Newly published Canon patent shows design for 11-24mm f/4 ultra-wide-angle lens

If you’re a Canon full-frame DSLR shooter (like the EOS 5D Mark II or III), there may be an exciting new lens coming your way in the near future. According to the Japanese blog Egami, Canon Japan has filed a patent for a new 11-24mm f/4 full-frame lens. It would give Canon full-frame users an ultra-wide-angle glass that would let them get even more of the scene into the picture. Currently the closest you can get to this spec in Canon’s lens portfolio is the EF 8-15m f/4L Fisheye USM, but that lens gives you a distorted view as oppose to a more natural-looking wide image.

As Pop Photo says, the translated patent filing is a bit much to soak in. According to the Egami post (translated from Japanese via Google Translate), the patent was filed on June 29, 2012, but only just published on January 20, 2014. The lens has a 84mm lens diameter, 16 elements in 13 groups, four aspherical lenses, and two ultra-dispersion lenses. Egami compares the supposed Canon lens to the Nikon AF-S Nikkor 14-24mm F2.8G ED and Sigma 12-24mm F4.5-5.6 II DG HSM.

Like all patents, there’s no guarantee that this lens is actually being produced or will be produced. Companies often file patents and never do anything with them. But if the possibility of this lens excites you, it doesn’t hurt to start saving, because it probably won’t be cheap.

(Via Pop Photo via The Phoblographer/Canon Watch)