Finally a Canon 200-400 Zoom

[rduck56]

For those who have not heard Canon has announced the development of a Canon EF 200-400 f/4 L series zoom lens. The most interesting part is it has a built-in dedicated 1.4 extender. Not sure how this works but here is a link to the report:

http://www.canonrumors.com

[epayne]

Most all of Canons video lenses designed for ENG / EFP with the 1/2 or 2/3 inch sensors have a integral 2X extender built into the back of the lens. The technology to do this is well within their engineering expertise and I can see it would be a benefit to be able to select the TC without removing the lens from the camera.

It will be interesting to see how much they will be charging for it. maybe the Canon rep at the annual meeting will have some answers. Nikon's 200-400 sells for over 7K without a tele converter and that would add another $ 300.00 plus to the equation.

My guess is that it will sell for a lot more than the $ 3,999.00 the poster estimated on the rumors link. It looks like a hoss in bulk from the photos on dpreview's site.

http://www.dpreview.com/news/1102/11020708canon200400mm.asp

It will also be interesting to see if you can use a 1.7 or 2X converter on the lens with or without the built in converter in the optical path.


Edgar Payne
Charlotte Region

[mcmarion38]

Still wondering about the cost ?
After looking at the increase in cost of super telephotos , I will be dragging my old 600 mm around a little longer than I like !

[epayne]

I inquired as to the status of this 200-400 lens with the Canon representative at the Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden "Picture Perfect" event this past weekend.

He advised me that this lens is only in the prototype stage and should not be expected as a "for sale" consumer product soon, more likely within the next 18 to 36 months.

As to the cost he concurred with my guesstimate that it would be closer to 10K than what some have hoped for.

Still something for the Canon folks to hope for.

Edgar Payne
Charlotte Region