New Canon macro zoom lens to be released by the end of 2014

Canon is rumored to be working on a macro zoom lens that revolves around the 200mm mark and will be announced by the end of 2014.

As the “year of the lens” for Canon continues without the official launch of any lens, the rumor mill continues to spread gossip regarding the company’s plans for 2014.

Moreover, industry watchers are discovering lots of patents for new lenses, describing some products that may actually be unveiled this year.

New Canon macro zoom lens rumored to sport focal range around 200mm

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L IS USM Macro is one of the few telephoto macro lenses for EOS cameras. The company is rumored to announce a zoom model to fix this shortcoming by the end of 2014.

The latest discovery of the rumor mill consists of a new Canon macro zoom lens. This is not the first optic in its category to be rumored, but it may be the first to be released on the market with a focal range around 200mm.

Sources are claiming that the product is in the prototype phase, so the EOS maker is still tweaking it and trying to determine which are the final touches to be added to the lens.

One of them is to decide whether or not to add image stabilization technology. For what it’s worth, IS would be beneficial for capturing macro shots, so Canon will probably attract the interest of more customers by adding this system.

Canon’s macro lens will feature a constant maximum aperture

The gossip talks continue with a “confirmation” that the optic will feature a constant maximum aperture. Its value has not been leaked, albeit we should expect it to be a relatively bright one – most likely around f/4 – which could also be really useful in macro photography.

The leakster has mentioned that the lens provides a 2:1 macro ratio, but we should not rule out a 1:1 ratio when using it at its longest end. As usual, take it with a grain of salt because there is no evidence to back up the claims, so you should avoid any major disappointments.

Either way, sources have said that the new Canon macro zoom lens will be released by the end of the year and there is plenty of time left until then.

Two zoom lenses for Canon APS-C DSLR cameras patented in Japan

The latest Canon zoom lens patents describe two EF-S optics, both ending at 55mm and with f/3.5-5.6 aperture. However, one of them starts at 18mm, while the other one at 17mm.

In the meantime, Canon has patented two more lenses. Both of them are very similar, but only one of them will be released on the market.

The first is an EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM lens, which would become the kit lens for Canon EOS DSLRs with APS-C image sensor by replacing the current generation.

The second model is an EF-S 17-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM lens. There is a 1mm difference, so it remains to be seen whether the company will go wider or not. All will be revealed in 2014, so remember that patience is a virtue.