I just received a wonderful email from Amazon.com this morning:

Hello from Amazon.com.

We are pleased to report that the following item will ship sooner than expected:

"Canon EOS 1D Mark III 10.1MP Digital SLR Camera (Body Only)" [Electronics]

For more details, please visit the Your Account section of our web site
(http://www.amazon.com/your-account). You can also reach Your Account
by clicking on the link in the top right corner of any page on our web
site.

That is wonderful news. I checked my account and found the following: Delivery estimate: April 27, 2007 - May 4, 2007.

So if your planning on ordering one of the hottest Canon cameras to hit the market, please be sure to use this link. [ Canon EOS 1D Mark III ]

Posted by Mark Anderson at 10:13 AM | Permalink

The camera has been available for pre-order at B&H and Adorama for a couple of weeks. Well it just became available at Amazon.com. Yes I just ordered mine. I'm crazy that way.

If you are going to order the camera. Do me a favor and click on the link above. I will get credit for it.

Posted by Mark Anderson at 1:48 PM | Permalink

Canon has just released an updated firmware image for the Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi (400D) camera.

This firmware update (Version 1.0.5) incorporates the following fixes and improvement.:

1. Fixes the printing of lens names when using PictBridge.
2. [Redeye 1] can now be selected when connecting with specific printers.
3. Improves the reliability of communication with the Speedlite 380EX.

This firmware update applies to cameras with firmware versions up to 1.0.4 installed. If your camera's firmware is already version 1.0.5, it is not necessary to perform this update.

Additional details can be found on the following page. [ more ]

Posted by Mark Anderson at 1:05 PM | Permalink

Canon is offering bulk discounts on their Fine Art paper packs. As I mentioned previously, I'm giving up on the iPF5000 printer for now. It is far more than I need.

However, the new Canon PIXMA Pro9500 Photo Printer is shipping in May and is now at the top of my list.

I have been looking at my paper options for this printer and stumbled onto this special promotion. The Hahnlemuhle brand paper looks good for most of my needs. [ more ]

Posted by Mark Anderson at 2:01 PM | Permalink

Canon has announced upgrades to many of their bundled software packages.

Canon RAW Codec 1.0 for Windows Vista
ZoomBrowser EX 5.8b Updater for Windows
ImageBrowser 5.8b Updater for Mac OS X
Digital Photo Professional 3.0 Updater for Windows and Mac OSX
EOS Utility 2.0 Updater for Windows and Mac OSX
PhotoStitch 3.1.19 Updater for Windows

Visit the Canon download library to get updated software for you camera model [ more ]

Posted by Mark Anderson at 4:07 PM | Permalink

On March 15th, Terry Lovejoy of Thornlands, Queensland, Australia, discovered a 9th-magnitude comet in the southern constellation Indus the Indian. The comet has been named Comet Lovejoy (C/2007 E2).

Remarkably, Lovejoy made the discovery not with a telescope but using an off-the-shelf digital camera! In fact, it appears to be the very first case of the discovery of a comet discovered in this manner.

Lovejoy was using a Canon 350D with a zoom lens set to 200-mm focal length at f/2.8. Lovejoy spotted the object near the frame edge in 16 exposures of 90 seconds each. The images were obtained during a comet-hunting survey that Lovejoy has been conducting for more than two years. [ more ]

Canon has had a long history of providing equipment for astrophotography and even had a model of the 20D specifically for astronomers using a infrared filter that was very sensitive to hydrogen-alpha light. This was also the first DSLR made by Canon to have the Live View technology that is being released in the new EOS 1D Mark IIII. Once again proof that space research eventually makes it into consumers hands.

Posted by Mark Anderson at 10:06 PM | Permalink

I'm a regular listener to the Digital Photography Show podcast. The most recent episode contained an interview with Rudy Winston from Canon. They discussed the the launch of the new Canon EOS 1D Mark III along with the new Powershot cameras.

... we talk to Rudy Winston from Canon about the crazy sexy cool EOS-1D Mark III, a camera whose full name I find impossible to remember. It sounds like ship from Star Trek. “Time to board the EOS-ID, Scotty. Take it out at Mark III….” Rudy tells us all about this super-powerful and fast camera, including how it’s like a car.

One of the best things I love about this podcast is that Scott really knows how to ask the questions everyone is thinking about but don't ask. In this most recent interview he asked "So what happened to the 40D announcement?" Rudy replies that despite all the rumors that are floating out there, "there will be no more new camera announcements for the first half of this year." So if you are waiting for the 40D, you will be waiting longer. If you need to buy now the 30D and 400D are still great choices.

Head on over to the Digital Photography show website and give it a listen. [ more ]

Posted by Mark Anderson at 6:03 PM | Permalink

Derrick at the Digital Story discusses the ongoing debate between the noise levels of the new XTi (400D) and the older XT (350D.)

But I started hearing little comments such as, "Well, you know that the XTi is a lot noisier than the XT, right?" Actually, no I didn't. I ignored the first few remarks, but then had to do a little research to get to the bottom of this. Why? Well the images I was shooting looked pretty good, and I would have been hard-pressed to tell the difference between RAW files shot with the XT and the XTi. (Now compared to the 5D is another matter...)

Visit Derrick's site to read the rest of this article. If you are a recent buyer of the XTi then there is nothing to fear. [ more ]

Posted by Mark Anderson at 12:35 PM | Permalink

The Canon iPF5000 printer has been on my radar ever since Canon announced it. I have been saving up to buy this printer and have been tracking the various reviews for several months [ Luminous Landscape, DOP ]. All of the reviews I have found say the quality of the prints are amazing.

During my research I stumbled onto The Unofficial Canon iPF5000 Printer Wiki website. It is a great information resource about this printer. One of the biggest complaints of the first buyers of the printer was the lack of documentation. This was the biggest motivators for the creation of this website. This has also become a gathering place for all current owners of the iPF5000 printer to share ideas and questions about the printer.

Well due to several concerns about build quality and the business practices of USA Canon, the website is now telling all visitors not to buy the printer.

Recommend AGAINST USA customers buying this printer in the USA Due to Warranty & Service Problems

Editorial Comment 3/13/07: The Wiki now recommends against buying the iPF5000 in the United States until Canon USA changes their warranty and improves their on-site service:

The full details of why they make this recommendation can be found on the home page of the Wiki website. [ more ]

Posted by Mark Anderson at 5:36 AM | Permalink