Happy 4th of July - Panasonic GH3 for $1049 at Samy's via Amazon!

Whether it's an Independence Day Sale or a markdown to compete with pre-orders for the $1199 Canon EOS 70D -  the flagship Panasonic DMC-GH3 has been marked down to $1049 at Samy's and $1069 at Amazon direct.

With all the recent talk about the 70D, it is useful to remember that the GH3 still has several real advantages over the $1199 Canon:

• Splashproof metal, magnesium alloy body
• 1080/60p
• 50mbps and 72mbps video recording
• Headphone jack

And, if you already have the GH3, and need an offset loupe that works with your shoulder rig, Varavon's Swivel LCD viewfinder loupe is now available on eBay for $214

NEW Canon 70D - Great Premiere Video - "Handmade"

Canon's new autofocus system, upgraded DIGIC 5+ processor and built-in wifi make this new camera a worthy entrant to the hybrid still/video market.  For Rebel shooters with a significant investment in Canon glass, but who can't afford a 5D Mark III, this camera may be the perfect upgrade.

Here is what it can do (in the hands of cinematographer Noboyuki Yanagibashi):



And here is the "making of" - narrated by Yanagibashi-san himself: Very impressive performance, and I expect Canon to sell a lot of them.  If you're ready to upgrade to the best crop sensor Canon for video, and you don't need a headphone jack or 1080/60p, you can pre-order your new 70D body for $1199 at Amazon or Adorama.
And, for the latest 70D videos, please subscribe to my new Canon EOS 70D group on Vimeo.

Blowout prices on Canon's First Mirrorless - the EOS M!

Canon's first interchangeable lens mirrorless camera, the EOS M, was much anticipated less than a year ago, but has not been as successful as Canon probably hoped. Even though it takes great pictures and was heavily pre-ordered, sales fell off rapidly - possibly due to the camera's shutter lag, slow autofocus and lack of a viewfinder option.

With a possible replacement now on the horizon, prices for the EOS M have now dropped below $400 ($399.99 with the 22mm STM lens at Amazon and $381.20 silver body-only at BigValue via eBay).

If you are a Canon shooter with an investment in EF glass, and are looking for a smaller second body for travel - or perhaps a B camera for video - you might want to pick up an EOS to EOS M adapter ($159 from Amazon or $129 on eBay) and jump on one if these deals.  They won't last at this price.

First Magic Lantern RAW video from the Canon T3i/600D!

Vimeo user Luis Roberto dos Santos just posted this short clip from his Canon 600D, modified with a "pre-alpha" version of the Magic Lantern RAW firmware .  The clip was recorded to a slow card - so there is some flickering and macro blocking - but it blows standard fuzzy Canon .H264 compression away:


If Magic Lantern is successful at stabilizing the code, this will be huge - possibly bigger than the 5D Mark III news.  RAW video from a $549 still/video camera body? It's a hybrid camera revolution!

Canon Goes *Way* Upmarket with 4K C500

It looks like Canon is serious about competing with Arri, RED and Sony for the high end cinematography market.  Rolled out today at a big shindig in Hollywood (hat tip to Creative COW), and priced at $26,000, the new 4K C500, big brother to the $16,000 C300 and $6,500 C100, appears to undercut high resolution RAW cameras such as the Arri Alexa, the RED Epic and the Sony F65 - all of which cost over $50,000.

If you're a Canon shooter with a big budget feature to shoot this Christmas, you can pre-order your EF mount or PL mount C500 at Adorama today for November delivery. Your card won't be charged until it ships!

"New" Canon T4i - 2010's Features - Today

The new Canon T4i/650D was introduced today with several new features - to include a touchscreen, autofocus in video mode, new silent autofocus lenses, a built-in stereo mic and a new DIGIC 5 processor. Digital Camera World in the UK has the first hands-on preview:

 

As a former Canon T2i owner,  it is nice to see that Canon is making an effort to catch up  - and I look forward to seeing video images from the new DIGIC-5 processor, but it is hard to get too excited. I have had a touchscreen, video autofocus, a silent AF lens and a stereo mic on my relatively moire-free (and less expensive) Panasonic GH2 for a year and a half.

All that is left now for Canon is to do something about the 12 minute clip length limit and the viewfinder that goes black in video mode.

That said, this would be a great camera for digital filmmakers who have a significant investment in Canon glass. And the new high ISO modes made possible by DIGIC-5 look promising.  Hopefully, DIGIC-5 will push Panasonic towards higher ISO/better stock low light performance as they finalize the GH3.

Canon USA press release here.

Available for pre-order at Amazon and Adorama.

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