Canon’s Latest Lens Patents

credits: Canon

Canon has filed a new set of lens patents in Japan, outlining three very interesting designs, a 130mm f/1.8, a 300mm f/2.8, and a 500mm f/5.6. As always with patents, there is no guarantee any of these will actually become real products, but they do give us a glimpse into what Canon is at least exploring for the RF system.

The most unusual of the three is the 130mm f/1.8 (technically closer to 128mm in the patent). On paper, it overlaps quite a bit with Canon’s existing RF 135mm f/1.8L, which is already a large and expensive lens. The patent version is actually described as even longer, which makes it harder to see where it would fit unless Canon had something very specific in mind. In contrast, the 300mm f/2.8 looks much more straightforward. Canon has not released an RF version of this classic focal length yet, even though it was a staple in the EF lineup. The patent describes a lens around 273mm in length, which would make it noticeably more compact than the current RF 100–300mm f/2.8 zoom.

The third lens, a 500mm f/5.6, is also interesting, especially for wildlife photographers. The patent suggests a lens just under 300mm long, putting it in a similar size class to older EF telephotos like the 400mm f/5.6. That kind of design could offer a balance between reach, size, and cost, which is something the RF lineup currently lacks. Of course, these are still just patents, but they show Canon is at least considering filling some of the more obvious gaps in its telephoto range.