Canon News

Item 1: The big news is that Canon has finally jumped into the mirrorless, interchangeable lens camera market with the EOS M. The EOS M features an 18 MP APS-C sensor with full HD video capabilities and will ship in a kit in October with the EOS M 22mm f/2 STM lens for around $799.95. If you remember from an earlier post, Canon's new STM lenses offer full-time, noiseless autofocus even during video recording. The EOS M will be offered in four colors: black, white, silver, and red. It's not clear exactly how big or small the camera is, but if the lens mount is any clue, it should be around the size of comparable cameras like the Panasonic GX-1, or maybe just a touch smaller. The new lens mount is significantly smaller than the standard Canon EF and EF-S lens mounts and Canon will start out with 2 lenses for the EOS M: the 22mm f/2 (which is equivelent to a 35mm lens) and an 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM. Canon will also have a lens mount adapter so you can use their regular line of EF and EF-S lenses.

I think the price is right and if the size is right, this could be an excellent camera for a lot of photographers. It could definitely function as a back-up to a bigger system, or as a pocket-sized alternative to a bigger system. Canon is kind of late to the party with this camera, so it's hard to predict how people will respond to it. I know that I am looking forward to seeing it in person and seeing how it shoots. Color me interested.

Update: After looking at a few promo videos of the new EOS M, it looks like it is being aimed at the casual or amateur photographer. It has a touch screen that is used for most operations on the camera. There are very few physical buttons and controls on the camera. While this will appeal to a lot of potential buyers, and there is nothing wrong with this, it will be a definite turn-off for most serious photographers. Having to go through touch-screen menus to choose an aperture will limit the use and appeal of this one for pros. Plus, at least for now, there is no option for an in-camera viewfinder. I wish Canon had debuted a model with more pro-features than this one. Kind of a bone-headed move, if you ask me. Color me not so interested, now.

     

Shot with the EOS M with the 22mm f/2 STM lens.

Item 2: Ilford and Canon are teaming up to offer folks a chance to have one of their images printed on Ilford Galerie Prestige papers (Smooth Gloss 310 gsm and Smooth Pearl 310 gsm) using 3 different Canon printers: the Pixma PRO-1, the Pixma Pro9500 Mark II, and the Pixma Pro9000 Mark II. If you are interested in seeing how Canon printers perform, this is a great opportunity. For myself, I am currently using the Canon Pixma Pro9500 Mark II and am quite happy with it. I know Epson has the majority of the inkjet market locked up, but you won't lose anything by printing with a Canon printer, that's for sure. To read the details and take advantage of the offer (it's good till September 30th), go to www.TryMyPhoto.com.

Item 3: This is more in the realm of rumor, but Canon is supposed to announce in the near future a new full-frame, entry-level camera. From what I've heard, it will be more like a full-frame Rebel than a 5D Mark III. It will be smaller, lighter, and use more plastic in the construction. The interesting part of the camera is that it is supposed to sell for around $2000. And suddenly the higher than expected price of the 5D Mark III starts to make sense. When the Mark III came out at $3500, people were surprised and dismayed. It seemed like too much of a jump in price from the Mark II for too little gain. But with the new camera coming out, having a full-frame camera that is nearly $1500 less than the Mark III almost guarantees that people will snatch these up in a heart beat. Having a smaller and lighter camera with the new 40mm pancake lens might be the perfect combo for street shooting and photojournalism. At this point, I'm not really sure how I feel about this. Of course, as I said, this is more of a rumor for now. We'll see what happens later.

Schneider Jumps into the Micro 4/3 Market

Jos. Schneider Optische Werke GmbH, based in Bad Kreuznach, Germany, has announced they will now be building lenses for the Micro 4/3 platform. The first one to come to market will be a Super Angulon 14mm f/2 wide angle lens. It will feature autofocus and auto aperture control, and will sell in the US for around $2000.00. Schneider Kreuznach is one of photography's oldest and most respected optical manufacturers and the fact that are building lenses to fit Panasonic and Olympus cameras is really interesting and encouraging for the format. That price puts it out of reach for most photographers, but I think it's a positive development overall. Interesting times, indeed.

Pacific Grove, part 2

Here are some black-and-white images from my trip to Pacific Grove, California.

photo by Hermon Joyner

photo by Hermon Joyner

photo by Hermon Joyner

photo by Hermon Joyner

photo by Hermon Joyner

Photos from Pacific Grove, part 1

A few weeks ago, my wife and I traveled to the LA area to see our daughter graduate from CalArts. On the way back, we stopped in Pacific Grove, which is on the Monterey Peninsula just south of the city of Monterey. The city and the coastline there are beautiful. I don't think I've ever been to a prettier place. So here are a few pics I made there. These are more snapshots than anything else. Today, I post the color images and tomorrow I'll put up some black-and-white images. Enjoy.

 photo by Hermon Joyner

 photo by Hermon Joyner

 photo by Hermon Joyner

 photo by Hermon Joyner

 photo by Hermon Joyner

New Tasty Canon Lens!

Canon has done something unexpected and announced a new lens. It's not that they don't bring out new lenses, they do that all the time, but this lens is something they've never done before; a pancake lens. The EF 40mm f/2.8 STM lens is very small--less than an inch long--and is designed for maximum portability. Perfect for street shooting, photojournalism, and casual snapshots. The "STM" designation refers to new Stepper Motors used for autofocus which allow for continuous and silent autofocus, even during video capture.

The EF 40mm f/2.8 STM has six elements in a modified classic planar formula of six elements/four groups and will focus down to 0.3 meters or around one foot, which is pretty close. It also includes one aspherical element. It will work on both full-frame cameras and APS-C models. Pancake lenses are called that because of their flat profile. I'm hoping that the introduction of this lens signals Canon intentions for stepping up their game. Right now, they are the biggest camera manufacturer in the world, but they are lagging behind companies like Sony and Panasonic in terms of innovative products. Maybe this is when they change their approach.

Also, Canon announced a new Rebel, the 4Ti, with features an 18 MP sensor, continuous AF during video shooting mode, and touch screen control.

Odds and Ends

 photo by Herb Ritts

I just spent ten days in and around LA, my daughter was graduating from CalArts, and I had the chance to check out the Herb Ritts: L.A. Style exhibition at the Getty Museum. Ritts was mostly known as a fashion and celebrity photographer that worked in LA from the 1970s until his death in 2002 from complications of AIDS. The Getty exhibit focuses on the three main areas of his photography, fashion, celebrities, and nudes. It's a fascinating overview of his career and features most of his well-known images. Seeing Ritts's work in person gave me a greater appreciation for his photography. These are wonderful black-and-white prints. His nudes covered much of the same ground as Robert Mapplethorpe did, but avoids the more extreme aspects of Mapplethorpe. But Ritts's photographs of women are truly beautiful and even transcendent. If you find yourself in LA, be sure to check it out. It's well worth it, especially if you haven't been to the Getty, which is one of the most beautiful museums in the country. It goes until August 26.

photo by Herb Ritts

Scarab Labs has introduced Scarab Darkrooms, a RAW converter for Windows-based computers. For now, this converter is free to download and you can do that here. If you are on a budget, this is a great deal. Many new cameras are included like the Canon 5D Mark III and the Sony NEX-7, but the Olympus OM-D EM-5 isn't supported for now. I'm sure this will be covered sooner or later. I downloaded the converter and messed around on it and it seems to work well. The fill function works well without adding halos, but it doesn't allow for black-and-white conversions, which I use a lot in Lightroom. Maybe this will change. I hope so.

A new website has been announced: The Most Talented People in the World. It features interviews with photographers, cinematographers, and writers, and actually interviews with a wide range of professionals. This website and blog looks at what it takes to succeed in life, school, art, and business, and acknowledges that knowing the history and tradition in any given field of study is just as important as knowing the latest tech involved in that area. The people featured on the site have interesting stories to tell. Check them out.

In the next week or two, I will post some of the photos I took down in LA. Stay tuned.

New Leica Camera

Well, actually there are a few new cameras that have been announced from Leica. There is the V-Lux40, a 20x compact digicam. The X2 with a 16 MP sensor and a 36mm equivalent f/2.8 lens that will sell for around $2000. The limited edition, deluxe M9-P Hermes, which is the regular M9-P, but with silver chrome finish and ocre-colored calfskin trim. It will come with matching 50mm lens and a matching calfskin strap for $25,000. There's also a three lens kit with a Hermes camera bag for $50,000, if you want to go all the way.

The "big" news is the M-Monochrom, a variant of the M9-P. As its name implies, the M-Monochrom will be a black-and-white only digital camera. Its 18 MP sensor will not capture any color info and because of that, it will have extended ISO settings up to 10,000 ISO, the regular M9-P only goes up to 2,500, and it will be capable of capturing substantially higher resolution. The M-Monochrom body will sell for a bit less than $8000.

So is this the ultimate black-and-white shooting machine? Maybe. Purists will likely applaud this move as it allows photographers to shoot as if they were using B&W film and use color filters like they used to do. But it's definitely a niche camera with limited appeal among most photographers. But then you could say that about most Leica cameras. And the price will keep it out of the hands of most photographers, as it is for most Leica products. As a long time B&W photographer, I've come to appreciate the flexibility of digital when it comes to creating B&W images, like being able to individually adjust the tonal response of colors within a scene, similar to how colored filters change tonal relationships in B&W film, but being able to manipulate several different colors at once. You could never do that with film and I like that ability. Anyway, kudos to Leica for going their own way and not being afraid to try something different, even if it is a bit old fashioned.