Today (26th August) Canon announces a raft of new products aimed at the middle and high-end market.

The cameras announcement is the EOS 60D, a new mid-range camera to replace the ageing EOS 50D. The camera specifications move the camera around in the range a bit, placing it below the EOS 7D and above the EOS 550D. 

The camera looks like an amalgamation of those two product ranges, featuring an 18megapixel sensor, 5.3fps shooting speed, ISO range from 100-6400 with 12,800 available as expansion and the same HD movie shooting functions as the EOS 7D, but also with the addition of manual audio level control as seen in the EOS 5D Mark II. The AF system is the same 9point system found in the EOS 50D, but the coverage area is a little wider. It also utilises an in-built Speedlite transmitter like that found in the EOS 7D, but with control available of only A+B groups of remote EX-series Speedlites, not A+B+C as found in the EOS 7D. The in-built Speedlite can function as a third flash group though. 

The big news is that this is the first EOS camera to feature a flip-out LCD screen. It's the same high resolution screen as the EOS 550D, but mounted on a vari-angle mount like that found on the some models in the G series and SX series. 

Utlising SD, SDHC and SDXC cards, the EOS 60D is also compatible with Eye-Fi cards to allow you to wirelessly transmit images without having to buy a WiFi unit for the camera. 

Ensuring the camera fits into the system, the EOS 60D also makes use of the LP-E6 battery as used in the EOS 7D and EOS 5D Mark II. 

That's it for camera announcements, now on to lenses where there is a veritable feast of new L-glass to drool over. 

First up is a new fisheye lens to replace the EF15mm f/2.8 Fisheye. The new lens is an EF8-15mm f/4L USM fisheye that is the first in the world to offer both circular and full-frame fisheye images. It is compatible with full-frame, APS-H and APS-C cameras and features zoom marks for use on each of the cameras and a lock for APS-C cameras that stops you zooming too wide - where vignetting may occur. 

Next up is an EF70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM lens. Essentially an L-Series 70-300mm lens with a 4-stop image stabiliser. This is not an EF100-400mm lens replacement but instead fulfills the requirement  for n L-Series lens at this focal range. 

Moving on there are two new telephoto lenses - EF300mm f/2.8L II IS USM and EF400mm f/2.8L II IS USM to replace the current models. Like the Mk II EF70-200mm f/2.8L lens released last year these lenses are a technical tour-de-force featuring improved image quality, tougher build quality and reduced weight - the EF400mm f/2.8L II IS USM is 1.5Kg lighter than its predecessor - yes, that will make it now hand-holdable. In fact, looking at the weight, it is 20g lighter than the EF500mm f/4 which many people hand-hold easily. 

The lenses feature Fluorine coating to repel dust and water and the make cleaning the front and rear lens elements easier. There is also a new IS mode. Mode 3 stops the AF from functioning until you actually start the exposure. For sports photographers this help as there will be no IS function while they move rapidly from one subject to the next, instead kicking in at the point the exposure begins. The Mode 2 algorithm has also been modified to eliminate the IS jump that can occur when you start a panning motion. 

There is a new Power Focus mode included as well. This allows you to motor-drive the lens focus with the focus preset ring. There are two focus movement speeds, adjusted by how far you turn the preset ring. This is essentially a pull focus mode for video as it will make smooth focus changes easy and controllable. 

Going along with the 300 and 400mm lenses, Canon have announced they are working on EF500mm f/4 and EF600mm f/4 lenses to replace the current models. These lenses will feature the same technology and improvements that the 300mm and 400mm lenses have shown. 

To go along with the new telephoto and super-telephoto lenses, Canon have announced new 1.4x and 2x Extenders. They are now MkIII versions. Rather than just a simple upgrade, these Extenders offer improved AF function, and higher image quality compared to the previous models. They also have a new integrated processor to ensure complete communication between the lens and the camera body. To ensure this functions correctly, when using the Mk III Extenders, make sure you fit the lens to the Extender before fitting the whole unit to the camera. The Extenders also show a Fluorine coating on the front and rear lens elements to help with cleaning. And in keeping with 'cleanliness' the lens mount switches have been modified to make it quicker and easier to mount and un-mount lenses meaning less time with the lens not mounted to the camera. 

On the software side, there is new EOS E1 plugin for Final Cut Pro to convert H.264 movie files from all EOS movie capable cameras. The update also brings the ability for the software to read the movie EXIF data from the files during log and capture. 

So where does this leave us? Clearly the new lenses are really quite interesting, especially the fisheye and the300mmm/400mm lenses. How about the camera, what are your thoughts? Is it something you'd consider? How about for movie shooting? That flip-out LCD screen could prove very useful for that and help with focus, especially considering it is the same high resolution screen with 1,040K dot resolution as the EOS 550D making focus judgement much easier and clearer to see. 

Fire up the comments below with your thoughts.... 

Canon EOS 60D press release

Canon EF70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM press release

Canon EF8-15mm f/4L USM press release

Canon EF300mm f/2.8L II IS USM and EF400mm f/2.8L II IS USM press release

Canon EF1.4x III and EF2x III Extenders press release

Canon EF500mm f/4 and 600mm f/4 development announcement

Canon EOS E1 Movie plugin press release

Clearly, I'm a Canon fan. no prizes for guessing that. So you may feel the following is just the ramblings of a "Canon fanboy" but honestly, it's not. It's just some perspective on things that are going on in the industry currently. Notably, Sony's latest camera release.

Yesterday saw Sony announce a couple of new cameras featuring, what they called, a new type of semi-transparent mirror. One that doesn't move and you shoot through. Something otherwise called a pellicle mirror.

Ah yes, I can here you thinking it now. "A pellicle mirror? Didn't Canon use one of those once?" Yes they did. In fact, the first used it in the Canon Pellix of 1965 - 45 years ago. Then it was included in the F1 High Speed for the 1972 Olympics (a camera that could shoot 14 frames per second) then again in the EOS RT and lastly in the 1995 EOS-1N RS. 

Now the funniest thing about this is clearly I'm not the only Canon geek that knows these things about the history of Canon cameras because someone asked the guys at Sony whether this was the same as the pellicle mirror in the older Canon cameras. Their answer? Apparently it's similar, but fundamentally different and therefore new. Why?.....because the light is being recorded by a digital sensor, not film and because more light passes through the mirror. 

OK, so if I can get this straight, the recording medium is different and therefore the mirror design is totally new. Errr nope, sorry it's still not making sense to me. Anyone else care to explain it?  That aside, after 45 years I'd have hoped they'd have found ways of getting increased light transmission. 

Where's all this going then, aside from the chance to poke fun at some pretty bone-headed press releases and comical justifications? Well, the point is this - there are very few genuinely new ideas. The last camera that I can think of that featured a truly fundamentally new idea was the EOS 5D Mark II with the introduction of HD video. Everything else feels like tweaks and modifications with relative improvements in specification. 

When you're looking at the next camera launch from any of the manufacturers, take a look and see what you can find that is a truly great *new* idea. I'm sure that like the EOS 650 (that launched the EOS range) and the T90 (widely hailed as one of the best cameras ever made) the EOS 5D Mark II will go down as a classic.

Oh, and the title of this piece? Just keep some perspective in mind when looking at new cameras and what they claim to be or do. They are just cameras after all. 

For anyone that follows technology, today saw a press release that is, to our current way of thinking, quite bonkers.

In digital cameras much was made in the early days of megapixels. More was always better. Gradually we have reached a stage where those who know what they are talking about agree we have enough and now is the time to concentrate on high ISO performance instead. Well, it seems megapixels may come back again for another round of 'bigger is better'. Just so long as it's coupled with great high ISO performance I'm all for it. 

Where is this leading? Well, Canon today put out a press release saying they have developed an APS-H sensor (so the same size as that found in the 16megapixel EOS-1D Mark IV) featuring 120megapixels. Yep, you read that right, and no, I am not missing any decimal points. That's One Hundred and Twenty megapixels. 

Now, CMOS technology has a few advantages over CCD technology, one of which is the read-out speed of the chip. Combined with some clever design, this chip can achieve a maximum output speed of 9.5 frames per second. 

Unsurprisingly the sensor also includes the ability to shoot full HD video. The most interesting thing about this is that it can capture full HD (1920x1080p) from any part of the sensor...using only 1/60th of the sensor at the time. 

Now, don't all go and get excited that we'll see this sensor in a camera any time soon. For a start you'll need new, bigger hard drives. But this is a technology demonstrator to show what is possible.

If you want to read about this in more depth, take a look at the Canon Press Release.....

And don't forget to hit up the comments below with your thoughts - like whether you want a 120megapixel sensor or not? What caveats would you put on it if you do? Do you need that much resolution?