Canon has produced some mightily innovative and unusual RF mount lenses in the last few years, and it seems they have no intention of stopping. New patents show the company is dreaming up more lenses with extreme designs.
The patents, reported by Canon Rumors, detail three new designs:
- RF 100-600mm f/5.6-9
- RF 200-800mm f/5.6-9
- RF-S 20-150mm f/4-8
The two full frame lenses are particularly interesting, as they have especially wide focal length ranges, which would make them highly valuable to creatives like wildlife and sports photographers, who often need to make large focal length changes in very short periods of time. 150-600mm lenses have become rather popular in the last decade, but the 200-800mm would be rather unprecedented. Sigma introduced the 300–800mm f/5.6 EX DG HSM, affectionately known as the "Sigmonster," back in 2005, which is about the closest we have seen to such a lens in recent times, at least in my memory.
Without a doubt, we would not see both of these lenses, given their significant overlap. In fact, we might not see either (or the RF-S option), as patents do not guarantee that a product will make it to the market, but certainly, such lenses would likely be highly sought after.
Well if they actually make these lenses, then that is a big step in the right direction. For Canon to lock 3rd party lenses out, and then not make anything like the 3rd party lenses, is doing their customers a great disservice. But if they start to actually make the type of lenses that the 3rd party lensmakers have been making, then Canon users could live with the 3rd party prohibition.
Personally, I have left Canon because they don't make the lenses I need, and now they won't let the 3rd party companies make them either. I would probably return to Canon someday if they start making a lot more lenses than they currently do, and offer a much greater selection of unusual niche lenses like some of the 3rd parties do.