Canon's New Offerings

Published by

Adam Tow

August 22, 2005

Five years ago, Canon released the camera that got me hooked for good on digital photography, the EOS-D30. Today, they announced their new offerings for 2006, the EOS 5D, a 12.8MP, full-frame, digital SLR in a camera body similar to my original 3MP D30. Many people have been waiting for a smaller version of the 1D-series, and this camera could be it. No, it doesn’t have weather sealing, doesn’t shoot 8fps, and has user controls that are based on the D30, D60, 10D, and 20D cameras, but hey, it’s got a full-frame sensor, 13 megapixels, and is much smaller and lighter than the 1D!

At a price of $3299, the 5D is almost the same price as the D30 ($3000) when it was released. Canon is going to sell thousands of these in the coming years.

As for a replacement to the 1D, Canon announced a slight revision to the 8MP EOS-1D Mark II. The 1D Mark II N has a larger LCD screen (2.5″ versus 2.0″), Picture Styles, and more customization of file/folder generation. Despite the small list of upgrades, I can see its usefulness for professional photographers. It’s enough to make me jealous of people who have it, but not enough to make me upgrade. I think I’ll wait until the true successor to the 1D and 1Ds line appears in a years time. That camera will marry the performance of the current 1D with the image resolution of the 1Ds. On the other hand, I could pick up a 5D to replace my original 1D. Anyone takers?

A 24-105mm f/4.0 IS L lense was announced, alongside the 430EX Speedlite. Wedding photographers are going to buy this lens in droves. One problem with the 1D-series and f/2.8 lenses is the weight. After a long day of shooting, these cameras and lenses get very heavy and are tiring to hold!

In other news, Canon also released the successor to the venerable PowerShot A95. The A95 is the camera that I have been recommending to people over and over when they ask me, “What camera should I buy?” Now, I’ll have to start telling them to get either the PowerShot A610 or the A620. The biggest difference between the previous camera and these is the use of SD memory cards. SD has quickly become the new standard for memory cards for cameras, handheld computers, laptops, and even mobile phones.

2 responses to “Canon's New Offerings”

Sean Harding

August 22, 2005

It’s true that the f/2.8 lenses are heavy to shoot with all day. But weddings are also often dark affairs, so that extra stop makes a big difference. IS is great, but it doesn’t help with subject motion, and people at weddings are often moving. So I personally will take the weight of an f/2.8 lens for wedding shooting, because the benefits are well worth it to me. I just wish they had a 24-105 f/2.8 (with the full frame sensor, 70mm isn’t quite enough). Of course, I shudder to think how much that would cost (and weigh)…

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Jauder Ho

August 22, 2005

And I just bought a 20D. Must comfort self. LOL.

I think the 24-105 will make a good walkaround lens. The 24-70 is definitely a heavy lens and it wasnt much fun to walk around all day with that lens in hand.

Actually, I really really like the 10-22 lens (not L I know). Now if they made a 10-70 f/2.8L and it was light… Then all you need is to combine that with a 70-200 and you will be in lens heaven.

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Adam, here

Welcome to tow.com, my home on the internet since 1995. I’m an indie software artist and creator of apps such as MixEffect, MsgFiler, AlbumFiler, Wipe My Screen, and more. I’m also the producer and co-director of Autumn Gem. Enjoy your visit here!