Canon has long been known for pushing the boundaries of lens design, but their latest patent is extreme, even by their standards.
A new patent filing hints at an ambitious leap in lens design: a 24mm lens with an f/0.7 aperture. This combination of ultra-wide and ultra-fast is rare, typically hindered by size, weight, cost, optical compromises, and pretty much whatever else you can think of.
According to Canon Rumors, this intriguing development stems from Canon's patent application JP 2025-040484, which outlines a compact optical system aiming to merge a wide field of view with an exceptionally large aperture. Historically, lenses like the Zeiss Planar 50mm f/0.7—originally developed for NASA's Apollo missions and later used by Kubrick in "Barry Lyndon"—have achieved such apertures, but at longer focal lengths. A 24mm lens at f/0.7 would be unprecedented, potentially offering photographers and filmmakers new creative possibilities in low-light scenarios.
Achieving this design involves overcoming significant technical challenges. Wide angle lenses at such apertures often suffer from issues like coma, field curvature, and focus breathing. Moreover, the shorter flange distance in mirrorless camera systems leaves less room for internal lens elements, complicating the design further. Canon's patent suggests solutions to these problems, including innovative use of internal focusing groups to minimize composition shifts during focusing.
While the patent demonstrates Canon's commitment to pushing optical boundaries, it's important to note that not all patents result in commercial products. Frankly, I'd be extraordinarily surprised to see an f/0.7 lens, but perhaps Canon is seeing how far they can push things to find a Goldilocks lens in the middle — perhaps f/1.0? We'll see.
I will believe it when I see it. This lens would be insanely exciting but I suspect the reason no one has done it to date on a modern mount is because it is so hard to execute this sort of lens but still meet modern expectations of image quality.
I hope it does come true, it would be such a cool new offering, though I am sure the price tag will be bonkers if Nikon's 58mm 0.95 is a predictor.
Canon can patent whatever it wants.
They still re-released the 75-300mm f/4.0-5.6 from 1999 for RF mount.
But who am I to complain about the 2nd brightest 300mm lens in the Canon RF lineup...