Canon celebrates
significant milestone with production of
120 million interchangeable
EF lenses
SINGAPORE,
14 September 2016 – Canon today announced the achievement of a new lens-manufacturing
milestone with the production on August 26, 2016, of the Company’s
120-millionth EF-series interchangeable lens for EOS cameras—an EF100-400mm
f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM telephoto zoom lens.
Production of interchangeable EF lenses for
Canon EOS-series AF (Autofocus) single-lens reflex film cameras began in 1987
at the Company’s Utsunomiya Plant. Over the years, EF lenses have gained support
from a wide range of users and production has since expanded to a total of four
manufacturing bases, including Canon Inc., Taiwan; Canon Opto (Malaysia) Sdn.
Bhd.; and Oita Canon Inc. in southern Japan.
EF lens production passed the 10-million-unit
mark in 1995 and crossed the 50-million-unit threshold in 2009. In April 2014,
the Company celebrated its first-in-the-world achievement of having manufactured
100 million EF lenses, and now, setting a new world record for the most interchangeable
lenses produced, Canon manufactured its 120-millionth EF lens in August 2016. What's
more, Canon’s interchangeable-lens digital cameras (digital SLR and
compact-system cameras), which utilize EF lenses, have maintained the No. 1
share of the global market for 13 consecutive years since 2003.1
Canon’s proprietary EF lenses, launched in
March 1987 along with the EOS SLR camera system, have continued to evolve since
their introduction, leading the industry through the incorporation of a wide
range of innovative technologies, including such world’s firsts as the
Ultrasonic Motor (USM), Image Stabilizer (IS) technology, a multilayered
diffractive optical (DO) element, and Subwavelength Structure Coating (SWC)
anti-reflection technology. The Company’s extensive EF lens-series lineup
currently comprises a total of 97 models,2 including EF Cinema Lenses for digital
cinematography.3
Canon will continue refining its imaging
technologies centered on its EF lens lineup, striving to cater to the varying
needs of photographers—from first-time users to advanced amateurs and professionals—while
contributing to expanding the photographic and video imaging culture.
1 As of March 29, 2016,
based on a Canon survey.
2 Including two EF lens
extenders and three models available outside of Japan. As of September 7, 2016.
3 For more information
visit “The Eyes of EOS” Canon EF lens portal site at www.canon.com/the-eyes-of-eos/
Canon EF lenses equipped with world’s-first technologies
|
Model name |
Main features and technologies |
Launch date |
|
EF300mm f/2.8L USM1 |
World’s
first2 use of a lens-based Ultrasonic Motor (USM) |
Nov.
1987 |
|
USM technology delivers fast autofocusing thanks
to its high torque and responsiveness. By converting ultrasonic vibrations
into rotational energy, the technology makes possible quiet, smooth AF drive
performance. |
||
|
EF75-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM3 |
World’s
first2 use of Image Stabilizer (IS) technology |
Sep.
1995 |
|
Users
can see the results of IS technology through the viewfinder. Delivering high
precision and stability for exceptional image stabilization results, this
technology expands the possibilities for handheld photography. |
||
|
EF400mm f/4 DO IS USM4 |
World’s first2 use of a diffractive optical
(DO) lens element |
Dec.
2001 |
|
Diffraction is an optical phenomenon in which
light waves bend as they pass around the edges of an object. DO lens elements
use this phenomenon to correct for a variety of aberrations by controlling
the path that light travels. |
||
|
EF24mm f/1.4L II USM |
World’s first5 use of Subwavelength Structure
Coating (SWC) |
Dec.
2008 |
|
SWC technology minimizes reflections by aligning
countless wedge-shaped structures more minute than the wavelength of visible
light on the surface of a camera lens. |
||
|
EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM |
World’s first2 use of Hybrid IS, which compensates
for both angle camera shake and shift camera shake |
Oct.
2009 |
|
Employing a newly developed algorithm,
Hybrid IS optimally adjusts for camera shake based on information gathered by
two sensors located in the lens. By precisely driving the optical correction
system, the technology simultaneously corrects for angle and shift camera
shake. |
||
|
EF8-15mm f/4L Fisheye USM |
World’s
first2 fisheye lens to deliver both 180-degree diagonal angle of
view and 180-degree circular fisheye |
Jul.
2011 |
|
The EF8-15mm
f/4L Fisheye USM enables the capture of images with dramatic deformations, exaggerated
perspectives and extreme depths of field, making possible images that are significantly
distorted, similar to what a fish might see were it to look skyward from
under the water surface.
|
||
|
EF200-400mm f/4L IS USM Extender
1.4x |
World’s
first2 super-telephoto zoom lens to employ an internal extender |
May
2013 |
|
Featuring a built-in 1.4x extender, the EF200-400mm
f/4L IS USM Extender 1.4x’s zoom range can be expanded with a simple
one-touch operation even in locations where users are unable to switch
lenses. |
||
|
EF11-24mm f/4L USM |
World’s
first2 lens offering ultra-wide-angle 11 mm minimum focal length |
Feb. 2015 |
|
In
addition to achieving the world’s widest angle of view starting at
a minimum focal length of 11 mm, the EF11-24mm f/4L USM effectively corrects
for aberrations commonly associated with ultra-wide-angle lenses, delivering
superior image-quality performance. |
1 As
of September 7, 2016, production for this lens has already been discontinued.
Successor: EF300mm f/2.8L IS II USM (launched in August 2011).
2 Among
interchangeable SLR camera lenses.
3 As
of September 7, 2016, production for this lens has already been discontinued.
Successor: EF70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM (launched in September 2005).
4 As
of September 7, 2016, production for this lens has already been discontinued.
Successor: EF400 f/4 DO IS II USM (launched in November 2014).
5 Among
photography lenses.
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