Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Auto Lighting Optimizer exposures

Using the Auto Lighting Optimizer setting – it’s available on all current EOS DSLRs – can help to even out the contrast in images, especially when you’re shooting with flash or with backlit subjects.
It can also help to cut down on your post-production time. However, when you’re shooting in Manual exposure mode you may find that the exposures are brighter than you expect, even after adjusting the exposure settings down. If you find this is happening, switch off Auto Lighting Optimizer and your results will match your expectations.

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Avantech's newest TV advert - featuring our very own staff!


Canon develops 35 mm full-frame CMOS sensor for video capture


left image - The newly developed 35 mm full-frame CMOS sensor for video use
right image - Prototype camera incorporating the newly developed 35 mm full-frame CMOS sensor


Canon Inc. announced that the company has successfully developed a high-sensitivity 35 mm full-frame CMOS sensor exclusively for video recording. Delivering high-sensitivity, low-noise imaging performance, the new Canon 35 mm CMOS sensor*1 enables the capture of Full HD video even in exceptionally low-light environments.

The newly developed CMOS sensor features pixels measuring 19 microns square in size, which is more than 7.5-times the surface area of the pixels on the CMOS sensor incorporated in Canon’s top-of-the-line EOS-1D X and other digital SLR cameras. In addition, the sensor’s pixels and readout circuitry employ new technologies that reduce noise, which tends to increase as pixel size increases. Thanks to these technologies, the sensor facilitates the shooting of clearly visible video images even in dimly lit environments with as little as 0.03 lux of illumination, or approximately the brightness of a crescent moon—a level of brightness in which it is difficult for the naked eye to perceive objects. When recording video of astral bodies, while an electron-multiplying CCD,*2 which realizes approximately the same level of perception as the naked eye, can capture magnitude-6 stars, Canon’s newly developed CMOS sensor is capable of recording faint stars with a magnitude of 8.5 and above.*3

Using a prototype camera employing the newly developed sensor, Canon successfully captured a wide range of test video,*4 such as footage recorded in a room illuminated only by the light from burning incense sticks (approximately 0.05–0.01 lux) and video of the Geminid meteor shower. The company is looking to such future applications for the new sensor as astronomical and natural observation, support for medical research, and use in surveillance and security equipment. Through the further development of innovative CMOS sensors, Canon aims to expand the world of new imaging expression.


*1 An imaging element (aspect ratio: 16:9) that supports the largest image circle size possible when shooting with a Canon EF lens.
*2 A CCD sensor with a readout mechanism that multiplies electrons after being converted from light. Applications include nighttime surveillance and the capture of astral bodies and nighttime nature scenes.
*3 The brightness of a star decreases 2.5-times with each 1 magnitude increase.
*4 Recording of test video footage was made possible through cooperation from ZERO Corporation.

Friday, March 8, 2013

Canon tip: Battery charging in cold conditions


When charging the battery from your EOS DSLR, you can usually count on it being fully charged from empty within two hours.
However, in cold conditions, you should ensure you give yourself more time. This is because when charging at temperatures below 10 degrees Centigrade (50 degrees Fahrenheit) it takes almost twice as long. At low temperatures, the charging speed is reduced to help protect the batteries; so if you are working in cold environments, try and keep the area around the battery charger as warm as possible if you need to charge them efficiently.