Follow-up Post RE: Prototype Canon Products Written About on This Blog

Post by Stephen Oachs

Over the past 24 hours I have received accusations that the photos I posted earlier today (Jan 23rd) of what appears to be prototype Canon 200-400mm, 600mm lenses and a mystery Canon camera body, are fake.

I assure everyone these images are real. They are not photoshopped, faked or manipulated in any way. Below is a link to the RAW file that I took with my Canon 1Ds Mark III using a Canon 100-400mm lens:

http://www.ApertureAcademy.com/canon/B3J8584.CR2

In addition, I do not work for Canon nor have any affiliation with Canon or its employees that would allow me to have privileged information regarding future Canon products.

I am the founder of the Aperture Academy. I have been in Kenya, Africa, for the month of January shooting wildlife with colleague and fellow Aperture Academy Instructor, Scott Davis.

While photographing a Cheetah on a Thompson Gazelle kill, we first spotted the Japanese Canon employee. He stood out because of the array of naked lenses (no skins/coats/protection) and the bright colored sticker labels on the tops. We immediately recognized the anticipated 200-400mm with built-in tele but at this time did not take any photos. Scott did his best to speak with the man who, via his driver helping to translate English to Japanese, confirmed he worked for Canon and that it was the upcoming 200-400mm Canon lens. At this time we had not yet seen the 600mm or the new Canon camera body.

Three days later, in another location of the Masaii Mara, where we were shooting wildlife, we again ran across the Japanese man. This time we noticed the 600mm Canon lens prototype and the new camera body, so we decided to take a few pictures, first just to zoom in to see what it might be. We quickly realized that this camera was something not yet released, thus we decided to share the images on this blog.

I hope this helps everyone understand that this is not an inside "leak" or media attempt on the part of Canon. We are just a couple of wildlife photographers who happened to stumble upon some pretty new and exciting gear in the works by Canon.

Stephen W. Oachs

Canon 200-400mm and 600mm prototype lenses first sightings...and the new 5D Mark III?

By Stephen Oachs

I'm currently on a shoot in Kenya, Africa, and I ran into a Japanese man sporting some gear I didn't recognize. While his English was very limited, I was able to confirm that he works for Canon and is doing in-field testing with the new Canon 200-400mm with built-in teleconverter. He also was testing the new Canon 600mm. 

 What I also noticed was a Canon camera body that I hadn't seen before. You can see it in the photos I took...I see the "Q" button located by the big wheel on the right, which on the 7D is currently located on the top left. The battery grip seems to have a joystick. I also noticed a "Rate" button...hrm, any ideas?

Is this the new 5D Mark III, or maybe the 7D Mark II? This info I was not able to determine.

I'll tell you this, that Canon 200-400mm is on my shopping list as soon as it's available. He told me he thought it would be officially released on March or April.
 

Announcing 72dpi.com, our new photography community and photo sharing site

PRESS RELEASE

Snap Socially™ – 72dpi.com, A New Photograph Sharing Website, Brings A Snappy Social Networking Focus To The Photography Community

Aperture Academy, the fine art photo gallery and digital photography school by Stephen W. Oachs in Campbell, CA, has launched a free photograph sharing website with a social networking slant to support, encourage and promote photographers of all levels and skills.

Campbell, CA–October 20, 2011–Aperture Academy founder and master photographer, Stephen W. Oachs, has announced the launch of 72dpi.com, a community photo sharing site that utilizes social networking and interaction between photographers to support and encourage anyone with a love of photography, from hobbyists to full-time professionals.

Oachs explains, "72dpi is a photography social media website that combines the Aperture Academy's free online community galleries and our very popular Photo-of-the-Day viewer-rated competition into a single portal. We felt it was important to provide a social networking hub for photographers to share their work with a larger audience, while getting a chance to collaborate, have fun and learn from one another.

 

"Merging our three year old POTD with our community user galleries into a social savvy community is a natural progression in our ongoing mission to support our fellow photographers and photo enthusiasts. We're very excited about this project and we are receiving tremendously positive feedback from users."

Oachs has over 15 years of experience in technology development, as a founder of several successful web ventures. Now, as a professional photographer, he utilizes his technology background to provide increasingly interactive opportunities for his Aperture Academy students and other photographers. ApertureAcademy.com and 72dpi.com are successful examples of his mission. To learn more about 72dpi.com, visit the site at http://www.72dpi.com, or contact Aperture Academy at 408-369-8585.

New Sojourn Series of Workshops - Snapping Globally!

Have you heard about our new adventure workshop series? If not, here's the scoop... we have three exciting and exotic photography expeditions, led by our master photographers, Stephen Oachs and Brian Rueb, that combine a photographic safari or photo expedition with the advantages of a workshop. Your guides are also your private instructors! Take a look at the exciting details by clicking the image below...

Visit http://www.apertureacademy.com/photography-workshops.php to get more details!

Summer Open House was a HUGE Success - with Lots of Wild Things!

Our summer open house on June 4th was the biggest and best party we've thrown at the Aperture Academy gallery to date!

We gave away $5,000 worth of prizes, and had a great time sharing good food and drinks, lots of laughs, stories and fun with everyone!

We have to thank our terrific sponsors, BorrowLenses.com and Photozini, for adding to the gala. And special thanks to our featured guest(s), Wild Things Inc.!

The animals were a very special treat, and a real hit with everyone who attended.


(Check out photos from the night on our Facebook album or on the ApertureAcademy.com party page.)

If you couldn't make this party, you really missed a great time. But don't worry, we'll be having another great party soon! Keep in touch, and we'll let you know the date and time!

 

New ApCad Videos on YouTube!

Our first video, a commercial-esque intro to what Aperture Academy workshops are about, was such a success last month, that we put together three more. But, these three new videos each describe specific workshops, to give potential students a better idea of what they can expect.

Without further ado, we proudly offer you our newest videos... hope you enjoy them! [If you'd rather watch them on our YouTube channel, click here.]

By the way, we'd love to have you pop over to our Facebook page and talk about them, and don't forget to share them with your photo-loving friends! :-)
 


San Francisco and Marin Headlands Photography Workshop 

  "Night Owl" Night Photography Workshop 

  "Walk on the Wild Side" San Francisco Zoo Wildlife Photography Workshop 

Welcome to Aperture Academy -- Our First Pro Video!

Motivated by popular demand, we have produced our first professional/commercial video for Aperture Academy! It is a welcome video, and it describes what ApCad is all about. We've been getting great feedback on it, and a lot of comments on our Facebook page, too. (Thanks to everyone who has been so supportive and encouraging!)

You can see the video on YouTube, or view it here:




We'd love to hear what you think! Post a comment here, on YouTube, or when you pop over to our Facebook page. Again, thanks! We couldn't do what we love so much without you!