Patent: Lots of super telephoto lenses mentioned

Canon Rumors Guy

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Canon’s work on super telephoto lenses continues, and we expect to see a few more announced next year ahead of the Summer Olympics which take place in Tokyo, Japan.
Canon’s latest super telephoto lenses the EF 400mm f/2.8L IS III USM and EF 600mm f/4L IS III USM are the lightest such lenses currently available and have begun shipping in small numbers.
USPTO patents 20190041606 and 20190041605 uncovered by Canon News describe the following embodiments.
Canon 300mm f/2.8L IS III USM

Focal length: 294.00mm
F-number: 2.91
Half angle of view: 4.21°
Image height: 21.64mm
Total lens length: 276.40mm
BF 65.35mm

Canon 400mm...


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Mar 20, 2015
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I wonder what, other than RF related tweaks, would be so compelling about a 500mm f/4 III? I mean compelling enough to pay a couple thousand more than the excellent version available right now.

The fact that it *exists* would be sufficient enough for many, and the fact that the II would drop off the servicing list within a few years. Sell and upgrade, sell and upgrade... money isn't much of a concern at that level.

Meanwhile regard Exhibit A: the 300mm f/4 IS, still the same as it was in 1997. If you're not in the top 1% of camera enthusiasts, Canon hates you.
 
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Jun 27, 2013
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The fact that it *exists* would be sufficient enough for many, and the fact that the II would drop off the servicing list within a few years. Sell and upgrade, sell and upgrade... money isn't much of a concern at that level.

Meanwhile regard Exhibit A: the 300mm f/4 IS, still the same as it was in 1997. If you're not in the top 1% of camera enthusiasts, Canon hates you.
Lets not forget the 400mm f/5.6L USM, it's a staple of bird photographers here in India. One of the most common lenses out there(though nowadays most are dumping that lens in favour of 150-600mm lens).
 
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docsmith

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Interesting. Of course, they could release new versions of the 300/500 II. Make them lighter, as good or better than anything else to be released by Sony and Nikon. This all makes sense to me.

What I find interesting is that a CR2 rumor claimed that Canon themselves said no new EF lenses in 2019.
https://www.canonrumors.com/forum/i...-as-7-new-rf-lenses-coming-in-2019-cr2.36535/

Of course, anything could be true: these are defensive patents that will never be a released product, Canon releases EF lenses regardless of what they said, or these could be RF lenses.
 
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Dec 17, 2013
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Chaitanya, that's interesting about the popularity of the 400 f/5.6L in India. I keep recommending this lens to beginner bird photographers who don't need a telephoto zoom (those people I steer towards the 100-400 L versions I, or II if they can afford it). I also recommend getting a monopod or tripod for the no-IS 400, for those situations where one is pre-focused on a particular spot and is waiting for the bird to show up. The relatively ancient 400 f/5.6L for hiking photographers is the equivalent of "ultra-light" backpacking gear for long-distance hikers - excellent performance in a pleasant-to-carry format.
 
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Arthur Morris (http://www.birdsasart.com/) has been a proponent of the 400mm f/5.6 EF-L since it hit the market, calling it his "toy" lens (when he didn't want to lug around his heavy glass or shoot with a tripod), and he recommended it unreservedly as a beginning birding lens. Myself, I bought the lens when I purchased Canon's first DSLR (the D30) and have used it subsequently on a Canon 10D, 5D and 6D. Now I'm using this lens on a Sony A7III via Metabones V adapter. A7III IBIS works well with the lens, so it is even more feasible to shoot this lens hand-held. The A7III is also the first camera I have had that can auto-focus this lens with a teleconverter attached (I have the Canon TC-14II).
 
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PFloyd

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Aug 20, 2019
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Any chance we'll ever see the EF 500mm f/4L IS III and/or the EF 300mm f/2.8L IS III come to fruition? Would be nice for Canon to finish the "III" line of the EF big whites (and all of them actually being the same shade of white) before abandoning the EF line. I would think that these two lenses would have been at least in some stage of development before they decided to scrap EF and go all in on RF and mirrorless, no?
 
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Any chance we'll ever see the EF 500mm f/4L IS III and/or the EF 300mm f/2.8L IS III come to fruition? Would be nice for Canon to finish the "III" line of the EF big whites (and all of them actually being the same shade of white) before abandoning the EF line. I would think that these two lenses would have been at least in some stage of development before they decided to scrap EF and go all in on RF and mirrorless, no?
More likely to see those two long white fast primes out by 2023 on the RF mount before the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
 
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