn to print. If you're going to go that far, you're going to want good looking prints and this tip will help you if your printer is a Canon Pixma Pro.
Bye bye to Kodak film. Nikon drops the D700 and maybe the D7000, adds an Android powered point and shoot. Canon files a patent for the 2nd gen 300/4L. Canon announces new large format printers. A fix for the 40/2.8 sticking problem and rumours of new bodies. I close with a quick look at Sigma's 300/2.8
Lens reviews are tough to write. Some readers want the really deep detail spec review and while I can understand that, I dont have the resources of a DP Review and the idea of shooting photos of focus charts makes me somnolent. I value that information, I just dont have it in me to create it. I prefer to review a lens as I would use it, and with the kind support of the people at Gentec Canada, obtained short access to Sigmas 300mm f/2.8 super telephoto. After humping the thing around for seven hours on day one and using it exclusively, I am very impressed thus far. All images were shot with the lens mounted to a Canon 1Dx.
What All The Acronyms Mean
I think that the focal length and maximum aperture are pretty clear. The others, perhaps not.
The Build
First Impressions
If youve never handled a lens that is nearly 2.5 kilograms (just over five pounds) this is a new feeling. While some reviews refer to the lens as lightweight, I cannot agree. Its not light, but it is compact given what you are carrying. A giant front element gathers lots of light and that could mean internal flare, but Sigma incorporates a pair of ELD (Extraordinarily Low Dispersion in their nomenclature) elements that make this a non-issue. The lens can be used with teleconverters and Sigma understandably recommends the use solely of their own converters. I did have either of Sigmas converters as part of the shoot and so cannot comment.
Forcing myself to work with one lens only, (I did carry my Canon 100-400L in my ThinkTank bag just in case) was fruitful. The days shoot involved getting into the pens with lynx, wolves, badger and owl plus close work with a mountain lion (although not in the pen with it). Depth of field at f/2.8 is what you would expect it to be, ultra-shallow. Focusing on the closest eye, the images are tack sharp when I did my job. The falloff into out of focus is soft and not jarring. I can see why wildlife pros like long and very fast glass. Stopping down as far as f/6.3 increases the depth of field as you would expect, but at that point, frame elements even off in the distance can become distracting and even net mesh in front of the subject (in the case of a bald eagle) still were apparent as bands of softness and low contrast.
Autofocus on the 1Dx is often referred to as screaming fast, and with the 300/2.8 mounted it snapped pretty quickly but I would not call it fast. The system is moving a lot of glass there, and while the HSM motor is very quiet, its not blazingly fast. I missed a couple of shots with a moving animal because focus couldnt catch up but it wasnt a serious problem. What was impressive is how much contrast the lens passes so the AF would work even on low contrast subjects.
Handling
The lens comes with a reversible bayonet mount lens hood with a lockdown screw. Mounting and unmounting is fast and easy. The lens cap is enclosed in a nylon tube thing that fastens over the hood but only when it is reversed. It does collapse mostly flat for stowing in a vest pocket but I would prefer the ability to use it securely when the hood is mounted for photography.
The lens also has (as it should) a tripod collar. This is a requirement and it works but if it were up to me, I would make a couple of changes. First is that it rotates freely and thats good but I would prefer to have landscape and portrait orientation notches or at least markings milled into the mount area. When the grub screw is backed off, the lens can rotate but it isnt smooth. Sigma uses a sort of grippy finish on the lens barrel which is I think a very good thing but I would have preferred that the area under the ring enable smooth rotation with a couple of milled stops as noted. The collar foot is very short, to accommodate the hood when reversed. Thats ok, but I would have preferred that the stand-off between the foot and the lens barrel be greater so I could mount a Really Right Stuff or other Arca Swiss style lens plate on more securely than I could. WIth a lens like this getting it on and off the head should be very fast and it could be better oriented to be quicker.
A taller foot would offer you more grip options as Sigma does on their 120-300/2.8 or 150-500/6.3 lenses and I would hope that they will consider this change.
Other reviewers have suggested that the lens should have strap lugs built on, and I agree. Some have sad you can get them after the fact but Sigma did not list them on the accessory page for the lens. You could of course screw a Black Rapid strap into the tripod hole or if using a plate as I do, connect it to your strap with a Really Right Stuff FAB-2.
Shooting handheld with the tripod collar on is absolutely possible although less than comfortable. If you want a more forward grip you are on the focus ring and with the short foot and short leg the hand tires more quickly.
Internal Filters
Internal filters only make sense on a lens like this. I like that Sigma went the route of being able to use standard 46mm filters in the drop in tray (some vendors require custom filters or gels only). The tray is a positive lock type. There is also a filter rotation ring (and as the lens came without documentation there was guessing as to what it was for) that allows the use of a polarizing filter in the filter drawer. Seems like a small detail but it is well executed.
The Shooting
Light conditions varied from specular to harsh sun, to full shade. In every case the lens performed very well. I was able to have the 1Dx in AI-Servo (continuous tracking focus) when photographing the wolves and it was keeping up even at 5fps. Balance was decent handheld and when mounted on the Gitzo monopod with RRS MH-02 monopod head, it was plainly a joy to shoot. I was spoiled by the bright image and the razor thin depth of field quickly and I had a higher than average keeper ratio than I am accustomed to with moving wildlife. I used the 600EX-RT for fill flash in many cases with Flash Exposure dialled to -1EV so as not to fully balance the daylight and only fill in eye sockets and the eTTL II flash metering worked as it should. I did not expect otherwise although I have read that sometimes fill flash exposure gets wonky when using very long lenses with very fast apertures.
There are a few sample images at the end of the post so you can see how sharp the lens is. All are converted to DNG on import to Lightroom and have basic processing applied before exporting as web ready JPEGs at lower resolution and 72dpi. When bringing the images in to Lightroom I was very pleased to discover that Lightroom had a lens profile defined for this lens and that is was recognized by the profile engine automatically. Lens profiles provide basic correction for vignetting and distortions and while I can see the differences with the profiles on or off, the adjustments are subtle, unlike some other lenses I have tested.
When you look at other options in this space, the glaring difference is that the Sigma 300/2.8 lacks optical image stabilization. While one can argue about whether OIS matters on wide angles, it is a boon on long telephotos, especially for sports or wildlife where you subject isnt sitting on a posing stool waiting for you to get on with it. For me, thats the single biggest gap the lens has.
Next Steps
The next step is to do a shoot comparison with Sigmas 120-300 f/2.8 zoom. Through the courtesy of Gentec and their relationship with Daytripper Photos Bryan Weiss, whom I teach for, I will get a chance to shoot the lenses side by side. The zoom is less expensive than the prime in retail environments and has optical stabilization where the prime does not. Where the prime has ELD elements, the zoom has FLD elements, and fluorite was first introduced in glass back in the 70s to combat chromatic aberration.
Pros
Cons
Thanks for reading. If youd like to purchase this lens, please use my link to B&H to support The Photo Video Guy.
For Canon
For Nikon
Looking through the storage drawers for gear I had to pull out a veritable octopus of camera straps. I don't use the manufacturer's straps because I don't want to advertise the type and model of camera I carry. I've tried leather, neoprene, nylon, and canvas. They are all in the drawer. Up until recently I either used the Domke strap from Jim Domke or the Black Rapid sling system. The Domke's are comfortable but I like to sling the camera off my shoulder and they just don't grip enough for me. The Black Rapid dual sling is terrific but the single sling rubs my neck and over the course of time creates an unpleasant state of "man-boob". Neither comfortable or a good look.
I was watching a video cast a while back and Matt Kloskowski and RC Concepcion both were advocating the Upstrap. RC is barrel chested like I am and so I thought I would take a chance on the recommendation and order one.
The strap worked out so well, I ordered two more. The Upstrap is really non-slip. You cannot even make it slide around if you want it to. It holds your camera firmly on your shoulder even as you move and bend, and is also comfortable if you have the camera around your neck. I have both the traditional camera attachments for the Canons and the Vectran attachments for the Leica. All have proper quick release buckles if you don't need the strap and the Kevlar material is incredibly durable.
Best strap ever, may sound like hyperbole, but for me, it is. I'll be ordering a couple more today as I am extremely happy with the product, one for the Hasselblad and one for the remaining Canon. We spend a lot of money on gear. There's absolutely no reason to worry about it slipping off your shoulder or being uncomfortable.
Highly recommended.
I like camera bags. Family has said I am with camera bags like some people are with shoes. Based on the closet, and the shelves and beside the chair, they're right. I am a huge fan of the bags from Think Tank. There are many fine manufacturers, but when I add up all the kit I have spent hard earned buckolas on, most of it is Think Tank gear. From belt kits, to airport sized backpacks, to little bags to big bags, I tend to use my Think Tank bags as "go bags" - pack what I need for the gig / assignment / event and go.
After being robbed of my gear in Barcelona in 2011, I am VERY SENSITIVE regarding camera bags that look like camera bags. Enter the Retrospective series from Think Tank. Recently I had a project / assignment to shoot a Polo match. I knew I was going to be moving around a lot, that I would be using mostly long lenses and a monopod. So I went out and invested in the Retrospective 20. 
It looks like a messenger style bag. It has no visible logos. It has a great strap that is comfortable all day and that is long enough that I can sling it across my body or hang it from a shoulder. It's quick to get into, has good padding and its size belies just how much kit you can get in it. The giant bellows pocket on the front is really deceiving. For my Polo work I carried in this relatively small and highly innocuous bag the following gear;
Canon 1D Mk IV with Canon 100-400L mounted
Canon 7D Body
Canon 2x Converter III
Metz 58 AF-2 flash with off camera cord
RRS Flash bracket
Think Tank Memory Card holder
Lenspen
Microfibre cloth
The bag was comfortable all day and held my gear safely and securely. The front flap velcros closed with good sized velcro patches and they have silencers sewn on so you can open the bag with no noise at all.
Think Tank has a graphic that is reminiscent of an X-ray to give you an idea of how the bag could load up.
The point is that it can be accessed quickly, holds a camera with a long zoom or prime attached and carries well.
I also own the Retrospective 5 in the Pinestone finish and the Retrospective 30 when I feel the need to carry a lot of stuff into the field.
As kind of a useful aside, Think Tank's material that lines their bags is 18% grey so it's also your portable grey card. We all know that when you really need a grey card, you don't have one, but with Think Tank you do.
If you are in the US, support the Photo Video Guy by buying your bag online through these links. Black. Pinestone, Blue Slate. I am not sponsored by Think Tank and pay for my own gear.
Introduction I enjoy macro photography and have worked hard to try to build a bit of skill on the subject. While many lens claim to be "macro", to be true macro lenses they need to deliver 1x life-size on the sensor. This means that if you have a full frame sensor of 24mm x 36mm, then the lens must be able to produce an image of the subject that is 24mm x 36mm in real life.
Macro photography can be challenging because depth of field diminishes as the image plane gets closer to the subject. This is just optics math in action, so consequently, small apertures are used for the closest shots to avoid having only a pinpoint deep focus depth. At the same time, macro lenses need to be optically fast to aid focusing in poor lighting conditions.
Macros are best done from a stable platform, such as a tripod because you might find yourself with slower shutter speeds to accomodate the small aperture, and you want to avoid pushing the ISO too high to maintain the highest possible resolution and low noise.
When we shoot close, we also often need to manage the light as proximity might create shadows or block out the light entirely. The sample images included here were done with multiple flashes because the ambient light just would not work. Flash is very useful in macro work because our subjects may be moving, and when very close, even subtle movement can blur the photograph.
I have owned the Canon 100/2.8L macro for some time and like it very much. I do not advocate macros shorter than 100mm because with a shorter lens you must be physically very close to the subject. This distance between the front element and the subject is referred to as "stand-off distance". By the same token, we also know that as focal length increases at a given aperture and camera to subject distance, depth of field is reduced so to go too long will result in depth of field compromise.
After listening to noted photographer Bill Fortney advocate Nikon's 180mm macro lens, I arranged to borrow a Canon 180mm f/3.5 L series macro for testing purposes. Even the 100mm when shooting life-size requires you to be very close and as I wanted to use softboxes and octas as my sources, I knew I would benefit from the increased stand-off distance the longer lens affords.
Lens Specifications
Thoughts
The lens is very sharp and focus is quick because of the Ultrasonic motor. Focus is internal and of the floating type. This method is more costly to make but the value returned is minimized aberration as focus distance changes. It's one of the distinctions between a proper macro lens and a generic one.
The tripod collar increases size and weight but I wish I had one on the 100mm that I own. Changing camera orientation does not change the image centre, allowing for creative positioning without massive amounts of reset work from a focus and cropping perspective.
In very low light, I found that autofocus with the 1D Mk IV was not effective. This isn't surprising as the flower petals were not particularly contrasty and even when manually selecting focus points, there just wasn't enough light to make AF accurate. Switching the lens to manual focus completely decouples AF and the manual is fast and light. Subjects snap in so I am quite impressed. I also use an old Minolta angle finder to avoid neck strain and on the rare occasions where I just need more magnification, use Live View and a Hoodman loupe. The net of it is that obtaining critical focus is simple and consistent.
I was using a set of Metz 58 AF-2 flashes in Westcott Apollo striplights and octas as the primary source and a third Metz with Rogue gels firing at the background paper. I was using Pocket Wizard radios and their AC3 zone controller and as documented earlier was underwhelmed with the zone control performance. As the shots were being captured between f/29 and f/32 I was pushing the Metz flashes in the softboxes very hard. Moving the flashes to manual output from eTTL gave me more control. This is a Pocket Wizard Zone controller issue, not a flash problem and I've documented it elsewhere. Once past a number of false starts with the lighting, I was able to get to where I wanted to be.
Colour rendition from the lens is excellent. As I always do, I used a B+W UVA filter on the lens. B+W filters are superb and I still wanted the protection for the front lens element in case of something very bad happening. I used a Jobu lens foot to convert the standard tripod mount to one that would fit the Really Right Stuff bracket that I use. This is not a flaw in Canon's tripod foot, it is entirely done to suit my tripod configuration.
On the 1D Mk IV, the effective focal length is 234mm due to the 1.3x crop factor in the camera. That's about as long as I would care to go for macro. Mounting the lens on the 1Dx full frame makes this lens a really fine portrait lens too, although I don't think I would switch to it away from the 700-200/2.8L that is my portrait "go-to" lens.
I did not experience vignetting or sharpness falloff centre to edge and you shouldn't with a high end macro lens. I opened the RAW files in both Lightroom and DxO Optics Professional and was pleased to see that the lens profiles in both were needed not at all to address lens issues. This simple test is a strong indicator of where design issues exist in lenses. Lightroom's profiles are excellent and in my opinion, those from DxO Optics are the best in the business. When these acclaimed profiles make only miniscule corrections, this is indicative of superlative lens design.
Conclusions
I have to return the lens soon and will be sad to see it go. If I did not already own the similarly excellent 100/2.8 L macro, I would not be returning the 180/3.5L. Knowing what I know now, it's the one I would buy if I could have only one macro lens. I want to thank Nathan Reeder at Henry's for assisting me in obtaining the lens for the review.
Highly recommended.
I made substantial investments in the Pocket Wizard TTL radios to use with my Canon cameras over the last couple of years. I bought the Mini TT1 to use as the primary transmitter and a number Flex TT5s as receivers, and an AC3 zone controller. I've also purchased the AC7 hard shield because the Canon 580EX II is known to be susceptible to radio interference, particularly when installed in one of Westcott's Apollo soft boxes.
For the most part I've been using the Pocket Wizards in a very general manner for distance triggering of TTL flash. And for the most part, they work quite well. I do find the need to program them through the Pocket Wizard utility to be a nuisance and Pocket Wizard's documentation would need to improve significantly to achieve the level of suck. So, as long as you don't need anything more than triggering, they're fine.
The real point though should be to be able to manage flash zones and output by zone for 
eTTL flash just as you can in the manufacturer's infrared systems. I use the term eTTL because I have Canon cameras, but Pocket Wizard does support iTTL for Nikon with the appropriate devices.
Recently Canon replaced their optical triggering system with radio in the new 600EX-RT flashes and the ST-E3 controller. Infrared works fine indoors with line of sight, but it doesn't go around corners and often fails outdoors. Hence the demand for radio. Initially I was surprised at Canon's decision because of the apparent lack of backward compatibility with the older flashes. This has proven to be false as the new flashes can use infrared if you wish. The ST-E3 is radio only, no infrared.
To get zone control with radio Pocket Wizards, you use the AC3 zone controller and this is where things start to fall down. The AC3 provides for control of three zones, each zone being configurable for Off, TTL and Manual. Manual puts the remote flash in manual mode but still allows for eTTL exposure control on other channels. The theory is that in eTTL mode, you would have +-3 stops of exposure control for each zone, plus whatever control you apply globally on the camera. The reality is that in a lengthy test, this was not so. Despite multiple manipulations and test firing there was no demonstration of a six stop range. Using the AC3 to put the flashes in manual mode actually allows you to vary the power from full to 1/64 power and it works extremely well. But, I really wanted full eTTL control, and did not get it.
i recall Joe McNally saying at a seminar that Pocket Wizards were decent triggers but that zone control performance was inconsistent at best. Joe is a big fan of Nikon's Creative Lighting System of course, but not a fan of Pocket Wizard. He calls them not ready for prime time, and based on tests across several hundred exposures, I have to agree. This brings me to the question I ask.
A decent powered eTTL flash for Canon or Nikon will run between $400 and $600. Add another $250 for a Flex TT5 receiver and then $100 for an AC3. Comparatively, even Canon's 600EX-RT at $729 retail is a better value, the radio is built in, the user interface is extremely elegant and it works consistently. You will also need a transmitter on the camera and zone manager, so just under $400 for Canon's ST-E3 or about $330 for a Mini TT1 and an AC3. Simplicity suggests that the Canon solution might be better. Pocket Wizard says you can use Flex TT5s to control the power of studio flash in non-TTL mode but it's spurious because it works only with a special receiver add-on for a limited number of studio heads. Since most better studio heads have their own remote system, this is less valuable than one might think out of the gate. For example, Elinchrom's Skyport radio system comes with their head kits and allows power control from the camera in a single transmitter.
So given that Canon is down the road on radio and is anticipated to replace the 430 EX II with an RT model this fall, why would a photographer without an existing Pocket Wizard investment buy Pocket Wizards at all. To even use the new CTL software in conjunction with your light meter, you have to replace the radio transmitter in the meter that you already have for about $140. It's ridiculously expensive for what it is. The latest CTL software still doesn't work with the 5D Mark III or the 1Dx and there is no date announced when the update will be available.
Based upon the state of Canon's movement into radio and the reasonable probability that Nikon will add radio in the next round of flashes, building on their excellent Creative Lighting System, where does this leave Pocket Wizard? Unless there are significant price drops and significant usability improvements, I fear that they are on a slope to irrelevance. Speedlite-ista Syl Arena has reached the same conclusion.
Bowens has ceased delivering PocketWizard receivers for their studio heads because of customer complaints that the Mini TT1 and Flex TT5 units when in transmitter mode won't fire the heads creating customer dissatisfaction, and even with the very nice Plus III transceivers, there are less expensive solutions out there for the studio. Elinchrom's solution is far more elegant and robust.
I have gotten decent use out of my investment and as simple radio triggers for flash, they work consistently and well. So long as you don't care about zones, even the eTTL remote functionality works. But the zone controls are extremely flaky and I had lots of burned shots, despite reading the docs and watching the tutorial videos by Mark Wallace on YouTube. At no time did I experience accurate eTTL output control with the AC-3, completely inconsistent with my experience using Canon's infrared system and now their radio control system. If the internet is any indicator, I'm not alone, and Pocket Wizard's zone eTTL radio model is broken or at best unreliable. i will be keeping my stuff until I can replace all my infrared controlled flashes (a very expensive proposition) and will continue to use the Plus II and Plus III triggers with my studio flashes as they all have Pocket Wizard receivers installed already. What I won't be doing is spending any more money on anything from Pocket Wizard. I'm disappointed and don't see them as a viable solution for truly flexible eTTL flash configurations.
Will Canon release a 40MP iteration of the 1Dx? Canon increases the scope of the recall of the T4i/650D. Leica announces their financial results and remains stable despite economic downturn. M Monochrom cameras start arriving in Europe. Buyers of the M9 or M9-P in the US can get a $1,000 gift card with purchase. Instagram adds a mapping feature. Nikon wins the EISA awards with the D4 and D800 named Cameras of the Year. Sony unveils an amazing pro video camera, the NEX-EA50EH. Rumours of an A99 at Photokina. We close with a snapshot of my review of the Canon 40/2.8
There has been a lot of news around the first of the pancake lenses from Canon, mostly about the size, although I think it is more significant that it is the first of Canon's new STM build lenses that supports continuous autofocus for video, although at the time of this writing, only on the Rebel T4i (under it's various global names). Specifications
Thoughts
It is very slim, very lightweight and if you want a short wide angle on a full frame or nominal standard lens on a crop sensor, this fits the bill. You can literally drop it in a shirt pocket. Autofocus is quick, brightness is decent center to edge and it works like a standard lens. But like Chevy Chase in National Lampoon's Vacation upon arriving at WallyWorld, my first impression is "and so what?"
If you want a standard focal length lens, you can get Canon's plastic fantastic (body not elements) 50/1.8 for less than half the price. It's not STM, but the average DSLR owner has never used the video in his or her camera more than twice, so autofocus video is not exactly a killer must-have for most users. Filling a class on DSLR video is tough, it's easier to fill a class on flash, the interest in general just isn't there.
The maximum aperture of f/2.8 is fast enough for today's digital SLRs as most of them do a decent job at higher ISOs but if I was looking for low light performance, why not go with the cheaper and just as sharp 50/1.8? So it's not about low light...
40mm as a focal length on full frame is, well it's boring and on a crop sensor it's, yup boring here too. It closely approximates the magnification and general field of view of the human eye, and so is not all that dynamic in the viewfinder and will tend to encourage snapshots. That's not bad but you can get excellent snapshots from your camera phone.
At 4.6 ounces it sure is light. But wait a second, Canon's 50/1.8 weighs in at, yes you see it coming, 4.6 ounces.
So let's stop here for a second. The general DSLR shooter doesn't care about video, so the STM feature isn't really a benefit. It's slimmer than the 50/1.8 but weighs the same, so the only benefit is that the camera isn't deeper front to back. It's optically slower than the 50/1.8 by more than a full stop and more than twice the price and the focal length is not really a grabber although it is closer to 35mm than 50mm so better for street shots and casual family snaps. So far I'm not finding anything really compelling.
Processing Images
Yes the lens is sharp. It is a fixed focal length lens of a standard focal length with a relatively small maximum aperture. Making a lens like this sharp for the lens wizards at Canon is something that they can do in their sleep. If it wasn't sharp, that would be odd and seriously worrisome.
As at this writing, Lens Profiles do not exist for this lens for Lightroom. Opening the images in the superb DxO Optics Pro v7.5 doesn't reveal a profile for the 5D Mark III and the 40/2.8 as being available, so rather than mis-apply a poor preset, I left it alone.
As consequence when looking closely at the images at higher magnification, I detect some barrel distortion and even though this lens is not an ultra-wide, I find that the perspective exaggeration is excessive. The sample shot of Quyen is not cropped specifically to give you a sense of this. In other shots of goods on shelves, I could detect bending of straight lines, albeit only if they were at the tight edge of the frame. If you were shooting this lens on a crop sensor, I suspect that the smaller image circle would eliminate this from view.
Looking at the histograms and the photo in Lightroom 4.1 and in DxO Optics Pro 7.5 the images are decent. I shot them on a 5D Mark III that I borrowed off the store shelf, and the focus and exposure were done in automatic modes as that is how this lens will often be used. I did make an image using bracketing and constructed an HDR as well. All images will benefit from basic post processing and those from this lens / camera combination are no different.
I've included some of the sample images herein. They are admittedly boring as I had limited time to make the shots and could not travel far. The outdoor shots of the motorcycle and the car were at ISO 100 while the indoor shot of my friend Quyen was at ISO 6400 and some noise is therefore visible.
Conclusion
Despite lots of hype about the lens and all the effusive enthusiasm from other reviewers, while it works well and is sharp as expected, I have to ask why you would pay more than double the price of a 50/1.8 for a smaller maximum aperture and exactly the same weight unless you need autofocus in video.
This is not a screed against portrait retouching. Whether you retouch portraits is entirely your business and to some extent, the business of the model. It is a screed against laziness while acknowledging truth in advertising.
Great retouching is an art. It takes a lot of time to be consistently good at the process and while the tools have become easier to use, technology, however good still is really only a type of brush for the artist. I am a decent retoucher on my best day, there are lots of people who have put in more time, built more skill and do a way better job. My frustration lies in the illusion perpetrated by an increasing number of software providers that their product will give you perfect portraits or make you an expert retoucher in minutes.
As Heinlein wrote a very long time ago, TANSTAFFL - there ain't no such thing as a free lunch. I admit that I have downloaded trials of some of these commercial packages and in every case, they are all very much like using a cannon to go after a rat. You will get the rat, but you will also leave at least one large smoking crater behind as well.
Take a close look at the images in the ads. To credit the vendors, the ads are accurate. Where real people have blemishes, pores, zits, bushy eyebrows, dry lips, yellow teeth, yellowed eye whites, facial hair, ear hair, nose hair and myriad other alleged sins of existence, the retouched photos have none of these things. Unfortunately they look like they've been retouched with driveway brush and bear little resemblance to the real person.
Every human is critical of how he or she looks in photographs to some extent and we all have some foible, however minuscule that we believe shouts from the rooftops, that we would prefer was never seen nor heard from ever again. A great retoucher can make the adjustments to manage these things without making the model look like a reject from Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum.
Our cameras and lenses are very good, and as a Hasselblad shooter, I have had models cringe when they see the RAW proofs because the camera does actually capture everything. Proper lighting will always help, but dependency on retouching software should never be a given. In a series of tests with multiple iterations of these "perfect" retouchers, the tool acts like a #4 trowel, hurling corrections measured in gallons when subtlety is all that is needed.
It's ok to remove minor flaws, it's not ok to make your model look inhuman or not like him or herself, UNLESS that's what you are being paid to do. If that's the outcome these global retouchers will save you tons of time because they are cannons to the rat. However, if you want to produce really exceptional portraits of people while not morphing the model into a mannequin, invest in yourself and learn to retouch with grace and subtlety. There are numerous resources available, one example being Scott Kelby's Light It, Shoot It, Retouch It book. It's not the only choice but if you are looking, it's an excellent place to build skills.
Support the Photo Video Guy by buying it here.
Announcements from Nikon including firmware for the J1 and V1, D600, Nikon Financiails, glitches in the Canon 40/2.8, review of the 24/2.8 IS, more rumours and the 7D firmware update is delivered. Pocket Wizard adds new firmware and a new transmitter, Fuji drops the X100, an M10 at Photokina and maybe an NEX-6. Trey Ratcliff releases his LR presets and a happy story about another Sandisk card.
When Canon announced the 600EX-RT, there was a lot of excitement about the transition 
from infrared remote control to radio based remote control. There was also a lot of consternation because most all reviews created the impression that there was no real backward compatibility if you had invested in the older remote technology.
Certainly Canon's focus today is on radio with a replacement for the 430EX II expected this fall to go with the 600EX-RT. There has been little to no discussion of any option other than radio control. Yet explained in the manual are the instructions to use a 600EX-RT as part of a larger infrared remote system.
The 600EX-RT can work as either a Master or a Slave in a Canon Creative Flash System structure. While radio is the default, optical services do work when you select them. You can select the optical options through the flash, although in my own testing, that mode was inconsistent in operation. When I tried to make the settings work using the 600EX-RT on a 5D Mk III and a 430 EX II as a slave, I was unable to have the ready light display and have the flash fire more than once. When I got home and tried this with the 600EX-RT on the 1Dx and a 580EX II as a slave. This time I tried using the External Speedlite control menu to configure the 600EX-RT for optical remote Master mode. It worked flawlessly and in my opinion making the settings on the camera rather than on the flash is faster and simpler than navigating Canon's menus.
As with any other decently powered hot shoe flash, don't even think about running the unit on alkaline batteries, unless you have direct access to a truck full of batteries. You'll be happiest when using rechargeables, and my recommendation is to use batteries of at minimum 2100ma current capability, 2700ma for preference. I also noted that the flash head is larger than the 580EX II so if you like keeping a Sto-Fen diffuser on the flash head as a matter of course, your old ones won't fit, you'll need to buy the new model.
If your Canon DSLR does not have a built-in flash, you could either use a Speedlite as the shoe mounted Master (with or without contributing flash power) or the ST-E2 optical controller. You can use the ST-E2 as a transmitter to the 600EX-RT if you configure the flash as an optical slave and set the correct groups and channels. So again you have some backward compatibility with the new flash. However if you go with Canon's new ST-E3 transmitter, forget about using it with anything other than a 600EX-RT as it is wireless radio only. Since the ST units are basically flashes without the flash head, limiting the ST-E3 to radio only at its very high price is disappointing, fortunately the 600EX-RT is not similarly crippled.
So if you've been disappointed by the disappearance of the 580EX II from shelves or been misinformed about the optical capabilities of the 600EX-RT, now you know. The initial higher prices on the 600EX-RT are beginning to level out and as at this writing they are selling for around $600 in Canada.
A new J2 from Nikon, Canon rumoured super megapixel and a replacement for the G12, maybe. Canon updates firmware on new series II super telephotos and a screenshot of the D600 LCD is leaked. Dan Chung shoots the Olympics using only an iPhone 4S and a pair of Canon binoculars. Khalil Karim's thoughts on the OM-D E-5 and my own review of Sony's RX100.
I've been shooting photographs for over 35 years and have tried all manner of cameras. From the days of film to today's digitals, I've enjoyed the practice of photography, be it with a 4x5, medium format, 35mm, full and crop sensor and micro four thirds. I've even owned point and shoots, although not many. I had a Canon G9 for years and nothing came along that would replace it, other than perhaps my iPhone. My point and shoot is my iPhone, but for the first time since the demise of the G9 that could change.
i arranged to borrow the Sony RX 100 following reading Steve Huff's review on his site. I respect Steve very much as his reviews are always balanced. That he's a Leica guy, just adds to the fun.
The RX 100 is Sony's newest point and shoot. Unlike most P&S cameras it has a 1" sensor, the same size as the Nikon 1 family. The lens is a fixed 3.6x zoom from Carl Zeiss. It's focal length is from 10.4mm to 37.1mm which maps to about 28mm - 100mm on a full frame. Max aperture starts at f/1.8 and drops to f/4.9 at maximum zoom. The first thing you notice about shots through the lens regardless of exposure mode is the image quality. I have Zeiss lenses for my M9 and they produce rich almost 3D images. The glass in the RX100 is similar to that. Very sharp and when shot wide open in the wide mode has a really nice bokeh. Normally, you cannot get shallow depth of field on a P&S, mostly because the sensors are so small. The 1" sensor coupled with the very fast maxumum aperture gives the kind of depth of field control you normally only find on a DSLR.
The sensor renders at about 20.2MP and you can shoot in RAW and/or JPEG mode. Note that the RAW format is very new so ACR and Lightroom don't have RAW converters yet. Sony makes software that they call Image Converter that can be downloaded at no cost. I use Macintosh computers and the software specifies support up to OS X 10.7. I did run it on OS X 10.8 and it worked most of the time, only crashing twice. Once Adobe and Apple get a converter done, you won't need the software and that's probably a good thing. For the sample images in this post, I used Image Converter to convert the RAW files to TIFF format before processing in Nik's Snapseed.
The JPEGs out of the camera (set to save RAW + Large JPEG) looked like JPEGs. You know, decent enough but with a lot of the detail gone. Using Apple's Preview to compare the TIFF and JPEG images, the difference is significant and visible.
In order to test the camera as a buyer might, I shot most of the photographs in automatic mode, using a variety of viewpoints and exposure situations. Overall the images were very good, with even backlit scenarios being corrected properly.
The autofocus is very fast, and works well in low light (with focus assist) and handles low contrast well. In addition to the Intelligent Auto mode, there is Superior Auto. It adds blur protection and noise reduction. It works very well indeed. The auto modes are complemented by the usual suspects of Program, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority and Manual. The lens has a ring around it that takes on different roles depending on the mode. For example, in Av, it allows you to control the aperture selection, in Tv it controls the shutter speed. Manual mode is particularly impressive. The lens ring controls the aperture, and the rear selector wheel controls the shutter speed. The camera provides direct exposure simulation as you modify the settings which is very usable. The LCD is extremely bright and incredibly sharp so using the LCD without a proper viewfinder is still very workable.
There is of course a movie mode at 60fps in either interlaced or progressive modes. Video is very good, although the light weight of the camera tends to introduce shake. Sony incorporates their Steady Shot technology and it does a decent job. A nice function is the ability to use AVCHD or MP4 as the storage modes.
Panoramas are very common in P&S cameras these days. Sony calls their implementation sweep mode and it is very easy to use, and works really well. It works in both horizontal and vertical shifts, so you can do panoramas in any orientation.
There are a number of of scenes in scene mode as you would expect. Sony has done a good job of covering the bases and added a few. Portrait, Landscape, Sports, Food, Macro, Sunset, and Night Scene are implemented. Sony adds Pet (apparently they've seen the endless cat images on the web), Handheld Twilight (reduces blur in low light), Night Portrait, Fireworks and High Sensitivity (basically ISO push). The auto modes will make smart decisions about which scene settings to use and is surprisingly accurate.
Minimum aperture is f/11 which gives great depth of field, similar to f/32 on a full frame. Shutter speed range is 1/2000 to 30s plus bulb mode. The camera has a drive mode which is selectable for single shot, burst (up to 10fps), Speed Priority Burst, 10s self timer, a Self Portrait Self timer, a 10s timer that takes three shots when it completes, a 3 shot bracket with +- 0.3 EV or 0.7 EV and a White Balance bracket mode with Low or High shift settings.
In addition to the expected Auto ISO, it is selectable between ISO 80 and ISO 6400. In Auto mode you can select the Maximum and Minimum ISOs that the camera can select.
The default metering mode is a multi pattern mode that handles diverse lighting situations very well. You can also choose from Center Weighted Average and Spot metering.
The Fn button is fully programmable, but in default mode cycles through selectors for Exposure Compensation, ISO, White Balance, Dynamic Range Optimizer and Picture Effect. Usability is high and the simulation capability shows what the shifts in exposure or white balance will look like. It's very simple and quite brilliant.
Images are stored on either Memory Sticks (boo hiss) or SDHC or SDXC cards (yea!). The card slot is beside the Lithium Ion battery. The battery is small and is rated for approximately 330 images on a charge. For a camera this capable, I would have preferred a larger capacity battery. A spare will be necessary for serious shooters. My tests were done with a 32GB Transcend card and it worked fine although it's not my first or second choice for production. You can pull the card to import photos or connect to your computer with the supplied micro USB cable. Unfortunately, you'll need this cable to connect to the supplied wall wart to charge the battery as there is no external charger. This is typical for Sony and is one of the major drawbacks of Sony products as you cannot be charging a battery while using the camera. It's dumb and Sony should get with the program.
From a physical perspective the camera is truly shirt pocket sized with the lens closed. The lens cover is integral so no parts to lose. Body construction is metal and feels really well built. In addition to the shutter release and mode dial on top is the power button and zoom rocker. On the back is the selector wheel / 4 way rocker and four other buttons, Fn, Help, Play and Menu. There is a dedicated recessed button to start and stop video. In addition to the covered USB port on the right side, the bottom plate gives access to the battery / memory card slot and a micro HDMI port. There is a tripod socket that is conspicuously made out of steel. 
There is of course a built in pop-up flash. Power specs are a bit optimistic but it does the job. As you'll see in the image, it looks like a Transformer arm when extended and I am worried about the durability. When I was first using the camera, the flash would try to deploy and be blocked by my left hand. That's acclimatization on my part. Closing the flash feels awkward and increases my concern about durability.
Overall, I am extremely impressed with this camera. It may end up being the camera that replaces the iPhone 4S as my point and shoot. The quality of the automatic modes, coupled with the rich overrides make it eminently usable. If only it had an optical viewfinder, it would be perfect.
Pros:
Great lens, terrific construction, excellent image quality
Cons:
Flash stalk seems fragile, no optical or eye level viewfinder
Highly Recommended
Here are some sample images shot with the camera and processed with Nik Snapseed from TIFF files created from RAW by Sony's Image Converter software.
As long as we all understand that this is an opinion piece we're gonna be just fine. 1. A reasonably current camera body. This means something under 5 years old. Older digital slrs still work fine but the tech has moved so far you'll be happier with the better metering and autofocus systems introduced in the last few years. If your battery is more than 3 yrs old, you should think about a replacement. The question of crop sensor or full frame depends on you. If you want ultra wide angles, full frame serves best but for long telephoto work on small subjects, the reduced image circle of the crop sensor really helps.
2. A wide angle to short telephoto zoom. Today's kit lenses are pretty good but there are better options. Something in a 24-70 or 24-105 for full frame or 18-85 on a crop sensor will work. You'll be happiest with a fixed maximum aperture, so look for something between f/2.8 or f/4.0. Slower than that and you give up shallow depth of field and will need to push your ISO to handhold in low light.
3. A telephoto zoom. I like the 70-200 range because you can get good to very good maximum apertures, again in the range between f/2.8 or f/4.0. Don't go for too much reach because you'll sacrifice lens speed and reasonable handholding ability. Look for a lens with a tripod collar. You'll thank me later.
4. A TTL flash. Yup, a flash before more glass. Make sure it works fully with your camera's flash management program and buy the most power you can afford. At some point, often the same day you'll be buying modifiers that improve the quality of light but eat up power. It must have a head that can bounce and swivel at least 90 degrees. Each camera manufacturer has their own unique flash interface. This tends to lead buyers to the manufacturer's own flashes. Not ad but premium price. There are third party flashes that compete effectively and they're often less expensive. Ive been using Metz Mecablitz products for over 30 years and recommend them highly.
5. A macro lens. Look at something in the 100mm range to give decent stand off distance, but still reasonable lens speed. f/2.8 is fast enough, for really small subjects, you'll be on a tripod anyway. For Nikons, you cannot beat their 105/2.8 macro. Canons are best served by the 100/2.8 L series macro. There is a non-L version as well that is still very good. These focal lengths are not only great for macro workout are stellar for portraiture. I don't recommend macros of shorter focal lengths because to achieve 1:1 life size ratios, you will be right up to the subject and this can give you trouble with lighting.
6. A tele converter attached to the telephoto zoom. These things used to really degrade he image quality but the vendor matching ones are excellent. I recommend the 2x as the best all round choice. For Canon get the series III versions as they are much better than their predecessors. Nikon's TC-200 is excellent.
7. Select accessories. This is one of those places where things can get really out of hand, so I'm going to try to keep things short. Or sort of short.
Gadget bag - zillions of choices, try to avoid building a collection. I'm a bad one to talk as I have many bags for different purposes. It's common to buy and sell bags as your use cases change. Great bags are available from LowePro, ThinkTank and Domke. Tripod - carbon fibre for preference with a ball head. A good tripod isn't cheap but a cheap tripod is a complete waste of your money. I recommend Manfrotto, Gitzo and ReallyRightStuff for legs and standardize on RRS ball heads. Filters. - Multicoated UV filters on each lens. Cheap filters ruin images. Also a polarizing filter if you do landscapes. I recommend B+W across the board. Heliopan are also superb, and the US manufactured Tiffen filters are typically very good. House brands are a prescription for failure. Flash diffuser - lots of options, the Gary Fong collapsible Lightdome is one option that works very well and is easy to use. Batteries - NiMH rechargeable batteries for the flash with a charger. Was elect batteries with output equal to or more than 2100ma. Lenspens - buy a few, they get lost easily. Memory cards - faster is better always and a well built card can survive a lot. A cheap card with the same specs as an expensive card is cutting corners somewhere, usually in the memory itself. That is the most important component since you have nothing without it. Avoid cards with less bandwidth than 60mb/s if you can and while it's good to have multiple cards, small cards are false economy. At the time of this writing, 16gb cards are the most cost effective buy. I've used Transcend in the past but have experienced slow bandwidth, high performance specs notwithstanding. So for now at least, I would stick with high performance Lexar or Sandisk cards. The Hoodman cards are the toughest on the market and use the best flash memory but are very pricey. You'll also want to process your images. Software often comes with the camera but it's most often limiting. Many computer operating systems include a basic photo editor such as the iPhoto application included with Apple's OS X. After trying many different tools I recommend Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. Lightroom runs on Windows and Macintosh, and not only edits, but has a superb cataloging system. Lightroom is an editor for photographers. You certainly do amazing things in Photoshop itself but PS is a designer's tool first whereas Lightroom is built for photographers. Adobe cut the price substantially with version 4 making the product much more accessible.
Once you've accumulated a kit something like this you are in pretty solid shape. There are always more things to get, such as off camera flash options, additional flashes, battery grips, non-slip straps, a second body and more lenses. We haven't talked about printing at all and won't here. I will close the post with thoughts on more glass
Beyond your wide angle lies the realm of the ultra wide. This space really demands a full frame sensor. Rectilinear wides keep lines straight but show plenty of perspective exaggeration. Fisheye lenses allow straight lines to bend. They look cool but are costly and have limited use in general. I personally select the 14mm rectilinear on a full frame as one of my favorite lenses.
If you need more reach you are into the realm of super telephotos. This is very expensive glass since its specialized demands also necessitate high lens speed with wider maximum apertures. Unless you are generating a lot of revenue, you may be better off renting. If you are going to shoot pro sports or do serious bird work, this range starts at 400mm with 600mm lenses being favoured. They cost like a decent used car though.
Tilt shift lenses allow you to manipulate the plane of focus, most often used to correct architectural images that are leaning or look like they are falling over. They're expensive and today's post processing software can do a lot of corrective work, formerly the province of tilt shift lenses. Some landscape photographers really like the tilt shift lens to control the scene. Well known and widely respected photographer Moose Peterson uses the tilt shift in this way.
There's a lot of noise about fast primes these days. Back when film ruled most SLR cameras came with a 50mm lens with maximum aperture of f/2.0 or slightly wider. Now vendors call these "portrait" lenses. This is true on a crop sensor because of the reduced image circle, but on a full frame it's a bit wide. If you really feel the need to get a fast prime, save your money until you can afford a lens with a maximum aperture of f/1.4. My favorite 50/1.4 is by Zeiss but it is really expensive and is manual focus only.
If someone tells you that photography is an inexpensive hobby, they may have a mental illness or a serious addiction to hallucinogens. It is an expensive hobby. It's also the only way I know to freeze time and tell a story in a single image. Gear is great but getting out and shooting is the most important thing.
DP Review has an in-depth review up on the D3200. Grudge match between D4 and 1Dx - really does this matter? Canon's 800/5.6 mounts up fine on EOS-M with EF adapter. Canon to release new tilt shift lenses in 2013, a 45mm and a 90mm. Is a new 100-400L lens coming? Price drops have started on 5D Mk III bodies in the US. More rumoured specs for the entry level full frame from Canon. Tokina is now shipping their 11-16/2.8 DX-II lens for Nikon. Leica has updated the firmware on the M9. Sony has announced a new XDCAM, the PMW-200 targeted at serious videographers. Sony has announced a new Alpha series 55-300 zoom. Petapixel review discovers that cheap crappy filters impact Image Quality. Steve Huff reviews the Sony RX100 and likes it so much he buys it.
Well yes I know that it's been rumoured for quite some time, and yes I know that Canon has been conspicuously absent from the whole mirrorless interchangeable lens format marketplace. Well, now they aren't. Mostly.
Mostly because while the camera, flash and a pair of lenses are announced they won't be available until October 2012, sort of classic Canon of late, announce today, deliver in the future.
So what is in this little monster?
First up is the 18MP APS-C sensor. If that sounds even vaguely familiar to you, it should since Canon has 18MP sensors in a few cameras already such as the Rebel T2i, Rebel T3i, Rebel T4i, 60D and 7D. Funny most all run ISO ranges of 100-12800. Not a bad thing, it's a proven sensor that produces good images until you push into the higher ISOs in low light. Processing is handled by Canon's current Digic 5 CPU.
Given that it is APS-C you can apply the usual multiplier of 1.6x to the focal length of lenses to get an approximate sense of what the field of view would compare to on a 35mm film camera. I know lots of people love to talk about this but I wonder when we will just get to the point of talking right to field of view and lose all this crop sensor nonsense.
That said, the prime lens is an EF-M 22mm f/2.0 That is a new lens mount although an EF / EF-S adapter was announced today as well. The field of view will be like a 35mm lens in the old world, very popular for family shots, groups and street shooting, wide without excessive perspective exaggeration.
It looks like there will be a kit zoom as well, an 18-55/3.5-5.6 image stabilized STM lens. Canon recently announced STM lenses with the T4i with the benefit of continuous autofocus in video and smooth and quiet operation. This compares consistently with the 18-55 range found in most DSLR kits and in the Sony NEX line.
Shutter speed range is from 30 seconds to 1/4000 of a second and the E-TTL accessory flash syncs at 1/200. There is no built-in flash in the camera so no stalks to break or transformer like arms to shear off. The body is similar in size to its brethren, most closely resembling the Sony NEX-5n in size. It has a 1M dot LCD viewscreen and no optical viewfinder (BOO HISS), nor any visible connector for an accessory EVF (BOO squared).
The camera uses SD, SDHC and SDXC cards and while it has no built-in wireless, you could always go with one of those Eye-Fi cards if you need wireless connectivity. With that fast processor, don't cheat yourself by stuffing your old cheap-ass SD card in this puppy. Get something that will do at least 60MB/s continuous read and write.
The camera, wait for it, does HD video. Enormous surprise. All the usual video suspects are present. The STM lenses will help a bit but the presence of "stereo microphones" on the top of the camera are unlikely to give the Dolby folks anything to worry about.
Like other cameras of its ilk, the EOS M has a number of enhancing technologies including noise reduction (it takes four shots and uses the best parts for the composite), handheld night scene mode, HDR backlight control mode, intelligent auto and seven creative filters. So far no one has put in a creative filter called Instagram and called that one over.
The announced flash is the Speedlite 90EX. It's small and pocketable with a Guide Number of 9m at ISO 100 so it's not going to reach great distances but will get the job done. Canon was smart and used their standard shoe configuration so this flash will work on any Canon camera and other Canon E-TTL II flashes will work on the EOS-M.
The camera seems bereft of knobs and dials and this is due to it being driven by a 3" LCD touchscreen. It is said to be smudge resistant. Time will tell how well that works out. The demographic of buyers will include those who live and breathe touchscreens and those who like real tactile response. Since there is no optical viewfinder and no EVF add-on the likelihood of it turning into a nose-operated device is minimized. Personally I'd happily give up touchscreen for an optical viewfinder. Canon is not known for easy to use menu systems so I hope this is better than the touchscreen layout on the current crop of point and shoot cameras they have.
Canon Canada is listing the lenses as individual skus, along with the EF/EF-S lens adapter and the flash. As of this writing they are only showing the camera in kit form with the 18-55 and the flash all in one package, which if one were so inclined makes a lot of sense. Vistek is listing two kits, one with the 22mm and flash and one (in black, red or white) with the 18-55 and flash. Pricing is $829 and $879 respectively. Note that these are preorders as the product is not expected until October. Henry's website listed the lenses and the flash but the search did not turn up the body yet.
Will it sell? Of course it will. It says Canon on the front and the hype around it has been incredible. Nikon didn't exactly knock the doors down with the Nikon 1 and despite customer satisfaction issues with the J1, since the price correction was applied they sell pretty well. The Canon has a standard sensor which will give a higher probability of excellent images and Canon is well-respected in the point and shoot game so this is a natural step up for the P&S shooter who wants simple and quality. And everyone will get to wait until October, unless the camera gets 1Dx syndrome and that becomes next June.
Nikon has a fix for the D800 focus issue and announces an 800/5.6 Rumoured specs for the Canon EOS M, another full frame, news on the CP900 and an alleged new 50mm. Rob Galbraith shutters Digital Photo Insights, Tamron patents new lenses, Sony debuts the RX100 and Lumix the LX-7 and Sigma announces pricing on the 180/3.5 macro. Lexar says that they will do XQD cards. Nik updates HDR Efex Pro to v2, Bowens has new video lights and ASMP releases an awesome model release app. More news segments and a slam at PDN's PIX.
The site of The Photo Video Guy featuring articles, reviews, tutorials and a podcast for your enjoyment and skills development.
If you get value from here, please support the channel on Patreon. Once there, click Membership
Looking for something in particular? Search all the posts for the content you are seeking!
Have a question on photography or video? Click this link to send us your question.
Subscribe to our articles via RSS by clicking the link below.
Subscribe to the Make Better Photos and Video Podcast via RSS by clicking this link
Regular readers know that I am a big fan of Really Right Stuff products. Their customer service is superb. If you choose to purchase from them at their site, please let them know that I referred you.
The Photo Video Guy is the creation of Ross Chevalier. Please feel free to link to your site, but please don't lift content without attribution.
