It’s one of a photographer’s worst fears: dropping your DSLR. Especially for the amateur who may not have a backup, knowing that your camera can withstand a beating has led to some interesting videos in the past.

But while we appreciate DigitalRev’s “paint it pink and light it on fire” approach, protection plan company SquareTrade‘s more scientific test is probably more useful (if less entertaining). In the video above, SquareTrade enlists the help of pro photographer and B&H employee Neil Gershman to drop test Canon’s T5i and Nikon’s D5200. Read more…

Canon’s DSLRs come with a variety of continuous shooting speeds, ranging from 2.5 frames per second on the 300D (AKA Digital Rebel/Kiss Digital) to a whopping 14 frames per second on the high-end 1D-X. If you want to get a taste of what these shutter speeds sound like on the actual cameras, check out the comparison video above by YouTube user dochero2005.
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Here’s a question I get asked about 15 times a week: “How can I get the dust out of my lens?” The right answer is you don’t. All lenses have dust in them and it doesn’t affect the images at all 99% of the time. Even if you clean it all out, it will be back after you use the lens a few times.

There are occasionally times that large dust specs very near the rear element are visible in an image, though. There also is the very real issue of resale value; a dusty lens tends to bring a lower price than one without much dust. The right answer in these cases is “send it in for factory service, they’ll disassemble it and clean it.” Doing it yourself is risky.
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Canon today officially announced its new 200-400mm f/4L IS 1.4x extender lens. No, that’s not two products mistakenly smashed into one name — the lens features a built-in 1.4x extender that can be activated with the flip of a switch.
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A couple of weeks ago, the Magic Lantern team announced that they had discovered a RAW DNG Live View output on the 5D Mark II and Mark III. At the time, they could only get 14 frames per second for only 28 frames before the camera needed to buffer, but the team was confident that they could eventually increase the speed to 24p and pull a true RAW video feed out of the camera.

Lo and behold, that’s exactly what they’ve done. According to user lourenco in the Magic Lantern forums, he’s tested the new capability and he can pull continuous 1920×850 RAW video at 24p. Read more…

Think subject tracking in camera is impressive? Future Canon digital cameras may have image stabilization systems that can track stars. At least, that’s what a recently published Canon patent seems to suggest. The company may also be working on technology that can produce higher resolution photographs by shifting the camera sensor.
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The rumor mill is churning regarding Canon’s tilt-shift lens lineup. The company will reportedly be announcing replacements to its two oldest TS-E lenses by the end of this year, and the lenses are likely already floating around in the wild for real world field tests.
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A high-quality time-lapse is a beautiful thing. From the aurora borealis over Norway to the thriving metropolis that is San Diego, we’ve featured many a gorgeous photographic fast-forward through time, each of them put together by photographers that knew how to pull the most out of the time-lapse medium.

But just because there are a lot of stunning time-lapses out there, doesn’t mean that the process is easy or self-explanatory. Creating a great time-lapse takes skills, and it’s those skills that professional photographer Vincent Laforet is partnering with Canon to teach you in an informative 4-part educational video series. Read more…

In what may very well be the most exciting Magic Lantern development ever, the team has discovered a RAW DNG output in live view on the 5D Mark II and 5D Mark III. What this means is that, in the near future, 5D Mark II and III owners may be able to record crystal clear 2K RAW video that blows H.264 output out of the water and then some. Read more…

The video above is a commercial Canon is running over in Japan to promote its new Kiss X7/Rebel SL1, the world’s smallest and lightest DSLR. It shows how the camera is perfect for soccer moms who would like to capture action shots of their “super soccer kids.”
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