Canon EOS M Launches in Brunei Darussalam with Sneak Peek of EOS 6D

Because the EOS M is Canon’s first mirrorless we had this odd situation where all invitees who came with their mirrored Canon cameras (including my PowerShot G11) all aimed at this tiny little thing called the “M”. As soon as Guest of Honour, Mr Seisuke Shimitzu, Japan’s Acting Ambassador to Brunei Darussalam lifted the cover, history was made! Congratulations Interhouse Company for yet another successful event.

The unveiling of the Canon’s first mirrorless camera, the EOS-M, by Mr Seisuke Shimitzu, Japan’s Acting Ambassador to Brunei Darussalam.

An EOS-M with a removable 18-55mm lens attached.

An EF 70-200mm f/2.8 IS attached to the EOS-M body via an EF-EOS M Mount Adapter

Interhouse staff Jo Verzola (left) giving invitees a hands-on demo of an EOS-M.

Heng Ting Guan of Canon Singapore holding the newly announced EOS 6D for a Brunei Times video footage.

Canon EOS 5D Mark III: Does the “Possible Shots” Limit of 1999 Bother You?

Expanding the matter of the Possible Shots counter capping to just “1999″ where I wrote in the image caption, “I guess this is a easy firmware fix should Canon decide it’s needed.” a visitor posted the following comment:

“About the image counter, I doubt it can be made to show more than 1999 with a firmware upgrade. The available symbols on the LCD screen cannot change (this is not a dot-matrix screen that could display any symbol made of dots) and it looks like the first of the four digits is too narrow to be able to display anything except “1″. There is just not enough space between the left bracket and the second digit.” — Stefan

The image counter on previous 5D models including the Mark II were limited to just 3 digits. This can be quite annoying when you have a large capacity flash card and all the camera ever shows is 999. On the 5D Mark III this is expanded to four digits. Currently display is limited to a strange 1,999.

Interesting comment I can neither agree not disagree given my limited knowledge of how LCD works. This just piques my curiousity more. It goes without saying that the actual number of possible shots also depends on how much charge the LP-E6 battery has. For the purpose of argument, it is assumed a full charge. The counter limit here is a factory designed limit and why it stops at 1999 is puzzling. It does not actually bother me for now but someday when my CF cards get bigger to the tune of 32GB or 64GB this limit may become a source of annoyance.

Using a SanDisk Extreme 16GB CF Card, I set image resolution to the smallest possible JPEG so the number possible shots would go into several thousands. However the number the camera is able to display is limited to just 1999 as seen in the photo of the 5D Mark III above.

My Big Sensor Wish Came True In The Canon PowerShot G1 X

It’s no secret that I favour the small footprint Canon PowerShot G11 over the EOS 5D Mark II when it comes to taking pictures leisurely. When I’m not working, I prefer to be discreet when being an ordinary citizen going about his day shopping and dining among the masses. In the short years I’ve had the G11, I think I’ve pretty much pushed its limits to fill a void of the DSLR replacement space and while it has fulfilled most of my expectations, I cannot help but wish it had a more capable sensor. A bigger one for that matter. A much bigger one than its G predecessors: Large 1.5-inch 14.3 Megapixel CMOS, DIGIC 5, HS System, 15.1 – 60.4 mm (35mm equivalent: 28-112mm), Intelligent IS, 3.0″ vari-angle LCD, etc. [ Read reviews and detailed specs ]

OK while not exactly "half the specs" of the EOS 1DX, Canon has given me an "X" and for that I think it deserves credit for at least not delivering another weak G series upgrade.

A possible deal breaking caveat (for me) I picked up in the specs is its minimum focusing distance. The 1 cm macro capability on the G11 is what sealed the deal for me. In the Canon S100, minimum focusing is increased to an uncomfortable 3 cm but on the G1 X, lo and behold, focusing distance is further increased to a shitty 20 cm. This is unbelievable and downright unacceptable. Perhaps a technical impossibility given all engineering superiority of a “large sensor” implementation? Had I noticed this first before being momentarily blinded by all the specs glam, I might have not bothered with this post!

Very few people realize the important of strong composition when pointing their cameras at a subject. Even fewer camera manufacturers design cameras that make sense. Simple matter: if you can’t see, you can’t compose and other than the amazing 1 cm macro capability of the G11, the vari-angle LCD makes all the difference between a well composed photo versus one with an obvious blind spot.

Canon PowerShot G1 X images © DPreview.com

What was once considered an absurd idea, big sensor in a Canon G series has become real.

There's no G13 but the release of the PowerShot G1 X has exceeded my expectations. I think it's time the kids began their photography lessons on the G11.