| Image: Canon |
Canon has announced A new ‘Cropping Guide’ firmware update, which aims to make framing portraits easier and more consistent. This feature costs $120 per camera and is available on the EOS R50, R10, and R7.
According to Canon’s website, the function includes four guides with built-in limits for standard print sizes. The guides are designed to work whether you’re shooting in landscape or portrait and let you frame both headshots and full-body portraits.
The framing guides are obviously for professionals shooting high-throughput portraits; Think about school photos, sporting events or corporate events where everyone in the company gets their photo taken. Continuing on this point, Canon’s press release mentions that it will be demoing this feature at the School Photographers Association of California trade show early next year.
 |
|
This feature lets you choose between four guidelines, some of which offer lines for different-sized heads like you’d find in a school, and others for pieces of equipment like balls and rackets. Let’s leave the place. Image: Canon |
There is one caveat for anyone who wants to add the function to their camera: you will have to send your camera to a service center to activate it. This may be a problem if you only have one camera body, although this is unlikely to be the case for most working photographers. Additionally, much group portraiture is done in cycles; Schools and sports leagues take photos at the same time of year. Canon also sells versions of the EOS R50, R10, and R7 with this feature preinstalled at a $120 markup over the normal models’ MSRPs.
Still, it’s hard to ignore PANASONIC And Sony Sell similar features distributed through instant firmware downloads. There are some other differences, too: Canon’s framing guide is only available on its APS-C cameras, while Panasonic and Sony limit their versions to more expensive full-frame cameras like the Lumix S5 II, A7 IV, and A9 III.
Panasonic’s solution, called Lumix Volume Photography, goes beyond incorporating frame guides; It also integrates with the Opticon scanner, allowing you to keep student information in a photo file for easy sorting. However, it also costs $199, compared to Canon’s $120 and Sony’s $150.
 |
|
Panasonic’s firmware upgrade for volume photographers includes a set of features to make their jobs easier. Image: Panasonic |
There will be those who shy away from any mention of paying for new features, and you could argue that it’s a slippery slope which is why cameras are loaded with microtransactions or subscriptions. Rico started selling $80 Software Graduated ND Filter Feature for some of its cameras earlier this year, but we certainly don’t want this to become the new normal.
On the other hand, this specific function is something that most people buying these cameras will never want or use, so why should they pay for the development work put into it or have to navigate around it in their menu systems ? Fund the money to save money on the camera rather than investing it in professionals who will make the money back almost immediately.
However much Canon’s regular customers think about paid functions, the company will likely only pay attention to how professionals respond. as we saw with sony a1 iiPricing of professional products is based on what the market will bear rather than the type of pricing calculations done by hobbyists. If you’re a professional who shoots portraits, we’d love to hear from you in the comments. Will you or your company pay for this feature, and will its availability be a big factor in choosing which camera to buy for you?
Press release:
Canon launches new cropping guides for select EOS cameras, empowering customers to capture beautifully optimized photos.
Melville, NY, December 9, 2024 Canon Inc., parent company of Canon USA Inc., a leader in digital imaging solutions, today announced a new cropping guide feature that will be available via firmware update for Canon EOS R50, EOS R10 and EOS R7 camera models . Which allows users to frame their subjects more easily through the use of four customized on-screen guides. The new feature will be available from Canon USA on December 9th for $120 USD. Customers who have previously purchased one of the camera models compatible with the feature can send their device to a Canon Service Center and it will be returned with the cropping guide feature installed. For new customers interested in the above models, the option to purchase them pre-loaded with the feature (at additional cost) will be available from December 9 through Canon Direct and other dealers.
The new Cropping Guide feature provides on-screen guidelines that help shooters accurately position subjects, helping to ensure consistent and professional results while saving time on editing. This allows Canon users to position the frame at the time of capture so that post-production and editing can be kept to a minimum. Finally, cropping guides can be applied to horizontal or vertical framing scenarios, allowing a wide range of shooting situations.
Canon will be showcasing its new offering to visitors at the School Photographers Association of California (SPAC) Trade Show at the South Point Hotel & Casino at booth #715 in Las Vegas, NV from January 21-25. This new feature is specifically designed for school photography, sporting events or any scenario that requires subjects to maintain a consistent position.
Availability
The cropping guide will be available on December 9th. For additional information about the software, a list of compatible cameras, and how to access the cropping guide, please visit Here,
