Canon 40D Review

Roland Lim has posted one of the first reviews of a Canon 40D, purchased in Hong Kong. It’s an excellent review and he provides sample images, with direct comparisons to the 20D.

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Technorati Tags: 40D, EOS, Review

Canon 40D and IDS MK III Announced

The wraps came off today for 2 brand new digital SLR offerings from Canon. DPReview has excellent previews of both cameras:

Canon 40D
EOS IDs Mark II

Canon also unveiled 3 new lenses, an EF 14 mm F2.8 L II USM and EF-S 18-55 mm IS and 55-250 mm IS

1DS MK III Specs Revealed

• 21.1-megapixel full-frame CMOS sensor
• Large 3.0-inch LCD display with Live View and seven brightness settings
• 5 fps at shutter speeds 1/500 second or faster (for bursts of up to 45 Large/Fine JPEGs or 15 RAW images)
• sRAW mode; 35-zone metering system; 45-point AF; integrated Self-Cleaning Sensor Unit
• Powered by LP-E4 lithium-ion battery pack; stores images on CF, SD, or some SDHC memory cards

The new 21.1-megapixel, full-frame Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III digital SLR camera brings the power of Canon’s professional imaging excellence and innovation into sharper focus than ever before. While Canon’s EOS-1D series has dominated the 35mm-based professional Digital SLR market for the past six years, the new EOS-1Ds Mark III digital SLR takes Canon’s pro-digital prowess into and the realm of high-fashion and commercial photo studios where bulkier, medium-format cameras previously reigned.

The Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III’s compact, lighter-weight magnesium alloy body is rugged and versatile enough to take out of the studio and into the field. The camera’s fast, five-frame-per-second (fps) shooting rate for bursts of up to 56 Large/Fine (21-megapixel) JPEGS or 12 RAW images is unmatched in its class, making it the ideal instrument for capturing the fluid motion and free-flowing lines of location-based fashion photography as well as a wide range of other professional photographic applications.

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Canon 40D Specs Revealed

Here are some of the specs on the new Canon 40D to be announced very soon by Canon:

Product Features

• 10.1-megapixel CMOS sensor captures enough detail for photo-quality poster-size prints
• Large 3.0-inch LCD display with enhanced Live View and broadened color gamut
• 6.5 frame-per-second continuous shooting capability (for bursts of up to 75 Large/Fine JPEGs or 17 RAW images)
• sRAW mode; 35-zone metering system; integrated Self-Cleaning Sensor Unit
• Powered by BP-511A, BP-511, or BP-512 lithium-ion battery pack; stores images on CF cards

Technical Details

• Resolution: Approximately 10.1 million effective pixels (total pixels: approximately 10.5 million) Recording pixels: 3888 x 2592
• Sensor type: CMOS sensor, with primary R-G-B filtration
• Sensor size: 22.2 x 14.8 millimeters
• Pixel size: 5.7 microns square
• Lens focal length factor: 1.6x
• Sensor dust removal: EOS Integrated Cleaning System; active removal of dust by vibrating front low-pass filter; automatic removal of dust spots, in Canon Digital Photo Professional software (v. 3.1 or higher)
• Maximum frames per second: 6.5 frames per second (fps) at full resolution
• Maximum number of frames / burst: JPEG: 75; RAW: 17
• Shutter speeds: 30 seconds to 1/8000, plus Bulb (1/3 or 1/2-step increments)
• Flash sync speed: Up to 1/250, with EX-series Speedlites
• Anticipated shutter durability: 100,000 exposures, based on Canon test methods
• Computer interface: USB 2.0 (Hi-speed)
• Image recording storage media: CompactFlash (CF) cards (type I or II, including Microdrives)
• Card compatibility: “FAT32″ compatible–OK for cards over 2GB
• Image format options: JPEG (choice of “Fine” or “Normal” compression); RAW (Canon .CR2 RAW file format); RAW + JPEG (any JPEG file size available; JPEG file written as separate file)
• Analog to digital conversion: 14 bits per channel (16,382 separate tones from brightest to darkest, for each channel)
• Resolution options: “Large”–3888 x 2592 (approximately 10.1 million pixels); “Medium”–2816 x 1880 (approximately 5.3 million pixels); “Small”–1936 x 1288 (approximately 2.5 million pixels)
• File numbering: sRGB color space: IMG_0001.JPG or IMG_0001.CR2; Adobe 1998 RGB color space
• Folders: Automatically created for image storage; new folder can be user-created with “Manual Reset” function; folders cannot be freely selected on memory card by the photographer
• Highlight tone priority: Expands tonal range of bright highlights by about one stop; ISO range limited to 200 to 1600; activated by C.Fn II-3-1
• Data verification: “Original Image Data” can be appended to each image via Custom Function IV-6-1; requires optional Canon Original Data Security Kit OSK-E3 to check authenticity
• Live View viewing options: Camera’s LCD monitor; computer monitor, via USB; computer monitor, via wireless transmitter WFT-E3A
• Manual focus: Viewed on LCD monitor, with option to magnify focus area 5x or 10x
• Autofocus: Possible–C.Fn III-6-1 active, press AF On button; mirror drops down temporarily while AF On button is pressed, allowing AF to function
• Silent mode Live View shoot: Mode 1: First shutter curtain remains open; shooting up to 6.5 fps possible; Mode 2: Quieter option; 2nd shutter curtain doesn’t close until user’s finger is taken off shutter button
• Accessory wireless transmitter: Canon WFT-E3A (optional, dedicated wireless transmitter)
• Attachment to camera: Attaches to base of camera; totally integrated with EOS 40D’s design
• Wireless transfer methods: 802.11b or 802.11g; link speed: approximately 11 megabits/second (802.11b) or 54 megabits/second (802.11g)
• Connection method: Infrastructure or Ad Hoc (802.11g functions in Ad Hoc mode)
• Maximum wireless distance: Approximately 490 feet (150 meters), if “receiver” has its own antenna (depends on environment)
• Wireless channels: 11 (in North American market)
• Ethernet (wired) transfer: Yes; Ethernet 100Base-TX (maximum distance approximately 1,000 feet); link speed: approximately 100 megabits/second
• Transfer options: 1. FTP mode (images sent to folder on host computer); 2. PTP mode (remote control of camera possible from computer); 3. HTTP mode (view camera’s files using web browser; remote firing of camera possible)
• Security options: Encryption: WEP or TKIP/AES; authentication: open system, WPA-PSK, or WPA2-PSK
• USB “host” capability: Plug compatible USB devices into WFT-E2A, for use with the EOS 40D; GPS devices (write GPS time, coordinates, and altitude info into each file’s EXIF info); external hard drive (connect compact external USB hard drive, and write files directly from camera to the hard drive as if it’s an additional memory card)
• LCD monitor: 3.0-inch (diagonal) TFT color; approximately 100% coverage; approximately 230,000 pixels on monitor; approximately 140 degrees viewing angle
• LCD monitor brightness: Adjustable in 7 levels (via Menu)
• Video-out: Yes (to standard TV monitor); NTSC or PAL, selectable on Menu
• Number of AF points: Nine, all cross-type AF points
• Center AF point: Unique hybrid cross-type AF point; world’s first high-precision AF point with both horizontal and vertical high-precision; additional standard precision, cross-type sensors for lenses from f2.8 to f5.6

EOS 1D MKIII Preview

Luminous Landscape had the chance to preview Canon’s new EOS 1D MKIII and was exceedinly impressed, calling it an almost perfect 10! Particularly impressive was the low-light sensitivity and lack of noise even up to 6400 ISO! Read more.

Technorati Tags: 1D MKIII, EOS

EOS 30D Firmware Update

EOS 30D Firmware Update Ver 1.0.5 is now available from Canon. This firmware update incorporates the following additional functions and
corrections.:

1. When making camera-direct prints, a semi-gloss paper can be newly selected in the camera settings.
2. Corrected the phenomenon wherein the displayed number of continuous shots that can be taken increases when images that have been taken are deleted.

This firmware update applies to cameras with firmware versions up to 1.0.4 installed. If your camera’s firmware is already version 1.0.5, it is not necessary to perform this update.

Technorati Tags: 30D, Firmware Update

Canon National Park Photo Contest: Vote for Your Favorite Photos!

Cast your vote between November 1 and November 7 for the best photos in the Canon National Park Photo Contest. The categories are Wildlife and Landscape. Winners will be announced November 21, 2006!.

Technorati Tags: Photo Contest

5D Voted as Having Best Skin Tones

Portrait and wedding shooters take note! ShootSmarter.com recently did a comparison of several top DSLRs to determine which one delivered the best (pleasing, natural, etc.) skin tones. The Canon 5D emerged as the winner. Read about the Skin Tone Comparison report here.

Technorati Tags: 5D, Skin Tone

Canon Shares Soar to New Record

Thanks to rising sales and a rosy outlook for the future, Canon stock jumped 5.1 percent today. The shares have gained 43 percent this year, making the company Japan’s second- biggest manufacturer by market value after Toyota Motor Corp.

Canon today said it may ship more than its targeted 23 million digital cameras in 2008, even more than the previously expected 26 million units. Read more…

Rebel XTi Reviews

PopPhoto has a Hands On Report about the new Rebel XTi and Camera Labs has a more complete Full Report.

Technorati Tags: EOS 400D, Rebel XTi