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This 50mm f/1.2 cappuccino cup is in response to the fabulous coffee mug that looks like a 70–200mm lens, which Canon was giving out at the Winter Olympics to people who had better watch their back when I’m around.
By the way, there’s a new version of the popular zoom lens that I want almost more than I want another cappuccino. Pre-order it now and I get a little closer. To the cappuccino.
What’s new about the 70–200 II? It is said to be sharper, faster to focus, and have improved IS over the original. That said, the original is a terrific lens. Here’s a shot I made with one.
Numerous folks have also pointed out the 24–105 “ice cream cup” (is that a way of saying that it will melt and give you cancer if you put hot liquid in it?) is available on eBay.
Personally, I like my mugs f/2.8 or faster, so I’m going with the 70–200.
Update on Wednesday, March 10, 2010 at 9:13PM by
Stu
In the 18 months since Canon announced the Canon 5D Mark II, you’ve written, you’ve called, you’ve left comments here and on Vincent Laforet’s blog. You politely but firmly harrassed Canon personel at trade shows. Perhaps most significantly, you put your money where your mouth is and bought 7Ds, showing Canon that 24p is even better than Bokake.
It delights me to no end to read these words in a Canon press release:
Developed following feedback from photographers and cinematographers, Firmware 2.0.3 further enhances the EOS 5D Mark II’s excellent video performance. The addition of new frame rates expands the camera’s video potential, providing filmmakers with the ability to shoot 1080p Full HD footage at 24fps (actual 23.976fps)—the optimum frame rate for cinematic video. 25fps support at both 1920x1080 and 640x480 resolutions will allow users to film at the frame rate required for the PAL broadcast standard, while the new firmware will also change the 30fps option to the NTSC video standard of 29.97fps.
I underlined a couple bits in there. Do they sound familiar? The wording is almost directly lifted from ProLost posts and my other communications with Canon.
Does it seem like I’m patting myself on the back? Well I am. But you should too. I know that, at best, I played maybe a tiny role in this. But this is a very cool thing that has happened here—we spoke, and Canon listened.
Update on Tuesday, March 2, 2010 at 11:17AM by
Stu
Looking back at the 24p for 5D campaign waged here on ProLost, something I never felt I needed to do was explain why 24p was so important, beyond simple technical compatibility. If you’re interested in an artistic discussion of the role 24 progressive frames per second plays in the look and feel of movies, check out part two of my interview by Rick Young of MacVideo. Rick asks one question—“why 24p”—and I talk for about ten minutes. Oops.
Canon today announced the Rebel T2i, AKA the 550D. It’s an 18 megapixel entry-level DSLR for $800. It features all of the video modes of the Canon 7D and 1D Mark IV: 29.97, 23.976, and 25 fps at 1080p, along with 50 and 60 fps at 720p.
I haven’t seen any samples of the video yet, although I’m sure we’ll soon be buried by them. [UPDATE: Did I say soon? Here you go (also embedded below)—thanks Jay]
I’m sure we’ll also be treated to many loving comparisons of how image quality, noise, compression, etc., stand up to Canon’s other offerings.
I would not expect the Rebel to represent any progress on the HDSLR shortcomings of rolling shutter and aliasing/moiré.
Two years ago I called the Canon HV20 the no-more-excuses DV Rebel camera. It was an HD camcorder the size of a soda can that recorded 24p with limited manual control, for under $1,000. Filmmaker Ayz Waraich made a beautiful short film with it called White Red Panic.
Folks can spend a lot of energy writing about cameras and filmmaking, about how this or that forthcoming tool will be a “game changer” or revolutionize the blah blah blah. Ayz’s film reminded us (and I include myself in that “us”) that filmmaking beats bellyaching every time.
Then along came the HDSLRs, and speaking only for myself, I thought there was some important stuff to bellyache about. Some potential that could be realized if only a few niggling details were addressed. The year that followed the introduction of the 5D Mark II was equal parts frustration and reward, as Canon and others took pot-shots at the target, always missing, but sometimes in ways that produced useable cameras.
I marked the Canon 7D as the real arrival of HDSLR cinema. The price, the frame rates, and sensor size all made great sense, and video finally earned it’s own button, more or less. There are still big problems with it of course, but they can be worked around. I’d hate to be working around them with a paying client over my shoulder, but for my personal work, I don’t mind. And if I get really stuck, I do have an actual video camera lying around here somewhere.
It seemed to me that no sooner had the HV20 come out that it was rendered obsolete by subsequent models, and its priced dropped from affordable to ridiculous. We went from “no more excuses” to “seriously, what more do you want” in a matter of months.
With the Rebel, HDSLRs just hit that point. If you have any interest in what they can do, there’s now a camera that you can buy for less than the cost of a decent tripod.
In fact, depending on how it performs, the Rebel may just be the new sweet spot. In the same way that the 1D Mark IV’s $5,000 price tag accounts for a bunch of pro stills features that don’t net much for the filmmaker, the shortcomings that put the Rebel at half the 7D’s price are most likely all in the stills department as well. If video is your primry interest in a DSLR, the Rebel could well represent the most bang for the buck.
Canon has proudly placed Nocturne on their website, echoing the up-down-up pattern Reverie experienced last year.
Astute ProLost readers will have noted that Nocturne has always been viewable on my YouTube account, since Canon never asked me to take it down, just Vincent.
As you will recall, Nocturne is a short film shot entirely in available light using two pre-release Canon 1D Mark IV HDSLRs.
Vincent Laforet wrote about the film here and here, and has a fresh update here, along with a behind-the-scenes video edited by Joseph Linaschke.
The 1D Mark IV is starting to show up in peoples’ hands and looks to be a rockin’ solid action SLR with the autofocus that Canon shooters have long wished for. As I wrote here, it is undoubtedly $5,000 worth of stills camera. It’s probably not $5,000 worth of HD video camera, unless you very specifically need the unmatched low-light performance.
Which you very well might. It’s obviously awesome.
Just remember that the Mark IV has no ergonomic concessions to video shooting—not even a dedicated video start-stop like the 7D has. And while it has greatly reduced rolling shutter skew (Nocturne is ample evidence of this), the video aliasing/moiré is no better than that of the 5D Mark II (something you can also see in Nocturne).
Friday, March 5, 2010 at 12:49PM 
