Canon published its annual business outlook this morning. Statements attributed directly to Canon CEO Fujio Mitarai indicate the firm expects to keep releasing lenses at the same pace (8 per year, according to Canon) for the next four years.
Mitarai's comments in the notes of the presentation show a goal of becoming the number one mirrorless camera producer in the world. He stated that the camera market is bottoming out from a sales perspective, although from a unit perspective there may continue to be a decline due to continued attrition at the low end of the market.
Increase profits are expected from squeezing more efficiencies in production and “design efficiencies,” perhaps like those seen with the re-use of super telephoto lens designs between models.
New sales generators are expected in the “PowerShot” markets, where Canon releases new form factors and special-use products such as the PowerShot Pick. Sales for these previous releases haven't been reported out separately.
Interestingly, Mitarai also emphasized that the new SPAD sensor that can see color in the dark will be mass produced by the end of the calendar year. Expectations are that this will find a home in security and other specialty use rather than in a prosumer application.
At the end of this process, RF would have more than half of the peak of the EF mount - which itself blew away all the other first-party mount systems.
some how?
that would be amazing!!! hoping the canon engineers have this in they're minds somehow
Well 32 sounds completely feasible if you include RF cinema lenses which will probably share the same optical formulas as the current and future RF stills versions but tweaked to have better focus breathing correction.
F1.2 L primes
- 24mm, 35mm
F1.4 primes:
- 20mm, 24mm, 35mm, 50mm, 85mm
F1.8 primes
- 20mm, 24mm
Count in one fast UWA prime lense (12mm or14mm???), the 100mm, 135mm (I guess L and Non-L) 200mm, 300mm primes (thx @Dragon) and five TS-E series lenses (thx @neuroanatomist) this already comes to come 20 lenses.
There should probably be three more UWA lenses:
10-24mm F4, an F2 UWA, an affordable UWA (nope, the RF14-35mm F4 will never be this lense). Makes it 23 lenses... complete the F2 and the F4 trinity (70-135mm F2 comes to mind and a super compact 24-70mm F4) you got 25.
I do hope Canon will come out with more zoom lenses such as a 250-750mm (or at least 200-600mm) and/ or a 300-800mm lense. I'd also suspect Canon to come with a complete new designed RF70-300mm L.
Add a few specialist lenses (fisheye, telezoom or tele-prime lenses with donut-bookeh, some missing pro lenses (200-500mm F4 and/ or 200-500mm F4 with TC 1.4), 2x new Macro lenses and you easily get (close/ over) to 32 lenses in this list.
I know, not all lenses will be made, but I also haven't even mentioned lenses nobody expects and that will surprise us (such as the RF 5.2mm dual fisheye). And no RF-S...
I guess we need a new and more current road map :) :-)
I stopped counting the EF lenses that are listed as "current" when I hit 70. That did include EF-s, EF-m as well as EF, but I think you get the point.