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House, MD Season Finale Being Filmed On A Canon 5D Mark II

So, this has been going around the past few days, I just forgot to blog it earlier. But, all you Canon evangelists have already penciled this season’s finale for House, MD onto your calendars, right? I mean, it was shot entirely with a 5D Mark II, so I can’t imagine why you wouldn’t want to see it. (Also, does anyone remember which 1 series Canon that one patient who was the photographer and kept taking pictures of them all was? Anyone?)

That’s all, really. I mean, there’s already been a movie or two shot on a 5D Mark II, so it’s not quite as exciting news as it could be, but I suspect House is going to reach a few more eyeballs than the movies have so far.



Canon EOS 5D Mk II’s New Firmware Might Have Problems

So, that last firmware update for the Canon EOS 5D Mk II, the one that gave us Christmas in March and brought better video options to everyone on the ‘nice’ list? Well, turns out there might be a fly in the milk. Er, ew.

Quoth Canon:

Recently we have discovered a malfunction that occurs with Firmware Version 2.0.3, in which the manual recording levels for C1/C2/C3 are changed and the camera becomes unable to record audio if the power is turned off (or if Auto power off takes effect) after registering “Sound Recording: Manual” in the camera user settings.
We apologize very sincerely for the inconvenience, but we are going to stop making this firmware available for download. For customers who have already updated to the new firmware, when using the camera with the mode dial set to C1/C2/C3, please either set the sound recording settings to Auto.
We are currently preparing firmware that will correct this malfunction. As soon as those preparations have been completed, we will let you know on this Web site. In the meantime, we apologize for the inconvenience this represents, but please wait until the fixed firmware is ready.

So, well. We’ll keep you posted on when the fixed one makes it’s way out. If you don’t use C1/C2/C3 while setting manual levels ever, well, you probably won’t notice anything wrong and can keep happily shooting away, since nothing seems to be wrong with using it as a camera.



Canon EOS 5D mark II Gets Video-Rocking Firmware

OK, so, this was actually posted yesterday, which means most of you 5D mark II shooters probably already have it, but, if you haven’t heard yet there’s a new firmware in town. This one is for the video shooters, adding new frame rates (including real NTSC instead of the machine-perfect 30fps), new audio sampling quality, and an on-screen levels mixer for the audio.

Anyway, the firmware is up on Canon’s site. So, hit the external link below if you want to grab that.



Canon Pre-Announces Better Video Firmware for 5D Mk II

Seriously Canon? How do you pre-announce something? It was weird enough when Olympus did this for the E-3. Teases.

Anyway, Canon yesterday mentioned it’s going to grace your 5D Mark II’s with even better controls for video, such as adding 24fps (well, 23.976 fps) and 25fps options, changing the 30fps to the NTSC-standard 29.97fps, adding levels on the screen, sound sampling is being bumped from 44.1KHz to 48KHz, new histograms, and more.

So, “mid-March” seems to be the drop-date, nice and specific. I don’t own a 5D Mark II, nor do I shoot video, but I still think this is a very solid set of promises, and well worth spending the next couple weeks eagerly awaiting.

More as it comes…



Lexar Announces own 600x UDMA CF

Around the end of the month, Lexar will be keeping up with the neighbors and releasing 600x speed CF cards in 8, 16GB sizes with 32GB on the way later. They’ll be shipping with a new ExpressCard reader that supports up to 133 mbps transfer speeds when slotted into a Mac or PC’s, ahem, express card slot.

With the D3s sporting a 48 RAW image buffer, the 5D Mark II, 7D, and 1D Mark IV all featuring HD video in varied frame rates and the 1D Mk IV shooting ten stills a second- high speed data transfer will obviously not go out of style any time soon.



Sony Doesn’t Think Video is Ready on DSLRs Yet

Sony Alpha A850

Sony Alpha A850

Sony, whose compact camcorders always sift out near the top of the heap in all categories, raised a few eyebrows last week when their three new DSLR bodies all trotted out completely devoid of HD video recording.

HD Video recording, which in part has contributed the monumental success of the 5D Mark II, and of course is the major buzz surrounding Nikon’s new D300s.

But, Sony, who basically own the HD world as far as end-to-end experiences go, opted not to include HD in any of these offerings, despite the markets their competing in being clearly lead by HD enabled competitors.

So, luckily, after that strange bout of behavior, we get a statement from them about why:

“We recognize that HD video is driving customer interest, but without effective continuous auto focus and exposure control, we are concerned that current implementations of HD Video on DSLR cameras don’t provide a good customer experience. Capturing quality still images is a major driver for photo enthusiasts to buy DSLR cameras, and our A500, A550 and A850 DSLR cameras prioritize features (HDR, Exmor CMOS sensors, BIONZ processors, 5fps continuous shooting etc.) that ensure customers will achieve high-quality photos.”



Canon Announces 5D MK II Manual Controls Update

In a move out of Olympus’ playbook, Canon has pre-announced a firmware update, this time to add the much clamored after manual video control to their 5D Mark II. Unlike, Olympus, though– and in fact far superior– they’ve made a faux trailer poster for it. Now that’s class, kids. It’s seriously awesome, as evidenced below. So, keep your eyes peeled for the actual release.
No, Seriously, Canon USA Says "June", We're Assuming "June"-"ish". But, soon.

No, Seriously, Canon USA Says "June", We're Assuming "June"-"ish". But, soon.



Second-String Setbacks

So, as I’m slugging away at this Promaster stuff, something came to mind that I realized I should make sure you, our dear readers, are all aware of.

So, I’m putting up a slew of third-party camera batteries. Now, I’m going to stay very consciously neutral on the stance of replacement batteries versus OEM. Obviously both sides will pitch that theirs is the way to go, and it’s a mess I’m willing to let them do the work for. But, here’s what you need to know from a consumer’s point-of-view, because I know in this economy the difference in battery prices can override other considerations:

If you use a third-party battery in a camera that’s still under warranty, there’s an almost complete chance across the board that you just voided that warranty. And that’s the truth, and it’s something you should keep in your mind when you’re eyeing these Promaster replacement batteries I’m putting up.

If your camera is out of warranty, well, that’s a different ballpark. As far as third-party batteries go, we carry Synergy, Delkin, and now Promaster. We also carry full stocks on OEM batteries from the right manufacturers (except that pesky battery for the 5D Mk II which is currently about as rare as corporate punk rock bands I don’t want to punch).



On your Mark II, get set…

Well folks, here’s something I haven’t been expecting for a little while longer: our Canon 5d Mark II units are now in general stock. Heck, we have enough to call stock.

Since I hired in here back in October, the shadow of the Mark II has loomed across the world of digital photography. Being one of three 20+ MP cameras on the market (including the D3x from Nikon and the alpha 900 from Sony), it’s already a big deal but the inclusion of HD video and a more than perfunctory marketing emphasis on that feature sets it apart from the others.

Now that the Mark II is, presumably, to become more widely available I’m intrigued to see what more amateur videographers (or photographers dabbling in shooting video) will produce with it. I am faced with the reality that it is primarily a still camera designed to take advantage of Canon’s powerfuL lens set so the novelty of shooting HD video seems the sort of practice that will remain a fringe phenomena until the invisible hand pushes expense relative to other comparable options down. Of course, those on the fringe can as easily be on the cutting edge as the trailing and in that regard -being the first or last of a trend- has for me a mystique. Aren’t the brief, the rare, and the elusive things the more difficult subjects of the photographic craft? Ok, maybe finding right moment is the difficult part.

Here’s hoping for this being the cutting edge of media, not the trailing.




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