Woody said:neuroanatomist said:Actually, 2010 was going to be the year of the lens.
I followed the link above and the lens list that followed were CR's predictions, not based on any CR2 type of rumors. What it tells us is CR site owner is poor in predictions.
I will not be surprised if 2014 seriously turns out to be the Year of the Lens. Firstly, Canon Imaging needs to improve on their profits and the ILC market is nearly saturated. So, selling more lenses is an option. Secondly, Nikon has nearly caught up with Canon in the lens department, so it's time for Canon to put some distance between themselves and Nikon. Lenses like the widest rectilinear zoom lens and 16-50 f/4L IS will help cement Canon's status as the manufacturer with the widest lens options. Thirdly, the EOS-M fire sale is working (see Amazon and BCNRanking), so it's time for Canon to release more M-mount lenses.
stulandr said:Also, Sigma is outperforming Canon at the moment with their Art series lenses at a significantly lower price point. I think this could be a good marketing ploy by Canon to prevent people from potentially jumping ship to Sigma by putting out a rumour that a significant number of lenses are coming.
neuroanatomist said:Now, it seems that they're struggling to redefine their core strategy. Their 35/1.4, 18-35/1.8 DC, and 24-105/4 OS are not inexpensive lenses, and the 30/1.4 DC is also pretty expensive for an APS-C only prime lens. The 30/1.4 DC and 18-35/1.8 DC have no direct OEM competition. The Sigma 35/1.4 does directly compete with the Canon L, and wins. But it's beating a lens that was designed 15 years ago, so perhaps that's not too surprising, and as I said the Sigma 35mm is not exactly cheap
. Also, anecdotally I have noticed that several people who sing the praises of the Sigma 35/1.4 have also stated that they had to try 2-3 copies to get a good one
Lichtgestalt said:i was a sigma nay sayer for a long time. i had my share of problems and said "no more sigmas" 4-5 years ago.
but the new 35mm f1.4 is a great lens.
no problems at all here.
thought im curious to see how good the AF is for telephoto sigmas.
neuroanatomist said:Now, it seems that they're struggling to redefine their core strategy. Their 35/1.4, 18-35/1.8 DC, and 24-105/4 OS are not inexpensive lenses, and the 30/1.4 DC is also pretty expensive for an APS-C only prime lens. The 30/1.4 DC and 18-35/1.8 DC have no direct OEM competition. The Sigma 35/1.4 does directly compete with the Canon L, and wins. But it's beating a lens that was designed 15 years ago, so perhaps that's not too surprising, and as I said the Sigma 35mm is not exactly cheap
but cheaper than the worse canon.
. Also, anecdotally I have noticed that several people who sing the praises of the Sigma 35/1.4 have also stated that they had to try 2-3 copies to get a good one
you hear the same from canon lens user. especially people who shoot testcharts all day and not much else.
overall the sigma quality is MUCH better today.
dgatwood said:After further thought, here's what I'd like to see:
- A 50mm f/1.0 reissue (optionally in a version 2)
- A 600mm lens that is short enough to fit in a typical camera bag
- A 12mm (or wider) rectilinear lens
- An EF superzoom with more reach than the 24-105, but without massive zoom creep problems
Not holding my breath. I'm expecting a pony long before any of these things, with the possible exception of the last one.
neuroanatomist said:dgatwood said:After further thought, here's what I'd like to see:
- A 50mm f/1.0 reissue (optionally in a version 2)
- A 600mm lens that is short enough to fit in a typical camera bag
- A 12mm (or wider) rectilinear lens
- An EF superzoom with more reach than the 24-105, but without massive zoom creep problems
Not holding my breath. I'm expecting a pony long before any of these things, with the possible exception of the last one.
Regarding the last one, do you mean a non-L lens? The 28-300L has much more reach than the 24-105L, has IQ that's basically equivalent across their respective ranges, and I certainly never had any zoom creep issues (that's why there's a zoom tensioning ring, and if yours wasn't wroking properly, the lens needed service).
neuroanatomist said:Regarding the shorter 600mm lens, that's where diffractive optics come into play. The 400/4 DO is physically shorter than both the 300/2.8 IS II and 400/5.6 lenses, and only 1 cm longer than the 300/4 IS. If I had to guess, I'd say a 600/4 DO might be ~14" long, about the length of the 400/5.6L with its hood extended. Based on published patents, Canon is still actively working on DO technology.
dgatwood said:After further thought, here's what I'd like to see:
[*]A 600mm lens that is short enough to fit in a typical camera bag
dgatwood said:Here's what I keep thinking: Almost all of the space that a long lens takes up is just air. If you collapsed that giant 18" long 600mm lens down to where the glass was touching, it probably wouldn't be that much bigger than my 70-300, give or take, even without diffractive optics. With DO, it might even be smaller. If they can make lenses where the focus mechanism moves elements precisely, other than the manufacturing complexity inherently resulting in more QC rejects, what's so much more difficult about making all the elements move, allowing the entire body to collapse like an old-style telescope?
(Yes, I know it would be a pain in the *** to engineer, but it would make those sorts of lenses a lot more usable by ordinary folks.)
neuroanatomist said:dgatwood said:Here's what I keep thinking: Almost all of the space that a long lens takes up is just air. If you collapsed that giant 18" long 600mm lens down to where the glass was touching, it probably wouldn't be that much bigger than my 70-300, give or take, even without diffractive optics. With DO, it might even be smaller. If they can make lenses where the focus mechanism moves elements precisely, other than the manufacturing complexity inherently resulting in more QC rejects, what's so much more difficult about making all the elements move, allowing the entire body to collapse like an old-style telescope?
(Yes, I know it would be a pain in the *** to engineer, but it would make those sorts of lenses a lot more usable by ordinary folks.)
Your last line is the key point - a 600mm lens engineered to be collapsible. How many 'ordinary folks' would be able to afford the extraordinarily exorbitant cost of such a lens?
JonAustin said:If Canon can come up with a 24-70/2.8L IS, a 50mm/1.4-2.0 with true USM or an updated 1xx-400 IS, then the "Year of the Lens" will be the "Year of the Buy" for me. Otherwise, I'll continue to make do with what I have.
thedman said:It's April 1st in the Year Of The Lens. Can't decide which one to buy! Too many new ones!
Don Haines said:thedman said:It's April 1st in the Year Of The Lens. Can't decide which one to buy! Too many new ones!
Just remember.... it's the year of the LENS, not the year of the LENSES...
plus the 16-35mm 2.8L IIIGMCPhotographics said:Wow....year of the lens....a pair of wides no one wanted and a set of TS-e lenses that certainly no one wanted....
Meanwhile, the 35mm f1.4 II L and 100-400 II L unicorns stay in their stable....