Canon says they are working on a new kind of Lens Technology

In an interview with Focus Numerique Canon teased something special: They are working on a very new Lens Technology that will bring some real new added value. They didn’t disclose anything further.

Ee have to see if that’s just a marketing statement for something that will turn out to be nothing special or if it’s a real deal. I am guessing now: Maybe they will launch the first Liquid Lens for DSLR? Those kind of lenses uses liquids instead of glass and would allow to have super fast AF and Zoom and much more compact lens designs.

Canon Celebrates its 14th Consecutive Year of No. 1 Marketshare in Global Interchangeable-Lens Digital Cameras

No matter how much Buzz Sony and Fuji created the past years. The King still has not be de throned. Canon announced that it is celebrating its 14th consecutive year as Number 1. And I don’t see how this will chnage the next couple of years. Or maybe I am wrong?

Press text:

Canon Celebrates its 14th Consecutive Year of No. 1 Marketshare in Global Interchangeable-Lens Digital Cameras

MELVILLE, N.Y., March 29, 2017 – Canon U.S.A. Inc., a leader in digital imaging solutions, announced today that its parent company, Canon Inc., announced that the Company’s interchangeable-lens digital cameras have maintained the No. 1 share of the global market for 14 consecutive years from 2003 to 20161.

Canon Inc., which develops the key components featured in its interchangeable-lens cameras—CMOS image sensors, image processors and interchangeable lenses — employs these cutting-edge technologies across its entire product lineup, from entry-level models that achieve high-image quality with easy operation to professional-use flagship cameras, effectively responding to the needs of a wide range of users.

In 2003, the dawn of digital SLR cameras, Canon introduced its breakthrough EOS Digital Rebel. This groundbreaking camera, which was competitively priced and featured a compact, lightweight design, captured the top share of the global market and set the stage for growth in the digital SLR market. Since that time, Canon has continued to launch a range of epoch-making products, including the professional-model EOS-1D series and the EOS 5D series which paved the way for digital SLR video recording.

During 2016, Canon introduced an impressive lineup of interchangeable-lens camera products that supported the Company’s achievement of a 14th consecutive year at the top of the global market. In March, the Company released the EOS 80D for advanced-amateur users, which features excellent still image quality and superb operability when shooting video. Then in April, the Company released its flagship model, the EOS-1D X Mark II, ideal for sport photography thanks to its 14 frame-per-second continuous shooting capability. The EOS 5D Mark IV, capable of 4K video, was then released in September. Additionally, the Company’s interchangeable-lens camera lineup expanded with the introduction of the high-end EOS M5 compact-system camera in November.

Canon will continue to respond to the needs of its wide range of customers by further bolstering its lineup in 2017. Already this year, the Company launched three new interchangeable-lens cameras equipped with the highly accurate autofocus technology, Dual Pixel CMOS AF – the EOS M6 compact-system camera, the EOS 77D and EOS Rebel T7i.

About Canon U.S.A., Inc.

Canon U.S.A., Inc., is a leading provider of consumer, business-to-business, and industrial digital imaging solutions to the United States and to Latin America and the Caribbean markets. With approximately $29 billion in global revenue, its parent company, Canon Inc. (NYSE:CAJ), ranks third overall in U.S. patents granted in 2016.† Canon U.S.A. is committed to the highest level of customer satisfaction and loyalty, providing 100 percent U.S.-based consumer service and support for all of the products it distributes in the United States. Canon U.S.A. is dedicated to its Kyosei philosophy of social and environmental responsibility. In 2014, the Canon Americas Headquarters secured LEED® Gold certification, a recognition for the design, construction, operations and maintenance of high-performance green buildings. To keep apprised of the latest news from Canon U.S.A., sign up for the Company’s RSS news feed by visiting www.usa.canon.com/rss and follow us on Twitter @CanonUSA. For media inquiries, please contact pr@cusa.canon.com.

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†Based on weekly patent counts issued by United States Patent and Trademark Office.

1Based on a Canon survey

Leica announces the new Thalia Cine Lens Line

Cine Guys should take out their credit card to be ready to spend a LOT of money on these new Leica Cine lenses. They are designed to cover large image circle that covers sensors up to the ARRI ALEXA 65, but can be used to create equally stunning images on VistaVision and Super 35 sensors and film stocks as well.

Those are PL mount lenses and price and shipment date has yet to be unveiled. You can download the brochures here:

 

via cw-sonderoptic.com/leica-thalia/

 

 

Surprise! Ming Thein is the new Chief of Strategy for Hasselblad

On His Blog Ming Thein just wrote that “I’ve been appointed the new Chief of Strategy for Hasselblad“. So a real photographer and well-known blogger is now going to decide the company strategy. This will be interesting! Ming writes:

My role is a very broad-based one: ostensibly, it’s about ensuring the correct customer experience that’s in line with the brand and the kind of expectations one has when spending several orders of magnitude on anything past ‘sufficient’. Where can we innovate with product offerings, and how do we create emotional design that’s both functional and just downright beautiful? Yes: this means I will in my new role have some influence over the product roadmap, and no, I obviously can’t say what’s coming up or comment on rumors. But sufficient to say that we will have something very, very interesting coming later this year.

I wish Ming Thein and Hasselblad Good Luck!

Sony will sell their best sensors to Nikon and other companies….

Last week Sony interview at Imaging Resources lead to think that Sony would not sell their best sensors to Nikon, Fuji, Olympus, Panasonic and other companies. In an updated statement the editor from Imaging Resource stressed to say that this is a misinterpretation and that:

If Sony were to somehow dial back specs in the sensors they offer competing camera manufacturers, other sensor makers would rapidly step in to fill that gap.

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Nice! Free Lightroom plugin shows which focus point was active when the picture was taken

On Github you can find a free open source plugin for Lightroom (on Mac) that shows which focus point was active when the picture was taken. It currently works on MAC only and supports those cameras:

  • Fuji cameras
    • all recent X bodies (X-T2, X-T1, X-T10, X-Pro2, X-Pro1, X-A3, X-A2, X-A1, X-A10, X-E2S, X-E2, X-E1, X100T, X30, X70, etc)
  • Olympus cameras
    • (Should work on recent E-* bodies)
  • Panasonic cameras

Currently, 5 types of AF-points will be displayed :

  • AF selected in focus The AF-Point is selected and in focus
  • AF selected The AF-Point is selected
  • AF in focus The AF-Point is in focus
  • AF selected in focus The AF-Point is inactive
  • AF selected in focus A face was detected by the camera at this position