Canon Patent For New 16-35mm and 17-40mm Lenses (?)

Canon Patent Canon Patent

Egami (translated) spotted some interesting patents filed by Canon.

The patent refers to new 17-40mm and 16-35mm lenses, as you can see with apertures between f/2.8 and f/4. Are these patents for the replacements of the EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM and the highly popular Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM lenses? These two lenses were measured by DxOMark a few weeks ago.

Canon Patent

  • Patent Publication No. 2014-41245
    • Publication date 2014.3.6
    • Filing date 2012.8.22
  • Example 1
    • Focal length f = 16.49-23.55-33.95mm
    • Fno. 4.10
    • Half angle ω = 52.68-42.57-32.51 °
    • 14 pieces of 10-group lens configuration
  • Example 2
    • Focal length f = 17.50-25.45-38.90mm
    • Fno. 4.10
    • Half angle ω = 51.03-40.36-29.08 °
    • 15 pieces of 11-group lens configuration
  • Example 4
    • Focal length f = 17.50-24.82-38.89mm
    • Fno. 2.88-3.25-4.10
    • Half angle ω = 51.02-41.08-29.09 °
    • 15 pieces of 11-group lens configuration
  • Example 5
    • Focal length f = 16.50-25.34-34.00mm
    • Fno. 2.91
    • Half angle ω = 52.66-40.49-32.47 °
    • 15 pieces of 11-group lens configuration
  • Canon patents
    • 4-group zoom of positive and negative positive negative
    • Inner focus

 

[Review] Latest EOS 6D Reviews And Hands-on Round-Up (7D comparison and interview with Canon exec about 6D)

First week of EOS 6D is behind us. We aforesaid it (though we were wrong on the name), Canon made it. Now let’s see how the community is dealing with Canon’s new, entry level full frame DSLR, of which Canon says it is the smallest and lightest full-frame DSLR to date. The EOS 6D is clearly countering Nikon’s D600 ($2100). The EOS 6D is also Canon’s first EOS DSLR with built-in WiFi and GPS. This means you can change your camera settings, geotag photos and transfer your shots to your smartphone (or ipad, Android tablet etc) using Canon’s free iOS and Android apps. The 6D costs $2100 and can be per-ordered at the following shops (click on shop name):

Btw, I think the EF 17-40mm f/4L USM (around $700, click here) is the perfect lens for this full frame camera, and, with a price of around $700, it is one of the more affordable L lenses in Canon’s line-up.

Cameralabs published a preview and an interview with the European Product Manager, Richard Shepherd (video above). Another preview comes from The Onlinephotographer. If you guess which camera among the EOS 6D and the EOS 7D is the right one for you, then you should have a look at Digitalcameraworld, since they are tackling this very question. Read the article, since it is comparing both cams on a detailed basis. However, here is a short sum-up:

Reasons to buy the Canon 6D

  • Its much larger sensor (more than 2.5x larger than the 7D), and all the creative possibilities it affords
  • Higher sensitivity and better low-light performance
  • Wi-Fi capability
  • GPS functionality
  • HDR function
  • Smaller and lighter

Reasons to buy the Canon 7D

  • Faster continuous shooting rate
  • More cross-type focus points (19 vs 11)
  • More viewfinder coverage (100% vs 97%)
  • Faster maximum shutter speed (1/8000sec vs 1/4000sec)
  • Much cheaper

Next hands-on preview comes from ephotozine, lots of pics of the camera itself. Finally, there is Petapixel’s Michael Zhang who had his hands on the EOS 6D and is sharing its thoughts.

I have also an interview with Mike Owen, Professional Image Marketing Manager for Canon Europe Ltd, made by Imaging Resource founder and publisher Dave Etchells. The interview is rather long and mainly about the EOS 6D (but not only). Regarding the sensor resolution:

We very much feel that that resolution, 20 to 22 megapixels on a full frame sensor is the real sweet spot. It’s the maximum that we can get to without starting to see a conflict between noise performance and resolution. And obviously, what we want to try to do is give you the best possible balance. And over the last few years, what you’ve seen is that other manufacturers have been sort of creeping up with their resolution. But we’ve reached a sort of sweet spot since 5 years ago when we launched the 1DS Mark III. And we think that, at the moment, that is the better place to be in terms of performance, allowing people to have the high ISO capabilities–high as you’re able to get with the current Canon range as well as the high resolution and image quality.

About the auto-focus system and the reasons for having just one cross type sensor:

I mean, yes, there is the cost side of things, but what we’ve tried to do with the autofocus system on the 6D is to actually improve low-light performance. It goes down to EV -3. So when emphasizing low-light performance, we’ve always had to make elements of the AF system larger, which limits our ability to put in more cross-type points.

Finally, below you find a video hands-on review by DigitalCameraWorld.

EOS 6D price check: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA EF 17-40mm f/4L USM price check: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA

Click here to open the rest of the article

New Canon Patent: 17-40 f/2.8-4 Lens

Japanese site egami (Google translation) spotted a Canon patent for a 17-40 f/2.8-4 lens. She successor of the highly popular EF 17-40 f4L USM lens? Looks like. With the new 5D Mark III available in the near future it wouldn’t be strange if Canon decides to upgrade the EF 17-40 f4L USM lens. Surely a good lens for a full-frame camera, and, btw, the cheapest of Canon’s L lens.

 

More images from the patent and specification on egami’s site.

 

EF 17-40 f4L USM lens: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA