Canon Patent For Various RF Mount Zoom Lenses

Canon Patent

Canon patent application US20190369372 discusses optical formulas for various zoom lenses for the Canon EOS R system.

Among the discussed optics in this Canon patent application is a 28-280mm f/2.8 lens. All lenses seem to be designed for the EOS R full frame mirrorless system.

A zoom lens includes, in order from an object side, a positive first unit, a negative second unit, a positive intermediate group consisting of one or two units and including a third unit located on a most object side, a negative unit, and a rear group consisting of one or two units including a positive unit located on a most object side. Conditional expressions are satisfied with respect to amounts of movement of the second and third units from a wide angle end to a telephoto end, a distance at the wide angle end from a most object side surface vertex in the first unit to a most object side surface vertex in the third unit, an Abbe number of a most object side lens in the first unit, a focal length of the second unit, and focal lengths at the wide angle end and at the telephoto end.

[…]

A zoom lens of the disclosure includes a first lens unit having a positive refractive power, a second lens unit having a negative refractive power, an intermediate lens group having a positive refractive power and including one or two lens units inclusive of a third lens unit located on an object side, a lens unit having a negative refractive power, and a rear lens group including one or two lens units inclusive of a lens unit which is located on the object side and has a positive refractive power, which are arranged in order from the object side to an image side. Here, an interval between every two adjacent lens units is configured to be variable for zooming. In the meantime, a total length of the zoom lens is reduced by keeping the first lens unit unmoved relative to an image plane while varying the intervals between the lens units during the zooming. The first lens unit includes three or more lenses and mainly corrects a spherical aberration and an axial chromatic aberration on a telephoto side. The second lens unit includes three or more lenses and mainly suppresses variations in curvature of field and in chromatic aberration of magnification during the zooming. In order to achieve correction of aberrations and reduction in size at the same time, it is preferable to form each of the first lens unit and the second lens unit by use of three or four lenses. 

canon patent

More Canon patent applications are listed here. Some particularly interesting patent applications we think might get into production are these:

A Bit Of Everything (PowerShot Hack, Canon 7, RF 28-70mm F/2L, EOS R vs Nikon Z6, EOS R vs 5D4)

Eos R Vs Nikon Z6

Below, a Canon EOS R vs Nikon Z6 comparison: The MAIN REASON I would choose the Canon EOS R over the Nikon Z 6 in 2019 by Manny Ortiz (EOS R vs Nikon Z6)


Above: This researcher created an algorithm that removes the water from underwater images by Scientific American:

Why do all the pictures you take underwater look blandly blue-green? The answer has to do with how light travels through water. Derya Akkaynak, an oceangoing engineer from the University of Haifa, has figured out a way to recover the colorful brilliance of the deep.


Instant Camera Review: Canon IVY CLIQ+ Instant Camera PrinterThe Phoblographer

This Rare Black Paint Canon 7 Was a Leica M3 Competitor – The Phoblographer

Review: Canon RF 28-70mm F/2L USM (One of the Best Zooms Around) – The Phoblographer:

Although the Canon RF 28-70mm f2 L USM is a massive lens, it’s also understandably so. The photographer who will spring for this lens really needs the extra stop of light and genuinely wants super high-quality images. That’s what you’re going to get with the Canon RF 28-70mm f2 L USM. Couple this with better autofocusing abilities that have come out recently and the exemplary build quality, and you’ve got an excellent lens–on paper.


Review: Canon RF 85mm F1.2L USM – The Phoblographer:

The Canon RF 85mm f1.2 L USM produces truly beautiful bokeh, excellent sharpness, plenty of micro-contrast, and overall exceptional image quality. Its performance is quite snappy as well and it’s capable of focusing and tracking fast-moving subjects quickly and accurately. True to Canon’s heritage, this lens is built like a tank and features some of the best weather sealing we’ve seen


Got an Old Canon Point-and-Shoot Camera? Hack It (Add new features and write scripts with CHDK firmware) – IEEE Spectrum

Practical Use of Field Curvature Graphs – the 50mm Primes – Lens Rentals

National Geographic Declares Three Fujifilm Cameras Best Travel Cameras for 2020 – Fuji Rumors

GIZMON announced this funny(?!?) “Bokeh Lens Illuminator” set – Mirrorless Rumors

Samyang AF 14mm f/2.8 RF Review – ePHOTOzine


Below: Canon EOS R vs. 5D Mark 4 – Which is best for VIDEO? – Parker Walbeck


Below: MacBook Pro 16-Inch: A Photographer’s Review by Tyler Stalman

Venus Optics Adds RF Mount Versions To Three Popular Laowa Lenses

Rf Mount

Venus Optics announced they will soon release Canon RF mount and Nikon Z mount versions of three of their popular Laowa lenses.

The Laowa 12mm F2.8 Zero-D, Laowa 25mm F2.8 2.5-5X Ultra Macro and Laowa 100mm F2.8 2X Ultra Macro are the three lenses that will be released for Canon and Nikon’s full frame mirrorless systems.

Laowa 12mm f/2.8 Zero-D

World’s Widest f/2.8 Lens with close-to-zero distortion.

Featuring the widest angle of view (122°) ever offered from a f/2.8 lens, this is an ideal lens for a wide variety of shooting situations. From landscape, architecture, interior, travel to the most important, astro photography.  The lens is the lightest and most compact lens in its class. Ideal for everyday shooting. It also features close-to-zero optical distortion, allowing photographers to take landscape/architecture shots with straight lines retained. Our exclusive water and dust repelling “Frog Eye Coating” is added to the front element of the lens. For maximum creativity, you can use CPL or ND filters by adding an optional Laowa 100mm filter holder system.

Laowa 25mm f/2.8 2.5-5X Ultra Macro

The most compact and versatile high magnification macro lens.

This lens is optimized for macro shooting between 2.5X – 5X life-size. The lens is specially designed with an extended working distance (45mm at 2x & 40mm at 2.5x) and small lens barrel. This allows sufficient lighting on the object for easier shooting in the field. The lens is much more compact and lighter than other macro lenses. This lens also provides a greater depth of field compared to other extreme macro lenses in the market. The Laowa 25mm f/2.8 2.5-5X is developed for both professional and leisure macro photography, to be used in the field or indoor set-ups. An optional LED Ringlight and Tripod Collar are available for added control and precision operation.

Laowa 100mm f/2.8 2x Ultra Macro APO

Followed by the success of the Laowa 60mm f/2.8 2:1 Macro, the 100mm f/2.8 2:1 Macro is the 2nd member of Laowa 2:1 macro line-up. It features an apochromatic (APO) characteristic that chromatic aberration at both ‘in-focus’ & ‘out-of-focus’ is both invisible. This new 100mm lens can cover full frame sensor size and focus from 2:1 magnification to infinity. The lens has a similar physical size to other 100mm Macro lenses in the market but its wider magnification range allows macro photographers to capture subjects at any sizes. This 100mm f/2.8 lens can also focus to infinity and serve as a portrait lens with exceptional optics quality.

Canon RF mount version is equipped with a CPU chip and motor for aperture control via the camera. The lens is not currently compatible with electronic adapters. For people using on Sony FE mount cameras, please select the Sony FE option instead.

Canon RF 15-35mm f/2.8L IS Review (must have mirrorless lens)

Canon RF 15-35mm F/2.8L IS Review

In this Canon RF 15-35mm f/2.8L IS review Jared Polin discusses the benefits of one of the holy trinity lenses for the Canon EOS R full frame mirrorless system.

He says the Canon RF 15-35mm f/2.8L IS is a “must have” lens for the EOS R system.

More Canon RF 15-35mm f/2.8L IS review stuff is listed here.

Canon RF 15-35mm f/2.8L IS: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA

Click here to open the rest of the article

Canon RF vs EF Lenses – Is The New Generation Better?

Canon RF Vs EF 50mm F/1.2 EOS R System

Tom of BorrowLenses compares Canon lenses for different mount types in this Canon RF vs EF lens comparison.

Canon RF lenses are for the new Canon EOS R full frame mirrorless system, Canon EF lenses fit on Canon DSLRs (APS-C and FF). So, which are better? Are the RF lenses an improvement over EF lenses? For this purpose these lenses have been compared:

  • Canon RF 50mm 1.2L
  • Canon RF 24-105mm f/4L
  • Canon EF 50mm 1.2L
  • Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L

All tests done on a Canon EOS R (EF lenses mounted via adapter). And here is the video with the Canon RF vs EF lens comparison:

Canon puts a lot of emphasis on their new lens mount system, and for a good reason. Some of the so far released lenses are nothing less than spectacular. An interview with the engineers designing and developing RF mount lenses is here.

The Canon RF 50mm f/1.2L is one of the boutique lenses Canon made for the EOS R, the other is the Canon RF 28-70mm f/2L. If you have any doubt left that the RF versions are an improvement, then have a look what DxOMark says.

It’s also pretty interesting to read what the experts at LensRentals have to say after a teardown of the RF 50mm (emphasis mine):

[…] the R lenses are not only entirely new optics, they are also largely new electrical and mechanical systems. There are a lot of different things in here that we haven’t seen in any Canon EF lenses. Some of them we should have expected, like the increased electronics going to the control ring. Others we don’t really understand yet, like the tension spring in the ring USM motor or the increased electrical shielding.

[…] We also saw lots of new stuff we don’t completely understand yet and a level of complexity we weren’t expecting.

[…] the RF lenses contain some new technology they [Canon, editor’s note] haven’t used before. There’s a lot of engineering that’s gone into these. Things are different inside here. As we’ll see in the next teardown we do, some of that is carrying over to at least some EF lenses. What does this mean? It means Canon has invested very heavily into developing the lenses of the R system. This level of engineering didn’t all happen in the last year, they’ve been working on this for quite a while.

Guess there is definitely a lot of new technology in Canon RF lenses compared to EF lenses.

Canon Patent For Superfast Prime Lenses For The EOS R System

Canon Patent

If we believe the sheer number of Canon patent applications for RF lenses we must think Canon takes their EOS R full frame mirrorless system very seriously.

Canon patent application 2019-197095A (Japan) discusses the optical formulas for three very fast prime lenses for the RF mount. The lenses are 18 mm f/1, 18mm f/1.2, and 25mm f/1.2. 

  • Focal length: 18.51mm
  • F no: 1.24
  • ω : 49.45
  • Image height: 21.64mm
  • Lens length: 129.00mm
  • Back focus: 16.40mm
  • Focal length: 24.59mm
  • F no: 1.24
  • ω : 41.35
  • Image height: 21.64mm
  • Lens length: 129.01mm
  • Back focus: 13.57mm
  • Focal length: 18.50mm
  • F no: 1.03
  • ω : 49.47
  • Image height: 21.64mm
  • Lens length: 150.00mm
  • Back focus: 4.99mm

Don’t expect these lenses to be announced anytime soon.

More Canon patent applications are listed here. Some particularly interesting patent applications we think might get into production are these:

[via Hi Lows Note]