New Camera Coming From Big Camera Company!

Is there any more thrilling sound than the trumpets announcing a new camera? We all wake up and look about us, even if we are devotees of a different system.

In this case it is the latest evocation of a full-frame Canon DSLR - it'll be the next in order in the 5D line - the Canon EOS 5D Mk IV.

You may be forgiven for thinking that with the EOS 5D, 5D Mk II, 5D Mk III, 5DS and 5DS R, and now the EOS 5D MkIV that Canon have had more marks than the Spitfire...or Barry Cable...but consider what it means to the working photographer or enthusiast:

1. Any possible teething troubles in the basic body were worked out years ago.

2. Each new evocation has introduced new electronics and new capabilities.

3. The ergonomics were good to start with - they have gotten better. Canon cameras fit everyone's hand.

4. Everything else fits, too. L lenses, transmitters, flashes, accessories---and its you have a fitted case or bag that carried your Canon EOS 5d-series cameras before it'll carry the new one!

5. Everything has gotten better:

30.4 Megapixel CMOS sensor.
100-32,000 ISO boostable to 102.400 ISO.
4k video and flicker free viewing.
Digit 6+ processor.
7FPS and silent single and continuous shooting.
Full iOS and Android WiFi built in.
GPS built in.
Scene Intelligent Auto Mode available as well as standard PASM.
CF and SD-sized slots.
61focus points - dual pixel add system - 1,620,000-dot LCD screen that is touch sensitive.

I can thoroughly endorse the practice of adding another camera to your bag, and choosing one that is the latest of a long line of careful development. I have done so myself, and benefited. You see this in cars, watches, rifles, and many other household appliances - the manufacturer builds upon careful analysis of what has worked rather than blundering wildly out into oddball designs or untried theories - and the wise user can succeed with the gear immediately.

Consider as well the mind of the Canon shooter. If you have used a small-frame Canon camera in the past you are well on your way to knowing the operating pattern of the full-frame one. If you have used any of the EOS 5D series before you are there already - just pick it up, clap on an L series lens, and run!

Oh, pay for it before you do...the staff in the shop are built like antelopes and will catch you before you get half-way down the block...

We'll have a new camera unveiling night for the EOS 5D Mk IV at a bar in Perth at the start of September. That's a very cheery idea. It will be held at the Flour Factory, 16 Queen Street Perth, on Thursday, 1st of September. Starts at 6:00 for a 6:30 start, if that makes sense.

Hugh Brown will be speaking and that makes it a fun night just to begin with, but add a new Canon EOS camera and food and drink into the bargain and the whole thing really sparkles. I shall be there myself. All readers of this column who want to be included in the fun should register at www.cameraelectronic.com.au/events to let us know for catering.

Finally, did you know that there was a famous member of the church who wrote a textbook on artillery and also used Canon 5D cameras? It was commemorated on the maps of Spanish river systems. Go to Google Earth and look for:

Canon Canon cannon canon Cañón.

You're welcome...

Pre-Order the new Canon EOS 5D Mark IV here

Pre-Order the Canon EF 16-35mm f2.8L III USM (arriving mid-October)

Pre-Order the Canon EF 24-105mm f4 IS II USM (arriving mid-October)

GPS, EXIF, Data, And The Agency

A few years ago we were presented with the most wonderful accessory for 35mm cameras - a small electrically-powered back that would imprint the date that the shutter was triggered onto the negative with a small LED display. You could mar your best shots accurately and regret it for ever after. No longer was it necessary to search for a hairstyle or skirt length to accurately date the negative or slide - even landscapes could be fixed in time. " Hey, when exactly did they move the Matterhorn a foot to the left? Let me look at the bottom of the negative for the glowing orange numbers..."

Time passed and the digital camera revolution occurred and, like all revolutions, left the streets awash in  dead bodies. In this case it brought numerous benefits - you could now photoshop unicorns and dragons into faerie pictures, you could do 400 shots of your lunch for less than the cost of the lunch, and the streets were still awash in dead bodies.

It also brought the ability to record far more about each image at the time it was taken. Every time you press the shutter button there is a burst of data that is tucked into the file you create - shutter speed, aperture, flash status, focal length, compensations, and conditions all go into the EXIF data. You can see  a little of it on the back screen of the camera and if you use a program like Lightroom or Aperture you can see a lot more on the computer.

It will also tell you what the date and time were when you pressed the button, and if your camera is equipped with a GPS locator you can find out where in the where you were at the time. We are looking forward to the next generation of information recording - digital cameras of the future are rumoured to contain circuits that will add WTF information at the time of image capture. Computers will be equipped with WGAF programs to deal with this.

It should clear up a lot of confusion in the field and subsequently save a lot of storage space on our hard drives. If there is insufficient initial WTF available, the WGAF circuit cuts in and the file is automatically deleted. Some computers will emit a rude noise when this occurs.

Please note that users of the newest cameras can already get a monthly report emailed to them from Langley, Virginia, about their photography. All the information in the image is coded and transmitted by the GPS to waiting drones and thence to geo-stationary satellites and back to the agency. It is compared to a data base of other views of similar places and faces and a complete story of the user's activities generated. There is no need to turn the camera on as it is permanently recording everything in the vicinity to add to the data stream - the only real action required by the user is to come into the local office of the agency and explain their motives for whatever they have been doing. The monthly email will mention whether it will be necessary to bring a toothbrush and change of clothing in case of an overnight...or longer...interview. These new cameras come in bright colours, too, so everyone can be happy.

Or else.