Old L lenses that are still in production

[William W]

The zooms you listed cover the wide and standard ranges at f/4. They also have IS. They may not replace the lens without IS but people buying a lens would tend to go with one with IS if money permits.

The zooms mentioned were the 16-35/4 IS and 24-70/4 IS and, as also mentioned it occurs that those are not Series II or IS upgrades but rather different lenses to the still in production 17-40/4 and 24-105/4 IS lenses.

Taking each separately and excluding budget, there would be other considerations in the buying choice than just the consideration of IS: in fact for certain genres of photography, IS might not be a buying criterion at all. For some examples –

16 to 35/4 L IS vs. 17 to 40 /4 L - The extra 5mm of the 17 to 40 is a consideration; lighter weight of the 17 to 40 is a consideration.

24 to 70 F/4 L IS vs. 24 to 105 F/4 L IS - The extra 35mm of the 24 to 105 is a consideration; the even number of blades of the 24 to 105 is a consideration (odd number of blades on the 24 to 70 F/4 L IS.

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Are you aware that there are 4 in production 70-200mm tele zooms? It comes to the surprise of a lot of photogs.

Yes. No surprise. Also, by the way, I have used all 5 (five) of the Canon 70 to 200 L Lenses and have many field tests with various of the Extenders EF Ver II and III with those lenses, which, incidentally have been cited as examples in previous conversations in this forum:, mentioned only an example of the first hand familiarity I have with that particular set of L Lenses.


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"Film optics" are lenses designed for film that may show their design flaws when paired with a digital camera with very high photosite (pixel) density. Cameras like the Canon 5Ds R fit this description. This problem only concerns those who put image quality at a very high priority. Some older lenses have a certain look that is identified to a certain time period like say the 60s, 70s, 80s and even 90s that may not be to the liking of today's photographers. Canon CPS Europe published a list of lenses recommended by that body. It has since been removed as it was creating an Osborne Effect

Thanks for explaining your meaning of “film optics”.

Although Canon removed their website posting “Canon’s recommended lenses for EOS 5DS and EOS 5DS R” there seems to be no record that the reason for that removal was because of the Osborne Effect; but it may be so - that's an interesting opinion.

It is also noted however the removal of that posting from Canon's CPN European Website was after a more detailed document was delivered to the CPN Fraternity. The readers of this thread might be interested in this (rather long) extract of that document which I have in my CPN correspondence.

BTW, and as some very small points: it is noted note that the phrase “film optics” is not used in the Canon CPN document nor on their web page posting and having never noted the phrase used before was the reason why clarification of its meaning was asked.

It’s interesting to also note that it is not only L series lenses which are Canon’s recommendations for the 5Ds.

I think that there is a typo in the original document in so far as the lens “EF200mm f/2L II USM” probably should read “EF200mm f/2L IS USM”. Here is the extract which is copyright Canon CPN Network and reproduced here in part, under Australian Copyright Law for purposes of Education:

Mike Burnhill, Professional Imaging Technical Support program manager, Canon Europe, said: “The EF system goes back 27 years now and some of these lenses available today were designed back in the days of film. The technical demands of digital cameras on lenses has meant there has been a need to update lenses over a period of time to match newer cameras’ capabilities.”

“The EOS 5DS and EOS 5DS R have the capability to produce a stunning amount of detail and in order to resolve all that fine detail then obviously you need to make sure you are using the best lenses on the market. To get the best out of these cameras you need to put the very best piece of glass in front of the sensor.”

“The optical advantages of these new generation of L series lenses are considerable.”

“They include a higher resolution and the ability to resolve more detail, better edge to edge sharpness and higher contrast thanks to better coatings, and less loss of light caused by internal reflections.”

“While the Digital Lens Optimiser function in Canon’s Digital Photo Professional software will reduce any chromatic aberrations to some extent, we still recommend using the latest lenses for superior results.”

“Everyone has a slightly different perspective on how they view the world but as an example the EF1635mm f/4L IS USM is an ideal general lens and much sharper than the old EF1740mm f/4L USM it replaced, for example. Likewise the EF2470mm f/2.8L II USM is a superb lens for photojournalists.”

“As a general rule, any EF lens introduced after 2010 would be an ideal starting point to fully exploit the detail from the EOS 5DS and EOS 5DS R.”

“We recommend anyone looking to upgrade their lenses to go to their nearest Canon Authorised Dealer where they should be able to see the quality for themselves. With the launch of the 5DS and 5DS R, rather than bundling the camera with a standard zoom we are running a promotion allowing
the customers to select a lens from a selection of recommend lenses to be purchased together with the body at a discount.”

“Canon recommends the following lenses for getting the best from the EOS 5DS and EOS 5DS R”

[Begin Document]

June 2015 - Canon’s recommended lenses for EOS 5DS and EOS 5DS R

Canon has released its official list of recommended lenses to use with the high resolution EOS 5DS and EOS 5DS R cameras, launched to critical acclaim earlier this year and now officially on sale throughout its authorised Professional Imaging Partners.

The lenses, which are Canon’s latest generation optics, cover all genres of photography and offer photographers the very best image quality with stunning sharpness and contrast perfectly matched to get the best from the incredible 50.6 Megapixel sensor.

Wide angle fixed focal lenses
TSE17mm f/4L
TSE24mm f/3.5L II
EF24mm f/1.4L II USM
EF24mm f/2.8 IS USM
EF28mm f/2.8 IS USM
EF35mm f/2 IS USM

Telephoto fixed focal length lenses
EF85mm f/1.2L II USM
EF85mm f/1.8 USM
TSE90mm f/2.8
EF100mm f/2 USM
EF100mm f/2.8 Macro USM
EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM
EF135mm f/2.0L USM
EF200mm f/2L II USM
EF200mm f/2.8L II USM
EF300mm f/2.8L IS II USM
EF400mm f/2.8L IS II USM
EF400mm f/4 DO IS II USM
EF500mm f/4L IS II USM
EF600mm f/4L IS II USM
EF800mm f/5.6L IS USM

Standard fixed focal lenses
EF40mm f/2.8 STM
EF50mm f/1.2L USM
EF50mm f/1.4 USM
EF50mm f/1.8 II
EF50mm f/2.5 Compact Macro

Zoom lenses
EF8-15mm f/4L Fisheye USM
EF11-24mm f/4L USM
EF16-35mm f/4L IS USM
EF24-70mm f/2.8L II USM
EF24-70mm f/4L IS USM
EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM
EF70-200mm f/4L USM
EF70-300mm f/45.6L IS USM
EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM
EF200-400mm f/4L IS USM EXTENDER 1.4x

[End Document]

WW

- - - Updated - - -

[re EF 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6L IS USM] I never understood why Canon made an L build super zoom in the first place. It must still sell in sufficient numbers to make it production viable, will not surprise me when it drops out of the range though.

It replaced the EF 35 to 350L which is a lens I have used. The purpose and main reason for choice of that lens (and Canon gear because Canon had that lens) was a legislative limitation on gear one could carry: one camera and lens was only allowed. I think that there are still some places in the world where this limitation is operative and may be enforced especially for journalists.

I think that it is not so much the sales of the individual lens which makes it viable. Once the lens is designed and produced, the mere fact of having it available is a draw card and it doesn't really cost that much more to keep the lens in production. Spare parts and especially the various country's legislation to keep spare parts available is the main cost I expect, but Canon and most companies charges the earth for spare parts anyway.

In any case it [EF 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6L IS USM] will always be a “boutique lens” in so far as it has limited appeal and/or limited usages – and it is far less costly to keep manufacturing than the 1200L, (just as an extreme comparative example) and I guess that’s why the 1200L is no longer produced - because there is enough of them in the world and they have very limited use: as an example, I think the last use of a 1200L in AUS. was the Sydney 2000 Olympics, for the Rowing. And it is seriously a very "big" lens.

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None of the primes mentioned are particularly fast compared to their premium zoom equivalent. That makes it more difficult for them to compete with these zooms, where as primes that are faster can and people will pay the extra for them. . . It is an interesting state of play that these primes continue to be made unchanged. Updating them is probably commercially unviable with zooms as their competition, but it would leave a hole for many to remove them since they are still very good lenses if not the best they could be. I don't see them being phased out in a hurry, or Canon seeing any great threat to their bottom line with newer alternatives from the competition.

I concur. Moreover, I think these points are integral to the discussion and are eloquently and precisely expressed.

WW