Six L-Series EF Lenses Also Debut, Including Wide Fisheye Zoom and Two Super Telephotos with Optional Extenders
Lake Success, NY—Canon USA announced its EOS 60D digital SLR, which boasts 18 megapixels of resolution, a 3.0-inch vari-angle LCD screen, Full HD video recording with manual overrides, in-camera functionality for RAW image processing plus creative filters. Aimed at advanced amateurs, the 60D replaces the EOS 50D and provides an array of new features to make it easier to add personal creativity to images.
“The EOS 60D has been designed to offer the image capture and the Full HD video features customers are looking for as they continue to expand their photographic skills. The exciting new features of the EOS 60D make using a DSLR camera more attractive and easier than ever before. We want everyone to experience the great image quality a Canon DSLR can offer with features and functions that they will appreciate and use,” said Yuichi Ishizuka, executive vice president and general manager, Consumer Imaging, Canon USA.
For the first time in the EOS system, the 60D has a vari-angle 3.0-inch Clear View LCD with 1,040,000-dot/VGA resolution plus antireflective and smudge-resistant coatings. Another first for the system is a multi-control dial, which streamlines navigation for vertical as well as horizontal shooting and enables a cleaner camera design than previous models. The 60D also has a locking mode dial, which prevents inadvertent changes to the selected shooting mode.
Yet another first for an EOS camera is the in-camera processing of RAW files, new reduced resolution image copies, and post-processing creative image filters. In-camera RAW image processing functions include picture style, white balance, color space, high-ISO noise reduction, peripheral illumination correction, linear distortion correction and chromatic aberration correction. The in-camera tools allow photographers to optimize images in the field and generate JPEGs at various resolution and compression settings for immediate sharing, without affecting the original RAW data. Lower resolution settings include 1,920x1,280 for display on HDTVs and 720x480 for uploading to social networking and photo-sharing websites.
New creative image filters include: soft focus; grainy black and white, for a nostalgic effect; toy camera, which adds vignetting and color shift for a creative option when shooting a colorful scene; and miniature effect, to make a scene appear like a small-scale model, simulating the look from a tilt-shift lens. The filters can be applied to a captured image in-camera to create a second “filtered” JPEG version, leaving the original RAW or JPEG file unaffected.
Also enhanced is the camera’s live view function, which adds an aspect ratio feature whereby the live view screen can display cropping lines for 1:1, 16:9 or 4:3 aspect ratios in addition to the standard 3:2. And a dedicated button initiates live view for still and video shooting.
Video capture options include Full HD at 1,920x1,080 res with selectable frame rates of cinematic 24p, 25p or 30p, as well as 720p HD at 50p or 60p, and SD video at 50p or 60p. The new movie mode also provides manual controls for exposure and audio levels in 64 steps, much like the firmware update for the EOS 5D Mark II HD-SLR. Canon also added an electronic wind filter to the audio controls within the movie shooting menu and included in-camera movie editing, allowing users to shorten a video by clipping segments from the beginning or the end. The 60D also includes a movie crop mode, which permits users to achieve 7x magnification when shooting SD video.
Other features include: an optical viewfinder; 9-point autofocus; Canon’s iFCL 63-zone metering system (intelligent focus, color, luminance); full-res still capture at 5.3 frames per second; an ISO range from 100-6400 and expandable to 12,800; a pop-up flash with an integrated Speedlite transmitter for control of two groups of off-camera EOS Speedlites without using an external transmitter; and support for extended capacity SDXC memory cards.
The Canon EOS 60D DSLR is scheduled for late September delivery and will be sold in a body-only configuration for $1,099 and as a kit with Canon’s EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS zoom lens for $1,399. The Canon BG-E9 battery grip will retail for $270.
Six New L-Series EF Lenses and Accessories Introduced
Canon rounds out its summer introductions with four L-series lenses and two accessory extenders for professionals and advanced amateurs. “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,” added Yuichi Ishizuka.
EF 8-15mm f/4L Fisheye USM. Canon is marketing this lens as “the world’s widest fisheye zoom lens.” It delivers 180-degree diagonal angle of view images for all EOS SLRs from full-frame to APS-C and provides 180-degree circular fisheye images for full-frame EOS models. It employs UD (ultra-low dispersion glass) and aspherical lens elements to enhance image quality and is equipped with rubber gaskets and weather seals. Canon’s SWC (sub wavelength structure coating) is used to minimize flare, and a fluorine anti-smear coating is applied to the front and rear elements to make lens cleaning easier. Scheduled for January 2011, it will have an MSRP of $1,400.
EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM. This compact, lightweight telephoto zoom lens is targeted at advanced amateurs looking for extra reach to bring a subject in tight and close. It incorporates two UD elements, weather and dust seals, an improved mechanical design and streamlined ergonomics to help avoid inadvertent mode switch operation. The shapes of the lens elements and their coatings are optimized to minimize ghosting and flare, and a new fluorine anti-smear coating is applied to the front and rear elements. The lens’s floating system optical formula is designed to improve image quality at all distance settings and reduce minimum focusing distance by more than a foot. An updated optical image stabilization (IS) system is added to combat camera shake up to four full shutter-speed steps. It is due out in October. $1,500.
EF 300mm f/2.8L IS II USM. This sixth generation of Canon 300mm f/2.8 lenses is suitable for a range of applications, from photojournalism and sports photography to nature and wildlife. This model is designed for improved image quality, 13 percent lighter weight, better image stabilization and enhanced durability. Its optical formula is upgraded with two fluorite lens elements for reduced chromatic aberration. For more durability, magnesium alloy and titanium is added to lens barrel components, along with weather sealing for all exterior joints and switches and a fluorine anti-smear coating on front and rear elements. It reaches retail in December. $7,000.
EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II USM. Canon’s professional 400mm f/2.8 lens is engineered to provide the light-gathering capability and long telephoto reach that sports photographers need to freeze action and fill the frame. It features two fluorite lens elements, reduced overall weight by 28 percent, IS that adds four shutter speed steps of shake compensation, the use of magnesium alloy and titanium for lens barrel components, weather sealing for all exterior joints and switches, and a fluorine anti-smear coating on front and rear elements. It’s also due in December. $11,000.
Extender EF 1.4x III and Extender EF 2x III. Replacements of Canon’s current extenders, these units are designed to provide faster autofocusing and improved autofocus precision with compatible EF lenses. Both employ an anomalous dispersion lens element for reduced chromatic aberration and enhanced image quality, a newly developed microcomputer that increases AF precision when the extenders are used with a IS series II EF super-telephoto lens, rubber gaskets and weather seals, and a fluorine anti-smear coating on front and rear elements. Both will be out in December. $500.
usa.canon.com
Print | posted @ Thursday, August 26, 2010 8:22 AM