# Patents: Canon 55-110 f/2 Optical Formula



## Canon Rumors Guy (Jan 20, 2012)

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<strong>Canon EF/EF-S 55-110 f/2

</strong>A new patent showing off a unique zoon range and speed from Canon. Would indoor sports be the target market with such a lens?</p>
<p>It’s noted that this may be for APS-C cameras, therefore an EF-S lens. <em>(thanks Michael)</em></p>
<p><strong>Patent Publication No. 2012-8344</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>2012.1.12 Release Date</li>
<li>Filing date 2010.6.24</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Example 1</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Focal length f = 55.5 – 112.2mm</li>
<li>Fno. = 2.0</li>
<li>2.0 zoom ratio</li>
<li>Half angle of 13.4181 – 6.712 deg.</li>
<li>Each group 18 Configuration 15</li>
<li>Inner Zoom</li>
<li>Group of the formula before feeding</li>
<li>Negative distortion that occurs in the front lens group and zooming to the telephoto side, causing a distortion in the positive side of the rear lens group is moved to the fifth group, the overall distortion suppressed .</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Source: [<a href="http://egami.blog.so-net.ne.jp/2012-01-20">EG</a>]</strong></p>
<p><strong><span style="color: #ff0000;">c</span>r</strong></p>
```


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## bigblue1ca (Jan 20, 2012)

Canon Rumors said:


> </strong>A new patent showing off a unique zoon range and speed from Canon. Would indoor sports be the target market with such a lens?</p>



I'd like that to shoot volleyball up close.


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## AG (Jan 20, 2012)

Canon Rumors said:


> Would indoor sports be the target market with such a lens?



Being an f2 that makes it more than enough for a lot of video based shooting too.

If the lens is smaller than the 24-70 and 24-105 it could be a nice middle ground walking video lens.
As long as it has decent IS built in.

Just a thought.


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## pwp (Jan 20, 2012)

Wow, if the f/2 IQ is there, for me this neatly takes three primes out of my bag...the 50mm, the 85mm and the 100mm.

As an f/2 zoom, it will probably be big & heavy with a price tage to match. If this lens gets out of R&D and we see a release version, it should sell it's socks off. 

Another Canon game changer.

Paul Wright


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## J (Jan 20, 2012)

AG said:


> If the lens is smaller than the 24-70 and 24-105 it could be a nice middle ground walking video lens.



Even if it was the same size as the 24-70 or 24-105, that would be more than enough for me.


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## AprilForever (Jan 20, 2012)

ME GUSTA!!! ;D

I sure hope this one makes it off the drawing board and onto the shelves...


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## Justin (Jan 20, 2012)

Yes please. This lens wouldn't replace any of my current lenses, but it would allow me to travel with a two lens kit. A 24mm and 55-110. Although 135mm would be the ideal end of the zoom range for this "portrait zoom."


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## AG (Jan 20, 2012)

J said:


> AG said:
> 
> 
> > If the lens is smaller than the 24-70 and 24-105 it could be a nice middle ground walking video lens.
> ...



Yeah i kinda meant smaller as in internal mechanism not external when zoomed.

But if the IQ is there it will save a fortune for indi film makers not having to buy a whole set of basic primes (12, 24, 35, 50, 85, 100).


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## lonelywhitelights (Jan 20, 2012)

Such a strange focal length... well, strange to me anyway, why not 50-100 ? why the 55-110 ? I don't know, I don't work for Canon. But still, not a particularly useful focal length for me; 16-35, 50 and 70-200 do me just fine ^_^


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## FredBGG (Jan 20, 2012)

Now that is my ideal Zoom lens!!!!!

If the quality is anything like the 70-200mm 2.L IS II it will make me very happy.


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## vuilang (Jan 20, 2012)

im not sure if you read through the note: it is an *EF-S* lens... wouldnt it kill what you're thinking?


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## AG (Jan 20, 2012)

vuilang said:


> im not sure if you read through the note: it is an *EF-S* lens... wouldnt it kill what you're thinking?



Not if your shooting video on a 60D or 7D (or T2i etc)


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## pwp (Jan 20, 2012)

vuilang said:


> im not sure if you read through the note: it is an *EF-S* lens... wouldnt it kill what you're thinking?



Yikes! I missed that bit. 
Umm Canon, if you're listening just make this lens an EF will you please? No, make that an EF _*L*_

Thank you.

Paul Wright


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## Michael_pfh (Jan 20, 2012)

Could that be a hint to the 7DII being APS-C and not APS-H? Or does APS-H also work with EF-S lenses?


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## AG (Jan 20, 2012)

Michael_pfh said:


> Could that be a hint to the 7DII being APS-C and not APS-H?



Think that hint came when they killed off APS-H with the 1DMk4 (Ok yes you can still buy it but it is very limited) when they went to the 1D-X.


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## Edwin Herdman (Jan 20, 2012)

Wow, just weeks ago on POTN I and some other users were calling for nearly exactly this lens. We were mostly hoping for it to start much wider than 55mm (28mm or wider) but 55mm onward isn't too terrible. Depending on the IQ it might even be a replacement (for most purposes) for the 50mm f/1.4.


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## Michael_pfh (Jan 20, 2012)

AG said:


> Michael_pfh said:
> 
> 
> > Could that be a hint to the 7DII being APS-C and not APS-H?
> ...



Good point. Keeping up a sensor production line for just a single camera model does economically not make any sense unless it is a very high volume model which I do not expect the 7DII to be since most not so serious amateur photographers would rather go for a Rebel due to the lower price tag...


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## lennywood (Jan 20, 2012)

this would be an ideal sit down interview video lens on the c300. and at 2.0 it would be a nice out of focus background.


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## bvukich (Jan 20, 2012)

This would go quite well with the rumored f/2 replacement of the EF-S 17-55/2.8IS.


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## vuilang (Jan 20, 2012)

to think shooting video with 55mm x 1.6 (60d,7D) = 88mm, it's then would be too long and focusing at F2.0 will also be very challenging.. If this lens worth any consideration of walkaround, it gotta be EF.


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## Wahoowa (Jan 20, 2012)

I guess the retail price would be like at least $1600. If it's EF, it would be even more expensive.


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## coltsfreak18 (Jan 20, 2012)

Wahoowa said:


> I guess the retail price would be like at least $1600. If it's EF, it would be even more expensive.


Yet I can think of a large number of people, myself included, who would pay quite a bit for a f/2 EF zoom if the image quality is good across the board. This would be a great street and portrait range on full frame, I'd reckon.


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## Michael_pfh (Jan 20, 2012)

Even on APS-C it would be worthwile to get for street photography (in addition to indoor sports and portraits) since it would have 2 advantages over the 70-200 2.8 II - it's shorter and faster. Let's hope that it will be an L lens...


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## AG (Jan 20, 2012)

vuilang said:


> to think shooting video with 55mm x 1.6 (60d,7D) = 88mm, it's then would be too long and focusing at F2.0 will also be very challenging.. If this lens worth any consideration of walkaround, it gotta be EF.



Think your slightly confused there.

If its EF-s then its 55 and 100mm lengths do not change when on a 7D or 60D (1.6x crop).

If on the other hand it was EF then your calculations make sense.

Secondly you rarely shoot video wide open, Usually if say your using a f1.4 you would set it to f2 or higher. 
Basically wherever its sharpest and use the hyper focal length to work out best DOF ratio.


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## Michael_pfh (Jan 20, 2012)

AG said:


> vuilang said:
> 
> 
> > to think shooting video with 55mm x 1.6 (60d,7D) = 88mm, it's then would be too long and focusing at F2.0 will also be very challenging.. If this lens worth any consideration of walkaround, it gotta be EF.
> ...



Right, I was referring to EF (since I am not familiar with EF-S lenses), however, in both cases the focal length would be shorter than my 70-200 f2.8 II and therefore be an even better street lens for me.

I am not a videographer, have not even tested the video capabilities of my 7D though it's in my possession for over a year... ;-)


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## wickidwombat (Jan 20, 2012)

If they can make that then perhaps they could make an EF 35-70 f2L now that would be pretty sweet


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## candyman (Jan 20, 2012)

bvukich said:


> This would go quite well with the rumored f/2 replacement of the EF-S 17-55/2.8IS.



O, I missed that. There is a rumor about a 17-55 replacement? And the replacement will be f/2?
Those lenses must become heavy and big. I am not sure if that is so convenient while using them as walkaround / general purpose lens..... :-\

But 55-110 f/2 sounds great - as EF-s lens

EDIT: the 55-110 f/2 would be a great indoor sport lens with zoom capabilities


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## Benny.C (Jan 20, 2012)

Actually, EF-S Lenses *do* also have to have their focal range multiplied by 1.6x to determine the 35mm equivalent. For example, the EF-S 15-85mm F/3.5-5.6 IS USM Lens has an effective range of 24-136mm, and the EF-S 17-55mm F/2.8 IS USM Lens has an effective range of 27-88mm. So, a proposed 55-110mm F/2 Lens, either EF or EF-S, would have an effective range of 88-176mm (not all the different from 70-200mm). 

Personally, I'd love to see *both* an EF and EF-S revision so that the APS-C type owners can enjoy the benefit of a smaller lens - particularly on the Rebels.


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## funkboy (Jan 20, 2012)

*DADDY LIKES*

If they get this one right, I'll be all over it. I've been blabbing about the lineup needing a lens like this for a long time. Extremely pleased that they sacrificed a little extra reach for the extra stop of aperture that will set it apart from the competition. IIRC only Olympus offers an f/2 zoom up 'till now.

If it doesn't have IS, ring USM, and L-grade resolution I won't really see a reason to upgrade from my primes though; the 85 f/1.8 covers most of the situations this thing would. IS in a short fast telephoto is the game changer, not the zoom.

Now, what they really need is the same thing on the wide-angle side. I suppose that Canon thinks that the 17-55 f/2.8 fills the niche left by their arthritic non-L wide prime lineup, but this proposed telephoto's companion lens should really be something more like a 15-35 f/2 if they really want to talk about replacing primes with a zoom on the EF-s platform.


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## docsmith (Jan 20, 2012)

.....count me as someone that would likely buy this lens. Like others, I've been asking for and EFS-S equivalent to the 70-200 mm lenses on FF in all of those "wish list" threads. This would be awfully close and F/2!!


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## jbooba (Jan 20, 2012)

guys, 
this could be another Cinema Zoom. would make sense on C300 and the DSLR C-Body.

JB


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## Haydn1971 (Jan 20, 2012)

Sign me up for one along with a 17-55mm f2.0, I'm not holding out any hope now for new cheap primes, these will be the new cheap "primes" replacements. I still hold some hope that we might even get EF-S L lenses, the build quality of my 135mm f2.0 L is so much nicer than my "premium" 15-85mm EF-S

After the boredom of massive super expensive primes, I'm starting to get excited again :¬)


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## Ellen Schmidtee (Jan 20, 2012)

The half angle at the wide side is ~13.4 deg. If this was an EF lens, 55mm would be close to normal (= 47 deg), and the half angle would be >20 deg.

From the translation of the patent, it seems this design is intended for either 1.6x APS-C sensors or the new video cameras.


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## Blaze (Jan 20, 2012)

Wow, this would be a fantastic lens to pair with a 7D for dimly-lit indoor sports. Sort of the poor man's crop version of a 1D + 70-200mm f/2.8 combination.


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## smirkypants (Jan 20, 2012)

Blaze said:


> Wow, this would be a fantastic lens to pair with a 7D for dimly-lit indoor sports. Sort of the poor man's crop version of a 1D + 70-200mm f/2.8 combination.


A 2.0 zoom won't be a poor man's anything. This thing will be large and heavy and expensive. If it's an L, it'll surely cost $2k or more. If it's EF-S, it'll easily be the most expensive EF-S available. If it's a Cinema lens I'll stomp and curse and spit.


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## briansquibb (Jan 20, 2012)

This would be excellent as a portrait/street lens on a ff or 1.3


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## gputah (Jan 20, 2012)

I could se this being an ef-s lens to be partnered up with the EF-S 17-55mm 2.8. That would be awesome. However price may be a bit too high and I think I would just save my money and put it towards the 1dx and use my 70-200 2.8.


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## briansquibb (Jan 20, 2012)

gputah said:


> I could se this being an ef-s lens to be partnered up with the EF-S 17-55mm 2.8. That would be awesome. However price may be a bit too high and I think I would just save my money and put it towards the 1dx and use my 70-200 2.8.



Using the 20-200 f/2.8 on a ff - just cropped to fit A size paper


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## [email protected] (Jan 21, 2012)

if this lens really happens for aps-c, I would strongly consider it. I love primes, but can't afford to buy all of them in the 50-110 range. This lens would, if the IQ is there, replace all of them. i know it would be more expensive than the low end primes (not talking about the stratospheric L glass), but if it could replace all of them, I could make a strong family budgetary argument for it.


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## Michael7 (Jan 21, 2012)

Bit of a bummer. If this is truly an EF-S lens, I'd much rather see it start at 40mm. The 70-200 on FF is versatile, and even used by landscapers because of this.


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## Blaze (Jan 21, 2012)

smirkypants said:


> Blaze said:
> 
> 
> > Wow, this would be a fantastic lens to pair with a 7D for dimly-lit indoor sports. Sort of the poor man's crop version of a 1D + 70-200mm f/2.8 combination.
> ...



Obviously it would be quite large and quite pricey, but unless it's a Cinema lens a 7D + 55-110 f/2 would still be considerably cheaper than a 1D + 70-200mm f/2.8.


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## briansquibb (Jan 21, 2012)

Blaze said:


> Obviously it would be quite large and quite pricey, but unless it's a Cinema lens a 7D + 55-110 f/2 would still be considerably cheaper than a 1D + 70-200mm f/2.8.



Which would I choose? A 1DX and a 70-200 f/2.8II or a 7D + 55-110 f/2? Hard choice give me a second ;D ;D ;D


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## Haydn1971 (Jan 21, 2012)

Other than the FD 55mm, I'm struggling to think of any "recent" use of the 55mm focal length in anything but an EF-S lens.


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## dr croubie (Jan 21, 2012)

I've said before than an EF 40-140 f/2 would be the ultimate portrait and event-zoom, even an EF-S 55-110 f/2 would be a nice start.

Or just *any* zoom faster than f/2.8 would be nice...


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## whatta (Jan 21, 2012)

indeed, it could be the 70-200 2.8 for apsc, I do like the idea, would be nice for events. In my opinion the 17-55 replacement would be rather 15-60 f2.8, perfect to be announced with the 7d2.

but give me the 650d first with less mp, new sensor, digic 5, 40d af (and microadjust) and a better viewfinder


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## Wahoowa (Jan 21, 2012)

The focal length of 55-110mm already gives us a clue that it should be EF-S. for that, the lens may not be overly big. But it'll likely be expensive nonetheless.


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## whatta (Jan 22, 2012)

today, I already could have used this lens for indoor ice skating


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## funkboy (Jan 23, 2012)

AG said:


> Think that hint came when they killed off APS-H with the 1DMk4 (Ok yes you can still buy it but it is very limited) when they went to the 1D-X.



I wouldn't say that APS-H is completely killed off, but rather transformed into a different product line. The super-35 sensor in the EOS Ciné cameras is very very close to the same size as APS-H; they likely repurposed the fab equipment used for the previous 1D sensors to make the Ciné sensors, & they've already stated that we'll see a super-35 Ciné DSLR.


Anyway, if the 55-110 lens patent was for a Ciné design it'd likely say so, & probably have aperture rated in T-Stops...


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## shorthand (Jan 23, 2012)

First - WOW - that is an impressive piece of design.

The Egami article seems pretty unambiguous that this will be a EF-S lens primarily for still photos on an APS-C body, and a f/2 zoom of this range for full frame just doesn't seem to make sense. Its definitely going to be at least $1500.

One thing has always confused me - it always seemed that two different lenses of approximately the same size and complexity and absolute aperture could be designed to deliver that same amount of light to either a crop sensor or a full frame sensor, negating many of the light-gathering advantages of FF cameras.

I guess this is the answer.

As for video, I would be extremely surprised if this was parfocal as well, but I could see Canon engineering an autofocus mechanism to maintain focus at the same point as one zooms.


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