Canon today officially announced its new 200-400mm f/4L IS 1.4x extender lens. No, that’s not two products mistakenly smashed into one name — the lens features a built-in 1.4x extender that can be activated with the flip of a switch.
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Canon Singapore has published a first photograph of the long-awaited Canon 200-400mm f/4L IS Extender 1.4x, which, as its name suggests, includes a built-in 1.4x teleconverter. The photo was shared with this caption:
Be one of the first to check out the soon to be launched EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Extender 1.4x at the EOS Experience Roadshow happening this weekend! We’ll be at Cathay Orchard Cineleisure this 4-6 January from 11am-10pm! See you there!
Sounds like the lens is indeed close to hitting store shelves after being announced in February 2011. It’ll reportedly cost around $11,000.
(via Canon via Canon Rumors)
If you just so happen to have both a C-mount CCTV lens and a M42-mount teleconverter lying around, try combining the two: you may find a makeshift macro combo on your hands.
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Canon released a new firmware update for the 1D X this morning that gives the DSLR cross-type autofocus when using certain telephoto and extender combos that have a max aperture of f/8. The announcement page includes a list of lens/extender combinations that are now compatible.
The first lens listed in the 1.4x Extender column is the “Canon EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM.” Problem is, that’s not a lens that exists…
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There may soon be a new member of the Canon Extender EF lens family. A recently published patent filed by Canon describes a new 2.8x teleconverter. A 400 f/2.8L IS II would become a 1120mm f/8 lens with the teleconverter attached, though Canon will have to restore f/8 autofocus to its top-of-the-line cameras before that combo would become useful.
(via Egami via Canon Rumors)
Canon might be rolling out a new Image Stabilized lens with a built-in teleconverter, but Tamron and Nikon seem to have image-stabilization/vibration-reduction tricks up their sleeve as well. Apparently in the early 2000s both Nikon and Tamron filed patents for teleconverters with image stabilization baked right in. Tamron’s was for a standard unit that sits between the lens and the camera body, while Nikon’s was for a unit that sits in front of the lens.
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Canon is on a tear today with its announcements. In addition to new Rebel cameras and new entry level flashes, they also have some lens news. First, they’re releasing new versions of their 500mm and 600mm lenses, but even more interesting is the EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Extender 1.4x lens they announced the development of. This is a zoom lens that has a 1.4x teleconverter built right in. Once you switch it on, it instant turns into a 280-560mm f/5.6 lens!
