Canon EF Lens Speculation [CR1]

[Marsu42]

and Canon will probably wait for Nikon to get their new 800 to the world

Not that I'm likely to be able to afford an 800L :-o but I wonder why Canon is so conservative in the L lens department - they've got some strange video IS lenses around, but obviously Nikon has to be ahead (24-70, 14-24) to make Canon do something about it. While they can adjust the quality and esp. price to their advantage, this is hardly innovation - hello, Canon, *I*'d buy at least a better 50/1.4 lens!

[symmar22]

If it's about a wish list, then here you are :

17mm f2.8 USM
24mm f2 IS USM
35mm f2 IS USM
45mm f2.8 TS-E II L
90mm f2.8 TS-E II L
14-28mm f2.8 USM L (x2 range sounds better)

plus they should redesign some very old lenses with poor IQ and / or old design:

20mmf2.8
28mmf1.8
50mm f2.5 Macro

IMO the wide angle range needs a serious upgrade

One is allowed to dream.....

[crasher8]

All I really want is true ring USM in the 50 1.4.  They need to move forward on all the non USM and  micro motors left in the lineup sans the STM line.

But an update to the primepipes would be nice.

[dave]

Mark II of 135L??   
Why paint the Peacock?

Because it could be better.

[funkboy]

Mark II of 135L??   
Why paint the Peacock?

'cuz she's a shaky peacock & we want her to be stabilized :-)

[Marsu42]

Mark II of 135L??   
Why paint the Peacock?

Because it could be better.

And it could be more expensive :-p

[7enderbender]

Hey does this mean I can buy a new car at the same price I paid 10 years ago?   

Yes, pretty much. Cars are actually cheaper than they used to be - and you get much more stuff with them. You can get brand new cars for under $14,000 these days.

I meant the same new car. 

Well, that's a bit tricky to compare. There is no "same" car in that sense. The car that I bought in the late 90s had no ABS, no air bag (!), no GPS, not even power steering. So yes, today's Honda Civic is more expensive in both relative and absolute terms, but you also get a lot more value. Real or perceived. So to be fair you'd have to compare that kind of car to one of the budget choices from Korea these days.

Part of this is not really inflation/deflation but rather a function of discretionary spending ability in this country and other wealthy parts of the world. Not to get further off topic but I'm one of the crazy people that this is also one of the key drivers behind rising healthcare cost. People just have a lot of money to burn - even after the market crash and during the recent recession. There is so much stuff that has become incredibly cheap that people are willing to "invest" in stuff like more expensive health insurance and stuff like it. Especially in areas where value is almost impossible to assess for normal human beings. So you operate under the assumption that the most expensive will be the best. Not always true but still.

Same happens with camera gear I suppose - and other luxury items if you will. Have a look at the prices for expensive watches or pens for example. It's a very specific market segment. And that skews some of the realities. Maybe Canon isn't selling a lot of the 135L lenses because every ambitious amateur with money to burn jumps to a 70-200 2.8L. Maybe the 135 is "too cheap". This problem does exist in luxury markets. Maybe a new 135L 1.8IS or whatever is more or less a marketing tool and not much else.

[dave]

Mark II of 135L??   
Why paint the Peacock?

Because it could be better.

And it could be more expensive :-p

...could. It most certainly will be.

[Ellen Schmidtee]

If it's about a wish list, then here you are :

<snip>
24mm f2 IS USM
35mm f2 IS USM
45mm f2.8 TS-E II L
90mm f2.8 TS-E II L
14-28mm f2.8 USM L (x2 range sounds better)

<snip>

I'd rather have it extended x2 the other way - 12-24mm f/2.8 USM. I'd settle for 14-24mm f/4 with IQ as good as good as the Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8

If Canon can make an EF 35mm f/2 IS USM with IQ as good as the Samyang 35mm f/1.4, I'm buying one.

I've read reviews of the new EF 24mm f/2.8 IS USM, and looking at FF corners, it's not enough to make me buy it as an addition to the 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM. If Canon can make an EF 24mm f/2 USM with IQ as good as the Samyang 24mm f/1.4, I'm buying one.

[symmar22]

Sorry about the 14-28mm, I clearly lacked ambition here...

You're right a 12-24mm sounds more appealing.

[Razor2012]

Sorry about the 14-28mm, I clearly lacked ambition here...

You're right a 12-24mm sounds more appealing.

It will then fall in line with the 24-70 & the 70-200.  14-200 @2.8.   

[KyleSTL]

A new 135mm f/2L IS would be a dream all right - albeit sharpness can take a slight hit, maybe a 135mm f/1.4L?  Probably they can find a way to let in more light in a longer lens but the lens could look like a longer 85 1.2L and cost too much.

135 f/1.4 - 135/1.4 = 96.4mm (105mm filter?)
135 f/1.8 - 135/1.8 = 75mm (77mm or 82mm filter)
135 f/2 - 135/2 = 67.5mm (72mm filter)

A 135mm f/1.4 would put it in the same class as the 200mm f/2 (100mm objective) and 300mm f/2.8 (107mm objective) both in terms of size and weight.  A suggested 135mm f/1.8 is definitely more reasonable in terms of size, weight and price.

True, over the last three decades. Not quite as much over the last decade, and most of Canon's previous generation of lenses are within a decade old.

The EF 24mm f/2.8, EF 28mm f/2.8, and TS-E 24mm f/3.5 are less than a decade old?

To put numbers behind it, Canon has made 159 different EF/EF-S lens models since 1987.  Currently Canon USA lists 68 lenses (I take issue with 5, as they are no longer in production and no longer available new - 300mm f/2.8 IS I, 400mm f/2.8 IS I, 70-200mm f/2.8 IS I, 100-300mm f/4.5-5.6 USM, 15mm Fisheye).  Out of the remaining 63 lenses here is how they break down by release date:

0-10 years - 37
10-15 years - 10
15-20 years - 9
20+ years - 7

So his statement is correct - 37/63 (59%) are 10 years old or less, which constitutes 'most'

[Ellen Schmidtee]

True, over the last three decades. Not quite as much over the last decade, and most of Canon's previous generation of lenses are within a decade old.

The EF 24mm f/2.8, EF 28mm f/2.8, and TS-E 24mm f/3.5 are less than a decade old?

To put numbers behind it, Canon has made 159 different EF/EF-S lens models since 1987.  Currently Canon USA lists 68 lenses (I take issue with 5, as they are no longer in production and no longer available new - 300mm f/2.8 IS I, 400mm f/2.8 IS I, 70-200mm f/2.8 IS I, 100-300mm f/4.5-5.6 USM, 15mm Fisheye).  Out of the remaining 63 lenses here is how they break down by release date:

0-10 years - 37
10-15 years - 10
15-20 years - 9
20+ years - 7

So his statement is correct - 37/63 (59%) are 10 years old or less, which constitutes 'most'

Those are all the lenses, while we're talking about lenses upgraded recently (= within the last few years).

[Daniel Flather]

If Canon can make an EF 35mm f/2 IS USM with IQ as good as the Samyang 35mm f/1.4, I'm buying one.

If Canon can make an EF 24mm f/2 USM with IQ as good as the Samyang 24mm f/1.4, I'm buying one.

Then the next logical question I have is: Why not just buy the Samyang lenses?

[Ellen Schmidtee]

If Canon can make an EF 35mm f/2 IS USM with IQ as good as the Samyang 35mm f/1.4, I'm buying one.

If Canon can make an EF 24mm f/2 USM with IQ as good as the Samyang 24mm f/1.4, I'm buying one.

Then the next logical question I have is: Why not just buy the Samyang lenses?

Already did, but as far as wishing go, I'd like autofocus as well.