Canon EF 800 f/5.6L IS II
More mentions of a new 800mm lens hitting the Canon lineup in the next 12 months. I'm told Canon is not to be outdone by Nikon and their upcoming lightweight 800 f/5.6 VR. A new “6 stop” IS system is also being tested in prototype EF 800 f/5.6L IS II lenses, but may not be . The weight of Canon's next 800 will be less than the current EF 600 f/4L IS II, which is the way it was with the current 800 and the previous 600.
There are other suggestions that the supertelephoto lineup could become more crowded with zooms, and new 400mm primes. With the production and development issues of the current set of new “big whites”, a timetable for such lenses is nearly impossible to nail down.
Built-in Converters
The EF 200-400 f/4L IS 1.4x with the built-in 1.4 teleconverter is not the only lens planned to have the technology. It will definately be the first, and may be the only one for a while, but the concept is being tested with other zooms as well as prime lenses.
One possible configuration mentioned is a lens similar to the Sigma 120-300 f/2.8 OS. With Canon's weight saving materials, the viability of a hand holdable 300 f/2.8 zoom has improved.
While there's nothing imminent outside of the much talked about EF 200-400 f/4L IS, it looks like the 1.4 built-in teleconverter could become a broad feature in Canon's lens lineup.
cr