Digital SLR Blog

Park Cameras have announced a dedicated event for professional photographers to showcase the Canon ‘Digital Solution’. The event will run on May 28th and will include seminars on the Canon EOS system by established names in the industry. Canon’s Steve Boness will also attend the event and he will showcase the Canon’s ‘Digital Workflow. You can email the organizers at sales@parkcameras.com to book a place.

Canon US has announced a new rebate programme onselect Canon lenses and accessories, as well as instant rebates on Canon EOS 50D and Rebel XSi Digital SLR cameras. The offer is valid from May3rd to July 11th 2009. Details are below.

To read DCI’s in-depth review of the Canon EOS 5D Mark II DSLR, head over to our main website. The 5D mark II that boasts of a  21.1-megapixel resolution scored well on all fronts and did exceptionally well our color and dynamic range testing. Highly sophisticated thanks to its level of customization, the DSLR’s full-frame sensor offers the utmost flexibility.

A number of Canon EOS 5D owners in the U.S have received a service notice from Canon regarding a phenomena where the main mirror of the camera detaches and hence one cannot view ithrough the viewfinder. Canon in the notice  apologizes for the issue and promises to repair the mirror portion free of charge.

Canon Contact Information for Inquiries:

Customer Support Center 1-866-422-2965 (toll free) 8:00 a.m. - Midnight, EST - Monday to Friday 10:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m., EST - Saturday E-mail: carecenter@cits.canon.com

[Via Digital Camera Tracker ]

Cnet recently reviewed the Canon EOS 5D Mark II DSLR and gave it thumbs up for its excellent performance, photo quality and decent video capture. However the camera isn’t without its fault and lacks a built-in flash and a wireless controller and also has archaic AF system.

Conclusion:

“A great follow-up to the 5D and top-flight full-frame camera, the Canon EOS 5D Mark II delivers the fluid shooting experience and fine photos you expect from a professional mode

A new firmware update is available for the Canon EOS 5D Mark II digital SLR. Version  1.0.7 fixes the infamous problems with black dots where (he right side of point light sources become black and also fixes the vertical banding noise.

Imaging-Resource has posted the initial test results for the Canon EOS 5D Mark II which can be accessed here. Image quality was great as the colors were accurate despite some  minor oversaturation of strong reds and blues.  In daylight, the camera had a tendency to produce a warm cast and high contrast under harsh lighting however overall there are no complaints.

Excerpt from review:
“Unless you need high speed capture, and a 30fps HD movie is out of the question, the Canon 5D Mark II appears to offer the best of both of its competitors, with high resolution capture and what we expect to be very good high ISO performance.”

Canon USA have acknowledged on their website that some users have experienced certain image issues with the Canon EOS 5D Mark II digital SLR camera. Canon has identified two types of image quality phenomena that appear under certain shooting conditions.

"Black dot" phenomenon (the right side of point light sources becomes black)

Vertical banding noise

Details of the phenomena and shooting conditions under which they are likely to occur are as follows.
"Black dot" phenomenon (the right side of point light sources becomes black)
When shooting night scenes, the right side of point light sources (such as lights from building windows) may become black. The phenomenon may become visible if the images are enlarged to 100% or above on a monitor or, if large prints of the images are made.

Vertical banding noise
If the recording format is set to sRAW1, vertical banding noise may become visible depending on the camera settings, subject, and background.

Vertical banding noise is not noticeable if the recording format is set to sRAW2.

Vertical banding noise does not occur if the recording format is set to RAW or JPEG.

Noise can be reduced if C.Fn II-3: Highlight tone priority is set to 0: Disable.

Test shots taken from the Canon EOS 5D Mark II  DSLR has been posted by Imaging-Resource. Head over to the website and then click  on the Canon EOS 5D Mark II Samples tab  to access the shots. One can also download the images in .CR2 raw format.

The Canon EOS 5D Mark II DSLR has been reviewed by the folks over at Photography Blog. The DSLR comes highly recommended (no surprises there) and was liked for its full HD video and image performance. The reviewer calls it an “amazing combination of high-resolution images with low-light performance” and the 21-megapixel CMOS sensor is a complete winner. However the Canon EOS 5D Mark II has its faults too and is bogged down by a slow auto-focus.

Excerpt from conclusion:
“Whilst not perfect, the new Canon EOS 5D Mark II ultimately strikes a great balance between resolution, quality and performance, offering a fantastic all-round package that just deserves our highest Essential rating, even if you're not all that interested in the headline-grabbing video mode.”

The Canon EOS 40D and 450D were awarded the DIWA Gold award for their performance and overall quality. The bestselling cameras performed exceptionally well in the DIWA Labs tests and according to DIAW experts offer excellent value for money. Unbiased test results by DxO Analyzer of the image quality are available at: http://www.diwa-labs.com.


[Via Photography Blog ]

Rob Galbraith is reporting that according to Chuck Westfall, Technical Advisor at Canon USA, the imaging giants will start shipping the  EOS 5D Mark II from today onwards. The Canon EOS 5D Mark II has an expected street price of US$2699 in the US. Westfall also hints that  DSLR’s accessories like the Battery Pack LP-E6s, Battery Grip BG-E6, Wireless File Transmitter WFT-E4/E4A and EG-series focusing screens will also be available to EOS 5D users. 

The Canon EOS 450D or the Digital Rebel XSi was recently reviewed by Digicam Review.  The DSLR scored brownie points for its good image quality, excellent color rendering, and lack of red-eye effect, fast focusing time, excellent shutter response and intuitive interface. The reviewer pointed out that its one of the cheapest 12.2 megapixel cameras on the market making it an excellent value of money.

Summary:
"The Canon EOS450D is a robust lightweight SLR camera that provides an impressive 12.2 mega pixels with image stabilising lens. Image quality is generally excellent and images are useable up to ISO1600 and tend to maintain good detail. The camera's screen works well and battery life is excellent. Overall this is an appealing camera offering excellent value for money, and a number of features that should suit experienced amateurs as well as experts."