Malaysia camera lens database, price watch and sample photos.

It has been a while since we posted news digest on the camera industry. We thought that you can obtain any new news better and faster else where but we can’t stop ourselves for highlighting these few pieces of news in this issue. Hope that we have enough resources to keep the news digest going on periodically!

Speed redefined: What’s so special about Sony SLT-A55 and Sony SLT-A33?

You may think that this is yet another model that Sony going to release to flood the market. NO, you are so wrong.

The entirely new Sony Alpha SLT series features a “translucent mirror“, more commonly known as a pellicle mirror. This advanced translucent mirror remains fixed in place during operation, allowing most of the light to reach the imaging sensor, while a small percentage is reflected to a dedicated autofocus sensor.

It’s what this high technology allows that’s so exciting: real-time, phase-detect autofocus while firing off up to ten 16-megapixel images per second in the A55, and seven 14-megapixel frames per second in the A33.

To get 10 frames per second from any other camera, you’d need to look at professional cameras that cost around USD5,000; and they’re still not capable of real-time autofocus betwen shots like the new Sony Alpha SLT cameras. Real-time phase-detect autofocus is also constantly available in Movie mode, something no current SLR can achieve.

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Canon successfully develops world’s first APS-H-size CMOS image sensor to realize record-high resolution of 120 megapixels

We will not be seeing this sensor in a few years to come but this is one earth-scattering piece of news on how quickly technology evolves!

TOKYO, August 24, 2010—Canon Inc. announced today that it has successfully developed an APS-H-size*1 CMOS image sensor that delivers an image resolution of approximately 120 megapixels (13,280 x 9,184 pixels), the world’s highest level of resolution for its size.

Compared with Canon’s highest-resolution commercial CMOS sensor of the same size, comprising approximately 16.1 million pixels, the newly developed sensor features a pixel count that, at approximately 120 million pixels, is nearly 7.5 times larger and offers a 2.4-fold improvement in resolution….

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In 2007, Canon announced that it has developed a prototype sensor capable of putting out 50 megapixels on the sensor of the same dimension too. 3 years after, it crams 120MP into one!

Canon EOS 60D is out!

Today, the highly anticipated successor of EOS 50D that people have been discussing all their life have been announced! It’s the new Canon EOS 60D that sits in between the EOS 50D and EOS 7D.

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Canon announces six new professional “L” series lenses

Canon Focuses On Professionals By Introducing Six New L-Series EF Lenses And Accessories Canon Introduces the World’s Widest Fisheye Zoom Lens, a New Telephoto Zoom Lens and Two New Super Telephoto Lenses with Optional New Extenders.

• Canon EF 8-15mm f/4L Fisheye USM (~$1400)
  
• Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM (~1500)
  
• Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens (~$7000)
  
• Canon EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II USM (~$11000)
  
• Canon Extender EF 1.4x III (~$500)
  
• Canon Extender EF 2x III (~$500)
  

LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y., August 26, 2010 – Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in digital imaging, rounds out its Summer product introductions with four new L-series lenses and two new accessory extenders for professionals and advanced amateurs. Leading the introductions, the EF 8-15mm f/4L Fisheye USM lens is the world’s widest fisheye zoom lens, providing professional photographers and cinematographers with a unique optical tool for capturing 180° angle-of-view shots on all EOS Digital SLR cameras. Photographers looking for a broad focal length range with excellent image quality will enjoy the Company’s first L-series 70-300mm telephoto zoom lens, the new EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM lens, delivering outstanding sharpness, contrast and color fidelity in a compact, lightweight form factor. Canon is introducing two new versions of its popular super telephoto lenses, the new EF 300mm f/2.8L IS II USM and EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II USM super-telephoto lenses delivering incredible image quality at all apertures for professional photojournalists, sports and wildlife photographers. For professionals and advanced amateurs looking to push their L-series Canon telephotos to the limit, the Company is proud to upgrade its two popular extenders with the new Canon Extender EF 1.4x III and Extender EF 2x III for additional telephoto reach and exceptional clarity. Photographers will immediately notice that the latest Canon L-series telephoto lenses and extenders have a more neutral white tone compared to earlier models. This new shade of white will be used with all L-series telephoto lenses and extenders beginning in the second half of 2010. The introductions of these Canon lenses have been timed with Canon’s latest camera introduction, the Canon EOS 60D Digital SLR camera, designed for advanced amateurs and emerging professional photographers.

“Canon’s core has always been our optics, and we are constantly challenging ourselves to produce better and more advanced optical systems for our customers. These six new products advance the state of the art in Canon lens technology and provide new and innovative tools for professionals and advanced amateur photographers,” stated Yuichi Ishizuka, executive vice president and general manager, Consumer Imaging Group, Canon U.S.A.

More reading

• 2010 – New Canon EF series professional “L” Lenses by bobatkins.com
• Canon launches EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM by DPReview.com
• Canon releases EF 8-15mm f/4 L USM fisheye zoom lens by DPReview.com
• Canon EF 300mm f/2.8 L IS II USM and EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II USM by DPReview.com
• Canon announces EF Extender 1.4x III and EF Extender 2x III by DPReview.com

Canon develops 500mm F/4L IS II USM and the 600mm F/4L IS II USM

London, UK, 26 August 2010 – Canon today announces the development of two new super telephoto lenses for its leading range of EOS Digital SLR cameras – the EF 500mm F/4L IS II USM and the EF 600mm F/4L IS II USM. The new lenses will be displayed for the first time in Europe during Photokina 2010 in Cologne, Germany.

Developed as part of Canon’s acclaimed L-series of professional lenses, the new lenses will achieve new and advanced levels of image quality. Each will include the highest quality components, featuring high specification Image Stabilizer technology alongside the use of optical materials such as Fluorite, to correct aberrations ensuring high resolution images rich in detail and contrast.

Succeeding the widely-respected EF 500mm F/4L IS USM and EF 600mm F/4L IS USM, the EF 500mm F/4L IS II USM and EF 600mm F/4L IS II USM are being developed for photographers who require high performance, fast aperture and a longer focal length. Redesigned, lightweight bodies will provide added mobility alongside enhanced protection against dust and water, making them ideal for the toughest shooting conditions.

Both new lenses have been designed to reflect Canon’s renowned high standards for the elite L-series, combining exceptional-quality optics with easy-to-reach controls and signature designs. The models will be released as part of Canon’s continued development of its EF lens line-up, offering enhanced performance and improved functions that cater for the needs of photographers from beginners through to professionals.

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A bit of history. Ever since the Canon EOS 50D is released, people in the photography arena have been kept talking about it’s successor. It is due to the reason that the EOS 50D was released (in a rush) as an answer to the highly successful Nikon D300 at that time.

Owners of the older EOS 40D did not find the EOS 50D as a viable upgrade due to the little improvements that it offers over its predecessor.

Since the announcement of the EOS 50D on August 2008, a lot of things have changed. Approximately a year after that (on September 2009), Canon fights back with the revolutionary Canon EOS 7D. The EOS 7D gains a lot of success and it’s considered as the best crop body available on the market to date winning the European Advanced SLR Camera 2010-2011.

Today, the highly anticipated successor of EOS 50D that people have been discussing all their life have been announced! It’s the new Canon EOS 60D that sits in between the EOS 50D and EOS 7D.

Here’s the important bits that matters:

• 18-megapixel image sensor with a 4-channel readout that’s closer to the 550D (vs. the 8-channel readout on the 7D)
• Advanced iFCL metering system (Same as 550D and 7D)
• 9-pt AF all cross-type; center cross to f2.8 (Better than 550D)
• ISO goes up to 6400 normally, and 12,800 on expanded range
• 5.3fps (Faster than 550D)
• SDXC cards as storage instead of CF
• Shoots video at 1080p at 24 and 30fps, 720p at 60fps, in H.264
• 1.04-million-dot swivel screen, a first on Canon’s DSLRs (but a standard feature on Sony’s alpha series for a while)
• Built-in microphone is mono, but has a stereo mic input; it has a wind filter and the same sound controls as the 5D Mark II
• Built-in wireless flash controller like the 7D
• Shutter life rated at 100,000 instead of 150,000 of 50D and 7D’s.
• In-camera RAW image processing (Eg. brightness, contrast, white balance or correct distortion or chromatic aberration) and saving as JPEG.
• NO micro-adjustment feature mentioned.

And specifications comparison chart. Credit to CNET.

More reading:

• Canon EOS 60D DSLR announced and previewed by DPReview.com
• Canon’s New EOS 60D Digital SLR Camera Unleashes the Creative Potential of Digital Photography and EOS Full HD Video with New in-Camera Imaging Features by marketwatch.com
• Canon 60D Impressions: The Perfect Video DSLR Keeps Getting Closer by gizmodo.com.au
• Hands-on preview: Canon 60D delivers major changes over 50D by cnet.com

The Sony DSLR-A560 Digital SLR is a camera that answers all of your questions before you can even ask. High resolution (14.2MP) APS-C sensor? Yes. Brilliant, tiltable (+/- 90°), large (3″) display with superb resolution (921,600 pixels)? Sure. Dazzling video in high definition (1080i)? Of course. You want faster focusing? Using the same “phase detection” auto focus for Live View as for the optical viewfinder, plus autofocus that begins as soon as you raise the camera to your eye, you’ll catch fast action that others miss.

How about capturing the absolute best quality possible, with RAW and JPEG file formats? Wouldn’t you like to create a 3D panoramic photo without breaking a sweat? Abolish camera shake forever with image stabilization and reduced-noise high sensitivity (up to 12,800 ISO)? With the A560, you get this and much more.

The built-in HDR (High Dynamic Range) function combines 3 quick photos of a high contrast scene and combines them to give you one photo with the correct shadow, mid-tone and highlight tones for a beautifully balanced image. 6 scene selections and 6 style modes, including Portrait, Sports Action, Landscape, Sunset, Night Portrait and Hand-held Twilight modes are available. Face Detection recognizes and adjusts the camera for faces in a given scene, and Smile Shutter only takes a picture when it sees a smile on your subject’s face.

There’s a built-in pop-up flash. You can shoot up to 7 frames per second if you want to, and you can save your images on Memory Stick PRO Duo or Pro-HG Duo; SD, SDHC and SDXC memory cards.
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If you like to live on the edge, this Sony DSLR SLT-A33 Digital Camera will take you to the leading edge of DSLR technology, with the first-ever translucent mirror design. For the first time, a high-resolution live image preview with rapid, accurate phase detection autofocus is available at all times–via the LCD or the electronic viewfinder. This means that even moving objects stay in sharp focus at all times, whether you’re shooting full HD video or stills.

That’s not all the A33 has to offer, though. It’s got 14.2MP of high resolution captured on an APS-C size HD CMOS image sensor, an incredibly sharp, bright 3″ tiltable LCD screen with 921,000 dots, built-in flash, full HD 1080/60i video, a fabulous 3D panorama mode that combines 3 pictures into a 3D image, and up to 7 frames per second continuous shooting.

With the image stabilization, Hand-held Night Shot mode, Multi-frame NR mode (which takes 6 photos in rapid succession and uses the best data from each to create 1 stunning picture), and sensitivity up to ISO 25600, you won’t ever have to miss a picture due to darkness again.

Face Detection recognizes faces and optimizes exposure and focus for them, Smile Shutter takes the picture only when it detects the subject smiling. There’s also an automatic HDR mode which take 3 photos of a high-contrast situation, and melds the highlight, shadow and mid-tone data together to create 1 optimal photo. Of course the A33 also has creative modes such as Standard, Vivid, Portrait, Landscape, Sunset, B/W (Contrast, Saturation, Sharpness adjustable in +/-3 steps), Macro, Sports Action, Night Portrait, and many more.
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If you like to live on the edge, this Sony DSLR SLT-A55 Digital Camera will take you to the leading edge of DSLR technology, with the first-ever translucent mirror design. For the first time, a high-resolution live image preview with rapid, accurate phase detection autofocus is available at all times–via the LCD or the electronic viewfinder. This means that even moving objects stay in sharp focus at all times, whether you’re shooting full HD video or stills.

That’s not all the A55 has to offer, though. It’s got 16.2MP of high resolution captured on an APS-C size HD CMOS image sensor, built-in GPS that records the location and time of every shot you take and lets you view your images on a map (with compatible computer and Internet applications), an incredibly sharp, bright 3″ tiltable LCD screen with 921,000 dots, built-in flash, full HD 1080/60i video, a fabulous 3D panorama mode that combines 3 pictures into a 3D image, and up to 10 frames per second continuous shooting.

With the image stabilization, Hand-held Night Shot mode, Multi-frame NR mode (which takes 6 photos in rapid succession and uses the best data from each to create 1 stunning picture), and sensitivity up to ISO 25600, you won’t ever have to miss a picture due to darkness again.

Face Detection recognizes faces and optimizes exposure and focus for them, Smile Shutter takes the picture only when it detects the subject smiling. There’s also an automatic HDR mode which take 3 photos of a high-contrast situation, and melds the highlight, shadow and mid-tone data together to create 1 optimal photo. Of course the A55 also has creative modes such as Standard, Vivid, Portrait, Landscape, Sunset, B/W (Contrast, Saturation, Sharpness adjustable in +/-3 steps), Macro, Sports Action, Night Portrait, and many more.
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