Ben Long at Complete Digital Photography performs a complete review of three lenses to find the perfect walk-around lens for an APS sensor camera.

"For the last couple of years, I've been using a Canon 24-85 f/3.5-4.5 EF lens as my general walk-around lens, first for my Canon EOS 10D, and now for the 20D. While I like the lens for its small size and light weight, the 35mm equivalent focal length range of 38 to 136mm is very often not quite wide enough for casual street shooting. While I love my Canon 10-22 EF-S lens for wide angle shooting, having to carry it and swap lenses on the street was beginning to grow tedious, so I decided to look for a new solution. For price reasons, I quickly narrowed the possible alternatives to Canon's 18-55 EF-S and 17-85 EF-S lenses. I was very curious to see if the more expensive 17-85 yielded noticeably better quality, as well as to find out if these were good alternatives to my 24-85." [ more ]

I personally went through a similar experience and was trying to decide between the Canon EF24-70mm f/2.8L vs. Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM for my new Canon 5D. I was unable to perform a side-by-side review between the two lenses, but the longer focal range and image stabilization of the 25-105 was the deciding factor for my decision.

Posted by Mark Anderson at 8:37 AM | Permalink

Canon is offering, for a limited time only, £200 cash back to purchasers of the Canon EOS 5D. Customers who purchase the camera in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, or the United Kingdom between 21 February and 30 June 2006 are entitled to the £200 rebate.

The offer can be redeemed by sending a completed application form, along with the barcode and purchase receipt, to the Canon EOS 5D Promotion Centre. A sticker on the box of the camera will direct purchasers to a website that supplies full details of the cash back offer, including the Promotion Centre address, downloadable application form and the Terms and Conditions that apply to the offer which can be found. [ more ]

Posted by Mark Anderson at 7:02 AM | Permalink

Canon has released new firmware updates for three of its newest digital SLR's. The EOS 30D gets firmware update 1.0.4 which fixes some Chinese language display problems, the EOS 5D gets update 1.0.5 which fixes a monochrome image bug and a problem with a combination of the EF 85 F1.2L and Speedlite 580EX, finally the EOS-1D Mark II N gets update 1.0.4 which also fixes a monochrome image bug and also an over-exposure problem when using Focusing Screen EC-S.

You can obtain the latest firmware and installation instructions at the following links:

Canon EOS 30D Firmware Update page

Canon EOS 5D Firmware Update page

Canon EOS-1D Mark II N Firmware Update page

Posted by Mark Anderson at 7:53 AM | Permalink

Canon Inc (CAJ) received another share price upgrade from NikkoCiti. They are maintaining its highest rating on Canon while boosting its target share price from 8,400 yen to 9,250 yen. This is addition to the recent upgrade by JP Morgan. [ more ]

Posted by Mark Anderson at 7:48 AM | Permalink

Several months ago I started to research the purchase of some new photo equipment. One of the items that was high on my purchase list was the Canon EF 180mm Macro lens. About a week ago I received my new lens.

A friend and reader of my website asked that I perform a review of this lens paying particular attention to how close you can get to your subject with the lens. This is certainly not a highly technical review that you typically see on the other review websites. This is just my quick and dirty test of this lens.

The Canon EF 180mm f3.5L Macro has the following specs:

• Maximum Aperture Range: F/3.5
• Minimum focal length: 180 millimeters
• Minimum Focal Range: 18.9 inches
• Real Angle Of View: 13.5
• Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Length: 7 inches

So I decided to setup a test subject and see how close I can actually photograph it and how it performed. Here is a photo with the very simple setup. I placed the subject, a 1oz. gold coin, on my kitchen counter and used a metal ruler to determine the optimal distance from the lens.

Simple Testing Setup

The specifications provided from Canon rate a minimum focal distance of 18.9 inches from the film or sensor. I wanted to find out the actual closest distance from the end of the lens.

I started taking photos with the subject at 9 inches from the lens and found that it was far too close at f3.5. So I moved the subject back a quarter of an inch to 9.25 inches. At this distance an image starts to emerge.

f3.5 at a distance of 9.25 inches

I then took successive shots moving the coin an additional quarter of an inch.

f3.5 at a distance of 9.5 inches

The best result at the f3.5 aperture was at a distance of 9 and 3/4 inches.

f3.5 at a distance of 9.75 inches

I took some additional shots at various apertures and it seemed to perform best at f8 with the available overhead kitchen lights.

f8 at a distance of 9.75 inches

I then started to explore at the lens maximum of f32 to get the greatest depth of field available. I started at 9.75 inches and worked my way closer.

f32 at a distance of 9.75 inches

The distance of 9.75 still seem optimal for all exposures, but the smaller aperture allowed you to still obtain some image sharpness as you got closer.

f32 at a distance of 9.5 inches

The sharpness starts to fall off at this distance.

f32 at a distance of 9.25 inches

This final image has now lost all sharpness.

f32 at a distance of 9 inches

All of these photos were taken with my new Canon 5D at iso-100. Here is an 100% sized image from the f8 photo taken at 9.75 inches.

f8 at a distance of 9.75 inches scaled 100%

Here are links to other reviews on this lens.
Philip Greenspun at Photo.net
Fred Miranda

Posted by Mark Anderson at 6:55 PM | Permalink

The PowerShot A430 digital camera is geared towards the entry-level photographer, it's functional as well as intuitive for a beginning photographer. The A430 features a 4.0 megapixel CCD image sensor, 4x optical zoom lens with a focal length of 39-156mm (35mm film equivalent), 1.8-inch LCD screen, continuous shooting up to 2.3 fps, and a new widescreen 16:9 ratio setting facilitates creating panoramic-style prints.

Steve's submits the following conclusion. "like every "A" series model we've ever seen from Canon, the PowerShot A430 sets the standard for the entry-level consumer point-n-shoot market. Where else can you find outstanding 4-megapixel images, robust performance, and lots of easy to use exposure modes all for $179 or less? With the exception of its slow flash recharge time, I had no problems with this model. That said, I feel it will make a great choice for those taking their first plunge into the digital world. This really is an easy to use camera with high-end features, that is very affordable." [ more ]

Posted by Mark Anderson at 7:21 AM | Permalink

The EOS 300D from Canon was the first true entry-level digital SLR. It brought high quality digital SLR photography within reach of consumers. Its successor, the 350D, has more pixels and is smaller, lighter, quicker and cheaper. In this review Gary Wolstenholme will discover whether the king of entry-level digital SLRs has been usurped. [ more ]

Final Verdict: The Canon EOS 350D is a very capable camera providing all the common features needed to get started photographing with a digital SLR. The 18-55mm EF-S lens bundled with it is the biggest disappointment, a better lens is needed to really get the most out of this camera. Images taken at high ISO sensitivities display low amounts of noise, and the autofocus is quick, accurate and easy to use.

This camera is ideal for a beginner looking for a high quality digital camera that allows plenty of scope for more advanced techniques as their ability grows.

Posted by Mark Anderson at 6:05 AM | Permalink

Compact digital camcorder for simple video tasks carries a surprisingly low price.

In the video world, cheap used to be a dirty word, but no more. Canon's ZR500 shows how $300 can get you a high-quality--albeit bare-bones--miniDV camcorder. I looked at a shipping version.

The svelte ZR500 fit nicely in my hand. The 2.7-inch LCD screen was easy to view in all conditions but direct sunlight. The ZR500 shoots both standard 4:3 and wide-screen 16:9 video onto miniDV tapes.

In my informal tests, the 25X zoom lens and single CCD took sharp video with strong color. Picture quality gets a little grainy and dull in low light, but the quality is superior to what you would get from similarly priced camcorders. The built-in microphone captured reasonably good sound, and you can use the included microphone input to add a better one.

The ZR500 comes with two shooting modes: Easy and P (for program). The former disables most shooting options. You hit Record and the camcorder does the rest. The latter offers more control, with features like white balancing and shooting modes. The camera also has cheesy-looking wipes and special effects.

Like most budget products, the ZR500 lacks features such as still-image capture, support for flash memory, and manual controls. There's no USB connection or analog video input either, but you do get a standard FireWire port.

It won't replace a high-end camcorder, but the ZR500 is a pretty good choice for shooting simple videos--and the price is low enough to make it almost an impulse purchase. [ more ]

Posted by Mark Anderson at 6:01 AM | Permalink

More sites will be reviewing this new camera as it becomes publicly available.

The Canon EOS-30D is one of those cameras that's evolutionary, rather than revolutionary. It updates the very popular EOS-20D (see our review), though the new features are more "I wouldn't mind having that" than "I've gotta have that!". [ more ]

Posted by Mark Anderson at 10:51 PM | Permalink

The Canon Powershot S3 IS is the latest in the line of Canon "megazoom" digicams and replaces the Powershot S2 IS. It has the same 36-432mm zoom (in 35mm equivalent terms) but the sensor size has increased from 5MP to 6MP, the LCD size has been increased from 1.8" to 2" and the ISO range has been expanded to cover 80-800. Given the Image Stabilization, ISO 800 capability and wide zoom range, this camera should cover most of the photographic needs of users who don't need the advanced features and interchangeable lenses of a DSLR. [ more ]

This new camera will be available in May for an estimated selling price of $499.99.

Posted by Mark Anderson at 10:46 PM | Permalink

If it ain't broke, don't fix it--that seems to be Canon's approach to its EOS 30D, the follow-up to its perennial favorite, the EOS 20D. Aside from a few performance tweaks, the Canon EOS 30D is the same camera as its predecessor. (For complete details of the 20D/30D, read the EOS 20D review; in this piece, I address mainly the enhancements that differentiate the 30D.) It has the same well-balanced, magnesium-alloy body with its intelligently laid-out controls; an almost identical set of pro-level, extremely customizable features; and roughly the same, excellent performance. Also, thanks to the identical 8-megapixel CMOS sensor and image-processing system, it yields the same superb photos, especially at high-ISO sensitivity settings. [ more ]

Posted by Mark Anderson at 10:03 AM | Permalink

S&P Reiterates Canon at Strong Buy
The Tokyo-based camera maker suggested it may post net income for its March quarter above its prior forecast, according to reports from the Japanese newspaper the Nikkei. The announcement is in line with our expectation. As we had anticipated, Canon is capitalizing on its firm market position in digital still cameras, copiers, and printers. The shift from monochrome to color should not only drive demand for Canon's copiers and printers, but also its double-digit margin consumables. We are keeping our 2006 and 2007 earnings per share (EPS) estimates at $4.41 and $5.07, respectively. Our target price is $80. [ more ]

However, Motely Fool has concerns about the valuation of Canon.

Canon has generated 224.6 billion yen ($1.9 billion) in average annual free cash flow. In comparison, the company generated 384 billion yen ($3.3 billion) in net income last year, and wants to generate 550 billion yen in net income within five years, which is 7.4% compound annual growth. That level of growth is not too shabby, but assuming free cash flow grows at a similar 7.4% rate for the next five years, and using a discount rate of 10%, I see a company that is fairly valued to slightly overvalued right now. [ more ]

Posted by Mark Anderson at 8:35 AM | Permalink

A spokesman for Canon did not give a detailed figure, but the Nihon Keizai business daily earlier estimated Canon's first-quarter net profit at about 103 billion yen ($878 million), up 11 percent from a year ago. That would beat the firm's January projection of 98 billion yen. It may top its group net profit forecast for January-March, helped by a weaker-than-expected yen and strong sales of digital cameras and colour copiers. [ more ]

Not only do I like the cameras, I also like the stock and have been a stock holder for many years.

Posted by Mark Anderson at 8:36 AM | Permalink

Canon has posted updates for the following software applications.

* Digital Photo Professional 2.1
* EOS Utility 1.0
* CameraWindow 5.3 (revision 2) for Windows
* ZoomBrowser EX 5.6.0 for Windows
* ImageBrowser 5.6.1a for Macintosh

These updates can be found at the Canon USA download page.

Posted by Mark Anderson at 10:38 AM | Permalink

Many potential buyers of the new Canon 30D will now be wondering one of three things:

• Is it worth upgrading from an EOS 20D?
• Should I get an EOS 30D or an EOS 5D?
• Should I get an EOS 30D or a Nikon D200?

These are difficult questions and depend a great deal on how you intend to use the camera and how much you can afford to spend on a camera. [ more ]

Posted by Mark Anderson at 7:41 PM | Permalink

The Canon Powershot S3 IS is Canon's latest "megazoom" digicam. It has a 36-432mm zoom (in 35mm equivalent terms) as well as a 6MP sensor and Image Stabilization. Coupled with an ISO range of 80-800 this camera should cover all the photography needs of a large number of users.

Of course you do sacrifice the tiny size of the SD series cameras but the Canon Powershot S3 IS still isn't huge. [ more ]

Posted by Mark Anderson at 7:38 PM | Permalink

Chuck Westfall, Director of Media & Customer Relationship for Canon, has posted a series of Q&A tech tips for March at the Digital Journalist website. [ more ]

Highlights for this month: Firmware updates for 5D, Picture Styles in 30D and 5D, Storing Lenses.

Posted by Mark Anderson at 8:16 AM | Permalink