Canon Patent - EF 1000mm f/5.6 DO IS Lens

Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L IS lens

My readers know I am a fan of Canon's Diffractive Optics technology. The current EF 400mm f/4 DO IS II is my favorite Super Telephoto lens when I want to travel light on my wildlife photography tours. You can see my equipment bag and works on MichaelDanielHo.com. Canon has been working to perfect the DO technology since the first EF 400mm f/4 DO IS lens came out in 2001. The EF 600mm f/4 DO BR lens was showcased in last year's Canon EXPO at New York City.

In April, a new Canon DO patent has been uncovered for the APS-C sensor. The new design has a focal length of 50-300mm f/4.5-6 with STM. The current EF 800mm f/5.6L IS is Canon longest Telephoto lens. It is heavy and the technology is aging. Canon has been toying with the ideal of replacing it with a Series II model. But now another DO patent has been discovered by Egami. It is the EF 1000mm f/5.6 DO IS lens.

This will be ultimate in Super Telephoto Diffractive Optics design. If Canon can bring this lens out with a top weight of around 8 to 9 pounds and pack it with the latest DO BR technology, I will be a buyer for sure. Nikon saw the value in DO lens design last year but is much further behind than Canon in this technology. They announced the Phase Fresnel (PF) 300mm f/4 lens in January 2015. Fresnel lenses were originally developed by the French physicist, Augustin-Jean Fresnel for use in lighthouses.


Patent Publication No. 2016-102852 (Google Translated)

• Published 2016.6.2
• Filing date 2014.11.27
• Zoom ratio 1.00
• Focal length 950.00
• F-number 5.80
• Angle of view 1.30
• Image height 21.64
• Overall length of the lens 485.94
• BF 0.40
• Canon patent
• Positive and negative Shibomake
• Diffractive optical element (first group)
• Inner focus (the second group)

Will There Be A Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L II Lens?

Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L IS Super Telephoto lens

In my earlier post, I talked about which cameras and lens to expect from Canon in 2016. The EF 800mm f/5.6L II is considered a long shot. Although Canon has multiple patents covering its replacement, including perhaps a built-in extender version, much like the current EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM 1.4x Extender, it is considered highly unlike such a model will be made due to the optical limitations and added weight. There is however a new Canon patent for the EF 200-600mm f/4.5-5.6L lens but it does not appear to be a Super Telephoto model.

My readers know I am a big fan of Canon Diffractive Optics (DO) lens. I bought their first Super Telephoto EF 400mm f/4 DO in the mid 2000s and was very happy with it even knowing its limitations. As a wildlife photographer, I had to trade a little bit of sharpness for the unmatched mobility the lens offers. Then in 2014, Canon announced the EF 400mm f/4 DO IS II and the tradeoff is gone. It has been almost 15 years since Canon released the first DO lens and they have pretty much perfected the technology. Recently, at the Canon Expo 2015, they exhibited the EF 600mm f/4 DO BR lens.

Together with the EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM 1.4x Extender, EF 600mm f/4L IS II and EF 600mm f/4 DO BR lens, the need for a big EF 800mm diminishes. That is why I am not certain Canon will even announce a replacement to the current EF 800mm f/5.6L IS lens any time soon. More to come . . . . .