Canon News: Pair of wide-angle lenses announced

In what has been billed by Canon as the 'year of the lens' (we're still waiting, but perhaps another reason to look forward to the World Cup!), Canon have announced two new wide angle lenses into their extensive line-up of EF lenses for EOS DLSRs.

Canon EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM

Canon EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM

• High performance L-series ultra-wide zoom lens in a compact design and Optical Image Stabilizer for up to four stops of correction*.
• Three aspheric lens elements, including a large-diameter aspheric lens, help correct aberration.
• Two UD lens elements help reduce chromatic aberration from the center to the periphery throughout the entire zoom range for excellent image quality with high resolution and contrast.
• Optimized lens coatings help provide excellent color balance while also helping to minimize ghosting.
• Highly resistant to dust and water intrusion, enabling shooting even in harsh conditions**.
• Inner focusing and ring USM for silent, fast and accurate autofocusing.
• Circular aperture (9 blades) delivers beautiful, soft backgrounds.
• Minimum focusing distance of 0.92 ft/0.28m across entire zoom range.
• Full-time manual focus allows manual focus adjustment while in AF Mode.

* Based on CIPS (Camera & Imaging Products Association) standards. Testing performed using EOS-1D X Digital SLR camera at focal length of 35mm (35mm equivalent).
** Requires a Canon PROTECT filter (sold separately) to be mounted.

I'm lucky enough to have the f/2.8 version of this lens (which doesn't have image stabilisation), and found it a really useful focal range - 35mm is useful as a walkaround lens, and 16mm really does give an impressively wide persepctive (on a full-frame body, at least).

Canon EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM

Designed only for cameras with the APS-C sensor (cropped), this lens creates an incredibly wide perspective.

Canon EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM

• EF-S ultra wide zoom lens with an impressive starting focal length (16mm in 35mm equivalence).
• Compact design made possible by a new 4 group zoom optical system.
• A stepping motor (STM) and newly-designed focus mechanism support the Canon EOS Movie Servo AF function to provide smooth and quiet continuous AF during video recording, as well as when shooting photos.
• A large diameter element and an aspherical lens element help correct aberration to achieve higher image quality
• One UD lens element helps reduce chromatic aberration throughout the zoom range for excellent image quality with high resolution and contrast.
• Optical Image Stabilizer for up to four stops of correction*.
• Enhanced lens coatings help ensure outstanding color balance while minimizing ghosting and flare.
• Circular aperture (7 blades) creates beautiful, soft backgrounds.
• Rear focusing system, high-speed CPU and improved AF algorithm allow high speed autofocus.
• Full-time manual focus allows manual focus adjustment while in AF Mode.

*Based on CIPA (Camera & Imaging Products Association) standards. Testing performed using the EOS 7D Digital SLR camera at a focal length of 18mm (29mm in 35mm equivalence).

Nikon News: AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/4G ED VR lens announced

Nikon have announced a new 70-200mm lens, the  AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/4G ED VR.

• FX-format telephoto zoom lens with 70–200mm focal range (105–300mm when used with a Nikon DX-format SLR).
• Constant f/4 aperture throughout the zoom range.
• Vibration Reduction (VR) system: minimizes camera shake and lets you shoot at shutter speeds up to five stops slower.
• Nano Crystal Coat greatly reduces ghosting and flare.
• SWM (Silent Wave Motor) enables quiet and accurate autofocus.
• Two focus modes: A/M (autofocus with manual override, AF priority) and M (manual focus).
• Minimum focus distance: 1 m.
• Lightweight body for a telephoto zoom lens.
• RT-1 tripod collar ring (optional accessory): enables the lens to be rotated freely for smooth transition between vertical and horizontal orientation.

More details here.

Canon News: New 24-70mm and 35mm lenses

Canon have launched a couple of new lenses, details below:

Canon EF 24-70mm f/4 L IS USM

A versatile 24-70mm f/4 L-series lens with macro mode for up to 0.7x magnification. Ultrasonic AF provides fast, near-silent focusing. UD and aspherical elements deliver superb image quality.

• Versatile zoom range for a variety of subjects
• Macro mode for up to 0.7x magnification
• Up to four-stop Image Stabilizer
• Two aspherical and two UD lens elements
• Fast ultrasonic AF
• Sealed against dust and moisture
• Nine-bladed aperture for soft bokeh 

More details here.

 

 Canon EF 35mm f/2 IS USM

A 35mm prime lens with a four-stop Image Stabilizer and f/2 maximum aperture – ideal for low-light photography. Ultrasonic AF is fast and accurate. An aspherical lens element boosts image quality.

• Up to four stops of image stablisation
• Fast f/2 maximum aperture
• Ultrasonic AF for quick and accurate focusing
• Compact, lightweight design
• Eight-bladed aperture for smooth bokeh
• Moulded glass elements for consistent sharpness
• 0.24m minimum focus distance

More details here.

Canon News: Updated 'Big Dogs' announced

After a bit of a pause, Canon have now offically announced the upgrades to two of its flagship L lenses - the new 500mm f/4 L IS II and 600mm f/4 L IS II.

  


They're not exactly cheap at £8999 and £11299 respectively, but come with some new features to tempt you:

• They're much lighter (but still 3.2kg and 3.9kg respectively)
• Redesigned internal optics
• Improved image stabilisation
• water-repellant Fluorine coatings on front and back lenses

 More details are here (500mm) and here (600mm)

Canon News: 200-400 f/4 L IS USM Extender 1.4x on its way

As part of a clutch of new announcements from Canon, the one that's caught my eye is that Canon are developing a new lens - a 200-400mm f/4 L IS USM lens... with an incorporated 1.4x extender (extending the range to 280-560mm - on a non-cropped body).

It's due out in 2011 and has the potential to offer a great compromise of useful telephoto focal length, relatively low aperture and hopefully weight.  Lions in the Masai Mara will have to get used to perfecting their smiles looking into this I think...

Pricing is hard to guess, but Nikon's 200-400 f/4 in the UK is around £5k, so it's certainly going to a painful upgrade for those looking to move from their 100-400 lens.

 

Nikon News: new 200–400mm f/4G ED VR II lens

Nikon have launched new zoom lens - the AF-S NIKKOR 200-400 F/4G ED VR II:
Key features:

• Versatile super-telephoto zoom lens
  Powerful super-telephoto zoom lens that’s perfect for sports and wildlife shooting offering constant maximum aperture and VR II Image Stabilization.

• Nikon VR II (Vibration Reduction) Image Stabilization
  Vibration Reduction, engineered specifically for each VR NIKKOR lens, enables handheld shooting at up to 4 shutter speeds slower than would otherwise be possible, assuring dramatically sharper still images and video capture.

• Nano Crystal Coat
  Further reduces ghosting and interior flare across a wide range of wavelengths for even greater image clarity.

• 4 Extra-low Dispersion (ED) Elements
  Offers superior sharpness and color correction by effectively minimizing chromatic aberration, even at the widest aperture settings.

• Three Focus Modes
  A/M mode joins the familiar M/A and M modes, enhancing AF control versatility with fast, secure switching between auto and manual focus to accommodate personal shooting techniques.

• Internal Focus (IF)
  Provides fast and quiet autofocus without changing the length of the lens, retaining working distance throughout the focus range.

• Exclusive Nikon Silent Wave Motor (SWM)
  Enables fast, accurate and quiet autofocus.

• Nikon Super Integrated Coating (SIC)
  Enhances light transmission efficiency and offers superior color consistency and reduced flare.

• Rugged Construction
  Featuring enhanced dust and moisture-resistance, magnesium die-cast barrel construction and a protective meniscus front lens.

• Close Auto Focusing to 6.6 feet at all focal lengths
  Focus to 6.6 feet using AF or 6.4 feet using manual focus enabling striking image perspectives.

• Rounded 9-Blade Diaphragm
  Renders more natural appearance of out-of-focus image areas.

• Compatible with TC-14EII (AF/MF), TC-17EII (MF), TC-20EII (MF) and TC-20EIII (MF) Teleconverters.

More details available here.

What (and when) will Canon respond with...?