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Digital Camera News, Reviews and Tips

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM Delayed Until September

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Canon 24-70mm

Canon has been on a roll lately in the delay of lenses.  So it should come as no surprise that the highly anticipated Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM lens has been delayed until mid-September 2012.

The new 24-70mm f/2.8L lens was announced back in February (and was slated for availability in April 2012) alongside the Canon 24mm and 28mm prime lenses (both of which were slated for a June launch and are now readily available). This delay will put the refreshed 24-70mm lens availability at 7+ months after announcement (assuming Canon doesn’t delay it again).

[via Rob Galbraith]

 

New Nikon AF-S 800mm f/5.6 VR Lens Coming Soon?

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Nikon 600mm

Nikon Rumors picked up word that a new AF-S 800mm f/5.6 VR Lens should arrive in September around the time of Photokina 2012.  The longest current lens in Nikon’s line up is the 600mm f/4G ED VR AF lens.  Given that this lens is priced at $9800, I would expect to see the 800mm lens in the same $14k ballpark as Canon’s 800mm f/5.6L.

Canon 1D X In-Stock Soon?

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Canon 1D X

Several sources around the web are reporting that US retailers will be getting their first shipments of the Canon 1D X this week.  While you shouldn’t expect to see 1D X actually in stock this week, this is a good sign that pre-orders will start being fulfilled on this long-delayed camera.

This also means that we’ll start seeing some real-world usage from the 1D X filter onto the web.  It’s been a long time since I first got hands on the 1D X back in October 2011.  I sure didn’t think that it would be nearly nine months later before the camera shipped.

DSLR Average Online Purchase Price Increases By More Than $350 from 2011

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Online buyers of DSLR cameras pay $1,291, on average, for their camera, up from $937 in 2011, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2012 Digital Single-Lens Reflex Camera Online Buyer ReportSM released last week.

I was a little surprised to read those numbers, considering the affordable DSLR options available now – with cameras like the Nikon D3200, Rebel T3 and Sony A37.  However, I’m also a little curious if the consumer move toward affordable mirrorless cameras like the Sony NEX-F3 and Olympus E-PM1 has impacted these figures (which may not be factored into “DSLR” sales evaluated by JD Power).

Additional notes from the report points to Pentax’s lead in buyer satisfaction and durability.  Finally, note that these scores are based on consumer surveys rather than objective test data.

More excerpts from the press release below. [Read more…]

Canon Refurbished Gear 20% Off at Canon Store

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Canon 7D

The Canon Store online has 20% OFF Select Refurbished EOS Digital Cameras and Refurbished Lenses with coupon code 20SLR612.

Notable deals with this coupon code include a Canon 7D for $1087 (compare at $1699 new retail) or a Canon 60D w/ 18-135mm kit for $831 (compare at $1299 new retail).  See the full inventory on Canon’s website.

I’ve bought refurbished Canon gear before and wouldn’t hesitate to do it again – especially when savings like this are available.

Canon 7D Firmware Upgrade Due in August… Bigger RAW Buffer, GPS Adapter Compatibility and Manual Audio Levels

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Canon 7D

The previously teased firmware update for the Canon 7D is now officially set to be released in August.  The firmware set looks to be a mighty big one with a RAW image burst buffer that now allows 25 consecutive images over the previous 15. [Read more…]