There have been rumors for a long time about another Canon zoom with a consistent aperture of f/2. Now a suitable patent has emerged.
Complement to the RF 28-70mm f/2
The Canon RF 28-70mm f/2 has been on the market for a full six years now. It was and is an extraordinary lens; no other manufacturer has ever been able to offer a consistent light intensity of f/2 at this focal length. In all likelihood, however, this will change shortly, as the rumor mill is very certain that Sony will introduce its own 28-70mm f/2 in a few days, which will also be significantly lighter and more compact compared to the Canon lens should.
As early as 2023, a source announced that Canon was working on another zoom lens with a consistent aperture of f/2. This new lens is intended to complement the RF 28-70mm f/2. The same source had also shared correct information about the RF 70-200mm f/2.8 with internal zoom, which has now been officially introduced – so it is quite possible that there is also something to the information about the second f/2 zoom.
Patent spotted for RF 70-150mm f/2 L IS USM
In keeping with this, a patent from Canon recently surfaced describing an RF 70-150mm f/2 L IS USM. The 70-150mm focal length would perfectly fit the description of “complements the 28-70mm” and as a result, some in the industry are currently holding out hope that Canon will actually bring such a lens to market.
How likely is that? Hard to say at the moment. In the past, we have repeatedly seen patents that actually led to a market-ready product, but many patents also come to nothing. In principle, Canon should undoubtedly be able to develop a 70-150mm f/2 – after all, they also brought a 28-70mm f/2 onto the market six years ago. Whether Canon considers the effort involved in the development to be worth it is another question.
There are also other patent variants that describe an RF 70-130mm f/2.0 L IS USM and an RF 70-150mm f/1.8 L IS USM.
Would you generally be interested in a 70-150mm f/2?
