New Mirrorless Canon EOS M3 Aims to Improve Autofocus

With Canon's mega-announcement this morning of 9 new products including the 50 Megapixel Canon EOS 5DS & 5DS R, the Canon EOS M3 mirrorless digital camera is finally confirmed.

The Canon EOS M3 is Canon's 3rd iteration to their first and only line of mirrors interchangeable digital cameras, preceded by the EOS M in 2012, and the EOS M2 in 2013. Bad news for American 'M' fans though (myself included), as of now the EOS M3 will not be released in the Unites States. The Canon EOS M2 was also never made available in the U.S.

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Many regard the original EOS M as the best one of the most 'underrated' cameras of recent years.  I believe this to be true as well, not because of how amazing it is, but how decent it is compared to the bad reputation it earned itself with horribly slow autofocus speeds out-of-the-box. A firmware update came later that improved its focusing speed a bit.

One of the main marketing points of the EOS M2 was that it is faster in autofocusing, they even compared it side by side to the EOS M in one of the promo videos.

It seems Canon is still trying to shake the stigma of the M being a slow focusing camera. With the official announcement of the Canon EOS M3 this morning, one of the only videos I can find featured Amsterdam based photographer Andres de Lange complimenting the EOS M3's focusing speed in just his second line of dialogue, saying:

"I like the Canon EOS M3 because the autofocus is really quick."

I think it's interesting and promising how Canon has geared their marketing towards patching the holes in the M family, but without a worldwide release of the M3, it seems Canon may still not yet be confident in the M line.

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Take a peek over at Canonwatch.com for more specs and info!

See also: How to Improve Ergonomics on Small Cameras

8 Videos Featuring the New Canon EOS 5DS and 5DS R

Expect much coverage in the coming hours and days of the new Canon EOS 5DS and 5DS R, 2 of the 9 new products announced by Canon today. In the meantimes here's the latest collection of Canon EOS 5DS Video (& 5DS R), packed with interesting promos, feature overviews, and sample footage for your enjoyment!

Canon EOS 5DS Video (& 5DS R)

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Canon EOS 5DS and 5DS R 50.6 Megapixel Professional DSLR

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For full specifications and info read the previous article HERE.

New Canon EOS 5DS and 5DS R 50.6MP 'Dual DIGIC 6'

Since 2010 the average Megapixels for a Canon interchangeable lens cameras had come to settle at just over 19 Megapixels, with the highest being 22MP. Today Canon smashes those statistics with the official release of the new Canon EOS 5DS and 5DS R 50.6MP professional DSLR cameras.  Also unveiled is the world’s widest-angle retilinearzoom lens, the new EF 11-24mm f/4L USM.  

Sign Up to Pre-Order with Amazon Now | 5DS $3,699 / 5DS R $3,899

The "S" stands for sharpness presumably. Canon says the EOS 5DS and 5DS R are geared towards fine art shooters, landscape photographers, or anyone in need of getting the maximum amount of detail technically possible in a full frame DSLR.

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London, UK, 6 February 2015 – Canon today transforms the EOS system with the arrival of the EOS 5DS and the EOS 5DS R – a new breed of ultra-high resolution full-frame DSLRs.

Breaking the boundaries of 35mm sensors,the new cameras offer the highest megapixels ever seen in a full frame sensor, an astonishing 50.6MP. Delivering unparalleled quality, the cameras provide an exceptional combination of resolution, responsiveness and durability, whether shooting landscapes, architecture, high fashion or portraiture, either personally or professionally. When nothing but the sharpest image is expected, the EOS 5DS R also features a low pass cancellation filter to maximise the sensor’s resolution and visible image quality.Alongside the new DSLRs, Canon also introduces the EF 11-24mm f/4L USM, the world’s widest-angle rectilinear zoom lens(1), the perfect companion for landscape and architecture photographers.

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• 50.6 MP CMOS Sensor with Dual DIGIC 6 Processors
• 150K Pixel RGB+IR Metering Sensor
• Up to 5.0 Frames Per Second
• 61-point AF
• Cropped Shooting
• EOS 5DS R Features Low-pass Cancellation Filter

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• 3.2" Clear View II LCD Screen
• ISO 100-6400 (12800 Expandable)
• In-camera Crop Shooting Modes–1.3x, 1.6x and 1:1
• 19 MP Even when Cropped to 1.6x
• 100% Viewfinder with Electronic Overlay

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Canon EF 11-24mm f/4L USM Lens

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Canon EF 11-24mm f/4L USM Lens Features

• L-series ultra-wide zoom lens with an impressive 11mm starting focal length
• New optical design and the use of one Super UD element and one UD lens element
• Subwavelength Coating (SWC) and Air Sphere Coating (ASC)
• Inner focusing, ring USM, a high-speed CPU and optimized AF algorithms
• Full-time manual focus allows manual focus adjustment while in AF Mode

5 Minute Stylistic iPhone Product Photography

[video width="1920" height="1080" mp4="http://cameraplex.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/CP001.mp4"][/video] Product photography is an art all of its own and the number one key to bold and stunning photos that properly showcase your product is lighting. This article presents the simplest way to achieve professional looking stylistic black background iPhone product photography, and can be done with one light in 5 minutes or less. This is for those who are looking to do-it-yourslef, or begin their introduction to product photography. For the most comprehensive and in-depth introduction to the subject I highly recommend the book Light Science and Magic: An Introduction to Photographic Lighting.

Stylistic iPhone Product Photography

For this you will need:

• A Dark Room
• iPhone
• Product
• Spotlight (directional lamp)
• A Way to Mount or Elevate your Product

2 Steps for Better iPhone Product Photography 

If you cannot elevate your product you can photoshop out the the base/ground. If done right you won't need any photoshop to refine the final image.

1. Adjust the light so that is has a slight angle but is not to far off from being straight over head. The goal is to find an angle that highlights the angles of your product without casting any light on the background.
2. Get your iPhone and find a nice angle. Once you've focused, the trick here is to lower the exposure. You will see a yellow vertical line with a 'sun' icon in the center. Tap and drag that icon downwards to lower the exposure until the the background is black or nearly black.
3. That's it!

Photography Principles at Play

Exposure, Dynamic Range, & Understanding Histograms.. 

Taking photos with your iPhone in this method is not the same and using full auto and darkening the image on your iPhone or in an editing software after. Without lowering your exposure the iPhone will expose the image by evaluating exposure by the average amount of light within the yellow focus box. This is known as spot-metering.

Since the majority of the scene is dark including inside the focus box, the camera will expose so that the blacks are at an appropriate level, raising the overall brightness of the scene. In terms of dynamic range, the whites (or highlights - lit part) are on the opposite end of the luminance spectrum. When the camera lowers the exposure time to raise your black levels it will in turn overexpose your highlights, unable to keep them within the dynamic range capabilities of the phone. Over exposing the whites will record as 'on' pixels, rather than a measurable amount, meaning this pixel will always be pure white and cannot be edit by normal value adjustments.

The goal here is to shift the luminance spectrum to the left so that our whites/brights (what matters in this image) are on the spectrum, and the blacks are clipping below zero recording as 'off' pixels, so that we don't have to edit the image to achieve the desired result.

Every properly exposed image should have no clipping either with a loss of blacks or loss of whites, in this particular we go against that taking advantage of the iPhones inability to capture the entire range of light in the scene.

Future article coming soon, covering this further using better cameras and additional lights..

Canon EOS M3 Image Leaked [No EVF]

 

Canon EOS M3 Image

The Canon EOS M3 Mirrorless Interchangeable Lens Camera is set to be officially released Friday February 6th. A few days away we now have the Canon EOS M3 image leaked. Only one image is floating around the web at this time but it looks very legitimate. You can expect this to be the new Canon EOS M3.

I've added the presumable features to the image above based on what we can see, they are as follows:

• M Lens Mount System
• No Electronic Viewfinder
• Improved Grip & Battery Life
• Articulating Screen
• No Audio In/Out
• Upper Custom Function Button
• Exposure Compensation Dial
• Mode Dial

For further specifications on the EOS M3 and other Canon cameras being released next week, read the previous post. Whether the Canon EOS M has got you all giggly or red in the face, head over the most popular EOS M forum at DPReview and join the discussion.

Thoughts on the Future of Mirrorless Cameras

I understand the Canon EOS M & others may not make you look like a pro. If you are new to the camera game or missed a few years, it will be valuable for you to understand that mirrorless cameras are as capable as DSLRs in most ways, though you'll find fanboys and fangirls on both sides of the fence. I'm not saying the particular comparison of the EOS M line vs a (say) 5D line is an equal one, but the days having the quality of your work being measured by the size of your gear are over.

Mirrorless cameras are forecasted to hit their peak in consumer interest thus far in Demember 2015. It will be interesting in the coming years to see if the miniaturization of the technology will be proven better and embraced as the computer was; or rejected and scaled back up as cell phones have.

It's the constant question of revolutionary or evolutionary.

New Canon Cameras to be Released Next Week

OOOOOK good news Canon fans it looks like a big round of new canon cameras to be released next week. We've got some long awaited additions to the Canon line up finally making their way to the market, as well as a few new players. Based on the rumors and leaked specifications I will be referring to the cameras as the likely titles they will be given.

CANON EOS M3

Personally I'm most excited about the forthcoming Canon EOS M3. The first generation EOS M proved very unrefined, which is understandable as it marked the inception of Canon's Mirrorless camera market. Due to the horribly slow auto focus out-of-the-box, the original M was a fiscal flop and Canon seemed to abandon development completely. In December 2013 the Canon EOS M2 was released regionally in Japan. A few additional M mount lenses went on to be released there as Canada as well. The EOS M2 flaunted minor improvements internally and externally. Throughout the last few years Canon has claimed to be 'committed to the M line', but the abandonment of the M and limited availability of the M2 told a different story.

Many rumors have been rising rapidly about the release of a new Canon Mirrorlesss camera (presumably the M3) for about 6 months. It looks like it will finally be official next week. With canon being a little late to the mirrorless game even in June 2012 with the first EOS M, they really need to bring something special with the EOS M3. For such a powerful brand it's really surprising they have yet to provide a product to meet the needs of the emerging market.

Canon EOS M3 Likely Specifications

• 24.2MP sensor
• Dual Pixel CMOS AF III
• Automatic shooting modes
• ISO 100-12,800 range 
• 7 fps
• NFC
• Optional EVF

Canon EOS 5Ds

The Canon EOS 5D line has really been the backbone of their success in modern years. Much like another Batman movie or another Star Wars, there's really no reason to stop now. With a proven track record and huge fan-base (which is very well deserved), it's only logical to move forward. This next move forward for the 5D line up comes in the form of a rumored 50MP + sensor. That's right - fifty!

Canon EOS 5Ds Likely Specifications

• 50.6MP full-size CMOS sensor (53MP total count)
• 5DS R is without low-pass filter
• Magnesium alloy body
• Dust and water sealed
• Dual processor DIGIC6
• Regular sensitivity ISO 100-6400, expand to 12800
• Continuous shooting 5 frames / sec.
• High precision 61-point AF, 41 cross type
• EOS iTR AF
• 150,000 pixel RGB + IR photometry sensor
• Added “fine detail” to the Picture Style
• 1.3x and 1.6x crop shooting mode
• Customizable “Quick Control Screen”
• Time-lapse movie
• Anti-flicker
• Interval Timer
• Bulb timer
• No headphone terminal
• No DAF
• No HDMI output for video (clean out) Not to compete with 5D III other video features are same.

Canon PowerShot G1 X Mark III

Canon could be looking to upgrade the Canon Powershot G1 X line with a Full-Frame sensor to compete with the Sony R1. A compact full-frame camera with a non-interchangeable lens would be an easy leader in it's class if done well.

Canon PowerShot G1 X Mark III Likely Specs

• Powershot G1 X Mark III (or maybe G3 X)
• 20.2mp 1 inch back illuminated cmos
• Wi-fi
• NFC
• 5 fps
• f/2.8-f5.6. 25x zoom. 28-600mm zoom (35 equiv.)
• 3.2 inch touch screen
• ISO 12800 expand to 25600
• Full HD. 59.94 fps

Memes Only Photographers Will Understand

We've all been there at one time or another, things clients say or fellow photographers do that just make you shake your head. Often being a photographer means being more a teacher than an artist, educating your clients as to why $100 a day won't get them a 4 camera 10 hour shoot with lighting and wardrobe changes. So here's to those 'shaking my head' moments - a nice batch of "memes only photographers will understand" for your enjoyment!

Top Ten Reasons You Might Be A Photographer

10.  You have nightmares of people using the “P mode”  we won’t even talk about the “green mode.”  That’s just too scary.

9.  30,000 family photos neatly categorized in Lightroom.  Zero photos of you.

8.  When at a car dealership, you translate the price of a car in your head to “Six 5D Mark II’s.”  Your last power bill cost two monopods.

7.  Touchdown plays are somewhat distracting because you can see the white glass on the sidelines

6.  You are frequently greeted with “What are you taking a picture of?!?” instead of “hello.”

5.  You’d rather buy the shirt that more closely resembles 18% gray

4.  Your carry-on is heavier than your checked bags

3.  You describe disgusting old dilapidated barns as “beautiful”  (via Lori Anderson)

2.  Number of lenses > Pairs of shoes you own (Carsten Deutschmann)

1.  You actually believe a wizard could fit in your pocket

Top 10 Credit

Photos of NYC During JUNO Blizzard

The forecasted historic Juno blizzard of 2015 with a projected two to three feet of snow was pretty much a bust. Manhattan saw only 8 inches to a foot snow. Pretty significant if the media hadn't talked it up so much. Here is my personal batch of 'photos of NYC during Juno blizzard'. From Soho, to Midtown, to beautiful Central Park, these pictures encompass the stark evening and lonely streets before the storm, to the snowmen and sledding families the morning after.

Photos of NYC During Juno Blizzard: Evening of the Storm:

Photos of NYC During Juno Blizzard: Morning After:

In the afternoon before the storm, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced all vehicles would be banned from the road in conjunction with a full halt of the city's subway and bus system starting at 11pm on January 26th. Of all the residents in New York City less than 1/4th drive themselves around. With no way to get to work the majority of businesses had planned to not to open their doors come Tuesday morning.

The storm was a dud comparatively. With school and most work cancelled, and a lift of the travel ban come 8am Tuesday morning, New Yorkers headed out for a snow day.

My thanks to Tony Northrup for giving me the heads up on the birding scene in Central Park.

Thanks for viewing photos of NYC during Juno blizzard - please share if you enjoyed them!

Best Professional Camera Kit Under $1000

If you're looking for a professional camera kit under $1000, look no more. Most of us, especially beginners, spend the majority of our camera contemplation on the price of the camera itself. Once you find the right fit you'll find you need of course. At that point you've likely exceeding the budget you had in mind going into it. Here's a video that done all the legwork for you in finding the best turn-key camera kit for under $1000. Our comically knowledgable camera friends Kai Wong and Lok Cheung over at DigitalRev TV have broken it down for you.

 -Professional Camera Kit Under $1000 -

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Professional Camera Kit Under $1000 Breakdown A:

Canon EOS Rebel T5i Digital SLR with 18-55mm STM Lens

Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 STM Lens

Manfrotto 679B Monopod

Canon Battery Grip BG-E8

Professional Camera Kit Under $1000 Breakdown B:

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GM5 Mirrorless Micro Four Thirds Digital Camera with 12-32mm Lens

Olympus BCL-0980 9mm f/8.0 Fisheye Body Cap Lens

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Some thoughts to leave you with on the subject of a professional camera kit under $1000:

I understand the Lumix may not make you look like a pro. If you are new to the camera game or missed a few years, it will be valuable for you to understand that mirrorless cameras are as capable as DSLRs. Though you'll find fanboys and fangirls on both sides of the fence. I'm not saying the particular comparison of the GM5 vs the T5i is an equal one, but the days having the quality of your work being measured by the size of your gear are over.

Mirrorless cameras are forecasted to hit their peak in consumer interest thus far in Demember 2015. It will be interesting in the coming years to see if the miniaturization of the technology will be proven better and embraced as the computer was; or rejected and scaled back up as cell phone have.

It's the constant question of revolutionary or evolutionary.

Mastering Exposure: Tips from Arthur Morris

There are really two elements to mastering exposure in your photography, the theory of exposure, and the real world application. Here's a great video by bird photographer virtuoso Arthur Morris, a Canon "Explorers of Light" program instructor. His expertise and tips on mastering exposure help you understand when to bend the rules and when to break them if what you already know isn't producing the results you know you can achieve.

Getting the Right Exposure

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 Further Understanding of the Histogram

Some images produce a spike in the histogram grouped towards the center, others show more evenly spread from left to right. This is a visual representation of the dynamic range in the image - the total spectrum of dark to light in the image. High end cameras often have sensors capable of capturing a large dynamic range, this enables a larger broader spectrum of luminance to be captured without clipping on either end. 

If you cannot achieve a setting without having either end clip, this just means the dynamic range of the image is too broad for your camera's sensor to capture. Mastering exposure entails not only knowing how to solve the problem, but understanding the capabilities of your gear.

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More videos on Bird Photography by Arthur Morris:

Canon: Bird Photography with Arthur Morris: Arthur's Gear Bag

Canon: Bird Photography with Arthur Morris: Tele-Extenders

Canon: Bird Photography with Arthur Morris: One Shot and AI Servo AF

Canon: Bird Photography with Arthur Morris: Sunrise and Sunset Blurs and Silhouettes