Hasta La Gadget!

Canon has snuck out a pair of new EF-series lenses, a compact prime to replace the well-esteemed EF 35mm f/2, and a 24-70mm zoom with L-series optics. The Canon EF 24-70 f/4L IS USM promises performance whether you’re zoomed in or out wide, with a 7.9-inch macro mode and up to four stops of stabilization, and is targeted by the company at full-frame DSLRs like the EOS 6D.

It can maintain its f/4 maximum aperture throughout the zoom range, and is made up of 15 lens elements split into 12 groups. The aperture is a 9-blade circular and Canon has used inner focusing and a ring-type ultrasonic motor for quieter use, though which supports manual override at any time.

The EF 24-70 f/4L IS USM measures in at 93mm long, is dust and water resistant, and comes with a pouch and reversible lens hood. It’ll hit shelves in December, priced at $1,499.

As for the Canon EF 35mm f/2 IS USM prime, that’s the fruits of the company’s work to improve picture quality around the edges of the frame, as well as make for a faster, quieter lens than its predecessor. It has optical image stabilization and the same manual focus override support as the new zoom, a circular aperture diaphragm, and has been coated for flare reduction.

It will go on sale, again in December, priced at $849.99.

Canon outs E-series lens duo: pro-zoom and whispering prime is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Looking to save some coin on your tech purchases? Of course you are! In this round-up, we’ll run down a list of the freshest frugal buys, hand-picked with the help of the folks at Slickdeals. You’ll want to act fast, though, as many of these offerings won’t stick around long.

Suffering from an awful case of the Mondays? Don’t fret. We’re sure a handful of gadget deals will put a little more pep in your step. Two more Canon bundles top the list this time out while a 65-inch Panasonic VIERA 3D Plasma HDTV gets a sizable discount as well. Jump down past the break to peek at the goods. As always, keep a close watch on those coupon codes and the requisite rebate forms.

Continue reading Slickdeals’ best in tech October 29th: Digital camera bundles and a 65-inch Panasonic VIERA 3D HDTV

Filed under: Cameras, Home Entertainment, Storage

Slickdeals’ best in tech October 29th: Digital camera bundles and a 65-inch Panasonic VIERA 3D HDTV originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Oct 2012 15:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This polar bear is probably a really big Nikon fan that just loves to destroy expensive things because he was caught chomping, throwing and smashing a $2,100 Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 IS telephoto lens. It’s pretty hilarious to see a giant polar bear play around with a camera lens, it looks like he tries to smoke it, drink it, eat it and even flick it. More »

We’ve talked about Lensbaby in the past with several interesting lenses for DSLR cameras. The company makes lenses that give you all sorts of strange photographic effects that remind me more than a little of some of the digital filters on Instagram. Lensbaby is back with the new lens called the Spark.

The Spark is priced well at $80 and is available for Canon and Nikon DSLR cameras. The lens is designed to let photographers capture creative images that have a sweet spot of focus surrounded by artistic blur. The Spark is a manual focus lens that photographers squeeze to focus and then tilt to move the sweet spot of focus around the image.

The Spark is a lightweight lens that uses a 50 mm selective focus multi-coated class doublet optic. The optic features a fixed f/5.6 aperture making it easy to use. Photos taken using the lens have a clear sweet spot of focus and that sweet spot of focus is surrounded by gradually increasing blur.

The focus range is about 13-inches to infinity according to Lensbaby. The lens is compatible with the Lensbaby Optic Swap System, and all Lensbaby 37mm threaded accessories. The lens will be available on September 18 online and in retail stores.

Lensbaby Spark helps photographers get creative on the cheap is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

There are a couple new lenses out in the open today from Olympus, both of them with aspirations for greatness and a new generation of both control and limited edition coolness. The First of these is the Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 60MM F2.8 “Nature Macro Lens”, made with dust proofing and splash proofing together with 1x magnification and a focusing distance of 19cm. The second is the Limited Edition M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 12mm f2.0 in Black, basically the same as the original M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 12mm f2.0 large-aperture, wide-angle, single-focal-length interchangeable lens, but this time in black.

Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 60MM F2.8 Macro Lens

The macro lens we’re looking at here is a single focal-length lens with weather-proofing along with 13 lens elements. You’ve got 13 lens elements in 10 groups of lenses inside this beast with special glass materials such as ED (Extra-low Dispersion), HR (High Refractive index) and E-HR (Extra-High Refractive index) – each added to bring you to a new level of professional greatness. You’ll be all but eliminating the chromatic aberrations you’re likely used to from other telephoto macro lenses, and you’ll be good to go for HD video as well.

This macro lens works with an Olympus developed MSC (Movie & Still Compatible) autofocusing mechanism with inner focus system for ultra quick and completely quiet focusing on the go. There are three different modes of focus range that you can work with for photography, those being the following: close-up (focusing distance between 19 and 40 cm), normal (distance from 19 cm to infinity) and far view (distance from 40 cm to infinity). There’s also an optional LH-49 Lens Hood made specifically for the macro lens at hand, and there’s also the FR-2 Macro Ring in play here which enables compatibility with the RF-11 Ring Flash and the STF-22 Twin Flash Set.

Limited Edition M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 12mm f2.0 in Black

This lens is the M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 12mm f2.0 large-aperture, wide-angle, single-focal-length interchangeable lens you’ve grown to love with a lovely black color in a limited edition release. This release has a snap ring for pan focus with distance indicators in place and the unit has a wide angle of 12mm. Inside you’ve also got the OlympusMSC (Movie & Still Compatible) mechanism which allows quiet, fast autofocusing for still photography and in video. This black version of the lens is sold in a kit with the LH-48 Metallic Lens Hood (Black), the LC-48 Metallic Lens Cap (Black), and the PRF-D46PRO Protection Filter.

M.ZUIKO DIGITAL 17mm f1.8 in Development

Olympus has also let it be known that they’ve got a M.ZUIKO DIGITAL 17mm f1.8 in development, coming soon with an emphasis on snapshots and street shooting. You’ll be working with a high-quality metallic outer finish and what Olympus says is a focal length equivalent to 34mm on a 35mm camera. More details will be coming soon from Olympus as they get closer to a release date, that being somewhere inside the first half of 2013.

Pricing and Release

The Olympus M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 60mm f2.8 Dust-and-Splash-Proof Macro lens is coming in October and will be available for approximately $499.99 USD. The Olympus M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 12mm f2.0 lens limited edition Black unit will be out in early October (here in 2012 as well) for an estimated street price of $1,099.99 USD. Stay tuned for more Olympus action as the camera crew brings on more heat through the year!

Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 60MM F2.8 “Nature Macro Lens” unleashed with classic partner is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.