Canon sell a number of lenses in a special series they refer to as L for “luxury.” These are their most expensive and highest-quality lenses, and are readily identifiable by the red stripe painted around the end of the barrel.
L series lenses offer higher optical quality than their non-L equivalents, and have an important technical aspect in common. At least one element in every L lens is either made of fluorite crystal rather than glass, is a ground aspheric lens element (not a moulded/replicated aspheric lens as used in less expensive lenses) or is made from ultra-low dispersion glass. Most L series lenses are also sturdily built - many are encased in metal barrels and most are weatherproofed - and most are very fast lenses for their focal lengths. Nearly all telephoto L series lenses are also off-white rather than black.
These lenses are, therefore, marketed as professional camera lenses and are usually priced out of the range of most consumers. They can be used to take great photographs, but the cost, weight and size of these lenses are the tradeoffs.
Of course, a lens doesn’t have to be an L series lens to take good pictures. Many EOS lenses offer excellent optical quality - they just don’t need and thus don’t have exotic fluorite lens elements and so on. Many of Canon’s prime lenses in the 35mm to 135mm range fit in this category - see below. And some recent EF-S lenses offer near-L image quality but lack the red ring and the tough build quality of contemporary L series lenses.
Note also that the presence of a red ring around the end of a lens barrel only indicates an L series lens if it’s actually made by Canon. Some other makers happily paint red stripes around the end of their lenses too, but this in no way guarantees that the lens meets the quality standard of a Canon L lens.
Check out the list of “L-Series Canon Lenses”.
If you notice your Canon digital SLR camera lens has the letters USM written on the side, it means the lens has a small motor built into the body. Hence, USM is short for Ultrasonic Motor.It is important to note that there are two different types of USM lenses. A Ring ultrasonic, is the one you want to purchase. Then there are Micro motor ultrasonic drives that Canon places into their cheaper lenses. Unfortunately, they also letter these cheaper versions with USM as well. While these cheaper versions are quieter, they don't however focus as quickly as a true ring ultrasonic lens. Therefore, you need to check the lens specifications before purchasing to ensure it is a ring ultrasonic lens, and not a cheaper version created for what is rumored to be marketing reasons.
I read this article on CNET, a very interesting one which I would like to share. This article from CNET is about “How DxO Labs tests hot cameras like Canon's latest SLR”. CNET's Stephen Shankland went behind the scenes near Paris to see DxO put the highly anticipated EOS 5D Mark III through its paces. It's a rare look at one of the world's preeminent camera testers.
Canon's score of 81 means the 5D Mark III, while respectable, utterly failed to dethrone the highly regarded Nikon D800, with a top DxOMark score of 95, when it comes to image sensor performance. But DxO Labs' scientific testing yields some other findings that might surprise people used to photography conventional wisdom.
You might be using various lenses for your DSLR cameras. The number of lenses that are available in the market are too many and is very easy to use. The best of best images can be shot using these lenses, but do you know how these lenses are made. Check out the video below where is shows how Canon 500mm f/4 L Lens are made.Source: PetaPixel
Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in digital imaging solutions, today introduced the EOS 60Da Digital SLR Camera, a long-awaited successor to the EOS 20Da that is optimized for astrophotography. This DSLR caters to astronomers and hobbyists who enjoy capturing the beauty of the night sky by offering a modified infrared filter and a low-noise sensor with heightened hydrogen-alpha sensitivity.
The Canon EOS 60Da camera packs a powerful 18-megapixel CMOS sensor (APS-C) that produces sharp and high-contrast images of astronomical objects, a major enhancement over the EOS 20Da model's 8.2-megapixel sensor. The improved infrared-blocking filter is a modification suited specifically toward astronomy enthusiasts to achieve a hydrogen-alpha light sensitivity that is approximately three times higher than that of a normal Canon DSLR camera. This produces a 20-percent higher transmittance of Hydrogen Alpha line, or Hα wavelength, allowing astronomers to capture crisp, clear images of reddish, diffuse nebulae.
The estimated retail price is $1,499.00 and it is expected to be available this month.
Source: Canon
Canon EOS 5D Mark III 22.3 MP Full Frame CMOS Digital SLR Camera (Body)
You can expect new Canon cameras end of this month and early next month.
Expected and Rumors:
5D Mark III/X – Expected on Feb 27th
Below are the specs for the coming 5D replacement, the full name of the camera is currently unknown.
Specs
![[Canon]](http://lh3.ggpht.com/-XRFaaO0hmMc/T0YIx98BAuI/AAAAAAAAG8Q/sHV_geWwXdg/s1600-h/%25255BCanon%25255D%25255B3%25255D.jpg "[Canon]")
Canon Rebel T4i
No real specs are available, except that it will come with a new EF-S 18-135 lens with a silent autofocus motor.
Will keep you all updated.. subscribe/follow to this blog to get the latest updates.
Megapixel, one million pixels, refers to the number of dots in a digital cameras and other digital displays. The megapixel measurement reflects the ratio of individual pixels in a screen as it is divided by one million. In simple terms, a megapixel tells a photographer the camera’s capacity to detail an image. Digital cameras tend to produce images at 2048 x 1536 pixels, which renders a 3.1 megapixel measurement. The higher the megapixel number, the greater the resolution of the digital image. Images with higher resolutions appear clearer, sharper and more vivid.
Buying a digital camera can be disorienting. There are hundreds of cameras available at many different types of retail outlets, with prices ranging from $75 (Rs. 3500) to several thousand dollars. This, of course, is the big question that you really want an answer to and you know that nobody is going to give you one. If you ask anyone who already has a camera most will support the brand of the camera they have unless they have had some trouble with it, even then people are very forgiving. Also, be careful about fake cameras. You think you paid for a popular brand until you reach home, tear the product box, and notice a slight variation in the spelling of manufacturer' name. You feel cheated but often it's too late to do anything about it. Digital cameras are expensive electronics items, you don't want to get the brand wrong. I am a fan of Canon as they are into this business for a long time and my opinion about manufacturers who make the best film cameras would be Canon, Nikon, and Olympus, seem to make the best digital cameras. There are many other brands like Kodak, Panasonic, Fujifilm, Sony, Samsung etc.
AI Servo is Canon's predictive autofocus (AF) system. The name is derived from the use of Artificial Intelligence 
used to predict the speed and distance of the moving subject. It greatly increases your chance of getting a sharp image when your target is moving. It is the camera's ability to continuously focus on a moving subject, a feature normally only found on digital SLRs. It is generally used by sports or wildlife photographers to keep a moving subject in focus.
Autofocus Servo is normally engaged by switching focus mode to "AI Servo" in Canon or "Continuous" in Nikon followed by half-pressing the shutter release. The camera will continue to focus based on its own focus rules and your settings while the shutter release is half-pressed or fully depressed (actually taking shots). Predictive autofocusing happens whenever AI Servo is on and there's a readable subject with predictable movement where as Shutter release timing is controlled by the photographer for single shots and the first shot in a burst.
