On March 15th, Terry Lovejoy of Thornlands, Queensland, Australia, discovered a 9th-magnitude comet in the southern constellation Indus the Indian. The comet has been named Comet Lovejoy (C/2007 E2).

Remarkably, Lovejoy made the discovery not with a telescope but using an off-the-shelf digital camera! In fact, it appears to be the very first case of the discovery of a comet discovered in this manner.

Lovejoy was using a Canon 350D with a zoom lens set to 200-mm focal length at f/2.8. Lovejoy spotted the object near the frame edge in 16 exposures of 90 seconds each. The images were obtained during a comet-hunting survey that Lovejoy has been conducting for more than two years. [ more ]

Canon has had a long history of providing equipment for astrophotography and even had a model of the 20D specifically for astronomers using a infrared filter that was very sensitive to hydrogen-alpha light. This was also the first DSLR made by Canon to have the Live View technology that is being released in the new EOS 1D Mark IIII. Once again proof that space research eventually makes it into consumers hands.

Posted by Mark Anderson at 10:06 PM | Permalink

I'm a regular listener to the Digital Photography Show podcast. The most recent episode contained an interview with Rudy Winston from Canon. They discussed the the launch of the new Canon EOS 1D Mark III along with the new Powershot cameras.

... we talk to Rudy Winston from Canon about the crazy sexy cool EOS-1D Mark III, a camera whose full name I find impossible to remember. It sounds like ship from Star Trek. “Time to board the EOS-ID, Scotty. Take it out at Mark III….” Rudy tells us all about this super-powerful and fast camera, including how it’s like a car.

One of the best things I love about this podcast is that Scott really knows how to ask the questions everyone is thinking about but don't ask. In this most recent interview he asked "So what happened to the 40D announcement?" Rudy replies that despite all the rumors that are floating out there, "there will be no more new camera announcements for the first half of this year." So if you are waiting for the 40D, you will be waiting longer. If you need to buy now the 30D and 400D are still great choices.

Head on over to the Digital Photography show website and give it a listen. [ more ]

Posted by Mark Anderson at 6:03 PM | Permalink

Derrick at the Digital Story discusses the ongoing debate between the noise levels of the new XTi (400D) and the older XT (350D.)

But I started hearing little comments such as, "Well, you know that the XTi is a lot noisier than the XT, right?" Actually, no I didn't. I ignored the first few remarks, but then had to do a little research to get to the bottom of this. Why? Well the images I was shooting looked pretty good, and I would have been hard-pressed to tell the difference between RAW files shot with the XT and the XTi. (Now compared to the 5D is another matter...)

Visit Derrick's site to read the rest of this article. If you are a recent buyer of the XTi then there is nothing to fear. [ more ]

Posted by Mark Anderson at 12:35 PM | Permalink

The Canon iPF5000 printer has been on my radar ever since Canon announced it. I have been saving up to buy this printer and have been tracking the various reviews for several months [ Luminous Landscape, DOP ]. All of the reviews I have found say the quality of the prints are amazing.

During my research I stumbled onto The Unofficial Canon iPF5000 Printer Wiki website. It is a great information resource about this printer. One of the biggest complaints of the first buyers of the printer was the lack of documentation. This was the biggest motivators for the creation of this website. This has also become a gathering place for all current owners of the iPF5000 printer to share ideas and questions about the printer.

Well due to several concerns about build quality and the business practices of USA Canon, the website is now telling all visitors not to buy the printer.

Recommend AGAINST USA customers buying this printer in the USA Due to Warranty & Service Problems

Editorial Comment 3/13/07: The Wiki now recommends against buying the iPF5000 in the United States until Canon USA changes their warranty and improves their on-site service:

The full details of why they make this recommendation can be found on the home page of the Wiki website. [ more ]

Posted by Mark Anderson at 5:36 AM | Permalink

Photojojo points us to a website that gives you a printable pdf document you can use as a lens hood.

Here is a direct link to the Canon based lenses. [ more ]

Posted by Mark Anderson at 5:40 PM | Permalink

Kurt at the National Parks Traveler tells us that Canon USA donated a Canon 20D and lens to Yellowstone park biologists so they can capture the action of a wolf pack during a hunt.

"Viewing natural wolf behavior in the field has been nearly impossible in the history of wolf research," Doug Smith, director of the Yellowstone Wolf Project, told the Yellowstone Park Foundation, which coordinated the donation. "Flying high above wolves in an airplane does not disturb their natural behavior, but, formerly, it was too high for us to collect data.

"Now, with digital photography and Canon cameras, we can see everything wolves are doing and learn more about their natural behavior in the wild."

Canon provide the camera equipment and also helped pay the cost of the flights. [ more ]

The article mentions that Canon donated a 200-400mm lens. I suspect it was actually the 100-400mm.

Canon is also the largest corporate sponsor at Yellowstone and also sponsors Windows Into Wonderland, a website to raise awareness about the importance of conservation.

Posted by Mark Anderson at 5:22 PM | Permalink