Canon Professional Services

From Canon USA:

The Company Will Showcase Its Latest Digital Imaging Solutions for Professional Photographers and Feature Educational Presentations by Canon Explorers of Light

MELVILLE, N.Y., January 12, 2018 – Canon U.S.A. Inc., a leader in digital imaging solutions, is excited to announce that the company will launch a special pricing promotion for new and existing Canon Professional Service (CPS) members at the Imaging USA EXPO 2018 hosted by Professional Photographers of America (PPA). This exclusive promotion, offers 20 percent off new, renewed or upgraded CPS gold or platinum memberships for active PPA members. Imaging USA EXPO 2018 will take place through January 16th at theGaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville, TN.

“CPS members are among the most loyal and dedicated customers of Canon. Their passion, experience and knowledge are invaluable assets to the photo and video imaging community,” Yuichi Ishizuka, president and COO, Canon U.S.A., Inc. “Offering this special promotion to both new and existing CPS members is an exciting initiative for us. We want these photographers to continue to grow and succeed with Canon’s world-class service and support right alongside them.”

Beginning at Imaging USA and effective throughout 2018, active PPA members will have the opportunity to renew or upgrade their current CPS membership, while non-CPS members can open a new membership – both at a 20 percent discount off current prices. Attendees who sign up for a CPS membership at the show will also qualify for a free gift. PPA members who do not sign up at Imaging USA can call 1-844-58-CANON to also receive the 20 percent exclusive offer.

“PPA is always looking to provide our members with savings on their essential needs,” says Kristen Hartman, PPA’s Director of Member Value & Experience. “We are excited that Canon is offering this exclusive discount to our members and we look forward to working with Canon in the future.”

Canon Professional Services will also host the CPS Lounge where Gold, Platinum, Enterprise and Cinema CPS members can have their Canon equipment (up-to-two current Professional DSLR bodies or lenses) cleaned and checked. CPS members can also enter the CPS member photo contest for a chance to win a PIXMA PRO-10 printer. Restrictions apply. Stop by the lounge for more information.

The hours of operation for the CPS Lounge are:

Saturday, Jan 13: 12:00pm – 5:00pm (Pre-show day)
Sunday, Jan. 14: 10:30am – 5:00 pm
Monday, Jan. 15: 10:30am – 5:00 pm
Tuesday, Jan. 16: 11:00am – 1:30pm (Equipment pickup only)

At the booth, Canon will also showcase its latest digital imaging solutions for professional photographers, including its full line of cameras and lenses.

The Canon Imaging USA Live Stage in the booth will feature presentations from several Canon Explorers of Light (schedule subject to change without notice), including Lindsay Adler, Peter Hurley and Michele Celentano. For the complete speaking schedule, please click here.

Each day of the show, join Canon Live Learning for exciting Photo Walks. Participants will learn about portrait lighting with Speedlites, working with natural light and how to get the best results for nighttime portraits. Photo Walks are free and are available on a first come, first served basis. Each walk is limited to 25 Imaging USA attendees per walk. Pick your walk and register now: canon.us/imaging2018photowalks.

Follow Canon throughout the 2018 Imaging USA Expo @CanonUSApro. To see the full details of Canon’s presence at the Expo and details about the promotion, please visit: https://www.ppa.com/membership/

From Canon USA:

MELVILLE, N.Y., August 3, 2016 – Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in digital imaging solutions, will be bringing their service and support expertise to Brazil to help maximize the uptime and performance of its users' professional imaging equipment. From pro DSLR cameras and EF lenses to broadcast television lenses, Canon's award-winning service and support staff will be providing preventative maintenance and repairs to help professionals who have put their trust in Canon imaging equipment.

Canon's team of over 70 highly trained technicians and support staff will be in Brazil for nearly a month to support professional photographers and broadcasters, just as they do throughout the year. Canon Professional Services (CPS) is set to provide comprehensive equipment maintenance and repairs, extensive equipment loans and expert technical support.

"Canon is proud to offer professional photographers and broadcasters high quality image-making solutions that are thoughtfully designed and versatile so that they can capture sharp, clear, detailed images and video," said Elizabeth Pratt, director, Professional Client Development and Support, Canon U.S.A. "Knowing that iconic images will be captured, seen and shared by people around the world really drives Canon to provide professionals with not only high quality equipment but the customer support they need to help ensure they never miss a beat if anything happens to their equipment."

Canon EOS DSLR cameras and EF lenses are the camera and lenses of choice of a majority of the top U.S.-based news agencies and professional sports photographers.

The Associated Press will be using Canon cameras and lenses exclusively, including cameras which are integrated with advanced robotics systems. The robotic camera systems can be mounted both in the rafters high above a field of play and underwater in pools, all fully controlled remotely over a network. "High-speed and high-performing digital imaging solutions like the EOS-1D X Mark II camera and L-series EF lenses are key to our team's success," said Santiago Lyon, vice president and director of photography, Associated Press. "Canon provides innovative technology and world-class optics that give us the solutions we need to create compelling images."

A majority of Reuters photographers from around the world will be using Canon DSLR cameras and lenses and trust Canon products and award-winning support team to keep them up and running. "Photographing large sporting events for thousands of news outlets and an audience of billions requires meticulous planning and technical resilience. The staff and engineers from CPS help ensure that the Canon cameras used by the world's top sports photographers receive precision treatment that allows them to take pictures that capture key moments and illustrate the spirit of competition," said Kevin Coombs, editor-in-chief for Thomson Reuters.

The Canon EOS-1D X Mark II DSLR camera and ultra-wide zoom EF 11-24mm f/4L USM lens were selected to be used for Getty Images' new high-tech, remote-controlled underwater robotic system. The camera provides Getty Images with a fully networkable solution that features precise white balance, a blazing fast frame rate and impressive low-light capabilities, which make the camera ideal for capturing fast action. When combined with the durable and rugged EF 11-24mm f/4L USM lens, the system will allow Getty Images to capture images at extremely wide perspectives with incredible sharpness and minimal distortion from the center of the image to the periphery, all across the entire zoom range. "As the world's leading visual communications company, we believe that our world class sports photographers must have the most up-to-date photographic technology that empowers them to do their job, and to do it exceptionally well. Getty Images is using Canon's EOS-1D X Mark II cameras and EF 11-24mm f/4L USM lenses in a unique, remotely-controlled underwater camera system that gives us the flexibility to follow and capture action from beneath," said Ken Mainardis, vice president of Sport at Getty Images. "We recently used the new underwater system and the images were remarkable. We're looking forward to using our Canon gear to capture more fantastic underwater imagery."

"The European Pressphoto Agency (EPA) will have a photographic team of 40 capturing incredible moments. Months ago, EPA's entire U.S. contingent switched over to the Canon EOS System," explained Gernot Hensel, EPA's long-standing head of sports and deputy editor-in-chief. "The EPA team is comprised of colleagues from all over the world, and the majority of them will be using Canon equipment, including robotic systems, to capture the action."

Simon Bruty, an award-winning sports photographer and Canon Explorer of Light is one of the best sports photographers in the world. "As a professional photographer, I have to be able to capture every moment of the action because a hundredth of a second can mean the difference between capturing or missing the winning moment or race finish, and Canon cameras, like the new EOS-1D X Mark II, deliver the stunning image quality and speed I need while working," said Mr. Bruty. "The 14 frames per second that the EOS-1D X Mark II camera can capture, which enables over 12 seconds of continuous RAW shooting without buffering, means that I could shoot an entire 100 meter dash without taking my finger off of the shutter release. If I shot in JPEG mode and have a large enough memory card, I could do it for the entire 2+ hours of a marathon race!"

For more information about CPS: http://www.cps.usa.canon.com/

From Canon Professional Services:

British photographer Mark Lloyd works in the specialised world of sailing and over the last 15 years has won himself a reputation for exceptional action images of all manner of watery pursuits. His latest assignment, to photograph the America’s Cup catamarans as they ‘fly’ across the race course, is being made infinitely easier thanks to the EOS-1D X Mark II, as he explains to CPN Editor David Corfield...

Want even more info on the 1D X II? Check out Bryan's full review for all the details.

B&H has the Canon EOS-1D X Mark II Premium Kit available for preorder.

From Canon Professional Services:

Canon Professional Services will be on site at the Tennis Center providing support for photographers covering the 2015 US Open. All photographers must hold valid credentials issued by the event’s organizers in order to gain entry.

Our Canon factory service technicians will provide complimentary Clean & Check service on Canon EOS DSLR cameras and Canon EF/EF-S lenses. Clean & Check service is limited to (2) items per photographer and is provided on a first-come, first-served basis. Same day service is not guaranteed.

Daily equipment evaluation loans will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Pro Market representatives will be available to answer technical questions and offer product demonstrations.

The Canon CPS support area will be located in the Photographers Lounge of the East Media section within the main Media Center situated in the southwest corner of Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Location
Photographers Lounge
Media Center in Arthur Ashe Stadium
USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center
Flushing Meadows Corona Park Rd
Flushing, NY 11368

Dates and Hours of CPS Operations:
Monday, August 31th through Friday, September 11th from 9:00am to 5:00pm.

Schedule during the Semi-finals on Saturday, September 12th and Sunday, September 13th to be determined and will be posted on site.

(All times indicated are local time and schedule/content subject to change without prior notice)

Thank you,

Canon Professional Services (CPS)
Canon U.S.A., Inc.

Canon USA's Rudy Winston has authored an excellent article for CPS which explains the challenges of shooting with an ultra-high megapixel camera and how to deal with them.

Think 1/focal length is a fast enough shutter speed to stop camera shake? Think again.

This will be an excellent and valuable resource for anyone who has preordered a 5Ds / 5Ds R or anyone considering upgrading to one of these 50.6 megapixel DSLRs.

Check out Rudy's tips on the Canon Professional Services.

B&H has the Canon EOS 5Ds / 5Ds R available for preorder.

Canon USA's Rudy Winston has authored an article for CPS highlighting the differences between the EOS 5Ds / 5Ds R and the 5D III.

From Canon Professional Services:

"Current EOS 5D Mark III shooters, who may be considering moving to the new high-resolution EOS 5DS (or the EOS 5DS R, which removes the effect of low-pass filtration), may wonder if anything changed on these new cameras because the new models look practically identical to the proven Mark III camera. Rest assured, there are some new rewards waiting to greet 5D Mark III owners who step up to the new cameras. We can’t touch on every single one, but we’ll try to give an overview of many of the new details.

Obviously, the biggest is the move to a 50.6 million pixel CMOS image sensor – more than doubling the pixel count from the Mark III model. You’ve no doubt seen discussion of this, so we’ll go a bit more beneath the surface. Everything we discuss here applies to both the EOS 5DS and 5DS R models."

• Shooting Information icons
• Electronic Viewfinder Dual-axis Level
• AF point illumination in AI Servo AF
• Exposure Compensation icon appears any time it’s active
• 150,000 pixel RGB metering sensor
• Flicker Detection
• EOS iTR AF
• Metering during Live View shooting
• Auto White Balance (AWB) — White Priority
• Fineness and Threshold added to each Picture Style setting
• Fine Detail Picture Style
• The mirror and mirror lock options
• Bulb timer; Interval timer
• Custom Quick Control Menu
• USB 3.0 connectivity
• My Menu: Create additional menu screens
• Movie Servo AF
• Time-lapse Movie
• Customize shutter button

Read the entire article on the Canon Professional Services website.

B&H has the Canon EOS 5Ds / 5Ds R available for preorder.

CPS regularly updates their Tips & Tricks section with new, relevant items. The latest additions may prove useful for those who will soon be receiving their preordered EOS 5Ds / 5Ds R cameras.

EOS 5DS R: using the interval timer

The EOS 5DS and EOS 5DS R both feature a built-in interval timer to allow you to shoot timelapse sequences without needing a separate intervalometer. If you plan to use the Interval timer, first make sure you are not in Live View mode. In Live View the intervalometer options will be greyed out so you can’t select them. Equally, if you set the interval timer to ‘On’ and then go into Live View, the timer will be cancelled. To avoid this, you should set up your camera position with Live View first and then stop Live View, before going to the menu and setting the interval timer options.

When shooting with the EOS 5DS and 5DS R cameras interval timer function, you will still be able to manually capture an image during the sequence simply by pressing the shutter button. If you try to capture an image manually, but the camera does not actually take the picture, check when the next interval image is due to be taken. The camera will prepare itself for the next interval 5 seconds before it is due to be captured. During this time, you will be unable to shoot any other images or access the camera menu.

During an interval timer shooting session, if you have set the number of images to 0 so the camera captures continuously until you decide to stop, you may be wondering how exactly to stop the interval shooting. If you have an interval frequency of greater than 5 seconds between images you may be able to access the menu and select ‘disable’ to end the interval shooting. However, if you are shooting images every 3 seconds, for example, you should simply turn the camera off to end the interval. This will not corrupt any images or risk losing the last image provided you wait until all image writing has been completed before opening the card slot door.

Using the interval timer built into the menu of the EOS 5DS and EOS 5DS R makes it simple to capture timelapse sequences without needing any additional accessories. When using the timelapse function you will find that the shooting frequency is quicker than once every five seconds, so there is no image review between shots, even if image review is turned on in the menu. This can make it tricky to judge your exposure and ensure the light levels are not changing enough that you need to adjust the exposure. If you do need to keep an eye on the exposure, look instead at the exposure scale on the top plate of the camera – if you make a note of where it was when you started the timelapse, you will be able to see if the exposure has gone up or done and therefore decide if it needs adjusting between frames.

B&H has the Canon EOS 5Ds / 5Ds R available for preorder.

From Canon Professional Services:

Canon France, in association with Images Evidence, has announced that the 15th annual Canon Female Photojournalist Award is open until 22 May 2015 for submissions from female photojournalists of any age and nationality.

Once again, the award is supported by Elle magazine and Canon France will grant the winning female photojournalist €8,000 to help her to continue and complete a photojournalistic project on a social, economic, political or cultural subject.

A jury made up of photography and press professionals will select the winner in June. Applicants will be judged by both the presentation of their project and their previous work. Among the selection criteria are the quality of the photographs, as well as the journalistic thoughts and relevance of the chosen subject.

The Award will be presented to the winner at the Visa pour l’Image international festival of photojournalism in Perpignan, France, during the professional week from 31 August – 6 September 2015. The winner will produce an ongoing one year project which will lead to an exhibition or showing at the Festival in 2016.

An exhibition of the work of the 2014 award winner – French photojournalist Viviane Dalles (Signatures) – seen above – showing images from her project on teenage mothers in the North of France will feature as part of the exhibition programme of the 2015 Visa pour l’Image festival.

The other previous winners of the Canon Female Photojournalist Award were:

• 2014 – Viviane Dalles
• 2013 – Mary F. Calvert
• 2012 – Sarah Caron
• 2011 – Ilvy Njiokiktjien
• 2010 – Martina Bacigalupo
• 2009 – Justyna Mielnikiewicz
• 2008 – Brenda Anne Kenneally
• 2007 – Axelle de Russé
• 2006 – Veronique de Viguerie
• 2005 – Claudia Guadarrama
• 2004 – Kristen Ashburn
• 2003 – Ami Vitale
• 2002 – Sophia Evans
• 2001 – Magali Delporte

To find out more about the 2014 Canon Female Photojournalist Award and download the rules and an application form to enter, please click here.

Please note: the final deadline for entries is 22 May 2015.

From Canon Professional Services:

Canon Professional Services will once again host the Canon Hospitality Suite at NAB 2015. The Canon Hospitality Suite will be open to all NAB show attendees and will feature complimentary Clean & Check service for Canon professional products.

The Clean & Check service is limited to (2) Canon EOS DSLR bodies or EF/ EF-S lenses, or (1) Cinema EOS product or (1) XF professional camcorder. All items are taken on a first-come, first-served basis and same-day service is not guaranteed.

The Canon Hospitality Suite will also include an exclusive product showcase highlighting Canon’s full professional line-up and Canon professional product reps will be available to provide product demonstrations and answer questions.

The Canon Hospitality Suite is located in room C201, just a short trip from Canon’s booth (C4325) in a private CPS elevator.

Dates and Hours of Operation:
Monday April 13, 2015 10:00 am - 6:00 pm
Tuesday April 14, 2015 9:00 am - 6:00 pm
Wednesday April 15, 2015 9:00 am - 6:00 pm
Thursday April 16, 2015 9:00 am - 12:00 pm (Gear pick up only, no new items)

Location:
Las Vegas Convention Center
3150 Paradise Road
Las Vegas, Nevada 89109

(All times indicated are local time and schedule/content subject to change without prior notice)

Canon Professional Services (CPS)
Canon U.S.A., Inc.

From Canon Professional Services:

Canon Professional Services will host a CPS Lounge at ShutterFest 2015 featuring complimentary Clean & Check service on current Canon professional gear for all ShutterFest 2015 attendees.

The Clean & Check service will be performed on site by our Canon factory trained service technicians and is limited to (2) Canon EOS DSLR bodies or Canon EF/EF-S lenses. All items will be taken on a first come, first served basis and same day service is not guaranteed.

Equipment evaluation loans of Canon professional gear will be available for walking tours to all ShutterFest 2015 attendees. All loans are available on a first come, first served basis and must be returned at the completion of the tour and no later than 5:00 pm. Photo ID is required for all loans and CPS will retain your ID for the duration of the loan.

Pro Market representatives will be available to answer technical questions and offer product demonstrations.

The CPS Lounge is located in Midway Suite #3. Be sure to visit Canon’s booth (in spaces 54-58) on the ShutterFest 2015 show floor.

Location:
St. Louis Union Station Doubletree
1820 Market St.
St. Louis, MO 63103

Dates and Hours of CPS Operations:
Tuesday, April 7, 2015 – 10:00 am to 6:00 pm
Wednesday, April 8, 2015 – 10:00 am to 6:00 pm

From Canon Professional Services:

Dates:
January 29, 2015 – February 1, 2015

Location:
Stadium at University of Phoenix
Photo Media Offices
1 Cardinals Drive
Glendale, Arizona 85305

Canon Professional Services will be on site at the stadium providing support to photographers shooting the Big Game in Arizona. All photographers must hold valid credentials issued by the event’s organizers in order to gain access.

Our Canon factory service technicians will be providing complimentary Clean & Check service on your DSLR cameras and EF lenses. (Limited to two items)

Daily equipment evaluation loans will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Pro Market representatives will be available to answer technical questions and offer product demonstrations.

The CPS support center will be located on-site, in the Photo Media Offices of the stadium.

Dates and Hours of CPS Operations:

(All times are local time and schedule and content subject to change without prior notice)

If you use your photography equipment long enough, you will undoubtedly be put into a situation that compromises an upcoming planned shoot. Accidental drops and water submersion are two likely scenarios that can leave you without a camera and/or lens when you may need it most.

That's why Canon is highlighting their Canon Professional Services (CPS) in this series of promotional videos, "Support Matters." In each case, CPS stepped up to the plate when a photographer/videographer needed them most.

On a personal note, both Bryan and I are CPS members and we have called them on several occasions. In every case, we found a friendly, knowledgeable, helpful person on the other end of the line. CPS has earned a great reputation among professional photographers and this series is a good demonstration as to why.

Check out the entire video series on http://supportmatters.pro.usa.canon.com/.

From Canon Professional Services:

As part of Canon’s role as official imaging supplier to the 2014 Ryder Cup golf tournament, Canon Professional Services (CPS) will provide comprehensive technical support for professional photographers and videographers before and throughout the upcoming event at the Gleneagles Hotel, Scotland, taking place from 23-28 September 2014...

The CPS team, located in the event’s media centre behind the first fairway and the Argyll Pavilion, will provide support services – including equipment checks and cleans and limited minor repairs (subject to tools and spare parts availability) – to all accredited professional photographers and videographers using Canon EOS pro equipment, including Cinema EOS equipment.

During the event CPS will also be offering a loan service that will be available for customers who may experience an issue with their equipment.

Canon’s CPS area will be open during the times specified in the table below (times in GMT):

CPS opening hours at the 2014 Ryder Cup golf tournament

From Canon Professional Services:

CPS will be on site at the game providing support for photographers with valid credentials authorized by the event organizers.

Pro Market Reps will be available to answer technical questions on Canon products.

Equipment evaluation loans will be available on a first come first served basis.

Canon Factory Authorized Service Technicians will provide complimentary clean and check service on your DSLR cameras and EF lenses. (Limited to two items)

Location

College Football Stadium
1001 Rose Bowl Dr.
Pasadena, CA 91103

Date and Time of CPS operations

1/6/2014

11:00 am - 15 minutes after Trophy Presentation

(Dates and times subject to change)

Thank you,

Canon Professional Services (CPS)
Canon U.S.A., Inc.

Not a CPS member? Sign up today!

From Canon Professional Services (USA):

Since announcing the changes to the CPS program a few days ago, we have been monitoring feedback from our membership base. Please see below for additional information regarding the upcoming changes to the CPS program.

Effective Date for the New CPS Benefits Structure
The new CPS member benefit structure will become effective for all members on October 1, 2013.

Equipment Evaluation Loan Period
To allow for transit times, the period for equipment evaluation loans will be ten days, starting when the loaned product is shipped to you and ending when we receive the loaned product back.

Handling of Clean and Check Coupons that Have Not Yet Been Used
From October 1, 2013 until the end of your current membership term, the entire annual Canon Maintenance Service (CMS) benefit will be available for you to use (10 pieces of cameras or lenses for Platinum members and 5 pieces for Gold members). Since the number of CMS transactions allowed under the new benefits structure is greater than the previous number of Clean and Check coupons, the coupons will no longer be needed.

Shipping Charges for Canon Maintenance Service (CMS)
Shipping charges for eligible CMS requests will be handled in the same manner as eligible product repair requests. Platinum level members will receive free shipping for both inbound and return. Gold level members will receive free return shipping service.

Annual Repair Limits
From October 1, 2013 until the end of your current membership term, the entire annual repair limit benefit will be available for you to use (15 pieces for Platinum members and 10 pieces for Gold members).

We appreciate your feedback and understanding while we transition to the new program benefits.

I recently received the following email from CPS regarding upcoming program changes. If you're currently a CPS member, you might want to check out the changes scheduled for the near future.

From Canon Professional Services (USA branch):

Thank you for your continued Canon Professional Services membership, Canon loyalty and for trusting Canon products for use in your business.

The staff of CPS strives to provide imaging professionals like you with comprehensive service and support benefits. And we are always looking for opportunities to make the CPS program even better. After careful study and consideration, and with your valuable feedback, we are planning to roll out a number of enhancements and updates to the CPS program. The purpose of this email is to give you a summary of these enhancements and updates, which we anticipate will be effective for all members in two phases: the 4th quarter of 2013 and early 2014 with the introduction of a new CPS Cinema level. Details will be available on the CPS website as these enhancements and updates become available.

The program updates and enhancements are as follows:

We are renaming the Clean & Check process to Canon Maintenance Service (CMS) and eliminating the paper voucher. The number of items that may be sent in for CMS is being increased for eligible CPS members. Platinum members will be able to send 10 eligible items, and Gold members will be able to send 5 eligible items, during each membership year. The number of items sent in for CMS will be tracked by Canon internally.

Based on your feedback, we are shortening the period for each evaluation loan from two weeks to one week. This will also have the effect of increasing the total amount of equipment available for evaluation loans to eligible members.

In an effort to concentrate our efforts on our core professional members, we will no longer include the EOS 60D camera, and future successor model cameras, as qualifying equipment for any level. However, owners of such equipment will still be eligible to receive repair benefits covered by the program.

In early 2014, the Cinema EOS C100 camera and all Cinema Prime Lenses will be added as qualifying equipment to the CPS Gold and Platinum membership levels. And we are planning to launch a new CPS Cinema level tailored to owners of other Cinema EOS cameras and lenses.

In an effort to balance program benefits, we are adjusting the repair discounts from their current levels. Therefore, repair discounts are being changed to 30% for Platinum level members and 20% for Gold level members. Also, there will be a cap on the number of annual repairs to which the discount can be applied, Gold level members can receive the repair discount on a maximum of 10 eligible items and Platinum level members can receive the repair discount on a maximum of 15 eligible items.

The annual fee for Platinum membership will be reduced from $500 to $300. The annual fee for the Gold membership level will remain at $100, and the Silver membership level will remain free to qualified professionals.

For organizations with large amounts of eligible Canon equipment and/or large photography staff, we are launching Enterprise CPS, which is designed to suit the needs of medium to large size organizations like newspapers, photo studios, rental houses, etc. In addition to some of the traditional CPS benefits, Enterprise CPS clients can receive benefits like on-site equipment maintenance, higher repair caps and streamlined billing. The details of this new program will be provided at a later date.

We have also increased our support of the professional imaging market in less direct, but significant, ways. For example, you may have noticed that, during 2013, CPS increased the number of major sporting events, training workshops, and trade shows where on-site support is provided to eligible CPS members. These events are an important way for us to support and communicate with our members.

We recently opened two new service facilities, one in Hollywood, CA and another in Ridgefield Park, NJ just outside of New York City. These two new facilities are available to CPS Gold and Platinum level members (as well as our broadcast/cinema professionals). An advance reservation is required for all service and support requests handled by the Hollywood and Ridgefield Park facilities. CPS Gold and Platinum members requesting support should call the CPS hotline at 1 (888) CPS-4540 to make a reservation. And we are currently planning to open a third service facility that will support the Chicago market later this year. All with the goal of bringing Canon's award-winning repair and maintenance services closer to our CPS members.

Although the CPS program is changing in some significant ways, some aspects of CPS member support are not going to change: our unwavering commitment to speed and quality, as well as acting on your repair and maintenance requests with repair turnaround times of two business days for Platinum members and three business days for Gold members, as more fully described in the program terms and conditions. Temporary loaners while products are in for repair will continue to be available per the terms and conditions of the various membership levels. And dedicated, priority support will still be available for CPS members via phone or email, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

These enhancements will be rolled out via e-mail communications to our members, detailing the specific changes by membership level, effective date and describing new programs like Enterprise CPS and CPS Cinema. Ensuring your smooth transition to these new benefits is very important, so we want to hear from you if you have any questions.

We are honored to have the opportunity to help you achieve success in your imaging pursuits and to support your passion for image-making. Thank you again for trusting Canon with supporting your business.