Canon Patents Rear Screen Concept For DSLR Camera

I am back from my Wildlife Photography tour of the Pantanal, Brazil. It was quite a successful trip and the equipment functioned perfectly. I brought the EOS-1D X Mark II, EOS-1D Mark IV, EF 200-400mm f/4L IS with 1.4x extender and the EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS II lens.

Below are a few pics from my trip. You can follow my travels on Facebook  and Twitter , see my equipment bag and works on MichaelDanielHo.com

Jaguar drinking from the river bank in the Pantanal

Toco Toucan in flight over the Pantanal

Capybara mom feeding pups on river bank

Tequila Sunrise in the Pantanal

An interesting patent has emerged from Canon Japan. It involves a new rear screen design. Many of us are used to the high resolution OLED screens found on high end smartphones.

It is logical that high end DSLR cameras eventually may go that way as well. The new patent also cover some kind of pivoting mechanism for the LCD screen. Apparently some of the buttons found on the rear panel of today's DSLRs may be built into the screen instead.

If so, and depending on which button may disappear, I may not be a fan of that. Canon is a conservative company and I suspect they will not introduce something that 'radical' on their top of the line models, like the EOS-1. Instead, it may come as a 'special' model in the EOS-5 line. Notice how Canon always introduce their latest processors in the lower end PowerShot cameras first before putting them on the high end models.

When Is The Canon Super Zoom Lens Coming?

Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Extender 1.4x lens

* * *  Two new Canon Super Zoom lens patents uncovered  * * *

Back in 2015, I reported Egami discovered a new Canon patent for a 200-600mm f/4.5-5.6 Super Zoom lens. Unfortunately, Egami has since been off the Internet and no more new patents have been reported.

However, Canon is definitely work on this technology. As you know, they rarely try to be the first, just the best. Currently, the Super Zoom space is occupied by Sigma and Tamron. Both companies have the 150-600mm lens out for a few years now with mediocre to good results.

Canon has the EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II and EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Extender 1.4x lens out for some time but they are not readily affordable to all photographers. The new Super Zoom model Canon is perfecting now may not be an 'L' lens but it will be of high quality and more affordable, perhaps in the $1,000 to $1,500 list price category.

There is a chance Canon may decide to really wow photographers and turn this Super Zoom design into a SuperTelephoto zoom lens. If that is the case, I expect some industry breaking innovation. Perhaps a two stage built-in extender, like 1.4x and 1.7x. Stay tuned and keep checking back for the latest development.

I anticipate the new lens will be announced some time in the first half of 2018. The EF 600mm f/4 DO BR lens is also expected to arrive some time in 2018. These are the two lenses I am interested in buying. My readers know me as The Wildlife Ho-tographer and I have been testing Canon equipment on wildlife tours for years. You can follow my travels on Facebook and Twitter. See my equipment bag and works on MichaelDanielHo.com

Canon Masters At Utsunomiya Plant Pick Their Favorite Lens

My readers know I am The Wildlife Ho-tographer and have used Canon equipment for over a quarter of a century. Throughout the years, I have embarked on many worldwide photo tours testing numerous pieces of Canon equipment. I recently came back from a Wildlife Photo Tour of Japan with the EOS-1D X Mark II camera.

I am off to Costa Rica on another tour to photograph primarily birds and other fauna. You can follow my travels on Facebook and Twitter. See my equipment bag and works on MichaelDanielHo.com

My favorite Canon lenses are the EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Extender 1.4x, EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II and EF 400mm f/4 DO IS II. They are all great performers in wildlife photography.

DPReview recently visited Canon's Utsunomiya lens factory and interviewed the top management at the plant. The team included the Plant Manager, Mr. Kenichi Izuki,  the Deputy Chief Executive of Image Communication Products Operations, Mr. Masato Okada and the Deputy Group Executive of Image Communication Products Operations, Mr. Shingo Hayakawa. They were asked to name their favorite lens designs.

Masato Okada

• Canon EF 11-24mm f/4L USM – “For me I’d have to say the 11-24mm f4L USM, because when launched, it allowed the widest angle possible on a full frame with no distortion.”

Kenichi Izuki

• Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM – “My favorite, which I truly remember because it was so hard to design, was the original Canon 70-200 f/2.8L USM non-IS.”

Shingo Hayakawa

• Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II – “… if I were to narrow it down, my choice would be a lens that came out in 2012: the Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM.”

Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Lens - $839 With Free Shipping

Last month, I came back from my Polar bear photo tour in Hudson Bay, Canada. It was quite a successful trip even though the weather was 'mild' by sub Arctic standard and the bears were not able to find sea ice to hunt seals even in mid November. Came across sows with cubs, sub adult and full grown males with reasonably healthy looking weight, this time of the year.

In past years, they would have been able to start heading out to the bay and try and replenish their weight by actively hunting seals. I came across the BBC2 film crew filming and broadcasting the Arctic Live series on the tundra. See more of my Polar bear photos from past trips.

You can follow my travels on Facebook , Twitter and see my works on MichaelDanielHo.com. For those who are into wildlife photography, Tamron and Sigma make some good long zoom lens at an affordable price, like the 150-600mm. I am not recommending these manufacturers but like the focal length of these design. Canon is expected to announce their Super Zoom - EF 200-600mm f/4.5-5.6 IS some time in 2017 as well.

There is a large, online camera retailer in New York City selling the Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 lens (Contemporary model) for $839 with free expedited shipping. The offer is good for today, till midnight. Act fast if you want a good, consumer grade zoom lens for taking sports and wildlife photos.

You will not find a link to this retailer because I do not accept any advertisement or commissioned link on my Blog or website and do not solicit your email address for future spamming. I am completely unbiased in my reporting, have no conflict of interest and do not endorse any particular company. Find this company on Google yourself easily.  You can see my equipment bag, upcoming wildlife photo tours and works on MichaelDanielHo.com

Top Ten Camera and Lens on Loan by Canon Professional Services at Olympics 2016

Last week, I reported Canon Professional Services was gearing up to support pro sports photographers at the 2016 Summer Olympics. Now Canon has released a list of the most requested camera and lens equipment they are loaning out at the Games. I have used and own many of the gear on the list and have taken them on worldwide wildlife photo shoots. You can read my reviews on them below.

My readers know I am The Wildlife Ho-tographer. Through the decades, I have used almost all of Canon film and digital cameras plus their entire line of EF lens. You can read my camera and lens recommendation, view my equipment bag and see my works on MichaelDanielHo.com


Most requested camera and lens from sports photographers :

• EOS-1D X Mark II - Loaned 285 Times
• EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Extender 1.4X - Loaned 231 Times
• EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM - Loaned 211 Times
• EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II USM - Loaned 131 Times
• EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM - Loaned 130 Times
• EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM - Loaned 126 Times
• EOS-1D X - Loaned 123 Times
• EF 8-15mm f/4L Fisheye USM - Loaned 105 Times
• EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM - Loaned 84 Times
• EOS-1D X Mark II VIP and EF 300mm f/2.8L IS II USM - Both Loaned 77 Times

Wildlife Photography - Killer Whale, Apex Predator Of The Oceans

Orca, also known as the Killer Whale, is the largest member of the dolphin family and is a favorite animal for whale watching groups all around the world. Both the male and female Killer Whales have a broad, rounded head and snout, an enlarged forehead, large, paddle-shaped pectoral fins and a large dorsal fin. However, males grow larger than females, and on reaching maturity become stockier and develop disproportionately larger fins, with adult males easily recognized by the tall, erect dorsal fin, which is the largest of any cetacean, growing to an impressive 6 feet in height. The female Orca, by contrast, has a more backward-curving dorsal fin , which grows to about 3 feet in height. An Orca’s dorsal fin and saddle patch are unique to each individual.

A number of different forms of Killer Whale have been identified, which specialize in different types of prey, differ in appearance, behavior and habitat use, do not associate with each other and are not known to interbreed. Studies have also revealed genetic differences between the different forms, and the Orca may therefore be split into a number of different subspecies or even distinct species in the near future. 

One of the best places to see Killer Whales is in Alaska. The cold, nutrient rich water supports a healthy ecosystem, which in turn supports a healthy fish population. The abundance of food attracts plenty of seals, sea otters, dolphins and whales. In turn, Orcas, the Apex Predator of the oceans are found quite frequently in large pods in Alaskan waters.  One of the best spots to photograph Killer Whales is Resurrection Bay.  A couple of years ago, I spent a few days on a small boat out in the Bay and took some great shots of these amazing animals after coming across a few large pods.

The photo at the top is one of my favorite Killer Whale shots. The weather was rather poor, with light rain and very cloudy skies.  The whales were scattered and it was hard to concentrate on any particular individual.  Suddenly, I saw these three females in the distance swimming in unison. I was using the Canon  EOS-1D Mk IV camera with the EF 400mm f/4 DO lens. It was just the right combo and I fired off a quick burst, just in the nick of time.  This "Fearsome Threesome" broke up right after I took this shot.  I consider myself very lucky to have photographed this image.

The best equipment for wildlife photography in my opinion are the Canon EOS-1D X camera and the EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Extender 1.4X  or EF 400mm f/4 DO IS II lens combination. I have taken them all over the world on photo shoots and they performed flawlessly. Read the article on my website on where to go whale watching and tips on whale photography. You can see what's in my equipment bag when I go on wildlife photography shoots.

For more posts on photographing other wildlife, you will find Elephants, Polar bears, Bengal tigers, Hummingbirds and Blue whales adventures here. I have been a wildlife photographer for 25 years using Canon gear. You can read my FAQs and see my works on MichaelDanielHo.com. You can also follow my travels on this blog, Twitter , Facebook and Instagram.