WHAT’S NEW
08
CANON LOOKS TO be getting the hang of
this mirrorless camera thing. The latest arrival is
the EOS M6 which is essentially an M5 in a new- and very pretty – bodyshell, minus the EVF. No
built-in EVF? Before you decide to move off to
read something else, let us tell you that there
is an all-new clip-on electronic viewfi nder, but
more importantly, the M6’s confi guration tells
us Canon is really thinking about its mirrorless
camera range. Leaving out the built-in EVF allows
for a more compact design and the EOS M
really fi ts the bill in terms of attracting users
who want something better than a smartphone
for taking pictures, but don’t want a D-SLR, no
matter how compact.
The RF-style body is very neat and features
a dial-based external control layout with a tilt-
adjustable LCD monitor screen which has a reso-
lution of 1.04 megadots and also provides touch
controls. It’ll tilt up through 180 degrees too,
for taking ‘selfi es’... we know, but it’s now an
important facility in this class of camera. There’s
a built-in, pop-up fl ash and the M6 has a single
memory card slot for SD format devices
On the inside is the same 24.2 megapixels
(effective), ‘APS-C’ size ‘Dual Pixel CMOS’ sen-
sor as is used in the M5 mated with Canon’s
latest ‘DiG!C 7’ processor. The sensitivity range
is equivalent to ISO 100 to 25,600. The ‘Dual
Pixel’ sensor’s design delivers phase-difference
detection autofocusing which is impressively fast.
The AF system employs 49 selectable measuring
points and has both face-detection and subject
tracking facilities. Exposure control is based on
a 384-zone metering system which drives the
standard choice of ‘PASM’ control modes plus a
selection of subject/scene modes. The M6 also has
choice of ‘Creative Filter’ special effects and vari-
ous JPEG processing options offered on Canon’s
D-SLRs such as ‘Auto Lighting Optimiser’ and
‘Highlight Tone Priority’ (HTP). Continuous shooting
is possible at up to 9.0 fps with the AF/AE locked
to the fi rst frame and 7.0 fps with frame-to-frame
adjustment. The video capabilities are pretty stand-
ard fare with Full HD recording in the MP4 format
at 50 or 25 fps (PAL) with stereo sound and the op-
tion of plugging in an external mic. Not surprisingly
there’s built-in WiFi (with NFC connectivity), but
also Bluetooth for maintaining a connection with a
mobile device.
The new EVF-DC2 optional viewfi nder uses a
0.39-inch OLED panel with a resolution of 2.
megadots, and a refresh rate of 120 fps. It is both
more compact and lighter than the previous DC
model. The EOS M6 is available in black or silver
fi nishes and sells for around $1299 (estimated
average street price) with the EF-M 15-45 f3.5-4.
IS STM zoom lens. Canon Australia says the EOS
M3 model will continue to be available locally.
For more information visit http://www.canon.com.au08
sor as is used in the M5 mated with Canon’s
latest ‘DiG!C 7’ processor. The sensitivity range
is equivalent to ISO 100 to 25,600. The ‘Dual
Pixel’ sensor’s design delivers phase-differenceaverage street price) with the EF-M 15-45 f3.5-4.
IS STM zoom lens. Canon Australia says the EOS
M3 model will continue to be available locally.
For more information visit http://www.canon.com.auBRIEF EXPOSURES
LEXAR DELIVERS
BIG GIGS
SO, IF YOU have a spare two-and-a-
half grand for a memory card, Lexar
will happily sell you one of its new 512
GB capacity CFast devices. Yes, 512
gigabytes. That’s an awful lot of storage
space, but with 4K video now well-and-
truly here and 8K on the horizon, it’s
probably going to look merely adequate
in years to come. Likewise with 100
MP still cameras, of which there will
surely be more down the track. In fact,
Lexar says that when shooting at 200
fps (i.e. for slow-motion sequences)
on a high-end, production-level video
camera, it’s easy to fi ll up an entire 256
GB card in just 17 minutes.
The new Lexar Professional 3500x
series 512 GB CFast 2.0 memory
card has a claimed maximum read
speed of up to 525 MB/second and a
write speed of up to 445 MB/second.
Although physically similar, CFast
cards are incompatible with standard
CompactFlash types, and are currently
used in the Canon EOS-1D X Mark
II, Hasselblad H6D 100c and quite a
number of pro-level video cameras and
recording devices.
The Lexar Professional 3500x CFast
2.0 card line is also available in 32 GB,
64 GB, 128 GB and 256 GB capaci-
ties. The new 512 GB card is priced
at $2550. For more information visit
http://www.lexar.comCANON GAINS MIRRORLESS MOMENTUM
LINO MANFROTTO, the
man who created the epony-
mous tripod company, passed
away on 5 February at his home in Bas-
sano del Grappa, Italy, aged 80. Originally
a photojournalist in Italy, Manfrotto began
by building lightweight but strong tripods
for himself in the late 1960s, but there
was soon demand from his newspaper
colleagues and, in 1974, he established
a small production facility in partnership
with mechanical engineer Gilberto Battoc-
chio. Today Manfrotto products are sold in
over 65 countries around the world. The
company is still based in northern Italy
where it has two manufacturing plants
and currently employs 735 people.CamMayJune17_006-016 News.indd 8 13/04/2017 12:17 AM