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So Canon have just introduced the 60D and a selection of new professional lenses.
The 60D is an interesting camera, as it’s not an obvious follow-on to the 50D. Instead, since the 7D sort of takes on that role, the 60D has been repositioned and now fits a new middle ground between the 7D and consumer-level EOS bodies.
The key points are:
Back in the 90s Canon produced two EOS film cameras, the 10/10s and the Elan/100, which both supported barcodes. This strange feature was supposed to let novices adjust camera settings by waving a barcode-reading wand over a sample photo in a book. Needless to say the feature sank after that, as it was inconvenient and really didn’t serve any particular purpose.
Now in 2010 it appears Canon is going to be selling a modified version of the EOS 7D digital camera with barcode support again. However, this time the barcode functionality will actually be useful, albeit for a very narrow target market.
It seems the barcode 7D will support USB barcode scanners, and will embed the barcode data into the EXIF metadata associated with a photo. This will be useful for automated systems and cases where it’s necessary to track large volumes of images. The limited edition 7D will also have firmware lockout to prevent untrained users for altering camera settings.
Not, in short, useful features for most people. Certainly not for me! But an absolute godsend for any studio photographers who churn out pictures. Think school photographers, for example. Get the kids to fill in a form, stick a barcode onto the forms, scan the barcode into the camera, and a unique number is linked in the camera’s EXIF data to that kid. Then you won’t get the kid and name mixed up. Any assembly-line studio photography will benefit from this sort of thing.
It’s always interesting when a camera maker releases an unusual limited edition model for a niche market. Like the EOS 20Da for astronomical applications. Or the Fuji camera with UV and IR sensitivity for the law enforcement market.
Reported by Rob Galbraith.
Update: the official name of the camera is the 7DSV, for Studio Version. Nothing to do with cheesy underwater TV shows.
Novoflex have announced, but aren’t yet shipping, an interesting new adapter which allows Nikon G lenses to be used with EOS cameras. The reason this is interesting is because Nikon G lenses haven’t got aperture control rings. In the past this meant that you didn’t have any way of changing the aperture of such a lens when used with a non-Nikon camera body.
This new adapter (”EOS/NIK NT”) has a lever which allows the aperture to be set externally. It’s made in Germany, and so isn’t cheap, but does open up a larger number of Nikon lenses to EOS users.
Unfortunately Novoflex’s brilliant website doesn’t seem to allow for linking to a direct page for any of their products, so here’s a generic link.
After a very very long gestation period, Leap Devices have managed to secure European certification for the RadioPopper PX wireless flash device for Canon and Nikon flash units. Note that for legal reasons the CE versions transmit on a different frequency from the US versions, and are therefore not intercompatible. The JrX variants are not available yet.
More information on the RadioPopper blog.
I tested the PX units for my book, and they’re a good option for a lot of users who want simple, easy to use, wireless automatic metering that’s not hampered by line of sight communications. The devices basically bridge the optical systems used by native Canon (wireless E-TTL) and Nikon (CLS) units, transmitting the coded signals via radio waves. They’re immune to the interference problem suffered by Canon-compatible PocketWizard TTL devices, and are compact and reliable.
However, they don’t have the toughest enclosures in the universe, and since they’re simply signal bridges they can’t extend or modify the default behaviour of the two flash systems they support.
As of 10.6.4, and at long last! Something I missed a lot while shooting products for my last book.
Fascinating blog entry by news photographer Scott Audette, explaining how he covered the Space Shuttle Atlantis launch using a remote camera controlled by an iPad.
http://scottaudette.com/?p=218
And Rob Galbraith goes into extensive detail covering the new options available to PocketWizard users, including the ability to control studio flash units made by AlienBees and Elinchrom. Very very cool stuff. Unfortunately it came a little too late for inclusion in my book, but that’s always the way!
http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/content_page.asp?cid=7-10051-10609
The season finale for the American medical drama House was shot entirely using 5D mark II video. Remarkable!
http://www.petapixel.com/2010/04/09/house-season-finale-filmed-entirely-with-canon-5d-mark-ii/
It’s kind of amazing to think that I’ve got everything I need right here to film an entire movie or TV show. Well. I’ve got the camera and the lenses. So all I’d need would be a set and a crew and a bunch of actors and a script and some lights and a few other things like that.
Every nominally democratic country seems to have some procedural scam whereby legislators sneak lousy laws through with a minimum of open discussion.
In America a preferred method is to attach some amendment to completely unrelated legislation as a rider. Usually in the context of slithering something controversial in along with some popular law that nobody can bring themselves to vote against.
Here in Britain a common tactic is to shove laws through the “washup” period just before Parliament is dissolved. That way big chunks of legislation can be rammed through with minimal debate.
Guess what the Labour government did tonight with the cheerful assistance of the Conservatives?
Yep.
The Guardian on the Digital Economy bill.
Thanks, guys.
At least the orphan works stuff didn’t make it through.
It’s fun how hobbyist techniques and ideas make their way into commercial work these days.
Take the trick of walking around, shooting a bunch of still images, and then stringing them together to do a stop-motion sequence. The new Doctor Who which premiered the other night (the Eleventh Hour) used the technique for a deliberately jerky sequence partway through the show. Shot by a photographer named Anthony Dickenson using a Canon 5D mark II and a 16-35 2.8L.
Not just satisfied with nailing traditional 35mm still film cameras, digital SLRs are encroaching on high end film and video photography for cinematography. Here’s a very interesting comparison between 35mm movie film and some modern high end DSLRs.
Their tests really expose some of the vulnerabilities in the digital equipment - particularly highlight blowouts and limited latitude compared to film - but it’s pretty amazing that these consumer cameras can really do full pro work these days.
There’s a lot of blah-blah at the start of this video, but it’s still pretty interesting stuff.
http://www.zacuto.com/shootout
