Petapixel reports Canon has discontinued all but nine EF prime lenses

[AlanF]

Petapixel reports that Japanese photographer Kimio Tanaka can find only 9 EF prime lenses still in production in Japan:

• EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM
• EF 35mm f/1.4L II USM
• EF 50mm f/1.2L USM
• EF 50mm f/1.4 USM
• EF 50mm f/1.8 STM
• EF 85mm f/1.4L IS USM
• EF 85mm f/1.8 USM
• EF 400mm f/2.8L IS III USM
• EF 600mm f/4L IS III USM

Canon Has Discontinued All But Nine EF Prime Lenses: Report

From 21 to just nine.

petapixel.com

 

[neuroanatomist]

How is ‘still in production’ defined? We know from Canon’s prior statements that Canon makes batches of most lenses (I suspect only kit lenses are continuously produced).

Although it doesn’t surprise me to see Canon discontinuing lenses, especially EF primes, it is clear that supply chain issues remain a problem. Thus, it’s not necessarily the case that out of stock today means no more of that lens won’t be produced at some point. It all depends on demand. Of course, zooms are more popular than primes so the demand for the latter may simply not be strong enough to justify further production runs of some lenses.

 

[AlanF]

How is ‘still in production’ defined? We know from Canon’s prior statements that Canon makes batches of most lenses (I suspect only kit lenses are continuously produced).

Although it doesn’t surprise me to see Canon discontinuing lenses, especially EF primes, it is clear that supply chain issues remain a problem. Thus, it’s not necessarily the case that out of stock today means no more of that lens won’t be produced at some point. It all depends on demand. Of course, zooms are more popular than primes so the demand for the latter may simply not be strong enough to justify further production runs of some lenses.

From a selfish point of view, I hope they are concentrating their efforts into RF primes, especially 300mm and greater.

 

[MythPlayer]

There's zoom lens is delist in canon japan website but not listed and not list in CR:

EF28-300mm F3.5-5.6L IS USM
EF-S18-135mm F3.5-5.6 IS STM
EF-S18-55mm F3.5-5.6 IS STM
EF-M18-55mm F3.5-5.6 IS STM

EF17-40mm F4L USM lens still list in line-up but marked "emptying stock" status

 

[Michael Clark]

There's zoom lens is delist in canon japan website but not listed and not list in CR:

EF28-300mm F3.5-5.6L IS USM
EF-S18-135mm F3.5-5.6 IS STM
EF-S18-55mm F3.5-5.6 IS STM
EF-M18-55mm F3.5-5.6 IS STM

EF17-40mm F4L USM lens still list in line-up but marked "emptying stock" status

The authorized price of the EF 17-40mm f/4 L dropped from around $800-850 to about $750 about five years ago. For most of 2019 and early 2020 instant rebates made then $500 as often as not. The they went back up to $800 for most of 2021, other than the most recent month of "Black Friday" sales that apparently now last all of November. Canon seems to have been trying to dump excess stock for quite a while.

It was a decent film lens for its time, but it is one of the lenses that has been very long in the tooth for at least a decade as digital resolutions have increased beyond about 20MP on FF cameras. I've still got one but I hardly ever shoot with it anymore unless I just have to have 17mm. The first two versions of the 16-35/2.8 weren't that much better and I couldn't see spending over $1K on a 16-35/4 to replace a 17-40/4 that's still usable. If the 16-35/2.8 III had come out a couple of years earlier than it did, when I was still working some freelance jobs that would have made economic sense to spend $2,200 for it, I would have bought it. But those markets had mostly dried up by 2016.