According to reader's digest, 14 out of 16 European countries vote Canon as the "Most trusted" camera brand - for the tenth year in a row. Quite an achievement, especially given the tumultuous time they have been getting on various web forums in recent years.

Press release:

Canon celebrates a decade of ‘most trusted’ camera brand in Europe with Reader’s Digest
·        Consumers in 14 out of 16 European countries vote Canon ‘most trusted’
United Kingdom/Republic of Ireland, March 1st  2010 – Canon, world-leader in imaging solutions, has been voted as Europe's top camera brand for the tenth consecutive year in the Reader’s Digest Most Trusted Brands Survey 2010, an annual pan-European survey of consumer attitudes to brand products and services.
Reader’s Digest asked its readers in 14 languages across 16 European countries to nominate the brand they trusted most in a range of consumer categories, including cameras.  Respondents were drawn from the Reader's Digest customer database of 4.5 million homes in Europe, and more than 32,000 responses were analysed.
Canon was one of only three brands nominated as ‘most trusted’, Canon coming out on top in 14 of the 16 countries.  Respondents rated each brand on the following four criteria: Quality, Excellent Value, Strong Image and Understands Customer Needs.
James Leipnik, Chief of Communication for Canon Europe said: “It is a great achievement to have been awarded the ‘most trusted’ camera brand for the last ten years by readers from all across Europe. At Canon we nurture a passion for the power of image, providing our customers with imaging solutions that empower creativity and innovation. It is rewarding to see that so many readers of the Reader’s Digest continue to trust us to deliver products of the highest quality.”
"Consumer trust is vital to successful brands. Maintaining trust in a fast changing world is one of the biggest challenges facing companies today, especially in the technology sector. For Canon to have maintained its position as the most trusted camera brand in the large majority of countries in Europe is impressive" said Gavin Murray, Regional Advertising Director, Europe, Reader’s Digest.
The 14 countries that selected Canon as the ‘most trusted’ camera brand were Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK. 

A little over two years ago, Canon celebrated the production of their 40 millionth EF lens since 1987. Well, in those two years, they've managed to add another 10 million lens. Yep, that's right, they've just reached the 50 millionth lens mark.

They reached the milestone during a production run for the EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM lens (one of which I've just taken delivery of - although I'm guessing it's not the 50 millionth lens!). 

The press release points to 5 milestones in the production of the EF lens range, starting at the beginning with the release of the first lens to feature an Ultrasonic motor (EF300mm f/2.8L USM - 1987), progressing through the first IS lens (EF75-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM - 1995), the first DO lens (EF 400mm f/4 DO IS USM - 2001), the first SubWavelength coating lens (EF24mm f/1.4L II USM - 2008), and finally the first lens with hybrid IS (EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM - 2009).

I wonder, between all the readers of the blog, how many of the 50 million we can account for. Hit-up the comments and let us know how many EF lenses you've had, or currently have.

Canon has today announced an new lens - an update to the much admired EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM. The new lens, identical in name save for the addition of a "II" at the end, is more than just a simple update. It aims to improve on the previous lens in every area, including image quality, build quality and Image Stabiliser functions.

Using Fluorite and UD lens elements keeps the image quality high and the Image Stabiliser is now  a four stop version to help hand holding a low shutter speeds.

The closest focusing distance has been reduced as well - now down to 1.2m compared to the 1.4m of the previous version, while the weight has gone up, but only by an almost unnoticeable 20g. 

We'll bring you more news as we get, most notably the price, but for now, here's the specs and a link to the Canon Europe site to read a bit more about it. Availability is stated as being Feb 2010. 

Product page

Specifications