Currently browsing the "canon" tag.

Comparing the 7D and 60D in detail

The arrival of the Canon EOS 60D set a lot of hearts a-fluttering, but the question a lot of people have been asking is: should I get the 60D, or a slightly older but no less respectable 7D?

Hmm. Tricky decision.

Dan Carr has written up a very helpful post comparing the two cameras – not just in terms of their specs (although it’s nice to see a side-by-side comparison table of which boasts what), but also how those specs are likely to affect real-world shooting circumstances.

So: the articulated screen on the 60D is a nice addition for video shooters; but the 7D’s superior dual DIGIC 4 processor means more frames per second. The 60D allows manual control of audio input, something that’s beyond the 7D; but the latter supports lens-by-lens autofocus calibration.

Ultimately, Carr gives the 60D the edge if all you’re doing is shooting video. But there are buts. If you want to be able to shoot in very low light or bad weather, the 7D’s probably better. The 7D is also a more versatile camera for video and stills together.

Hmm. Actually, after all that, the choice still doesn’t seem much clearer…

DVInfo Has First Look at Canon UHD Camera

Today Canon unveiled their prototype Ultra High Definition camera that uses the recently announced for sometime in the future, 120 megapixel chip. I don’t usually get too worked up about “future” prototypes but it’s cool to see that Canon is paying attention and working towards what the market wants. This imaginary UHD category is really heating up between RED and Canon. Who’s next with concept cars cameras that won’t be available for a long time and will probably have totally different specs when they do get released? Read all about it on DVInfo.net.

Canon EOS 60D Reaction Round-Up

So Canon has a new baby, as Michael reported earlier. What’s the reaction been like so far?

Charlie Sorrel at Wired News isn’t very impressed:

“Those looking to upgrade from their 50D should look elsewhere, perhaps to the 7D, as this new camera is more for consumers than enthusiastic amateurs. The magnesium body of the 50D is now plastic, and the 60D uses SD-cards instead of Compact Flash. It also gets a slew of gimmicky image processing features … and the obligatory video capabilities. In fact, video seems to be what this camera was made for … It’s almost like the Canon engineers just picked through a shelf of existing parts and snapped them together like Lego, producing what seems like a pretty sweet-looking camera.”

I rather think a little more work went into it than that, but anyway.

DPReview’s Simon Joinson and Richard Butler have a more considered take on the new model, describing it thus:

Canon 60D HDSLR with Articulating LCD Screen on Engadget

Engadget is running a story with a “leaked” photo of the Canon 60D with articulating LCD screen. They aren’t sure if it’s real or a Photoshop job but it makes sense that Canon would add a moveable screen.

The image above is bruited to be the 60D we’ve all been waiting for, and while it’s usually easy to brush these off as possible fan renders (or worse, Photoshops), that display hinge looks mighty legitimate.

You can get by with a little help from your friends

Sasquatch or Bust from timmatsui.com on Vimeo.

This delightful video tells the story of Liverpudlian Spike Kane, a music obsessive who learned to love being right at the front of every gig he went to – until a cycling accident left him paralysed from the waist down, and confined to a wheelchair.

The film tells how Spike’s friends have got together and helped him; how they clubbed together to buy him a laptop; and how they worked together to take him to the Sasquatch music festival near Seattle. Heart-warming stuff.

Filmmaker Tim Matsui met Spike at the festival and got chatting. He shot some footage on the Canon Powershot G10 that he’d taken with him, but soon realised there was a story to be told here – so he asked Spike if he’d be willing to share it.

The main interview footage was shot on a Canon 5D Mark II, and the whole thing edited together using Final Cut Pro on a MacBook Pro. And nicely done it is, too.

Canon Wonder Camera concept uses video to take photos | Electronista

I don’t think that this future is going to take 20 years (Canon’s estimate) – I think we’re a lot closer than that…

Canon Wonder Camera concept uses video to take photos Canon Wonder would have instant focus, huge zoom

Canon at the Shanghai World Expo has shown a rare camera concept that outlines its plans for the future. Only called the Wonder Camera so far, it would completely drop the notion of separating stills and video. An extremely high-speed focus would always keep the shot in focus and, along with large amounts of storage, would provide static images simply by picking one of the video frames.

The device would also have a very high (though unspecified) resolution that photographers could crop without losing practical levels of detail. Canon also believes it could deliver a camera with fast wireless networking, face detection that could cover many more subjects, and super telephoto ranges even with a fixed-lens camera. Image stabilization could be strong enough to handle shots at the far end of the zoom range.

Canon ostensibly claims that the Wonder Camera is a preview of what the company could do 20 years into the future, though it’s already believed that much of the technology could be implemented much sooner, at least in DSLRs.

[From Canon Wonder Camera concept uses video to take photos | Electronista]

Freeze Frame – Award Winning Canon Spot

I was catching up with the FStoppers blog, which features behind the scenes videos from photo shoots, and came across this award winning ad from Canon.

2010 EMMY Winner —-2010 CLIO Winnner —- 2010 Gold Addy Winner —-2010 YDA Winner.An all out game of war using Canon cameras. CANON Cameras were handed out to various people and many of their shots made it in the commercial.

Check out the bhs video with some nice editing including side by side bhs with clip footage and then a dark and cool music video from the same director.

PhotoCine News Exclusive: The Redrock Guncam

I was over at Redrock Micro HQ today picking up some cool stuff for PhotoCineNews NAB coverage and Brian showed me this video they made. It totally rocks! They used existing Redrock Micro parts to create a guncam. Check it out.

guncam from Redrock Micro on Vimeo.

House season finale shot on Canon 5D

If our recent interview with a Canon 7D enthusiast wasn’t enough to spark your interest in filmmaking with DSLRs, perhaps this post will make you look at your 5D in more favorable light.

Greg Yaitanes is the series director for season six of the award-winning TV drama House, which I probably don’t need to tell you stars Englishman Hugh Laurie as curmudgeonly physician Gregory House, healing the sick with sarcasm and withering stares.

Just a few hours ago, Yaitanes let slip on Twitter that the season six finale was shot entirely on a Canon 5D. This is prime-time, high ratings network television. On a 5D.

I would offer to interview the man, but he’s busy. And anyway, Twitter has already done it for me.

Asked which lenses did you use?, the reply was: All Canon zooms and primes. The 70-200 was a go to. That said, other lenses like the 35 and 85 and the 24-70 were useful too.

This was the first time Yaitanes had used a 5D for House, but he’s not sure if it will be the last. Nevertheless, it seems he enjoyed the experience.

The 5D House will be broadcast on May 17th. Expect slightly inflated viewing figures, to take account of all the filmmaking photographers tuning into House for the first time ever, just to see the cinematography.

Can VDSLR’s be far behind? – Canon pro [HD video] cams record 4:2:2 1080p to flash | Electronista

If Canon can get HD video out to CF cards at ProRes 4:2:2 for their video cameras can the same feature really be far behind for a VDSLR? I don’t see this as a firmware upgrade but I suspect that the 1DS or the 5D3 might do something similar. Now if Canon would just put the 7D sensor into their video cameras we could all go home!

Canon’s turn at NAB launches was headlined today by two pro-grade camcorders. The XF300 and XF305 both use Canon’s XF Codec to capture 50Mbps, 4:2:2 1080p video and store it directly on dual CompactFlash cards. The output gives it twice as much color resolution compared to regular HDV and should also be a widespread standard with Apple’s Final Cut Studio, Adobe Premiere, Avid and other editing suites.

[From Canon pro cams record 4:2:2 1080p to flash | Electronista]

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