Photozone.de has reviewed the soon to be released Canon EF-s 17055mm f2.8 USM IS lens.

Announced at the PMA '06 the Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 USM IS is one of the most anticipated lenses for Canon users since the introduction of Canon APS-C DSLRs. So far users had the choice between two standard zoom options within the native Canon lens lineup - the EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 (kit zoom) and the EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 USM IS. The latter is a decent lens but not really significantly superior to the simple kit lens so there was no real upgrade path for the more ambitious users who often ended up with third-party alternatives. With the introduction of the EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 USM IS Canon closed this gap but at a steep price of a little less than 1000 EUR/$. Some may wonder why such a pricey lens wasn't marketed as a true Canon L grade lens - obviously a marketing decision. [ more ]

They state that this new lens is "not a perfect lens but it lives quite well up to the very high expectations of the user base." Their final verdict is that this lens will be "highly desirable" for people shooting with an APS sized sensor and are not ready to step up the the "L" quality glass.

Posted by Mark Anderson at 7:59 AM | Permalink

SeekingAlpha.com reviews the recent earnings announcement by Canon and the future guidance for the next quarter.

Canon Inc. (CAJ), recorded a 16.3% increase in Q1 y-o-y net income setting a new record and raised its guidance for the current fiscal year based on lower expected COGS as it simultaneously targets higher margin product sales. Canon reported an EPS of 121.98 yen for the quarter (US$1.04) against 104.93 yen (US$0.89) in the same quarter last year.

Japanese traders sent Canon (Tokyo: 7751) shares lower by 0.7% prior to its after hours earnings release Thursday in Tokyo. Canon’s ADRs somewhat surprisingly traded lower (-0.84% at $73.53 close) on par with its normal trading volume, most likely because earnings/guidance were not as stellar as expected despite beating consensus/prior estimates, the strong gains already made this year, and the fact that its ordinary shares traded lower in Japan. There is a good possibility nonetheless that its ordinary shares will trade higher Friday in Japan based on the overall positive earnings and guidance, which in turn could influence trading of its ADRs.

Canon increased sales by 9.5% y-o-y and is projecting a 10.3% increase for the full year ending Dec. 31, 2006. Operating profit increased y-o-y by 18.7% and is expected to grow by 17.7% for the year ending Dec. 31. Canon is expecting a smaller gain in net income for the full year, 12.5%, versus the 16.3% increase in Q1 y-o-y. [ more ]

Posted by Mark Anderson at 7:55 AM | Permalink

Booming digital camera and color copier sales lifted Canon's net profit 16 percent in the first quarter to a record 108.3 billion yen ($942 million), keeping Japan's top precision equipment maker on track for a seventh year of record earnings.

Canon Inc. said Thursday the strong dollar and euro also lifted its group net profit for the quarter ended March 31 well above the 93.1 billion yen it booked a year ago.

Group sales for the period jumped 9.5 percent to 923.3 billion yen ($8.0 billion). Digital camera and camcorder sales were especially strong, surging 84.9 percent from a year ago to 192.1 billion yen ($1.7 billion).

Sales of copy machines, computer peripherals and other office equipment also posted a 6.3 percent rise to 631.2 billion yen ($5.5 billion). [ more ]

This is great news for both Canon fans and investors.

Posted by Mark Anderson at 8:41 AM | Permalink

Canon launches innovative new product line, a new product category, and several additional new products, all of which are on display at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) conference and exhibition in Las Vegas, April 24th - 27th.

The new product line, designated as the HDgc family of lenses, is Canon's first series of economical HD lenses specially engineered for tapeless HD camcorders. Other new lenses include an improved line of professional SD (IFpro) lenses, the first lightweight Super Telephoto HD lens, and a technology demonstration of Auto Focus capabilities for HDTV Studio and Field zoom lenses.

The new product category trumpets the arrival of Canon's first HD camcorder, the XL H1, a three-CCD video camera recorder, debuting at NAB; as well as an expanded line of REALiS(TM) High Resolution (SXGA+) Multimedia Projectors, including the first LCOS XGA model. [ more ]

Posted by Mark Anderson at 7:20 AM | Permalink

Canon Inc. (CAJ) is expected to post a solid rise in quarterly profit on robust sales of digital cameras and color copiers and a weak yen, keeping Japan's top precision equipment maker on track for a record year.

"At first glance the operating environment does not look good, and Xerox's results underscore that view," said JP Morgan analyst Hisashi Moriyama. "But earnings (at Japanese makers) should show a clear improvement this year."

The average of six analysts surveyed by Reuters Estimates shows Canon's operating profit for the January-March period will total 152.3 billion yen, short of Canon's own estimate of 153 billion yen but up 6 percent from the first quarter last year.

However, Credit Suisse analyst Kunihiko Kanno expects Canon to top its own quarterly estimate by about 5 billion yen and reckons the world's top maker of digital cameras may even revise up its full-year operating profit forecast of 653 billion yen. [ more ]

Posted by Mark Anderson at 7:13 AM | Permalink

The Japan Stock Blog has an interesting update on the recent performance of Canon stock and recent analyst takes.

Canon Inc (CAJ) can’t seem to do anything wrong as far as analysts are concerned. The only bone I have to pick with Canon is it delaying the launch of its SED TVs until sometime in the second half of ‘07 in order to be more cost competitive against plasma and LCD TVs. Setting that aside, Mizuho Securities revised its price target on Canon upwards by 25% to 10,000 yen per share. As far as I know this is the highest price target that’s out there. Mizuho is maintaining its highest rating — “1″ — on Canon. I really think this was a no-brainer as Mizuho cited the firm’s strong and favorable position in laser printers and digital cameras as the reason for an upward revision of both its financials and price target. [ more ]

Posted by Mark Anderson at 11:05 AM | Permalink

If you want a compact digital camera with more zoom power than other cameras in this class, then the PowerShot A700 is well worth a look. The 6X zoom comes in handy for occasional nature and sports shooting (though an ultra zoom will get you considerably closer to the action), and the A700's manual controls let you take some creative shots. Despite a few minor annoyances, the A700 earns an easy recommendation from me. [ more ]

Posted by Mark Anderson at 7:27 AM | Permalink

This long, Tele stabilized zoom replaces Canon’s popular 75–300mm f/4–5.6 full-frame IS lens, the industry’s first IS/VR lens, introduced in 1995. The new model delivers better image stabilization (to three stops instead of two) and a wider zoom range. It also features a zoom lock (at 70mm), special lens coatings to suppress ghosting and flare off digital sensors, and a panning mode for the IS system. [ more ]

Posted by Mark Anderson at 7:44 AM | Permalink

Announced just before PMA in February, the A700 is the new flagship of the ever-growing 'A' series of affordable feature-laden PowerShot models. As well as sporting a 6x (35-210mm equiv) optical zoom and 2.5-inch screen the A700 is the first of many cameras launched this year to use the latest 1/2.5" 6MP CCD, and the first to feature an ISO 800 mode. Before we get started on the review let's have a look at the headline features:

* 6.0 megapixel sensor
* 35-210mm (equiv.) F2.8-4.8 6x zoom lens
* DIGIC II image processor and iSAPS technology
* Accurate focusing with FlexiZone AF/AE
* ISO 800 shooting
* Widescreen (16:9) stills recording
* 30fps VGA movie recording
* 1cm macro mode
* Full photographic control
* 2.5" LCD with Night Display and Grid Line Display
* Optional tele, wide and close up convertors

Like every A series PowerShot I've ever tried, the A700 offers an awful lot of bang for your buck, and more importantly, is a frill-free but very reliable photographic tool with remarkably reliable focus, exposure and color in a wide variety of shooting situations. If you're looking for a compact camera with full photographic control and like the idea of a bit extra at the long end of the zoom then the A700 is a fairly easy choice. [ more ]

Posted by Mark Anderson at 8:44 AM | Permalink

The EOS 30D is Canon's upgrade of the very popular EOS 20D. Though both cameras share the same sensor (1.6x APS-C format, 8.2 MP) the EOS 30D adds a number of new features making the EOS 30D an even more capable camera then it's predecessor. Notable are the addition of a 2.5" LCD screen, spot metering, RGB histograms and an increased buffer size. [ more ]

Bob's conclusion: "I expected the EOS 30D to be essentially the same and in many ways it is, though I have to admit that it is a nicer camera to use."

Posted by Mark Anderson at 8:39 AM | Permalink

Digital Camera Resource Page and completed a review of the Canon PowerShot A540.

The Canon PowerShot A540 ($300) is a midrange digital camera that offers a 6 Megapixel CCD, 4X optical zoom (instead of the usual 3X), large 2.5" LCD display, full manual controls, and a VGA movie mode. The A540, along with its 5 Megapixel sibling, the A530, replace Canon's extremely popular A510 and A520 models from last year. Both cameras use Canon's DIGIC II image processor.

There are a few differences between the A530 and A540 (besides the resolution) that are worth pointing out. The A530 has a 1.8" LCD, compared to the 2.5" screen on the A540. While the A540 can record movies at 640 x 480, 30 frames/second, the A530's frame rate is a sluggish 10 fps. The A540 has shutter and aperture priority modes, while the A530 only has a manual mode (where you set both the aperture and shutter speed). And finally, only the A540 supports conversion lenses and an underwater case.

With that out of the way we can begin our review of the PowerShot A540! [ more ]

Posted by Mark Anderson at 8:43 AM | Permalink

The 30D is effectively an evolution of the EOS 20D and shares much of that cameras internals (including the image sensor and image processing), however there have been a range of design and operational changes as well as the introduction of new features such as PictureStyles, Spot metering (at last), two speed continuous shooting and third stop ISO steps. See how the EOS 30D performed and how it compares to the competition in our review. [ more ]

Posted by Mark Anderson at 8:47 AM | Permalink

Well its that time again, a new month and a new batch of Canon promotions. If your ready to step up to a Digital SLR, now is the time to do it.

Canon is offering mail-in rebates from $10 to $300 on select products, including $300 on the 12.8 megapixel EOS 5D digital SLR with a full frame CMOS sensor. Canon is also offering a $100 rebate on the EOS Digital Rebel XT Digital SLR and a variety of Canon's world-renowned EF lenses. Additionally, Canon is offering mail-in rebates on select EX-series flashes such as the powerful Speedlite 580EX flash. Users can also get up to $100 back on select IS (Image Stabilizer) Binoculars such as the rugged 10x42 L IS waterproof binoculars.

Canon also has some rebate promotions starting this month on the GL2 Camcorder and printers.

The complete list of all the the products under the rebate program are available at the Canon Current Promotions website. [ more ]

You can download the rebate form via the following link [ rebate pdf ]

Posted by Mark Anderson at 9:37 AM | Permalink