Canon News: EOS 7D Mark II

One of the most anticipated new bodies from Canon is finally here - the EOS 7D Mark II.  It promises to be a popular purchase, especially for wildlife and sports photographers who will benefit from the extra reach of a cropped sensor, and a high frame rate.

Canon 7D Mark II

  
The original 7D took Canon's cropped APS-C framed sensor to new limits, and set a new bar for movie recording.  That was back in 2009, so with competition from Nikon and Canon's own fullframe 6D, it was time for the 7D Mark II to fight-back.

Here are the headline specifications:

• Shoot continuous bursts of images at up to 10 frames per second.
• Shoot at high frame rates and enjoy superb colour reproduction, with dual Digic 6 processors
• Focus on subjects wherever they are, with 65 cross-type AF points spread across the frame.

65 cross-type AF points

• Capture movies at up to 1080p resolution and 60fps frame rate. Mic and headphone sockets for full audio control.
• Produce great quality photos that are packed with fine detail, with the 20.2Mp sensor
• Enjoy smooth continuous focusing when shooting movies and photos in Live View mode.
• Integrated GPS means you can Geotag each photo and movie you shoot with your current location – great for travel photographers.
• 150,000-pixel metering sensor, with IR detection

 

Weather sealing of the Canon 7D Mark II

As the lucky owner of a Canon 5D Mark III, this would make a perfect second body.  in particular, if the continuous AF focusing when shooting movies works well, that would be incredibly useful when capturing wildlife footage.

It's currently retailed in the UK for around £1600 (that's overpriced for the early adopters, and should come down relatively quickly).

More information is available here.

Canon News: EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM

One of Canon's most versatile L-series zoom lenses, covering the 100-400mm range, which was well overdue a replacement (it's 16 years old!), has at last been replaced with a new model:

Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM

It's a completely new design, and loses the instantly recognisable 'push/pull' zoom, to a more traditional rotating ring - much better!

The relatively slow maximum aperture range of f/4.5-5.6 has always put me off for use for wildlife photography, where low light is frequently a challenge.  This problem will be partly offset with a much improved image stabilisation (IS), which offers 4 stops, but off course the shallow depth of field will still be elusive.

Another neat new feature is a new lens hood, the ET-83D.  This has a 'side access window', which means you can adjust polarising filters, whilst leaving the hood on.

Much more technical information is available here.

Nikon News: 400mm f/2.8E FL ED VR and TC-14E III Teleconverter annonuced

Nikon have recently announced a new fast telephoto lens, alongside an upgraded teleconverter.

AF-S NIKKOR 400mm F/2.8E FL ED VR

AF-S Nikkor 400mm f/2.8E FL ED VR

 Key Features:

• A super-telephoto fixed focal length (prime) lens with a focal length of 400mm*¹ and a maximum aperture of f/2.8 compatible with Nikon FX-format digital SLR cameras
• Superior optical performance from a new optical design with which fluorite lens elements (2), ED lens elements (2), and Nano Crystal Coat have been adopted
• A lighter weight from the adoption of fluorite lens elements and components made of a magnesium alloy
• Adoption of a tripod collar ring utilizing bearings
• Equipped with an electro-magnetic aperture mechanism for more stable auto-exposure with high-speed continuous shooting
• Equipped with a vibration reduction (VR) function for camera shake compensation equivalent to a 4.0-stop*² increase in shutter speed
• Adoption of SPORT VR mode
• Adoption of meniscus protective glass with a fluorine coat, produced using a process exclusive to Nikon for greater durability and superior resistance to water and oils, for the extreme front lens element

*1When used with a Nikon DX-format digital SLR camera, the effective angle of view is equivalent to that of a lens with a 600mm focal length in 35mm [135] format. 
*2NORMAL mode; measured in accordance with CIPA standards.

AF-S TELECONVERTER TC-14E III

AF-S Teleconverter TC-14E III

• A 1.4x teleconverter capable of rendering performance close to that of the master lens with shooting at maximum aperture
• Adoption of a fluorine coat, produced with a process exclusive to Nikon, for the extreme front and rear lens surfaces