(Credit:
Ole Jorgen Liodden)
Canon touted the EOS 7D as a weatherproof dSLR with seals at strategic locations that can survive harsh environments. This makes it suitable for photographers who work in extreme conditions like the desert or sub-zero regions.
Photographer Ole Jorgen Liodden recently brought his EOS 7D to the Antarctica for an assignment, and is glad to report that the camera emerged unscathed. He has the pictures to prove it.
Considering that in his write-up that on a previous expedition whereby his EOS 50D went under the sun after a day, the EOS 7D's hardy specs are quite impressive. But do note that you would have to maintain the camera well in order for the seals to function properly.
For more of the Liodden and the EOS 7D's adventure in Antarctica, click here.
(Source: Crave Asia via Canon Rumors)
(Credit:
Lomography)
Oh my awesome! If you're looking to turn your digital SLR into a toy camera, Lomography's new adapters for Diana F+ lenses let you do it for cheap. They were announced a few days ago, but that doesn't make them any less cool.
The $12 adapters are available for Canon EOS and Nikon F-series dSLRs and can be used with the Diana F+ Fisheye, Telephoto, Wide, Close-Up, and Super Wide lenses. Kits with an adapter and a lens can be purchased for between $50 to $60 depending on lens type.
The plastic lenses produce a large variety of creative effects, and while you can do some of these things with a bit of Photoshop-ery, but what's the fun in that?
(Source: Digital Photography Review)
Fresh from San Francisco where she was covering last week's Apple announcements, Natali Del Conte joins us on the today's pop-culture-y episode.
Of course, the big Twitter and Facebook news of the day is Kanye West's unwelcome outburst at last night's MTV Video Music Awards (VMA) show. The producer slash performer just can't seem to keep his head above water. In case you haven't heard, Kanye rudely interrupted Taylor Swift's award acceptance speech to announce that Beyonce should have won for her "Single Ladies" video. Whether that's true or not (some of us think it is), the millions of Tweets and status updates indicate that the public isn't on his side, despite his half-hearted apology that someone should probably post on this Web site.
Speaking of celebrity freak-outs, Serena Williams has her own apologizing to do, but this time it's to a line woman who became the object of her public outburst after a call was made in Serena's error. The charitable Williams, albeit unsatisfied with the result of the match, managed to keep her composure and must have thought the woman looked a little hungry, because she offered to feed her a tennis ball down the esophagus. She politely declined the meal. Watch the disaster unfold.
Finally, we do actually have some good news to report today: Captain EO is making its triumphant return to Disneyland! Even though the classic 80s movie has already made its way to YouTube, watching it on a computer doesn't even compare to wearing those cheesy pink 3D glasses and watching it in a giant theater with all the physical effects. We're not sure what changes are in store for the film, but rest assured that you'll be the first to know once we get more info.
Unfortunately, no Calls from the Public segment today because, well, we didn't get any! None that were good, anyway. So give us a call and tell us how much you like/love/hate/despise the show. You know how it works- call 1-866-404-CNET and you might get played on the air. We also accept e-mail submissions (preferably of you holding a 404 sign or something) like the one we received from our buddies Ammi and Samri in Sweden over the weekend. Send 'em our way at the404(at)CNET[dot]com.
EPISODE 424
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Double your podcast, double your fun: a loooong episode that includes random ramblings about the Canon EOS 7D and Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1, musings on manual (exposure), and encouraging an interest in infrared. Plus, we dig decay.
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EPISODE 61
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(Credit:
Canon)
Canon has announced two new lenses offering useful zoom ranges to its EF-S line-up, the new EF-S 18-135mm f3.5-5.6 IS lens and the new 15-85mm f3.5-5.6 IS USM lens.
The 15-85mm is a high-quality standard zoom lens with a 35mm equivalent of 24-136mm, covering from wide angle to portrait ranges. It also features Image Stabilization and a USM autofocus motor for quiet and fast AF.
The 18-135mm is a high-quality superzoom lens with a 35mm equivalent of 29-216mm, covering a very wide range, making it a good choice for a do-it-all lens.
The two new lenses both offer IS with up to four stops of correction for camera shake, as well as ultralow dispersion lens elements and special coatings for improved image quality and reduced lens flare. They have circular apertures for a pleasing bokeh, the background blur at wide apertures.
Both lenses share a new look that goes along with the newly announced EOS 7D.
The EF-S 18-135mm f3.5-5.6 IS lens will be available in September 2009 for about $500, and the EF-S 15-85mm f3.5-5.6 IS USM will be available a bit later in October 2009 for about $800.
The kind folks at Eos Wireless sent me one of their wireless multiroom audio systems to test out a couple weeks ago, and after setting it up tonight, all I can say is that it made me long for the power and solidity of the Sonos system that I got to try out last December.
Insufficient cord length fail.
CNET's Jeff Bakalar already hit all the high and low points in last month's review, and my experience was much the same. I started by plugging my iPhone into the base station. Some of the promotional material for the system says the Eos system loves the outdoors, and I suppose the sound that came out of the base station might have been fine if I were drinking beer at a barbecue--flabby bass, tinny treble, and what sounded like occasional lapses in one or the other stereo channel. I think they added some reverb to make it sound "bigger"--perhaps this is part of the "SRS WOW!" technology mentioned in the FAQ--but the overall sound was so weird and different from the sound that usually comes out of the iPhone that I couldn't really tell. It didn't make me want to sit and listen.
It was easy to plug the other three speakers into outlets around the house and outside, and the base station started beaming music to them almost immediately. The standalone speakers actually sounded better than the base station--still thin, but not as odd--but when I turned them up past about two-thirds, they got severely distorted. There was lag between the base station and the speakers, which created disorienting delays when I was walking between rooms. Like Jeff the CNET reviewer, I got a lot of drop outs at first, but unlike his case, they disappeared when I switched the "Range Ex" button on the back of the base station. (Which begs the question: why not just have whatever that switch does enabled by default?)
The power supplies on the extra speakers are big and clunky, and the cable's only 32 inches long. This created logistical problems--when I set a speaker up outdoors, I had trouble getting it around the plug guard, and then the cable wasn't long enough to set the speaker atop the three-foot fence running around my deck. Who wants to listen to speakers on the floor?
To make sure the audio problem wasn't in the source, I swapped my iPhone out for my fourth-gen iPod, and then connected my Zune via the auxiliary input using the included one-eighth-inch stereo cable. None of the sources sounded any better. To give you an idea of my reference points, I usually plug my Zune into the auxiliary input on a Bose Wave, my iPod into an iHome iH55SR (which may be best $99 audio gadget I've ever bought), and my iPhone into an auxiliary input that goes into the FM radio (not CD player) in the totally stock sound system in my 2006 Subaru. Those set-ups all sound better than the Eos Wireless. So did the Sonos system.
To its credit, Eos was exceptionally easy to use--there's no computer required (and no way to tap into a music library on a home computer), and I didn't need to read the instruction manual. In fact, it's so simple, you don't even need to turn the base station on. Which is why there's no on/off switch (which is weird). It's also a lot cheaper than competing multiroom audio systems, starting at $250 for the base station and one speaker--that's about one-fourth the starting price of the Sonos system. It might be acceptable for casual background music or a raging party. But if you're serious about music, I'd save up for something better.
(Credit:
Gizmodo)
Over here at CNET Asia, we've seen some quirky thumbdrives, but this might hit the sweet spot for some photographers. The acclaimed Canon EOS 5D Mark II has been miniaturized to fit a USB plug into the lens rear, which can be screwed into the faux camera body to protect the contact points.
We're guessing this USB peripheral is as petite as the Glico-issued Nikon collectible, though the difference is that the Canon thumbdrive actually works and is available in only 4GB capacity. It can be found on eBay for $95. I wonder if we will ever see an 8GB version built to replicate the higher-end EOS 1Ds Mark III.
(Source: Crave Asia via Gizmodo)
(Credit:
Canon USA)
Not everyone's ready to chuck their old Canon EOS 5D in favor of the shiny new EOS 5D Mark II. So if you're afflicted with one of the rare instances in which the older model's mirror becomes detached, you'll be glad to know that Canon will fix it for free. How do you know if it's detached? It won't display an image in the viewfinder.
"Computer..."
(Credit: Scott Forman)Scott Forman may or may not be a Star Trek fan, but when I watch his ShutterVoice demo in action, all I can think of is Jean Luc Picard on the Enterprise, in his quarters, editing photos, with some Earl Grey and Macbeth at his side. Editing photos?!
ShutterVoice, created by Mr. Forman, is a Windows-only application that allows you to completely control Canon's EOS utility--which enables you to remotely operate your camera through the computer, strictly through voice command. What made me giddy as a fanboy was that you seemingly have to say "computer" before each command. Uber-geeky, I know.
The software will be available in December 2008 for $30. Check out the movie below for a full demo.
Titillating stuff from Canon.
(Credit: Canon)Rumors of a successor to the Canon 5D have been circulating for a while and now the digital-imaging blogsphere is churning again--this time with a brooding ad Canon has posted on some of its Web sites featuring the murky outline of mysterious dSLR and the phrase "Destined Evolution." Everybody thinks its the Canon 5D Mark II because it appears to lack a pop-up mount and has some design features that harken to Canon's other high-end EOS dSLRs.
A next-gen 5D--the current model retails for about $2,300 (body only)--has been a long time coming, and advanced amateur shutterbugs (and some professionals) have been waiting not so patiently for the rumored 5D Mark II to arrive--so much so that they barely batted an eye at the just-announced $1,400 EOS 50D.
Anybody waiting to pull the trigger on buying a 50D until you see the 5D Mark II?
