# Two Canon Lenses to Be Announced on June 7, 2018



## Canon Rumors Guy (Jun 4, 2018)

```
<p>We’re told that the Canon will announce two new lenses on June 7, 2018 at 12:00AM EST.</p>
<p>We’re expecting to see the long rumored EF 70-200mm f/4L IS II and EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS III to be announced.</p>
<p>Update: image of the EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS III</p>
<p><a href="http://www.canonrumors.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/canon.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-35217" src="http://www.canonrumors.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/canon-728x1002.jpg" alt="" width="728" height="1002" srcset="http://www.canonrumors.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/canon-728x1002.jpg 728w, http://www.canonrumors.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/canon-418x575.jpg 418w, http://www.canonrumors.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/canon-768x1057.jpg 768w, http://www.canonrumors.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/canon-163x225.jpg 163w, http://www.canonrumors.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/canon.jpg 1162w" sizes="(max-width: 728px) 100vw, 728px" /></a></p>
<p><em>More to come…</em></p>
<span id="pty_trigger"></span>
```


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## ahsanford (Jun 4, 2018)

It appears that Canon still believes that the world is not ready to have their minds blown by the EF-M 85mm f/2.4 IS STM pancake.

- A


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## FTb-n (Jun 4, 2018)

The Canon EF 70-200 f2.8 IS Mark II is the best lens in its class. A Mark III must offer something phenominal for current Mark II owners to upgrade.

Meanwhile, Canon does not offer a 50mm that is sharp wide open or a 50 mm with IS. I would thinbk that 50 f1.4 with IS would sell quick. So why upgrade the 70-200 f2.8 before the 50 f1.4?


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## MartinF. (Jun 4, 2018)

FTb-n said:


> The Canon EF 70-200 f2.8 IS Mark II is the best lens in its class. A Mark III must offer something phenominal for current Mark II owners to upgrade.
> 
> Meanwhile, Canon does not offer a 50mm that is sharp wide open or a 50 mm with IS. I would thinbk that 50 f1.4 with IS would sell quick. So why upgrade the 70-200 f2.8 before the 50 f1.4?



My guess is the new lenses will have a new communication protocol between lens and (new) EF mount camera (mentioned in another post).


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## dkangel (Jun 4, 2018)

FTb-n said:


> The Canon EF 70-200 f2.8 IS Mark II is the best lens in its class. A Mark III must offer something phenominal for current Mark II owners to upgrade.
> 
> Meanwhile, Canon does not offer a 50mm that is sharp wide open or a 50 mm with IS. I would thinbk that 50 f1.4 with IS would sell quick. So why upgrade the 70-200 f2.8 before the 50 f1.4?



I am totally with you. I hope the Mark III rumor is wrong and a 50 1.4 shows up to accompany the 35 and 85.


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## stevelee (Jun 5, 2018)

I haven't had occasion to put my 50mm f/1.4 on my FF camera, so I can't comment on its performance in that situation. I bought to it be an 80mm equivalent on my Rebel, for portraits and such. Wide open any softness in the corners was a feature, not a bug, or at least irrelevant, since the corners had distant things that were way out of focus anyway.


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## unfocused (Jun 5, 2018)

FTb-n said:


> The Canon EF 70-200 f2.8 IS Mark II is the best lens in its class. A Mark III must offer something phenominal for current Mark II owners to upgrade.
> 
> Meanwhile, Canon does not offer a 50mm that is sharp wide open or a 50 mm with IS. I would thinbk that 50 f1.4 with IS would sell quick. So why upgrade the 70-200 f2.8 before the 50 f1.4?



This has already been thoroughly discussed.

Canon does not need to sell a single Mark III to an existing Mark II owner in order for this lens to be a success. This is one of Canon's best selling (possibly is Canon's best selling) "L" lens. Between new buyers and professionals needing to replace older, well-used Mark IIs, there is more than sufficient market for this lens to be a success. 

While you might think an upgraded 50 f1.4 with IS would sell quickly, only Canon has the data to prove or disprove that.


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## traveller (Jun 5, 2018)

FTb-n said:


> The Canon EF 70-200 f2.8 IS Mark II is *was* the best lens in its class. A Mark III must offer something phenominal _[sic]_for current Mark II owners to upgrade.


The Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8e is superior, especially at 135mm. Of course this doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with the EF 70-200f/2.8L IS II, but it is a flagship pro lens and Canon really care about bragging rights. 
https://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2016/11/nikon-70-200mm-f2-8e-fl-ed-af-s-vr-mtf-tests/



FTb-n said:


> Meanwhile, Canon does not offer a 50mm that is sharp wide open or a 50 mm with IS. I would thinbk _[sic]_that 50 f1.4 with IS would sell quick. So why upgrade the 70-200 f2.8 before the 50 f1.4?


I’m guessing because they sell far more copies of the 70-200 f/2.8 lenses. The 70-200 f/2.8 L USM replaced the 80-200 f/2.8 L in 1995; the 70-200 f/2.8L IS USM was released in 2001, which was in turn replaced by the version II in 2010. It is therefore not unreasonable to expect a new model to be released in 2018.


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## ahsanford (Jun 5, 2018)

unfocused said:


> While you might think an upgraded 50 f1.4 with IS would sell quickly, only Canon has the data to prove or disprove that.



I hate to +1 this, but the proof is in the pudding, and the pudding tastes like fast pro zooms getting regularly updated. This is what Canon does.

The 50s will come, but the flagship pro zooms are the staple professional instruments that have to remain top top top drawer.

- A


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## sanj (Jun 5, 2018)

Thank you for the information Canon Rumors. Thumbs up!


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## drmikeinpdx (Jun 5, 2018)

*My Prediction*

I predict no performance improvements, just some kind of wireless connectivity gimmick for the hipster photographers of tomorrow. Maybe you will be able to control the zoom with your phone or over the internet. Maybe you will be able to post your lens data directly to Instagram and Canon Rumors? These will be the first lenses that can be fully integrated with social media.

Of course you will have to watch several Youtube videos to learn how to program your lens and make it connect to the network. And no doubt it will lose the connection every time it is turned off.


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## ahsanford (Jun 5, 2018)

*Re: My Prediction*



drmikeinpdx said:


> I predict no performance improvements, just some kind of wireless connectivity gimmick for the hipster photographers of tomorrow. Maybe you will be able to control the zoom with your phone or over the internet. Maybe you will be able to post your lens data directly to Instagram and Canon Rumors? These will be the first lenses that can be fully integrated with social media.
> 
> Of course you will have to watch several Youtube videos to learn how to program your lens and make it connect to the network. And no doubt it will lose the connection every time it is turned off.



I predict that your prediction is not going to happen. 8)

- A


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## DaveGrice (Jun 5, 2018)

FTb-n said:


> The Canon EF 70-200 f2.8 IS Mark II is the best lens in its class. A Mark III must offer something phenominal for current Mark II owners to upgrade.
> 
> Meanwhile, Canon does not offer a 50mm that is sharp wide open or a 50 mm with IS. I would thinbk that 50 f1.4 with IS would sell quick. So why upgrade the 70-200 f2.8 before the 50 f1.4?



100% with you. Give me a better 50 before an (even better) 70-200. I'm completely satisfied today with the 70-200. The 50.... not so much.


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## Patlezinc (Jun 5, 2018)

I was believing what CR wrote here , finally no new 70-200 this year, and now another contradicting news.
The problem is I just bought the 70-200 f4 IS yesterday... I was ready to take the v2...
Not happy reader here...


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## Canondude2018 (Jun 5, 2018)

FTb-n said:


> The Canon EF 70-200 f2.8 IS Mark II is the best lens in its class. A Mark III must offer something phenominal for current Mark II owners to upgrade.
> 
> Meanwhile, Canon does not offer a 50mm that is sharp wide open or a 50 mm with IS. I would thinbk that 50 f1.4 with IS would sell quick. So why upgrade the 70-200 f2.8 before the 50 f1.4?



Why would Canon offer IS for it's 50mm 1.4 when it still sells the 1.2? The only one who would get IS would be an upgrade to the current 1.2.


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## photonius (Jun 5, 2018)

MartinF. said:


> FTb-n said:
> 
> 
> > The Canon EF 70-200 f2.8 IS Mark II is the best lens in its class. A Mark III must offer something phenominal for current Mark II owners to upgrade.
> ...



Yes, given the patent for new lens communication protocols (backward compatible), and the upcoming new FF mirrorless bodies, it would make sense to release new versions of the 70-200 lenses, which are essential lenses for any FF system. If the new communication protocol is indeed something like USB, then of course you might be able to control anything with it, depending on the capabilities of the lens, i.e. a motorised zoom, or programmable zoom, focus, and aperture for video sequences, etc.


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## symmar22 (Jun 5, 2018)

Patlezinc said:


> I was believing what CR wrote here , finally no new 70-200 this year, and now another contradicting news.
> The problem is I just bought the 70-200 f4 IS yesterday... I was ready to take the v2...
> Not happy reader here...



I don't think you should be worried too much, if you know how to use a camera and lenses, the 70-200 f4 IS should give you full satisfaction. I use it most of the time instead of the f2.8 IS II that I find too cumbersome and it never disappointed me. On my 5DSr it is as sharp if not sharper than the 2.8, and none of my clients ever complained.

It's only negative would be the slightly noisy IS.

I was in the same situation when I finally bought the 45 TS-E a few month before the 50mm TS-E was announced. I was a bit pissed in the first place, and the 50 is much better optically than the 45... But, the 45 cost me 750 Euro used like new when the 50 is more than 3 times that, and finally I prefer the 45mm focal for my use, the terrible chroma can mostly be dealt with in post and its a much smaller lens, once again sharpness is a non issue. 

I am not so sure I will replace my 45 and 90 TS-E with the newest models. I am not a fan of Ken Rockwell (sorry if I bring his name here ), but he is right about one thing at least, sharpness is only a concern for amateurs. Every modern lens is sharp enough, the real optical problems are elsewhere (chroma, coma, distortion, field flatness) and ergonomics are more important in real use (filter size, size and weight, MFD). I work with Canon, but my personal photography is made with a 4x5 view camera that uses lenses designed mostly in the 1970's and that never stop to amaze me. I use as well Zeiss , Leica and Olympus lenses adapted on my old 5D2, and image quality is not a problem.

One of the problem with the most recent super sharp lenses is they are quite clinical. It's OK for some uses (architecture, macro, landscape, studio) and a lot of professional applications, but they have zero character. IMO, the imperfection of some lenses make them desirable for a lot of other uses, in the creative sense. 

I am thinking about buying the 50mm1.2L not because it's super sharp, but because everything else (bokeh and softness) that give the special look. I am not interested in the least in a Zeiss Otus or Sigma Art, my 50 macro f2.5 does the job perfectly if I want a zero distortion, flat field super sharp picture, it cost me 250€ and weighs 280 gramms.

I am sure you will be fully satisfied with your 70-200mm f4 IS, plus you don't know yet how much the new one will cost. Even if you use a 5DSr on a tripod all the time (which is what I do), I am not sure the slight supposed optical improvement would matter that much. On the ergonomic side, to be honest, we are already close to perfection. If only Canon would have been less greedy and include the tripod collar, the world would be perfect...


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## Patlezinc (Jun 5, 2018)

Thanks Symmar.

Yes, i have seen some full res shots on a 5d3 at 200mm before buying the 70-200 and I have been impressed by the IQ. I have some really good primes and I am probably a bit demanding about IQ. This zoom seems really good and I paid it 720€ with a tripod collar and a filter so it is sure I save about 600€ compared to the v2. 
Will receive it Thursday 

(The 85 L IS is very recent and it’s IS does noise too)


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## jeffa4444 (Jun 5, 2018)

FTb-n said:


> The Canon EF 70-200 f2.8 IS Mark II is the best lens in its class. A Mark III must offer something phenominal for current Mark II owners to upgrade.
> 
> Meanwhile, Canon does not offer a 50mm that is sharp wide open or a 50 mm with IS. I would thinbk that 50 f1.4 with IS would sell quick. So why upgrade the 70-200 f2.8 before the 50 f1.4?



The Sony FE 70-200mm f2.8 G Master lens is actually slightly better optically it certainly controls CAs better and as Sony has targeted Canon customers with its G Master lenses I can see why Canon would want to come back at them. Personally I don't like the ergonomics of the Sony A7 series of cameras so I'm not going to move over to Sony but we have noticed more & more rentals of Sony lenses and camera bodies its not really affecting Canon rentals but it is Nikon and I'm sure Canon has much better intel. than I do to pass judgement.


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## Stuart (Jun 5, 2018)

MartinF. said:


> FTb-n said:
> 
> 
> > The Canon EF 70-200 f2.8 IS Mark II is the best lens in its class. A Mark III must offer something phenominal for current Mark II owners to upgrade.
> ...



I'm with you, these lenses are identical to the current versions, except they have the new mirrorless comms function.
Its not being upgraded for optical performance - just for new body acceptance.


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## rrcphoto (Jun 5, 2018)

FTb-n said:


> The Canon EF 70-200 f2.8 IS Mark II is the best lens in its class.



it was for quite a few years, i'm not sure you can make that claim now. Both the Sony 70-200 and the Nikon 70-200 2.8's are excellent competitors.

this is also an area that canon usually has bragging rights as being the best, so i'm sure they want to improve themselves over their competitors.

as the race for better camera bodies becomes alot more diminishing returns, the system kits become that much more important.


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## jeffa4444 (Jun 5, 2018)

symmar22 said:


> Patlezinc said:
> 
> 
> > I was believing what CR wrote here , finally no new 70-200 this year, and now another contradicting news.
> ...


Your bang on the money regarding the clinical sharpness & less character. In my professional field of cinematography camera & lighting rental we have seen many cinematographers turn to older glass from the 1950s, 60s and 70s plus a huge return in the use of diffusion filters (which soften highlights without destroying sharpness) or black & white nets. 
I use quite often on portrait shoots Lee Filters polyester soft / diffusion filters I still get sharp eyes but the highlights have a glow to them (which most models like). 
Artistic choice is a great tool.


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## ahsanford (Jun 5, 2018)

Thar she blows, the f/2.8L IS III, courtesy of you know who.

I don't see any obvious tells of what's new. We still have a focus limiter and surely AF and IS switches further around to the left.

One down, one to go. 

- A


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## ahsanford (Jun 5, 2018)

Stuart said:


> I'm with you, these lenses are identical to the current versions, except they have the new mirrorless comms function.
> Its not being upgraded for optical performance - just for new body acceptance.



Goodness, no. Canon doesn't 'II' or 'III' it's staple pro items for something trivial like that. This lens is a showpiece performance instrument -- they will not slide out a similarly performing instrument like it's a kit 24-105 lens. 

Surely this lens will improve in other areas: sharpness, IS, weight, the lens hood CPL window, possibly MFD, etc. 

- A


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## ahsanford (Jun 5, 2018)

Canondude2018 said:


> Why would Canon offer IS for it's 50mm 1.4 when it still sells the 1.2? The only one who would get IS would be an upgrade to the current 1.2.



Because IS is not necessarily on the 'best' spec'd lens, especially when they aren't the big white ones. Canon has shown a proclivity to put IS on the slower lens and leave IS off the faster lens:

24L f/1.4L II vs. 24 f/2.8 IS
28 f/1.8 vs. 28 f/2.8 IS (bit of an exception as the 'fast 28' is an old product Canon hasn't touched in 25 years)
35 f/1.4L II vs. 35 f/2 IS
16-35 f/2.8L III vs. 16-35 f/4L IS
24-70 f/2.8L II vs. 24-70 f/4L IS and 24-105 f/4L IS II
100 f/2 vs. 100 f/2.8L IS (another exception like the fast 28 comment above; also the L is a macro here)

But the times, they are a changin'. The new 85 f/1.4L IS is hopefully the first of many standard and wider FL lenses that are both quick _and_ have IS. Surely we'll see more.

On the 50 front, rumors have swirled for far too long, but the latest one is that we'll get a straight 50 f/1.4 USM II sequel to the non-L 50 f/1.4 USM, which would imply the next 50L _might_ be f/1.4L IS instead of f/1.2L II. But no one really knows. We just have to wait and see.

- A


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## hendrik-sg (Jun 5, 2018)

@ahsanford

If you are more than 25 years old, you will maybe not see the 50 you are waiting for in this life :'(

First 18-55 STM iii to xxii must be released, and 70-200 viii, then canon will notice, that people glue the lenses to their phone and print their pictures directly from the lens on their toilet paper ;D


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## ahsanford (Jun 5, 2018)

I tried the standard 'scale off of the mount' move in PS, and this is what we've got. There's a small projection delta between the two in how they were shot, but largely:


Just about the exact same size, give or take some small projection/scaling errors on my part.


No hinge in the tripod ring, so they've retained the prior setup. You'll still have to dismount to get this one off -- it did not change to the 70-200 f/4L style.


Hard to tell for sure if we've got a 77 or 82 filter due to some end projection differences. Common sense says we'd get an 82 here to be consistent with the other f/2.8L zooms, but the width of the two end pieces is nearly identical in PS (as shot).

- A


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## timmy_650 (Jun 5, 2018)

My prediction for the 2.8 is they are going to change the filters to 82 and better IS. On a 5Dm3 I think it will perform very similar to the M2. But on the 5DsR you will be able to see the difference and that will be more apparent on the 5Dsrm2 when that comes out in a year or so.


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## ahsanford (Jun 5, 2018)

hendrik-sg said:


> @ahsanford
> 
> If you are more than 25 years old, you will maybe not see the 50 you are waiting for in this life :'(



But they'll surely offer *a* new 50, even if it's not *the* new 50 I want.

I also may just snap up a refurb 50L if I get bored of waiting. That said, my old 50 f/1.4 USM can still reel in some good stuff. Took this one on my 'ancient' T1i this weekend while Canon was servicing my 5D3.

- A


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## Jacen (Jun 5, 2018)

That is an awesome picture *ahsanford*. 

I feel your desire about the 50 as while I make most of my money with my 70-200 2.8 II I’d still take the 50 1.4 to keep if I had to choose. 

That said, it’s going to be interesting to see what they bring out, improvement wise.


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## MrFotoFool (Jun 5, 2018)

I predict a release street price of 2,899 in USA. I also predict a gigantic preorder list on the big camera sites.


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## ahsanford (Jun 5, 2018)

MrFotoFool said:


> I predict a release street price of 2,899 in USA. I also predict a gigantic preorder list on the big camera sites.



This is more of a steady seller of a workhorse lens, and has many have said there isn't immense room for improvement with this one. So I don't see it as a pent-up demand product like the 100-400L II, 35L II, initial EOS M, etc. were.

It will sell very well, don't get me wrong, but I don't see there being a mad run on it (more than usual).

- A


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## edoorn (Jun 5, 2018)

I've been shooting the mk II version for about 8 years now; as far as I am concerned it will last many more. Can't imagine the III being that much better I'd feel an instant need to upgrade. We'll see, I might drop the II some day and need a replacement


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## Maiaibing (Jun 5, 2018)

ahsanford said:


> I tried the standard 'scale off of the mount' move in PS, and this is what we've got. There's a small projection delta between the two in how they were shot



Clearly the new lens comes in a much cooler colour - literately speaking. ;D


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## Maiaibing (Jun 5, 2018)

Want to see actual tests before I decide anything. 

I guess the 70-200mm f/2.8 IS L III will have mode III IS (which is the thing to have) and will be even sharper and maybe a few more rounded blades to brag about. Overall small incremental steps for existing FF Canon owners.

Will it have some mirrorless trick up its sleeve - possibly...

Think the improvement of the new 70-200mm f/4 IS L will be larger as its getting stretched for sharpness after the arrival of the 5DS/R.

Probably more inclined to swap my 70-200mm f/2.8 IS L II to the new 70-200mm f/4 IS L II if it proves an upgrade of the already outstanding 70-200mm f/4 IS L...


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## [email protected] (Jun 5, 2018)

Maiaibing said:


> maybe a few more rounded blades to brag about.



Yes, the one flaw I saw on mine was a bit of busy specular highlights that could have been tamped down partially with a more deliberately designed shutter pattern (more leafs, more curvature). I'd add to that the IS mode III. The lens is sharp, but doesn't come close to sharpness of the finer primes. 

Take a look at the version II at 135mm versus the new Sigma at f/2.8...
https://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/ISO-12233-Sample-Crops.aspx?Lens=687&Camera=979&Sample=0&FLI=2&API=0&LensComp=1122&CameraComp=979&SampleComp=0&FLIComp=0&APIComp=2

So, yeah, it's a sharp lens (for a zoom), but is there room for IQ improvement? Sure, lots. If a version III closed half the distance between it and a new prime, it would be quite remarkable. When the Version II first came out, many of the coatings were new. As a result, I suspect there are designs that can rely on materials properties to help with corrections rather than additional elements versus the time during which the version II was designed. 

All that hopeful stuff said, I do suspect that the release will be a bit less of a landmark, and more of a small upgrade, coupled with design improvements that save Canon money on the manufacturing and maintenance. -tig


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## Maximilian (Jun 6, 2018)

ahsanford said:


> I tried the standard 'scale off of the mount' move in PS, and this is what we've got.
> ...
> 
> Hard to tell for sure if we've got a 77 or 82 filter due to some end projection differences. Common sense says we'd get an 82 here to be consistent with the other f/2.8L zooms, but the width of the two end pieces is nearly identical in PS (as shot).


Thanks for the effort, ahsanford!

To me the lens barrel looks exactly the same. 
So my guess in what is new would be:

more cost effective design internally
new electronics including new IS with mode III
same optical formula, IQ improvements could only come from different materials or coatings and will be marginal
maybe better aperture design (blade rounding) for smoother bokeh
82 mm filter to match sounds reasonable but I don't see these extra 5 mm in the comparison.
So I'd expect it to stay at 77 mm.

Still interesting to see, what Canon does here and with the f/4.


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## MartinF. (Jun 6, 2018)

So I quess the EF mount will be around for some more years to come?.....
Actually I thought there would be a new Lens-to-camera protocol, as mentioned in an other post - and maybe also another hint on the future for EF mount on a semi-pro and pro fullframe mirrorless or hybrid camera ahead of a launch of such a camera.


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## FTb-n (Jun 6, 2018)

traveller said:


> The Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8e is superior, especially at 135mm. Of course this doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with the EF 70-200f/2.8L IS II, but it is a flagship pro lens and Canon really care about bragging rights.
> https://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2016/11/nikon-70-200mm-f2-8e-fl-ed-af-s-vr-mtf-tests/


It's my understanding that Nikon's lens has a breathing problem that drastically reduces its max focal length for portrait work. I would be curious to see comparisons of focus tracking and IS between the two lenses. Nikon has or had a reputation for IS issues at high shutter speeds. Still, I would suggest that the 1Dx2 helps the Canon lens out perform the Nikon on Nikon bodies.



Canondude2018 said:


> Why would Canon offer IS for it's 50mm 1.4 when it still sells the 1.2? The only one who would get IS would be an upgrade to the current 1.2.


For same reasons that Canon created the 35 2.0 and the 85 1.4 with IS instead of adding IS to their faster counterparts. I'm guessing that the IS is easier to impliment with smaller elements. Plus, slower lenses may benefit more from IS. My interest is with controlled motion blur where I don't really need f1.2, but f1.4 would be ideal for other needs.


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