Canon intros new products for the pro shooter at CES 2010 this week

Canon introduced a range of new products at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) this week in Las Vegas, however the ones that are of interest to professional photographers include a new 70-200mm lens and three new Wireless File Transmitter units to accompany each of the Company’s three pro DSLRs.

New 70-200mm Lens

The new EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens has been enhanced for better durability and strength over the previous model. Canon redesigned the internal elements, incorporating a fluorite element and a fifth UD element for better optical performance.

The new lens design also improves AF speed and the lens offers a reduced minimum focusing distance of 3.9 feet through the entire zoom range. The previous lens model’s minimum focusing distance was 4.6 feet.

Canon also improved the Image Stabilization with one additional stop of compensation over the older model lens.

A new bayonet mount on the front of the lens includes a locking mechanism to ensure the supplied lens hood will remain securely in place. The new lens is also compatible with Canon’s existing EF1.4X II and EF2X II Extenders as well as EF Extension Tubes and the 77mm Close-Up Lens 500D.

Canon is supplying the lens with a detachable tripod collar, reversible bayonet mount lens hood and a lens pouch. Scheduled to hit dealer shelves in April, price is to be determined.

New WFT units for Canon EOS 1D Mark VI, EOS 5D Mark II and EOS 7D

(top) WFT-E5 A for use with the Canon EOS 7D; (bottom) WFT-E4 II A for use with the EOS 5D Mark II.

The new WFT-E2 II A Wireless File Transmitter, WFT-E4 II A Wireless File Transmitter and WFT-E5A Wireless File Transmitter are designed for use with the EOS-1D Mark IV, EOS 5D Mark II, and EOS 7D, respectively, providing photographers with a range of wireless connectivity options.

Some of the new features include Canon’s new Camera Linking Function, which will let users fire up to 10 cameras simultaneously. The new WFT units also enable the roaming photojournalist or back-country nature photographer to geotag images easily through hard-wired or Bluetooth-connected GPS devices and append coordinates to the image’s EXIF data.

All three new of the WFT units are 802.11 a/b/g compatible. Other features include Wi-Fi protected setup, an FTP transfer mode, new WFT Server mode, and EOS Utility mode. The WFT unit also includes a USB Host port, allowing for storage devices or GPS units to be connected directly to the camera. The units are also now compatible with the Canon Bluetooth unit BU-30, allowing Bluetooth compatible GPS devices to connect and append information to images wirelessly. The WFT-EFA’s new Media Server function will allow EOS 7D photographers to wirelessly transfer and display images on a DLNA compatible TV or photo frames.

The Canon WFT-E4 II A Wireless File Transmitter and WFT-E5A Wireless File Transmitter are currently available and sell at an MSRP of $699.99 each. The WFT-E2 II A Wireless File Transmitter is scheduled to be available in the Q1 of 2010, price to be determined.

For more information, check the website at www.cusa.canon.com.