300mm f4.0L IS discontinued?

[autochrome]

I just went into this major European AV/photo retailer, with the intention of placing an order on the 300mm f4.0L IS USM but they said it was discontinued - i thought the f4.0L USM without IS was discontinued and mentioned the fact, they said, and i quote "the 300mm f4.0L USM (non-IS) model was discontinued a long time ago, and the 300mm f4.0L IS USM model was discontinued this year and is no longer listed in the information that Canon makes available to its resellers". After asking again if they could confirm this since i was about to place an order, after half an hour and several phone calls with Canon representatives they confirmed this once again - the 300mm f4.0L USM was discontinued a long time ago, and the 300mm f4.0L IS USM was discontinued this year and it's no longer listed, they don't even have a reference ID anymore. Asking if they had any information in this year's list of a replacement model, they said they couldn't tell me at the moment but would contact later. Anyone had a similar experience or has any thoughts regarding the materialization of a replacement? I'm thinking about this:

http://www.canonrumors.com/2011/05/patent-ef-300-f4l-is-ii/

The patent was filed in 2009, and published in 2011, but the earthquake must've delayed Canon's roadmap by 6 months at least. They also had announced the updated versions of the 400mm, 500mm and 600mm for August 2011 - a yet unnanounced 300mm f4.0L IS USM II would be great, but i doubt it would be here before 2012 or even 2013 - this if the information that was given about the f4.0L IS's sudden demise is correct.
Anyone had similar experiences trying to order this lens? I'm a bit surprised by this.

 

[dr croubie]

in stock
in stock

I really hope it's not discontinued. i nearly bought it instead of my 70-300L (which was €50 more than the €1300 300f4). The only comparable then is the 300 f2.8, well over 3x the price (€4500). or the 300 f2.8 ii, (€6500)

ouch, if that's discontinued, then the 400 f5.6 is the last Big White Prime under €4500.

does this mean canon have so much confidence in their zooms that they're getting rid of everything that comes close? the 70-300L is as good res as the 300f4 wide open, but the prime gets 1 stop more light.

maybe if there's a 100-400L replacement, or even when the 200-400 1.4x f4 comes out, maybe they'll kill off the 400 f5.6 too...

 

[Admin US West]

Unfortunately, its a common story. If a dealer is out of stock for a product, its discontinued (so don't look elsewhere), but I do have a lens that is not discontinued for only a few hundred more!

 

[kubelik]

I think it's more likely that a new 300 f/4 L IS II is genuinely on the way.

when looking at the releases over the last two years it was clear that Canon was upgrading through all of its professional lineup. once those all hit, it will be time for Canon to come back through and do the same with its prosumer lineup. as one of the great amateur telephoto lenses, it would be silly to not expect Canon to refresh this at some point with a new (and of course more expensive) version with newer coatings, new optics, and improved IS.

 

[Loswr]

I think it's more likely that a new 300 f/4 L IS II is genuinely on the way.

Quite likely. But, would they formally discontinue a lens before announcing it's replacement? Very doubtful.

 

[ronderick]

I don't know how vital the 300 f/4 is to Canon users, but I'm sure the scream would be heard all over the world if Canon decides to discontinue the 400 f/5.6.

Even if they do have a replacement for this lens, I doubt it will ever compete in terms of price with the original one... :'(

 

[infilm]

I agree, the 300 4.0 IS II must be close. Here is a site in the US that has them in stock.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/129188-GREY/Canon_2530A004_Telephoto_EF_300mm_f_4_0L.html

 

[autochrome]

Well, i was considering scaleusa's view, that sounds the type of thing one could expect in these large retailers, however the alternatives they had of telephotos was the 400mm f5.6L at the same price and same delivery date and the manager was so insistent about the discontinuation that i've spent quite some time checking Canon related news and press-releases just in case.

It would be odd though. It makes sense for them to renew the high-end models first, the new 300mm and 400mm f2.8, and the 500 and 600mm f4L. These all seem to have a new IS mode (mode 3, that triggers IS only when the shutter is fully pressed, allegedly granting a 4 stops improvement, the same applies to the 200-400mm zoom). But these were announced quite some time ago and they're still not out, so expecting a 300mm f4.0L IS USM II this early would be unrealistic hence my surprise. I'm still waiting to see what kind of reply they're going to come up with. Nothing i've read suggests the discontinuation of the existing 300mm f4.0L IS.

 

[Loswr]

Nothing i've read suggests the discontinuation of the existing 300mm f4.0L IS.

Someone on another forum posted that a Canon service rep told him straight up that a new 300/4 IS would be announced in July.

 

[autochrome]

Nothing i've read suggests the discontinuation of the existing 300mm f4.0L IS.

Someone on another forum posted that a Canon service rep told him straight up that a new 300/4 IS would be announced in July.

This complicates things. I think i'll be putting this purchase on standby for a couple of months to see what comes out of this, but i'm sure a new 300mm will jump from the 1299 euros to the 2000 euros region at least. At least i had no rumors of the 400mm f5.6, they had that available as well, and didn't mentioned anything at all about it being discontinued.

 

[Loswr]

At least i had no rumors of the 400mm f5.6, they had that available as well, and didn't mentioned anything at all about it being discontinued.

That's too bad...a new 300/4 IS would be nice, but a new 400/5.6 with IS - I'd pay $2500 for that!

 

[autochrome]

At least i had no rumors of the 400mm f5.6, they had that available as well, and didn't mentioned anything at all about it being discontinued.

That's too bad...a new 300/4 IS would be nice, but a new 400/5.6 with IS - I'd pay $2500 for that!

I would be more than willing to pay 2500 euros for that when it comes out, but i hope that besides the IS they're dealing with the minimum focusing distance - 3.5 meters is a lot - and in the end that more than the lack of IS swayed the pendulum towards the 300mm, although i did tried hand-holding a 75-300mm at 300mm with IS off in a 7D and it was hard even to compose the shot. In any case i doubt there will be a new 300mm f4 before summer 2012, i'll be getting the 300/4 IS. Now if only they made a 500mm f5.6L IS at an affordable price...

 

[Berre]

I really hope it's not discontinued. i nearly bought it instead of my 70-300L (which was €50 more than the €1300 300f4). The only comparable then is the 300 f2.8, well over 3x the price (€4500). or the 300 f2.8 ii, (€6500)

It seems that the 300mm f2.8 isn't available anymore as well (Belgium: www.canon.be )! The only opt over here is a vII for almost all lenses!!
Cheers
Bert

 

[autochrome]

Well, i got a definitive reply today, after a few more days and a couple of hours again with the shop manager and phone calls back and forth from the Canon representatives and the answer they gave me was, and i quote: "i'm not talking about the 300mm f4.0L (non-IS), that was discontinued years ago, i'm telling you the 300mm f4.0L IS was discontinued, it's out of production, it's not in our catalogues anymore, we don't have it in stock and we won't have it in stock anymore, Canon ceased production of that lens this year. We can't even order it anymore" - this was the Canon representative reply.

So that puts a nail in the coffin of my 300mm f4.0L IS plans. I tried to get some info, about the replacement model, a f4.0L IS II ... quote: "there'll be a replacement, but we don't have a date, it can be in July, or it can be in 2012, who knows". Basically they're limited to having the 300mm f2.8L IS II in August but they expect big delays on that, and they won't have anything to fill the 300mm f4.0L gap, and confirmed that the tsunami ruined their scheduled deliveries and announcements (hardly surprising).

That's pretty much it. The lens isn't that old, the 400mm f5.6L is older and in a much urgent need of replacement. I might be able to order this from amazon or some other shop abroad that might have it in stock.
Something doesn't adds up here. They also mentioned they knew the 300mm f4.0L IS was still listed in the website, but reaffirmed, and they were quite adamant - "it's out of production".

Either there's going to be some sort of announcement soon, or they're lying - i'm not entirely sure what they would have to gain, the f2.8 model, both existing and the II one are unavailable at the moment, with the II model delivery expected for who knows when - the last thing known was the it was planned for August 2011.
Any information confirming or contradicting this would be most welcome.

P.S.: it's the 2nd mention i heard to an July announcement.

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

It wouldn't suprise me, if they replaced it, but why? Its not a huge seller, used ones are a plague on the market and take a big hit in resale value.

The 400mm f/5.6 IS would be a huge seller if it came along, along with several other lenses that are often wished for.

 

[Tan]

Hm... Never heard this rumour and all the major resellers here in Sweden still list this lens as available.
Still, I wouldn't be surprised if a new version hits the streets within a year, but I always imagined the 400/5,6 would go first.

 

[ReyMorlu]

This lens is very easy to be found just here in Spain... in fact there are in stock, even not only in the best dealers, in retail traders can be seing in their shop windows!
And the little outdated 400 prime too, at the same price.

 

[autochrome]

This lens is very easy to be found just here in Spain... in fact there are in stock, even not only in the best dealers, in retail traders can be seing in their shop windows!
And the little outdated 400 prime too, at the same price.

I don't understand it either. Time to start buying photo equipment somewhere else. They had the 400mm at the same price though, not in stock either. I'm not sure how to interpret this. Perhaps Canon really ended production of the line and didn't announced it. If they had some of their production lines damaged by the earthquake, and the 300mm f4L was one of the items affected, they would have to reassess the lens profitability before resuming production, either resuming production of the lens, or retooling for another lens. They could've as well stopped production without announcing it in the hopes of clearing the existing stock, specially when you consider that one is relatively well served in the 300mm department. The f2.8 IS, the new f2.8 IS II, the 70-300mm f4/5.6L IS, 70-300mm/4.5-5.6DO - all this plus the non L lenses, and what was posted here, about the 2nd hand market being flooded with the 300mm f4L IS .
And they could as well be producing the 300mm f4L IS, and the Canon representatives here being misinformed. I don't know.
I do agree though that looking at the Canon EF lens range, there's one item that immediately stands out as in being in desperate needs of an update, the 400mm f5.6L needs an IS for sure, but they're going to try to milk the customers as much as possible with the 400mm DO, specially when you consider the fact that the new 400mm (and 300mm, and 500 and 600mm) had an absolutely massive price jump, with the 400mm f2.8 II with an estimated USd 10000 price (from roughly 7500 of the previous generation, and 6000 of the DO model).
Time to abandon the 300mm and 400mm plans, and start saving for an "old" 500mm f4L, and the salary of a sherpa to carry it.

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

This lens is very easy to be found just here in Spain... in fact there are in stock, even not only in the best dealers, in retail traders can be seing in their shop windows!
And the little outdated 400 prime too, at the same price.

I don't understand it either. Time to start buying photo equipment somewhere else. They had the 400mm at the same price though, not in stock either. I'm not sure how to interpret this. Perhaps Canon really ended production of the line and didn't announced it. If they had some of their production lines damaged by the earthquake, and the 300mm f4L was one of the items affected, they would have to reassess the lens profitability before resuming production, either resuming production of the lens, or retooling for another lens. They could've as well stopped production without announcing it in the hopes of clearing the existing stock, specially when you consider that one is relatively well served in the 300mm department. The f2.8 IS, the new f2.8 IS II, the 70-300mm f4/5.6L IS, 70-300mm/4.5-5.6DO - all this plus the non L lenses, and what was posted here, about the 2nd hand market being flooded with the 300mm f4L IS .
And they could as well be producing the 300mm f4L IS, and the Canon representatives here being misinformed. I don't know.
I do agree though that looking at the Canon EF lens range, there's one item that immediately stands out as in being in desperate needs of an update, the 400mm f5.6L needs an IS for sure, but they're going to try to milk the customers as much as possible with the 400mm DO, specially when you consider the fact that the new 400mm (and 300mm, and 500 and 600mm) had an absolutely massive price jump, with the 400mm f2.8 II with an estimated USd 10000 price (from roughly 7500 of the previous generation, and 6000 of the DO model).
Time to abandon the 300mm and 400mm plans, and start saving for an "old" 500mm f4L, and the salary of a sherpa to carry it.

High end Lenses are said to be manufactured in batches, they run off a few months to a years worth and move on to the next lens. Undoubtedly, some of the inexpensive lenses are on a full time production line. The idea is to keep some in stock all the time, but that has not been happening for the last two years. That is why they are opening the new lens plant at Oita, and have announced another one in Taiwan.

It will probably be years before we see good stocks of all lenses.

However, "out of production" means to me that they are not going to produce it any longer. Its not a fast seller, so they may have suspended production due to the currently limited resources and concentrated on the fast sellers. It will be back though, it fills a need for many photographers.

 

[ReyMorlu]

If 77mm filter size long primes aren't gonna be made in the future anymore, it'll be a good moment to pay attention to the 2nd hand market or a less expensive but heavier Sigma 2,8 300... ie. :-\
New high end telephotos are so overpriced that I actually think is stupid to invest this amount of money... till they come out whith a "mark x" version to devalue your purchase... as usualy!

http://www.sigma-photo.co.jp/english/lens/tele/300_28.htm