Canon News has uncovered a patent that shows Canon is working on very small RF zoom lenses, these simple designs may also be collapsable.
Japan Patent Application 2020-190661
In recent years, so-called mirrorless cameras, which do not have a quick return mirror, are increasing in cameras. Since this mirrorless camera has a thin body, is compact and lightweight, it is required to develop a compact and lightweight interchangeable lens that matches the mirrorless camera.
Since this mirrorless camera does not require the space of the quick return mirror, it is not necessary to secure the back focus as much as the conventional interchangeable lens. Therefore, the configuration of the lens is also different from that of the conventional interchangeable lens, and the degree of freedom in design is increased so that it is possible to design a compact and lightweight lens.
In particular, a wide-angle lens tends to have a short back focus, so that it can be miniaturized as an interchangeable lens for a mirrorless camera.
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I'd still like to see something like a ~20(+/-) - 200(or less) f?-5.6(or so) L zoom for a single high IQ/build handheld travel/hiking lens. In the past, I loved walking around with a single EM1-II body with only a single lens on it: the (2x crop)12-100 f4 pro lens which could take tack-sharp photos of most everything I wanted (yes, with large DOF and poor background blur). I continue to hope that Canon can come out with something like that, but with similar or better equivalent zoom range and with wider equivalent aperture in a high quality L FF lens. When they do (and they probably will eventually) I'll buy one!
And of course it is always a compromise.
And even if it does I don't know if it would be small enough to call it "travel/hiking lens" with that zoom range and f/5.6 at the long end.
even the RF 24-240 is not really small IMO, but YMMV.
But maybe Canon can surprise us ;)
I really want a 24-70f4 L for the RF, but looks like not any time soon.
-Brian
Its a patent, and might never turn into a lens.
There seems to be a demand for smaller lighter lenses, to the point some people perceive it as the raison d'etre for MILC. Seems Canon is considering trading size for pushing ISO a stop and a third at the long end. With ISO performance being what it is nowadays, seems like a reasonable option to consider.
Industry News: Nikon releases their Z mount lens roadmap
Further, in recent years, due to advances in image processing technology, it is possible to elec
trically correct some aberrations. In particular, by electrically correcting various aberrations su
ch as chromatic aberration, distortion, and other aberrations, it is possible to reduce the size,
the image quality, and the cost.