Archive notice: This article was originally published on September 1, 2010. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
Canon 60D
After Canon scored a direct hit with film enthusiasts with the EOS 5D Mark II – and it is not without reason that television series are now filmed with this camera – it is time to renew the middle field. The 60D is positioned above the consumer cameras but still below the professional cameras.
An APS-C sensor with 18 megapixels, combined with the DIGIC 4 image processor, an ISO range of 100 – 6400 (expandable to 12,800), as well as an organised menu and setting options, are the basic data for the 60D. Little was done to the body; only a swivelling and rotating monitor was added. But the most important feature is probably HD video, as well as automatic or manual audio input with a wind filter.
Video material is recorded at 1920 x 1080 Full HD at frame rates of 30 (29.97 fps), 24 (23.976 fps) and 25.0 frames per second, up to a maximum size of 4 GB. It is viewed via an HDMI connection or on a computer, and the price stated so far is 1,099 US dollars. Otherwise, the Canon rumour mill is still simmering that one might perhaps and so far unconfirmed see a new version of the professional 1D model – but this information is still very shaky.
Olympus
Olympus, which has kept fairly quiet since the last photokina apart from introducing the Micro Four Thirds standard, is bringing – likewise subject to change, perhaps and only possibly – an update to the flagship model.
The E3 could become the E5, which, according to unconfirmed reports, will have not only HD video and other now-normal features but also a few new functions, as befits a high-end model from Olympus.
Among other things, a dual, simultaneous autofocus system that would thus make autofocus possible in DSLR cameras during video operation, with any lens. The link to the patent application is below the article.
Zeiss Distagon
But not only new products, but also other accessories will make photokina interesting – for example, a new Distagon lens which, with an aperture of 1.4 and a focal length of 35mm, is expected to be in stores from 2011 for both Nikon F and Canon EF mounts. This means that fast lenses on film-capable cameras can turn even a small production into a cinematic masterpiece – naturally always assuming that the camera operator knows their craft. But given the usual quality of Zeiss glass, the optics should not be the problem.
Incidentally, DIGITAL PRODUCTION will report live from photokina as the media partner of the CGI area.
Further links:
- Olympus patent application
