1Ds mkIII speculations

I found this interesting post on FM foums:

Canon were testing a FF sensor last year with the same 6.4 x 6.4 pixel pitch as the 30D but with larger photodiodes and better pixel lenses. Compared to the current 1Ds II’s 7.2 x 7.2 sensors this gave a pixel density increase of 1.266 giving a sensor size of 21.8mp with an effective size of 21mp. This sensor also had a built in 1.25 crop mode, giving a 16.7mp 1D IIn equivalent picture. The sensor (with dual DIGIC III etc) could do 5 FPS at FF and 8 FPS in crop mode…. The photodiodes were approximately the same size as those in the 1Ds II’s 7.2 x 7.2 pixels and with the next generation noise reduction etc this sensor delivered 3200 ISO native and 6400 with High mode enabled…

And (surprise ) they were also testing a FF 16.6mp sensor with the 7.2 x 7.2 pixel size, new micro lenses and close to 5D sized photodiodes (presumably for the new high end 5D replacement). What is interesting is if you reverse the maths, for the 1.255 crop this gives you exactly the 1d III sensor when cut down from FF…. Which makes a lot of sense

Now what remains to be seen is what they release… But if I were a betting man it will be dam close to the above (ie IDs III with 21mp and the 3D or 5D Mark II with 16.7mp)

Oh and BTW the testers LOVED the image quality on both cameras…
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And another interesting post, that was posted in the same thread. I totally agree with the poster, he described the FF camera I wanted Canon to announce for quite a long time. The benefit of only 8 mpix FF camera would be higher dynamic range and lower noise (because the pixels would be much larger, almost twice the size as those on 1Ds mkII), files would be smaller, so you wouldn't need large capacity memory cards and hard disks. And most of us don't even need more than 8 mpix (it's enough for up to A3 print, so it's usually more than enough for commercial photography as well). Anyway, here's the post:

I think a lot of beginners would jump for the FF 8 mp chip, that would be a great camera. Most of them don't need anything more than 5 fps or the rugged frame of the 1 series. Canon would sell tons, heck, it would be a great camera to take to the park.

That's officially it for PMA

Since Canon stated that 1D mkIII is the only announcement on PMA, the Canon rumours blog could be closed. But I've decided to keep it online and to post some new speculations from time to time. After all it still has a lot of visitors and people will be able to check it in the future to see what the speculations were like (like in the pre-announcment PMA time, people were also writing what the pre-Photokina speculations were), which were true, which were far off etc. And I'll also keep it, so that I can continue with rumours posting before the next PMA.

So now we know, that the only new camera is 1D mkIII, we can speculate on what will Canon announce in (or before) the fall. Since their flagship camera 1Ds mkIII wasn't announced, as well as 40D which most people expected, especially because it has some stiff competition and because its sales went down. Besides that 30D was only a minor evolution of 20D, in my opinion it should be designated as 20D mkII. I admit, that Canon surprised me, by announcing 1D mkIII. It's the one camera that needed to be replaced the least. After all Canon was the king of PJ class with Canon 1D mkII N. Besides that we all expected more announcements form Canon, because of its double anniversary. I expected 6D to be realeased only simultaneously with 1Ds mkIII (which is already 30 months old), because a 16 mpix (or so) 6D would kill the 1Ds mkII sales. So I think we can expect 40D and 1Ds mkIII in the fall. I wonder when will 6D be announced. Because 3 announcements at the same time may be too much even for Canon.

Here's a short summary of possible announcements (probably just 2 of those):
-40D (I hope the specifications will be a bit better that those rumored for PMA announcements). If Canon wanted to bump up the resolution higher than the competition, than moving to APS-H sensor (1,3x crop) would be a reasonable decision. The sensor size would be doubled, resolution of 12-14 mpix easily achieved, while the camera could gain in dynamic range and high ISO performance (because pixels would still be larger even though the resolution would be 12-14 mpix). In that case 6D would have to be announced, because it would kill the sales of 5D (which are poor anyway, at least in Europe).
-1Ds mkIII, 22 mpix, much smaller and lighter body (1v sized).
-6D, 16-17 mpix, weather sealed body, improved AF, and some minor adjustments (larger buffer, better LCD, a bit larger VF magnification)

But maybe time has come for all the companies to gain more profit, to get back all the billions of dollars that were spent for R&D since the beginning of the digital era. Who knows, but it seems that pace is dropping (except for entry level DSLRs). I still hope that the competition will be stiff and that it will announce some killer cameras (like Nikon D3H, Pentax k1d in the fall etc), so that also Canon will be forced into higher pace. Only that brings greater technological advancements and dropping of prices.

Another 1Ds mkIII rumour

I found this rumour on the Online photograper site:

The new Canon 1Ds Mk. III is a very interesting camera. Although it has a considerably slower frame-rate and a considerably smaller (effective) buffer than the new 1D Mk. III, its full-frame, 22-MP CMOS sensor is state of the art for image quality in a DSLR-type camera, making its $5,800 pricetag seem like a runaway bargain. It is only 30% heavier and not much larger than the 5D—far smaller than the 1D Mk. III. The sensor has better high-ISO performance than any previous DSLR, using a completely new and unique technical strategy, and very good dynamic range. Finally, the new camera has outstanding low-light AF capability.

New Canon kits?

I found a rumour, that Canon is introducing 13 new photo kits and 8 new lens kits. I must say some kits are really interesting, especially the 5D kits (which interest me the most). Here's the link to the PDF, that's in poor quality click.

Canon 1D mkIII announced

As I wrote in one of the previous posts, 22nd February is the announcement date for one or more of Canon's new DSLRs. For now Canon announced only one new model, Canon 1D mkIII. It still has APS-H sized sensor (1.3x crop), but they bumped the resolution up to 10 mpix and frame rate to 10 fps. They also introduced a new (finally!) AF system with 19 cross type sensors and 63-zone exposure metering. The speculation regarding 3" live view monitor was also correct as well as dual DIGIC III (to be honest I didn't expect it). However the body stays the same, but they changed button layout and functions.

Here are the key features:
* 10.1 Megapixel APS-H CMOS sensor
* 10 fps continuous shooting for up to 110 frames
* Dual “DIGIC III” processors
* New auto focus system with 19 cross type sensors
* EOS Integrated Cleaning System
* ISO 3200 (expandable to H:6400)
* 3.0” LCD with Live View mode
* Wider, brighter viewfinder
* Picture Style1

A new Canon pro camera in UK store on March 6th

I found this on Bob Atkins site. Another rumour about Canon pro camera announcement (which will happen anyway). The date that everyone is waiting now is Feb 22nd, yeah that's tomorrow. Will there be announcements and if how many. Someone should make a countdown (do you still remember the pre-Photokina Canon countdown?). Anyway here are the rumours:

Not exactly earth shattering news, but a UK store (theflashcenter.com) has sent out a flier announcing they will be showing a new professional Canon DSLR in their store on March 6th. This is after the "Focus on Imaging" UK trade show (25th-28th Feb) and just before PMA (March 8th-11th), so the timing is right. The only real surprise would be if Canon didn't announce a new professional DSLR before PMA...

Other current rumors are suggesting that Canon will be saying something on Thursday February 22nd at 5pm Tokyo time (8am London, 3am New York), so if that's true we won't have to wait much longer!

New lenses

I found a Belgium online shop which has a couple of new lenses on their site. The first is the Canon EF 400 f5.6L IS USM priced at EUR 1995,00 and the second is Canon EF 100-400 f4 L IS USM priced at EUR 2498,00. I think that photographers that are shooting birds will be pleased with them. I find 400 5.6L IS particularly interesting, because it's a lighter (it can be handheld) and much cheaper alternative to the 400 2.8.

Is Canon going MF this year?

The Canon rumours were floating around the web already last year before Photokina. In this pre-PMA time, I also found some MF rumours, I find this one pretty interesting:


Medium format digital costs $12K - $30K+ currently, I believe...That's real money, current manufacturers are making a profit hand assembling these cameras in almost a boutique environment - see the Luminous Landscape Videos' Phase One visits, where they show a very small assembly room with only a few work benches...Wouldn't a company already making it's own 35mm format digital sensors and bodies/lenses be in a pretty good position to expand into the larger format? Wouldn't additonal development costs to create a new product line be much more affordable than for an entirely new start-up company?

If conventional wisdom barks out that all those white super-telephotos seen in photog gallery shots at sporting events are a fantastic sales tool, would it be a good thing for Canon to point to studio and landscape world class pros using Canon MF equipment? You may only be looking to buy an entry-level camera, but you've heard Annie Leibovitz uses Canon, and you want to buy the company the pros use...

I think they are going MF this year. They won't devalue their 35mm line by just coming out with a new line of high resolution lenses and ever-more pixels jambed on a sensor. It's going to be something new, probably announced at PMA, but not available until later this year, they will want to hype it's exclusivity first...They made a 50 f/1.0 for bragging rights, they will do something similar again (granted, that's not a direct example for my argument as it really was a trick lens that didn't stay in the catalogue for long - but they spent a lot for something they knew wouldn't earn back it's development costs).

Canon 1 Ds mkIII photo

Here's a photo of what's supposed to be the 1Ds mkIII. In my opinion it's 99% fake, I think the body should really be updated and I'm sure they'd mount the top of the line 50 mm lens on it (Canon 50 1.2L).

Predictions, predictions...

Today FM has a lot of interesting rumours. This is another one, that I've found:


1) Canon will release the successor of the 1D Mk IIn as a 16 MPix full frame frame camera, able to crop by factor of 1.3 to perform 10 fps resulting in 10 mp files. The camera is able, due to its internal buffer and in conjunction with high speed memory cards, to shoot an unlimited number of pictures in high speed mode (only limited by the size of the used memory cards).?The pricing should be around 4.500€.


2) Canon will also introduce a new „Medium Format“ EOS system, that will be compatible with current EF mount in a sort of crop mode and uses a new line of lenses to leverage the bigger sensor. The successor of the 1Ds MK II is intended to build the starting point of this new production line for Canon and the sensor will have at least 22 mp.
The rumor goes that this beast will ship around 13 T€.



With this move Canon solves several issues and therefore this prediction makes sense to me:

1) Canon want to go „Full Frame“ with 1D series, so the native crop of the 1D has to go away.

2) Due to pricing issues its not possible the merge the 1D and 1Ds line into one. For sport shooters and journalists there‘s no need for 20+ mp, and some are already shooting digital for years. So their lens park is collected on the fact having 1.3 crop. Therefore the „dynamic crop“ of the 1D MK III will support a smooth migration path for them.

3) The current 1Ds Mk II challenges the existing EF lenses and it attacks the low end of the medium format market (studio, landscape, ...) already. So to extend the ship size to enter the „cropped medium format digital backs“ while introducing new high quality lenses makes perfect sense to me.

Announcement on Feb 22?

I found a yet another rumour on announcement(s) that are supposed to happen at the end of next week. A post from FM:

10am GMT, Feb 22 is the announcement of the new EOS DSLR!

Local time in Tokyo is 5pm.
Local time in Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore is 6pm.
Local time in New York is 6am.
Local time in London is 12noon.

And this is the reply to the post (my thoughts exactly:):

So are we talkin' one lousy camera now? I hope it's the one I want
How about the lighter, better glass? Seriously, if it's a 40D, I'm not going to Vegas...
But I would be really surprised if they decide to keep 1Ds unchanged...
Maybe their calculations are showing them little benefit in upgrading it
comparing to the mass market stuff. But a big anniversary, big booth PMA with
one lousy 40D would be a sad joke...

And another. Seems reasonable to me (for Canon to do). They could announce the new Canon 1D, with more mpix and no grip (a lot of people would like to have a lighter and smaller camera) and just drop the prices on 5D (30% or so):

If the 'Little Erwin' rumour is right, then Canon have kind of killed two birds with one stone at 12MP and FF but weatherproofed and with 1 series AF and a high fps, this is both the 1DII replacement and the rumoured 'high-end' 5D
For the low-end 5D, there is really no great rush to replace the 5D - until manufacturing progress means they can take more cost out.
In the same way, the 1DsIII replacemt can easily wait until the fall.
I don't know if what has been said about just one camera being announced on the 22nd in any way precludes another being announced later on in PMA.
I would suspect in this case it would be the 40D.

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And an interesting guess, also from FM forums:

1. The new 12MP pro body is introduced next week.
2. The new 22MP body is announced but not introduced yet.
3. No update to 5D, but maybe a lower price? (Either by announcement or attrition...)
4. No update to the 30D

By the end of the year...

1. The folks dying for the 12MP pro body have gotten one.
2. The 22MP body is available.
3. Those waiting for a 40D move towards a less expensive 5D.
4. A 16MP "3D" is introduced, now that the pro body that was 16MP has moved to 22MP.

With a rather competent 400D and a less expensive FF 12MP body, a 40D is never going to be a big seller.

Latest rumours

I found this latest prediction on Canon PMA announcements on FM. I'm not sure about 800 f5.6 DO, since the photo floating on the web two weeks ago was a fake, but the rest of the stuff is more likely to be announced, at least when in comes to the 2 cameras mentioned below:


40D=10Mp, anti dust, new display, 5fps, 9+2 AF points pricing: 100-1600+H, EF-S,x 1.6, SD, new viewfinder, DIGICIII, option: Wifi grip

1DsmkIII= 22mp, 2,5"lcd, PS, 45AF, DIGICIII, 100-3200+H+L, 1.0, 4fps, high speed crop mode 8,5fps

12-24EF

17-135EF-S IS

800/5.6 IS DO

Pixma ip6xxx: wireless pictbridge,

Selphy ipES miniprinter wireless pictbridge,

Powershot A740 IS wireless 10Mp DIGICIII, 6x zoom, WiFi.

IXUSi10 zoom 10Mp lifestyle, IXUS 70 edition,

DC50 DVD camcorder

New mount?

There's a lot of rumours about new mount floating around the web. Some say that the 20th anniversary of EOS system is the perfect time to announce it. On the other hand, most of the EF lens wouldn't be able to resolve the 22 mpix Canon 1Ds mkIII sensor (if those would be the actual specifications). Here's one of the posts from FM, about the new mount:

I think when you reach Canon's position you have to step back and look at clean design. Then the EOS product manager freaks out and you look at clean design with backward compatibility.

A new mount is an engineering decision. This would be a significant if the lens designers wanted a larger opening. If it's electrical only, they might be able to get away with not even calling it a new mount.

But I would expect EF lenses to mounts on EFX. EFX lenses do not mount on EF

A new lens line is a product positioning decision. This year or next I expect them to come out with primo lens line. Going high-end creates skilled Japanese jobs. The appetite for highest end glass is greater than it has ever been (I'm guessing).

The most expensive R&D is done anyways, whether of not they compete directly with MFDB. Going into this market segment takes jobs from western europe and the U.S. and moves them to Japan.

Why? High margins, prestige, right kind of jobs (offsets kicking other japanese company's around), and probably, most importantly, not leaving potential future competitors with the high-end reputation among top photographers. Annie Liebovitz shoots with a 1DsII, and then is handed a medium format camera. Ten years ago, Canon would be thrilled to be used by her. Today, they probably most want to knock that other camera out of her hand.

So this is how I reconcile the rumors of the last 18 months. This would be an all Japanese manufacturing effort, and would not involve certain other Asian countries. If it's announced, I expect it will be expensive, they will have announced a really good EF zooms and other lenses first (to show they are not abandoning EF), and announce one of more new EF cameras.

As I said before, a new high end does not necessarily replace the 1DsII. There could be a new 1DsIII and a new high end camera.

I've stopped worrying about when. I was sure of a 1DsII upgrade at photokina.If there's a new mount this year, little Erwin in an EF mount would come first. Little Erwin might look like Crappy Erwin if announce after an ubercamera.

So I expect Little Erwin at PMA, I guess. I would put 1Dv on its birth certificate. If Canon has improved sensor technology to the point of competing with MFDB using a 22mp 35mmish sensor, then some of that good mojo may make 12mp Little Erwin special too.

How many FF cameras will Canon announce?

This is also one of the hottest topics on the forums. Will it stay at 2 FF cameras, move up to 3 (with Canon 1D mkIII), or even plan to have (in the future, not right after PMA) all its DSLR's FF (save from the cheapest).

5D Mk II: 12 Mpixel entry level full frame
1D Mk III: 12 Mpixel 8-10 fps full frame sports shooter in pro body
1Ds Mk III: 22 Mpixel 4 fps full frame studio / reportage shooter in pro body

3 full frame cameras, without internal conflict or competition, 3 separated markets.

Lets not forget: If Canon ups the high ISO performance of 5D-sized photo sites, which seems likely since the pixel pitch would stay the same, yet process enhancements would lower the noise floor, then every sports shooter can simply take a 1.4x extender and up the ISO a notch, if they want more reach.

Canon 1D mkIII - FF or not?

There's debate going on FM whether Canon 1D mkIII should be FF or not. Here are some of the most interesting post favouring either FF or 1,3x/1,25x crop format:

if you really think the 1D series cameras will be full frame, you're wrong. The 1D series camera is made for sports and it will not be FF for a long time, if ever because sports shooters love their 1.3 crop factor.

That's why there's a 1Ds and the 5D. there's NO point to making the 1D full frame. none.

the 1Ds is a studio camera made for commercial photographers and the 5D is made for wedding photographers who wanted FF bought didn't want to spend the extra $$ for the 1Ds because they didn't really need the extra MP's either.

you heard it here first. the new 1D will NOT be full frame. get used to it. if you want FF, get a 1Ds or 5D.

I disagree.
It's only a technical problem to combine a FF and high FPS. Once that is solved, the 1.3X format will be gone.

And Erwin hinted that such a thing actually does exist: "the 1D has no memory buffer, presumably wring directly to the flash card".



dude... the reason the 1D won't be a FF has NOTHING to do with a technical issue about FF sensors and fps. It's about CROP FACTOR!

Even if they solved the technical issue and were able to make a FF camera and a high fps rate they wouldn't do it to the 1D. Maybe the 1Ds... and that's a BIG maybe.

Sports shooters like the extra length they are getting out of their long glass without having to add extensions.

Replies to that post:

FIRST REPLY: I do not think any of this has anything to do with Canon's considerations.

Let's assume they can make a 1D Mk III with the 5D sensor and keep FPS intact and keep it at the same price level.
1. I think they will do it.
2. I think that sports shooters will like the extra MP and the bigger and brighter viewfinder much more than they like the "extra length".

Please do not forget that:
1. The sole reason for creating the cropped sensors was price. Once that is reduced to minimal levels (it can never be eliminated), we will see much more FF sensors, from all manufactures.
2. Canon stated that its aim is to have all its DSLR's - save from the cheapest - to be FF.
3. The "extra length" is not a real one. It looks like it but it actually isn't.

SECOND REPLY: Remember the 70% center of a FF imager is equivalent to the 1.3 factor you're speaking of. So anyone that wants the sweet middle (or the not so middle) of a shot can simply crop to the sweet-spot. This is the reason Canon will DROP the 1.3x imager. It was a temporary imager until Canon could improve its fabrication capability and costs thereof, including the processor capacity which I believe the DIGIC-III is designed to handle; Timing, this upcomming 2007 release or the release thereafter.

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And at the end a picture of what is supposed to be the new Canon 1D NRS. It looks like a fake to me...



The text says:
The birth of the legend
New Canon EOS 1DNRs.
12 mega pixels, 8 fps a second.
full frame

5D's succesor

There are numerous rumours floating around the web, on what specifications should the Canon 5D N or 6D have. I'll post the most interesting rumours below:

5D sales figures are much worse than were expected. Good news is that 5DN will remain at the same resolution, but the speed increased to 4 or perhaps even 5 fps. Bad news is that it may be in a dumbed down body of 30D (smaller grip, smaller viewfinder, buil-in flash) or even plastic as in EOS-3. The anti-dust and Digic III are given, of course.

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It is no secret that Canon expected better sales of 5D as the least expensive FF DSLR. But they overestimated consumers' willingness to part with an extra grand. Everyone wants FF for under $2K while $3K remains out of reach for most, but a handful of pros. If Canon could go back in time and do it all over again, I believe, 5D now would be 1.3x crop. But they can't. So now they face a difficult choice to renew the model while reducing the cost. To me this is bad news, because they may put it in an inferior body of 30D with a worse grip, smaller viewfinder and worthless pop-up flash or make it all plastic. I'd really hate to see 5D going down, because it was an outstanding camera and a miracle that it was released FF.

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This rumour is not just about the 5D's succesor, but about the complete Canon lineup:

You may be right, but unlikely, because PMA is the biggest photo event of the year and it is Canon's 70-year anniversary and 20-year anniversry of the EOS system. 1Ds Mark III is expected as a statement of superiority, 30D failed in the market and 5D was also close to the same. This was the reason for the rebates. As far as 1D Mark III, I would expect it later in fall, because Canon cannot upset its distribution by releasing more than 2 or 3 DSLR's at a time. The fact that the rebates were extended points to a conclusion that it may be 3 new cameras at PMA, all with anti-dust and Digic III:
1Ds Mark III 21.0 mp 4 or 5 fps
5DN 12.7 mp 4 or 5 fps
40D 10.4 mp 5 or 6 fps

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I hope people from Canon are reading this. We WANT SUB 2k euro/$ FF.

Smaller series 1 predictions

Here's an interesting prediction regarding Canon 1D and 1Ds mkIII I found on FM:

Ok, after no real rumours for some time I am going to make my predictions for the 1 Series for 2007.

A new 1D series camera will be announced for PMA. It will have a size similar to the 1V, and will be 8.5 fps with a full frame 12.8MP sensor. ISO will now be 100-3200 (extendable to 50 and 6400). There will be a refinement of the 45 focus point system, with more cross sensors.

There will be multiple grips available for the camera, including a WiFi grip, and a basic grip that simply adds battery capacity.

There will be a customiseable button that can be set to MLU.

The camera will be very water-resistant and will have a shutter rated for 200,000 cycles.

Price will be approx US$4500, dropping to under $4,000 within 12 months.

Approximately 3 months later the new 1Ds will be announced. It will be effectively the same camera, but with a 22MP sensor, and a maximum frame rate of 5fps. Price will be $7500, dropping to $7,000 within 12 months

Neither camera will feature internal storage. Neither camera will feature a larger than 24mm x 36mm sensor. There will be no further 1.3x cameras.

Canon will also issue a 40D at PMA - not prepared to speculate re. that.

OK, now this is all speculation, but I reckon it is very close to what is going to happen this year.



And reply to that post. It looks like public opininon is split, when it comes to 1,3x crop. Half of them think it's dead and want a FF with a crop mode (like Nikon D2X), the other half want to stick with the 1,3x crop. Anyway, here's the reply:

Well since we are speculating, The 1Dsmk2 is long(er) over due for updating, if any logic can be applied for this 30 month update cycle.

My next guess, would be a refrined 16MP imager will be used in the next re-vision to the 1Dmk2N, coupled to the processing power of the DIGIC-III; This will also provide more room for the 5D development.

ALSO, the 1.3 imager is OVER; that was a temporary step, until FF imagers could be fabricated at necessary cost levels, and the processing power of the DICIG engine could handle the massive amount of image information, for over 8fps peformance levels.

D1 and D1S?

Another interesting interpretation of what is supposed to be a real leak (shortened version) from FM forums. People wonder if Edwin Puts broke the NDA (non disclosure agreement):

Here’s my short ‘interpretation’ of the leak by Edwin Puts, which I understand to be very close to reality I think he has broken his NDA (or someone has)

What he calls the D1 doesn’t have the 5D’s sensor (too slow in data transfer for more than the 3 FPS in the 5D) but does have a much faster FF sensor of similar resolution to the 5D by using a next generation CMOS design. This has larger micro-lenses (as per 400D) and modified electrics to reduce the noise and increased sensitivity at a hardware level allowing higher ISO at acceptable noise levels.

When Edwin refers to the “mysterious comment that the 1D has no memory buffer”, this is not quite true. It does in fact have an very sophisticated memory buffer. What it does have (thanks to the speed of DIGIC III) is the ability to write unlimited continuous JPEG at full frame rates as long as the memory card transfer rate is fast enough. Ideal for sports / action shooters. The buffer kicks in for slower memory cards or thing like RAW + JPEG etc.

When Edwin states that “Canons statement that from now on there will be no more 1.3 crop sensors” I understand that the missing item that Canon will be emphasising is their dynamic crop mode which delivers the equivalent of the 1.25 crop from the FF sensor on demand for that extra sense of reach….

Similarly what Edwin calls the “D1s” is a next generation low noise sensor etc like the “D1” above but with much higher resolution and all the features to be a serious challenge to MF (which is why Edwin is excited)… As you would expect, noise performance while very good, is not quite up to the new “D1” as the area of each pixel sensor is almost half that of the “D1” However the ISO 3200 is very usable indeed (think similar to the 400D at 1600.

And yes, my “understanding” is that Canon have tried very hard to make these two cameras have everything that could be keeping a top end film photographer from moving to digital…. You can expect a range of accessories / grips etc to match..

Why the "delay" of 1Ds mkIII

I've found this on FM, could be the reasons for "delaying"(there really is no timeframe for 1Ds mkIII) the announcement of Canon 1Ds mkIII:

We do know the elements of what CAnon are working on to put in future cameras.
What we don't have the info on is which are ready, but we can perhaps make some estimates - or guesses!
1.OLED -Canon said sometime in 2007. likely this will come in, but will not make much difference in likely early applications - just reduces power drain from the present LCD as technology 2 is unlikely to be ready
2.EVF instead of OVF - a decent screen for this at the moment costs $20,000 - it seems doubtful Canon have cracked this - perhaps in five years - potentially revolutionary.
3.Better batteries - AFAIK they have only just figured out how to make Lion batteries which are likely to meet Canon's specs for pro use - good shelf life, temperature operating range and so on:
http://www.technologyreview.com/Energy/18054/page1/
http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?id=17653&ch=energy
This would really make a major difference to cameras - it would mean that tehy could re-package the 1 series into something much more compact if they want to.
Unless Canon have stolen a March on everyone else it could be a year until such batteries are ready - but actually, if Canon wanted to, they are under no pressure at all to bring out the new 1 series - they dominate the market with both the 1DsII and the 1DII
Fuel cells, micro-turbines and so on are still likely a long ways off.
4. Foveon-like sensor - last I heard it was not being thought of for this iteration, but could explain waiting instead of releasing a 1 series last fall.
5. Better AF and so on - a no-brainer

The really urgent one for replacement would seem to me to be the 30D, which is not selling well against the Nikons

Announcements on Feb 23rd?

I've read on numerous pages and forums, that Canon is briefing the dealers regarding new models on February 23rd. So I hope we'll see some leaks right after the briefing, at least on which new models will be announced, but if the complete specifications on the models leaks, that would be even better.

This information is supposed to come from a reliable source, so let's hope we won't have to wait untill PMA to get the news on the models that going to be release in the spring.

40D rumours

I've found this on FM forum:

Now, while I can't argue against your logic, it is pretty safe to say that the likelyhood of the 40D coming out this year is so high that it borders on certainty. 30D sales are hurting, that has been shown several times already. The competition has surpassed it on all sides, most importantly the pixel count. A potential xxD user switching brands hurts more than just the loss of the sale of one body, it will also hurt in lost lens sales.

The 30D is still using the same sensor as the 20D (as far as I know, save a few tiny tweaks maybe) so that particular sensor technology is definately 2.5 years old. Ample time to complete the bump to a new resolution.

I see two scenarios: One is that Canon does the disappointing stop-gap trick and simply catches up with the rest, 10.2 mpixel CMOS bayer sensor, and it will leave it at that. The other one is that Canon gets its act together and jumps ahead in terms of technology. This could be going to APS-H, with all the associated benefits and, admittedly, drawbacks, or it could be stepping away from a traditional Bayer sensor to a TrueColor/Foveon sensor. Either way, it would leave the current 10 Mpixel dSLR competition in the dust.

1Ds mkIII rumors

I've found this on the northlight site, especially interesting stuff regarding Canon 1Ds mkIII:

From Austria, 30D price cuts ... and 1Ds3 info from Germany at http://www.dslr-forum.de/showpost.php?p=1568883&postcount=14

A rough translation (thanks)
"The 22 MP [of the MkIII] include the pixels not used for the actual picture. The effective number of pixels of the 1Ds Mark III is 20,67MP. The 40d has an effective pixelcount of 10,32 MP, that means a little more than the 400D."

Is this the TrueColor, mentioned a while back (9th Jan)?

A comment on the FM rumour thread adds more to this - not your usual pixels...
"...the 1 series is switchable between 2/3 and 3/4 with supported lenses. (Will not shoot 3/4 with unrecognized lenses unless disabled in custom function). Both formats make a 20mp file. The sensor has 22mp. Some lenses work fine. Some with internal baffling don't work at 3/4. Some are borderline, but will not be recognized as 3/4 capable. Canon didn't tell the non-Canon test shooters that it has full color pixels."
and "They're special because each pixel is full color - even the 40D"

From Japan a Mk3 rumour: http://bbs.kakaku.com/bbs/00500210737/#5962591

According to a comment I received from Japan (thanks), the original post suggests:
"1Ds Mark II successor would be released as having the dust reduction, 22MP sensor, and, larger LCD. The price is around 900,000 yen that is almost the same price as the 1Ds Mark II from his friend that is a professional camera man. The release timing is May. "

Some more info from Australia (thanks) suggesting that Canon might be offloading stock? Ted's Camera stores are offering a A$750 rebate on the 1Dmk2n ending on the 28th of February. Good to see they've added the 1Ds mk2 to their line up... "New" ;-)

Superbowl came ... and went without any announcement, so it's all eyes on the run up to PMA which opens on Thursday 8th of March, although 'Press Day' is on the 7th. Current Press Releases are listed at the PMA 2007 site.

Keep an eye on all your favourite forums for threads based on the 'I saw someone in the press corps at Superbowl using a one series camera with a 3" lcd'...

As well as built in WiFi for the new camera, several people are asking about GPS? I actually used my old hand held GPS the other day taking some photos in various muddy fields for a civil engineering company for a new road scheme - one of the few times I've had a genuine use for it in three years of using my 1Ds. Not to say it wouldn't be of use to some, but I can think of far more advances I'd like to see in a new One series before built-in GPS :-)

Another long term wish list component that regularly surfaces is the use of a Pellicle mirror, such as was in the EOS-1N RS. Without the need for the mirror to flip up and down the camera is faster and quieter - not a feature I'd expect soon, although Olympus have had the 'liveview' system for the E-330 for a while.

Canon is going to be the biggest exhibitor at PMA

Unlike at last Photokina, where Kodak had the largest exhibition place, Canon will have (by far) the largest exhibition place at PMA.I know it's their 70th anniversary and 25th anniversary of EOS system, but if they didn't intend to show at least a couple of new cameras, I don't think they'd go that big (as they didn't at Photokina).

Here's the link to the general floorplan of 1st flor. As you can see it's at least twice as big as of the closest competitors.

30D and 1Ds mkII are overdue

If you visit the calumet.photo.co.uk site, you'll see that 30D and 1Ds mkII are both overdue from vendor. I've read that this is happening on lots of sites world wide (Jessops etc).


Here's the printscreen from the UK Calumet site.