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Digital Camera News, Reviews and Tips

Magic Lantern Development Underway for Canon 5D Mark III

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5D Mark III Magic Lantern

The Magic Lantern guys look to be hard at work on development of custom firmware for the Canon 5D Mark III.  A couple of days ago, one of the developers tweeted the above image of a 5D Mark III displaying a “Hello world” message to Planet5D and others.

While the 5D Mark III is quite the step up for video users when compared to the 5D Mark II, there are still some key concerns in what it is lacking.  Two of the top “missing” features are 1080/60p frame rates and clean HDMI output for external recorder capture.  No doubt if the Magic Lantern crew can get these two features cranking reliably on the 5D Mark III, there will be a lot of happy shooters out there.

 

Canon Product Advisory Offers Inspection/Fix for 5D Mark III Owners w/ “Light Leak” Problem

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Canon 5D Mark III "Light Leak" Fix

Canon has issued another product advisory (see the last one) for the 5D Mark III with regard to the LCD panel “light leak” issue.  Canon has identified a specific range of affected serial numbers for the 5D3 and will offer a free inspection for owners who wish to send their camera to Canon beginning in May.

See the full advisory and contact details below. [Read more…]

Canon 15.5-47mm T2.8 and 30-105mm T2.8 Cinema Lenses

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Canon 30-105mm Cine Zoom

Canon 30-105mm Cine Zoom

Along with the Canon EOS 1D C and EOS C500, Canon also unveiled a pair of new Cinema Zoom lenses today – each in PL and EF mounts.  The CN-E15.5-47mm T2.8 L S/SP and CN-E30-105mm T2.8 L S/SP lenses are designed to cover Super 35 frames and deliver top notch performance at 4K resolution.

Canon 15-47mm Cine Zoom

Canon 15-47mm Cine Zoom

No word yet on price or release dates; however, given the $45K+ price tag of the last Canon cinema zoom lenses announced, I wouldn’t expect these to be much less.

More details in the press release below. [Read more…]

Canon EOS C500 is a Pro Level 4K RAW Cinema Camera

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Canon C500

The Canon C500 was announced today alongside the Canon EOS 1D C.  Both offer 4K video capture; however, the C500 is clearly targeted toward the higher-end Hollywood user.

The C500 supports 4K-resolution video and outputs as a 10-bit uncompressed RAW data stream with no de-Bayering.  The C500 can shoot 4K at 1-60fps.

The camera will also output quad full-HD (3840 x 2160), 2K (2048 x 1080) and full HD (1920 x 1080).  The C500 offers a 12-bit RGB 4:4:4 signal format during 2K output, which can be selected to operate from one to 60 fps. The C500 can capture 120 fps when switched to a 10-bit YCrCb 4:2:2 mode.

In addition to the external video output options, the  C500 simultaneously records in-camera a 50 Mbps HD proxy video to a CF card.

Like the C300, the C500 features a Super 35 format CMOS sensor and will be available in EF-mount and PL-mount options.  Pricing (rumored to be around $30k) and release dates are yet to be confirmed.

More info and images for the Canon C500 below. [Read more…]

Canon EOS 1D C Brings 4K to HDSLRs

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Canon 1D C

The Canon EOS 1D C is a 4K HDSLR featuring an 18.1MP CMOS sensor that is capable of outputting 8-bit 4:2:2 Motion JPEG 4K video to a CF card at 24 fps.  Additionally, the camera captures 1080p video at either 24p or 60p, albeit at 8-bit 4:2:0.  The 1D C also offers an uncompressed YCbCr 8-bit 4:2:2 signal output via the HDMI-out.

[Read more…]