Canon rumors has a picture from a presentation where we can see the list of features which will be added with the next firmware in March.

The features are:

• Manual sound recording level & meters
• Histogram display when shooting in manual mode
• AV and TV mode for shooting video
• Increased audio sampling rate to 48k.
• 24/25 fps at 1080p.

So what does that mean?

First, no 60p720. That really sucks if it is true! I wont talk too much about this simply because everybody must feel the same as I do about it.

On the other hand, the new features are great! Shooting in AV/TV mode is an incredible feature if you need to shoot a subject moving in a variety of exposure and want to maintain a constant look.

While I dont care too much about the audio features, I know a lot of people who will appreciate it.

I kept the histogram for last. If there is one feature that can redeem the lack of 60p720, it has to be this one. While it is impossible to get a perfect exposure by judging the LCD image, using the histogram makes this job ridiculously easy.

What about stills?

Seems like there is nothing new for still photographers. This is a little bit ridiculous. How hard can it be to add a 5-7-9 exposures bracketing or auto ISO limits? Lets just hope there was a second slide to this presentation.

Shipping date

The week of March 17 is the rumored date and fits in the time line I was given (post Olympics) so I tend to believe it. I guess we will see soon enough!

Canon is now hosting a full page in its digital learning center about the FCP E1 Plugin that we previously talked about.

Canon also used the opportunity to send a quick jab to Nikon when talking about H.264: This is an ideal file type for video capture in an SLR camera, delivering relatively compact file sizes with image quality noticably superior to alternate video compressions (such as Motion JPEG).

From what I have been able to gather from the various screenshots, there is not much new. On the contrary, some of the wished for features (lens & exposure metadata) are not present.

As I predicted, the sentence ’start editing right form the CF card‘ wasnt really true. The plugin converts the clips to ProRes (you can pick any variations) before you can do anything with them. Canon talks about a 3x speed gain over the standard Compressor transcoding. That is nice but that is about the same thing you can get by using MPEGstream clip. Actually, I wonder if that is what they are using under the hood!

For who is this for?

Log and transfer is a workflow tool. It is near useless for 95% of the 5D users, but, for those who are going to use it, it is incredibly useful at helping them to organize their files and automating their backup strategy. Oh, there is also that Timecode thing that would be so useful if there was an easy way to synchronize the date/time on multiple camera at once.

While there is no harm in installing the plugin once it is available (March), unless you are shooting against a script, the organizing features of the plugin will be overkill.

BTW, thanks to David Guset for the link to the Canon page.

If there is one thing no one was expecting this week, it has to be the release of a new HDSLR camera. Yet, that is exactly what Canon did. The new Rebel T2i is, on paper, an incredible package priced ridiculously low.

For the photographer

18mp on a 1.6x crop factor, I will have to see some real life sample shots to judge image quality but it is interesting to see the ISO going to 6400 (extendable to 12k) for an entry level toy. That is quite good if image quality is at the rendez-vous.

It also benefits from a lot of features that used to be restricted to the double prosumer bodies like improved auto focus and light metering. From a photographer perspective, it should be considered a decent upgrade for any 50D or older camera owner (if you dont need the burst rate). At least, from a specs sheet perspective.

For the videographer

Remember how 5DMrkII owners felt when the 7D was released? Well, 7D owners are now feeling the same! The new rebel can shoot video full manual and has variable frame rate (24p, 25p, 30, 50p and 60p), something to make 5DMrkII owners jealous. I know because I am!

Of course, the camera will probably not have the same low light image quality as the 5DMrkII (and maybe the 7D) and it is not full frame so it does have its limitations. Yet, it is a fraction of the cost of its ‘better’ alternatives. Read the rest of this entry »

We talked about it earlier and now it is official. You can read the press release here. The interesting part is Canon talking about a 2x gain in speed for Prores 422 HQ transcoding compared to Compressor. Then again, if you are using MPEG Streamclip, the speed gain should be about the same.

This last sentence sound a bit weird to me:

Additionally, users will also be able to add timecode, reel names and metadata to footage quickly and easily – further enhancing the experience of EOS MOVIE users when editing their footage.

This could mean that we will not have access to the camera metadata, something that was part of the original product developed by Gluetool.

Release date, for the free beta, will be in March so new features might pop in until then.

Note: Thanks to Peter Wiggins for the link on this one, almost missed the announcement!

A lot of people talked about the announcement of the EOS E1 plugin for FCP yesterday so I feel like I have to talk about it too. As far as we know, it is all vaporware so far since the software is not released yet. Old time blog readers might remember this post from Vincent Laforest testing a similar tool developed by Glue Tools (which has not been released yet, hence my lack of faith in unreleased software!).

So, what is all the fuzz about anyways?

Why do you need a tool to import files from the CF card to your computer? The finder/Explorer is already doing a fine job. Well, the first reason is to make the file importing task part of the FCP workflow. When using the Log & Trans window, you can attach other process to the import action, for examples sending the file to compressor for transcoding, make a backup copy on another drive, add meta tags, etc… Pretty cool and a nice time saver, especially if you are working on a set.

Now about what it cant do…

I have seen  a few cut&paste reports of people saying the plugin would allow users to start the edit with the video still in the camera/CF card. Sorry but this sounds more like a sentence taken from the generic Log & Transfert feature description than what you can expect to do from this plugin. You still need to transcode to ProRes if you want real time editing, and it is not like we are shooting 45 minutes long clips with the 5D, we are limited to 12 minutes so no real need to partial file import. Actually, I dont even know if it is possible with the H.264 codec to do partial import without re-encoding the whole clip.

So, is this a big announcement or not?

Yes it is because the Log & Trans tool is part of a professional work flow. Pros are used to it and expect it. While not a show stopper, it was keeping the 5D away from being seen as a ‘real’ tool on a production set.

The plugin is not out yet so we can’t confirm its features but I hope the file metadatas include exposure settings,  lens used, camera id, etc…

Once released, the plugin will be available here.

The contest is now open. You can read the rules here.

The prizes are quite good: the choice between a 5DMrkII and a 7D, a lens (selected from a long list), a few days to shoot with Vincent and a year subscription at Vimeo. I dont know who made the prize list but I would like to know why someone would pick a 7D over a 5D! You could get the 5D, sell it, get the 7D and you would be left with some change. Even worst, the lens selection includes lenses ranging in prices from 700$ to almost 5000$. Who would be stupid enough to pick the 700$ lens (EF 15mm2.8) when you can have a 300L2.8?

Dont get me wrong, I think these prizes are awesome (especially the days with Vincent!) I just wonder how long the guy who made the prize list thought about it.

US ONLY

Now that we look at the prizes, we can somewhat guess the reasons about the US only restriction: the plane trip to see Vincent. I am sure this is the part that complexity everything for the lawyers. It is quite sad because I had a good idea and there is a building that looks exactly like the ending still near my loft…

I had the opportunity to play with a old Zeiss lens last Tuesday. I only had the lens for a day (actually, a night) and did not have much time to do serious testing so I decided to skip the standard and boring sharpness assessments and move to a topics you will find more interesting: how it performs for video.

About the results: the Zeiss lens is an old model and the newer version should perform significantly better. The reason I was interested in this old lens is that a lot of people are using old Nikon and Zeiss lens to shoot video instead of using original Canon products. Some people do it because they prefer the look produced by these models or simply because they bought them before the release of the 1.1 firmware and stuck with them. Of course, these older model are also significantly cheaper! Read the rest of this entry »

Canon announced the release of a new file transmitter earlier today. We talked about the earlier version of the product a while ago when reviewing the iPhone application DSLR Remote. At the time, everyone agreed that the WFT was nearly useless for 5DMrkII owners because of its slow transfer speed.

That is why I was quite intrigued to see Canon releasing a newer version of this aging product. You can read the full press release here but here is a summary:

• uses 811.a,b or G no N! This is a big let down. Sorry Canon but a G network cant handle a trigger happy event shooter! Like with the previous version, the camera uses the CF card as a buffer and send the files over the air as fast as it can. Which is ridiculously slow when you think about the card filling rate of cameras like the 5DMrkII and 1DMrkIV!
• easier network setup: finally, a lot of people complained about the setup of the previous product. Nice to see improvement in this area.
• FTP/server mode: allows photographers to connect to the camera with their browser and directly download files from it. Notice that I did not say pictures but files. We we can get video and stills. It also allows the users to control the camera from their browsers. We dont have details about the resolution of the liveview feed but if it is good enough, maybe a laptop could be used as a wireless camera monitor! Then again, lets not get too excited, I am sure the resolution will be 640×480 or lower…
• EOS utility: similar to server mode but uses ESO utility instead of a browser.
• Camera linking: allows you to remotely trigger a bunch of camera when you take a picture with the ‘master’ camera. I see this as being of marginal use, unless it can also be used to start/stop movie recording. Then it would be incredibly useful in a multicam setup.
• USB Host: For me, this is the big thing. A USB connector allows you to plug a GPS or.. a USD hard drive! I can clearly see myself use this with a G-raid Mini and shoot all day while never having to worry about data security and filling my cards! Lets hope the USB plug is sturdy enough so the cable can hold.
• Presentation stuff: plug-play into some presentation stuff. Seriously, who cares?

And now the price… 700$ Is it worth it? Unless you really need one of its features (like the USB host), I think it is wise to pass.

As most of you know, news products generally mean new firmware coming up soon too! Lets all cross out fingers and whisper 24p/50p!

Canon announced a new Canon 70-200L2.8IS lens today. Rumors of this update must have been a hot topic for the last 3-4 years, out lived only by the rumors of the 24-70L2.8IS. While it is not the most useful lens for videographers, it is the central item of most photographers gear list.

This new incarnation benefits from a new IS system for an additional stop of stability (for a total of 4 stops, like the F4IS version), reduces the minimal focus distance by a few inches and improves durability and focus speed. All of this while increasing its weight by about 1% (20mg).

Optical elements have been changed to increase image quality, which is the key point for me. Ever since I saw sample images from the new Nikon 70-200VR2.8, I was jealous and wondering how Canon would react. Of course, no one has seen any sample pics taken with this lens yet so we cant really comment about it. We can only hope they are on par with those from its Nikon nemesis.

Will it be worth an upgrade? I don’t think so but it will surely be a nice acquisition for anyone who does not already own a 70-200IS (either model).

On the minus side, the lens will only be available in April and I guess Canon will take the opportunity to increase the price, as they did with the 24TS-E.

Note: thanks to Scott Bourne at Photofocus for pointing this news out. The press release  is not yet on Canon US /CAN website.

Unless you have a WFT-E4 or are into long repetitive bulb exposures, this update does not change anything for you. It would have been a nice present from Canon to give us the 24p before the holidays, but I guess they are really going to stick to their schedule of 2010 (probably after the 1DMrkIV is out too).

You can get it here.

From the initial reports, it does not seem to include any undocumented features and compatibility with Magic Lantern has to be confirmed.