It was quite a while since the last time I researched for new lens. Today I have just found out that Canon has recently – back in September 1st 2009 to be precise – released a newcomer into its highly acclaimed premium L series, and surprisingly it is the upgraded version of its very popular 1:1 Macro lens, Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM.

Owning the older version EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro which I used mostly for product photography as well as sometimes shooting bugs or flowers for fun, I have been wondering why Canon does not put image stabilizer in the lens. For macro it is essential as in extreme magnification even the slightest shake can make a disaster. On the other hand, shooting bugs which sometimes hide under some sort f shade needs slow shutter speed. It has quite a wide opening of f/2.8, but in extreme magnification, opening the lens that wide in many cases does not allow us to get desired depth of field.

The image stabilizer system comes with this lens is of the most advanced technology called Hybrid IS which theoretically gives 4 stops correction. It is just awesome. Theoretically the slowest shutter speed for good quality hand-held shoots are at 1/focal length. So for 100mm lens we are talking about minimum speed of 1/100. One stop means a half, so four stops from 1/100 means four times halved 100 which is 1/6.75. In extreme magnification the specification talks about 2 stops correction, which in the same calculation means we can shoot as slow as 1/25, not bad at all.

With this lens, IS is not the only thing helping us in preventing shake. Low friction ceramic balls support the moving elements, which allows for the amazingly smooth movement. Additionally it has a tripod collar.

On the other hand, as macro lens is not only used by hobbyist addicted to shooting bugs having sexual intercourse but also professional product photographers, L optical quality can give a significant quality improvement to the end result.

It is very tempting to own one to replace my old one which lacks of both image stabilizer and L optical quality. Build quality of L series is also awesome, but as I mostly use it for product photography I do not really care about its dust and water resistant sealing. But more accurate auto focus helps product photographers whilst faster auto focus helps bug shooters. I do not even want to have a try, believing in its quality, I do not need a try it before buying one.

Below is the launching press release:

Canon announces the arrival of the
first EF lens to feature Hybrid IS

London, UK, 1st September 2009: Canon today announces the launch of the high performance EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM, the latest addition to its prestigious L-series, Canon’s flagship professional lens range. The EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM incorporates image stabilisation in a macro lens for the first time in the EOS lens range. This enables photographers to capture stunning close-up shots without the need for a tripod.

The high quality, medium telephoto macro lens, has been developed for photographers who demand the highest level of optical quality.  The new Hybrid IS system features up to 4-stop correction, compensating for the effects of camera shake, during normal shooting. Low friction ceramic balls support the moving elements, which allows for the amazingly smooth movement – needed when compensating for camera shake during macro shooting.  Hybrid IS corrects shift movement – problematic when shooting up close -as well as angular movement providing photographers with the benefit of up to 2 stops at 1.0x magnification.

The EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM features ultra low dispersion (UD) lenses that correct colour aberration for high resolution, high contrast images while the addition of Super Spectra coatings effectively reduce ghosting and flare for superior quality images. A nine blade circular aperture makes subjects stand out amid beautiful background blur and a silent, high-speed ring type USM Autofocus motor quickly achieves focus. The lens also includes a three position focus limiter to tailor the focus system range to the desired subject.

As part of the L-series the lens features dust and water resistant seals.  Sitting ahead of the EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro, within the range, the EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM supports a full range of accessories including: Tripod Mount D, Macro Lite adaptor 67, Lens Hood ET-73 and EF12 II and EF25 II extension tubes. The tripod mount attaches to the lens without the need for an adaptor enabling quick portrait or landscape switching without having to reframe the camera. Speedlites MR-14EX and MT-24EX can be attached using the MacroLite adaptor.

Being a Canon addict, using old Canon QL as my first camera some 20-30 years ago, then came back to Canon after a while with Nikon in my early digital day, I do believe in its quality. However,  I personally do not think that Canon EOS 7d will yield significant success like the old Canon 5D or even its Nikon rival, D300.

Unfortunately as a brand new one, I am not seeing something meaningful, something that makes it stands the competition. It is a personal opinion, of course. Following are attributes exposed as the selling points of this new camera:

(1) 18MP, nice to have, but how large you want to print your photos anyway. Those who needs to print their photos very large would have gone to full frame, or even large format.

(2) And Ahhh … yes. Full HD video. Nice to have. But again, others have started to offer it a year ago.

(3) APS-C, this is the catch. At least I, and I believe most of us who are used to full frame, will personally say NO to APS-C. It only worth as a second camera if not a backup one. Many said that wedding photographers and those focusing on portrait needs APS-C. Wrong. Only those who are not used to larger format will say that. Why do you think professional model photographers goes to either Hasselblad or Mamiya? Or at least Canon 1Ds or Nikon D3? The only ones which slightly benefit from smaller factors are wildlife photographers or paparazzis needing to shoot their target from a very long distance. Pictures resulted by APS-C are slightly better that those taken by full frame then getting cropped on post production to get the same magnification. It is true even if we take into account the megapixel figures.

(4) Dual Digic4 processor. Hmm. Is it a real need or just a sales pitch? When Canon introduced a camera with Digic3, I mentioned that have never had any complain of using the camera powered with Digic1 processor. So who will feel the difference of running the older Digic3 or the new Digic4. I believe it does not that critical like processor powering your notebook.

(5) 8 frames per second. Well, not bad. But I have never need anything faster than my old 5fps camera. And those needing speed, like photojournalists, will need something even faster than 8fps. So if they want it to be a considerable benefit, they should have made it more.

(6) ISO range expandable to 12,800 this is fabulous. Well, depends on how good the grain is, of course. But my assumption is if it can go higher, than at least it give better performance in lower settings, sat 3,200 or 6,400.

(7) 3 inch LCD, 920K resolution. Cool. Cramming large MP into that small of screen does not make 920K a significant different, but cool. However, most of the new DSLRs have it already. So what?

(8) New viewfinder with 1.0 magnification and 100% coverage, is something I have always wanted. Not so essential, but a definite decision making parameter. For me it can make or break my decision to buy.

So, I personally do not think 5D fits perfectly in the market. Advanced amateurs will go to D50, entry level professionals will go for 5D Mark II. Nikon has similar situation with its D300 actually. I think advanced amateurs will go to D90 whilst entry level pros will go for D700. But at the time it get launched, Nikon had a perfect situation. Canon did not have competing product with similar specification, whilst its full-frame and cheaper 5D was aging up. And, Nikon had a predecessor to replace, D200. So D300 was something long awaited. Going up was a long leap. At that time, D3 was the next class, D700 was not exist yet.

Having old 5D in hand, I have no intention at all to buy 7D of course. In fact, I do not even seeing crucial reason to replace my 5D with 5D Mark II. It will be nice to have a backup, but when I buy one, I think I will go for 50D instead. I believe that advanced amateur will be happy enough with 50D, and when they are going pro, they will go for 5D Mark II. 7D will be skipped behind. If for financial reason, 50D users could not afford to go up to 5D Mark II, they will prefer to wait and save more, I guess.

Advance preparation did not help me from making mistake however. With a few Bali photographer friends I went up to Ubud a little too late, resulting in parking our car far away from the event. It took us almost an hour on foot, half of which trapped in thousands of crowd. A friend who brought along a tripod and a portable ladder was forced to leave both of them back in the trunk.

Quite a coincident that the event took place only a few days after arrival of my new Canon 5D replacing my old Nikon D200, so it was my first Canon project. I spent the nights before to familiarize myself with its character, menu structure, and so forth. But a little time with the camera only on my front yard did not give me a lot.

Whilst I do not have a problem with menu structure, familiarizing myself with positioning of buttons and dials were the biggest challenge. Being the second was its exposure characteristic. However, I did aware that the event would be a real challenge for the strength of Canon 5D. I couldn’t wait to see how its full frame sensor results in two extreme situations: (1) Ultra wide shoots to capture everything in one frame, which I thought combination of full frame sensor and 17-40mm L lens should excel. (2). High ISO in low light as the schedule told that the fire would be set after the sun went down.

We got to the event after parade was over, so we lost a few important rituals. All of the ceremony’s elements including bade (carriage), lembu (the bull), and nagabanda (the holly dragon) are all placed on the ground of the royal setra (cemetery). We spent the whole half day to shot different angles of those magical stuffs and human interest shots of the thousands of crown in mix of local and foreigners. My game was wide angle shots with the brilliant 17-40mm L lens, and human interest with the very cheap 75-300mm which proven to work quite well in full frame DSLR. Ken Rockwell was right when saying that among the benefit of full frame is even crappy lens produce good shots.

As the sun went down preparation for cremation started by a series of rituals, including placing the body of the deceased into the bull. The fire actually set after dark burning both bulls with bodies inside. With very limited lighting (only a few lamps available on quite a wide ground), practically the only available light was the fire itself. The actual cremation took very short giving very limited time to fight the crowd to have a chance to fire just a few shots, during which times I replaced my lens a few times. I was disappointed with the performance of my ultra fast 50mm F1.8 which theoretically should excel in low light. In fact shots taken by my 17-40mm L F4 were by far better, even I had to shoot in high ISO to compensate is smaller aperture.

1. Theme
30 years of Bali Art Festival.

2. Object
Qualified photography objects are all activities related to the 30th Bali Art Festival 2008 which can include performing artists during the event starting from the carnival in the opening ceremony on June 14th 2008 through the happening event on July 7th 2008, as well as the visiting audience.

3. Participants
Participation is open to general public without classification and free of charge.

4. General Rule

• Color photo, weather taken in analog or digital.
• Each participants can include up to 10 (ten) photographs.
• Participants have to submit photographs both in print (size 10R) and in digital (in .jpg format, delivered on a CD, file name participantname_title.jpg).
• Detail of participating photographer shall be submitted along on a paper sticked behind each photograph mentioning name, address, phone number, title of the photo.
• Participants are allowed to do minor digital retouching (saturation & cropping). However photo collage is prohibited.
• Last submission shall be received by Tuesday, June 8th 2008 at the following address:
  Panitia Lomba Foto Pesta Kesenian Bali XXX – 2008
  Dinas Kebudayaan Provinsi Bali
  Jl. Ir. Djuanda No. 1 Denpasar 80235 Bali
  Contact person: Widnyana Sudibya – 0361 7869173

7. Prizes
1st winner is entitled to a sum of Rp. 2,000,000.-
2nd winner is entitled to a sum of Rp. 1,750,000.-
3rd winner is entitled to a sum of Rp. 1,500,000.-
4 additional winners are entitled to a sum of Rp. 750,000.- each.

Winners will be announced on the publication board of Bali Art Festival 2008 at Taman Budaya Bali. Each winners will also be contacted by either mail or phone.

Prize will pe distributed on the closing ceremony of Bali Art Festival 2008 on July 12th 2008 at Taman Budaya Bali.

The cremation ceremony will be held by The Royal Family of Ubud and therefore will take place at Puri Agung Ubud and related surrounding area. Series of rituals have been started since June 18th 2008, but the main event is taking place on July 15th 2008 between 00.12 and 21.00 Bali time. Most breath-taking moments will be between 10.00 and 18.00 when the soaring “meru” and accompanying bull statues will be taken in parade to the funeral ground for actual cremation.

Following is the complete schedule:
00:12 Nunas Toya Penembak
03.00 Pralina
05:00 Mebumi sudha/nyukat karang
10:00 Melaspas bade dan lembu
10:00 Nunas Tirta Pengentas Siwa lan Budha
12:00 Layon tedun
12:12 Manah Naga Banda
18:00 Parade to cremation field
19:00 Nganyut
21:00 Mepegat

To ease access closer to important objects it is advisable to wear simple Balinese traditional costume. It is a mega event, and therefore most probably accesses to Ubud will be closed during the event. It is advisable to arrive early.