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Fortunate Apple fans in the USA will be able to pre-order the iPad in the next few hours. Though the 3G-enable iPad will be shipped only much later, the wireless model could be in expectant mitts by 3 April. The 3G model will ship only at the end of April.

There is still no information on when the iPad will be available to markets outside of the USA, though it may be possible to purchase and import from authorized retailers soon. The iPad added to my B&H wish list was removed after Apple indicated that only authorized resellers would be able to sell the device. It’s to be expected that the initial volume of sales will occur in a market that precludes non-US residents from purchasing. Once the craziness has died down, everyone will be able to buy one – Apple is into making money, after all.

Canon delivered a pre-announcement of the anticipated firmware for the Canon EOS 5D Mark II last week. The new firmware release is to be available sometime in the next week or so and focuses primarily on extending the camera’s video shooting capabilities.

The update add will add 24fps and 25fps recording to the EOS 5D Mark II, as well as some improvements and modifications to the Live View shooting function and the histogram display.

Whilst these improvements are certainly welcome, I’m sometimes surprised by the fact that very simple, marginal additions to the existing firmware could provide a huge amount of functionality to standard shooting options. As an example, Canon DSLR cameras do not provide a built-in time lapse feature. That’s a fairly standard and simple addition, probably already existing in some shape or form inside the code of the firmware all the EOS cameras rely on. Yet, Canon seems to be unwilling to provide marginal firmware updates to add such useful features. Possibly, it’s their ability to charge for additional accessories that provide the features most photographers eventually want to utilize…

In any case, the free update to the EOS 5D Mark II firmware will be available on the Canon website soon.