Canon 24mm f/1.4 L II USM lens

EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM fast aperture wide-angle prime lens

Amstelveen, The Netherlands, 17 September, 2008: Canon today strengthens its line-up of EF-series lenses with the introduction of a new fast aperture prime lens: the EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM. Replacing the EF 24mm f/1.4L USM, the EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM has been completely redesigned to provide an exacting partner lens to Canon’s new EOS digital SLRs, the EOS 50D and EOS 5D Mark II.

The EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM offers:

• Fast f/1.4 aperture
  
• Aspherical and UD lens elements for correction of chromatic aberration
  
• Sub Wavelength structure Coating (SWC) to dramatically reduce ghosting and flare
  
• Circular aperture for pleasing bokeh
  
• USM for full-time manual focus
  
• Lead-free glass (RoHS compliance)
  
• Lens hood and pouch supplied

Superior image performance
Featuring a 13-element, 10-group lens, the EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM is designed to achieve the highest standards of image quality. Two high-precision GMo aspheric lenses are employed to correct various forms of aberration such as curvature of field and distortion, with a floating mechanism ensuring crisp corner-to-corner detail throughout the focal range. In addition, two UD lenses reduce the chromatic aberration common in wide-angle lenses.

A fast, ultra-large maximum aperture of f/1.4 delivers excellent low-light performance, with the circular aperture offering the potential for creative out-of-focus highlights. A focal length of 24mm and a USM focus motor providing full-time manual focus also make the EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM ideal for situations where a wide-angle, high-performance lens is required.

Advanced lens coating
Reflections off a digital camera’s image sensor can compromise images with ghosting and flare. To help reduce this, the inside of EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM’s front element is treated with Canon’s new Sub Wavelength structure Coating. Developed specifically to work with Canon optics, this anti-reflective coating helps reduce flare and ghosting - for consistently crisp, undistorted images.

Robust build quality
The EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM is designed to withstand the rigours of even the most testing shooting environment – with Canon’s advanced weather and dust sealing making it the perfect choice for photojournalists and landscape photographers.

Additional images

Sub Wavelength structure Coating

The 24mm F1.4 L USM II sees the debut of Canon's new 'Sub Wavelength structure Coating' (SWC) technology. Considered by Canon to be considerably more effective then their existing 'Super Spectra Coating', the new coating is applied to the inside surface of the front lens element, and is designed to minimize flare and ghosting caused by secondary reflections between the sensor surface and the lens elements, which can lead to significant image degradation in digital SLRs.

The new biomimetic coating is inspired by features found within the eyes of moths, and uses a nano-scale structure to reduce dramatically the amount of internally-reflected light in lenses that contain large curve-radius elements. It is therefore particularly effective with fast wideangles such as the new 24mm F1.4L II USM.

How it works

Conventional anti-reflective coatings work by creating two surfaces off which light can reflect: one at the boundary between the coating and the air, and a second at the boundary between the coating and the glass. The thickness of the coating ensures the distance between these two surfaces is one quarter of the wavelength of light. Consequently, any light reflecting off the second (coating/glass) surface will be half a wavelength out of phase with the light that reflected off the first (air/coating) surface, by the time it has bounced back and will cancel it out.
	Unfortunately, this process only works well when the light strikes the surfaces relatively straight-on (having a small angle of incidence). As the angle at which the light strikes the coating becomes less direct, more light is reflected.
	Canon's new coating works by varying the density of the coating, depending on the distance from the glass surface.
	The coating's ordered, nano-scale structure means that light encountering it is bent as it travels into the increasingly dense coating (and encounters an increasingly high refractive index). The result is that it always reaches the coating/glass boundary at a relatively direct angle, reducing the reflection, particularly at the edges of lenses or, in this instance, on highly curved lens surfaces.
	The new SWC coating dramatically reduces light reflected off the lens surfaces compared to Canon's conventional vapor-deposited Super-Spectra Coating especially at high angles of incidence.

Why do R lenses come in 2/3-CAM or ROM mounts?

Single cam

The original Leicaflex Standard camera, released in 1964, used a cam arrangement inside the lens mount to mechanically communicate the aperture information from each lens to the camera body (similar to the way the Nikon AI mount does it). As there was only one cam, ergo… "single cam".

2-cam

When the Leicaflex SL, with its integrated TTL light meter, was introduced in 1968, a new lens cam was added for aperture indexing. To maintain backward compatibility with older Leicaflex cameras, new lenses were released with two cams, so they could aperture-index on both old and new Leicaflex bodies.

3-cam

In 1976 Leica released the R3, the first of its R series SLR cameras designed in collaboration with Minolta. Because the new camera(s) had auto exposure features, this meant adding another cam, bringing the total to three. This third cam is a black stepped affair, located next to and just inside the chrome 2nd cam.

R-only

An added complication is that some newer R lenses are sold as 3rd cam only. These will only mount on R bodies and are easy to distinguish as they have a collar around the base of the stainless steel lens mount flange, to prevent you from mounting them onto older Leicaflex bodies.

Leica Lens Serial Numbers -> Production Year

Leica Bruger Information -> Objektiv serienr. If you have a serial number of a Leica lens, this list will tell you when it was produced (1933-2000). This list covers lenses from the Leica R series (SLR), the Leica M and the screw mount series (Rangefinder).If you furthermore wish to determine which the model or generation you have of that particular vintage Elmar, Elmarit, Summicron ... or perhaps which hood is designed for your particular leica lens - then look at the pointers at the bottom of this page.
If you are looking to determine the age of your vintage Leica camera based on serial number, you may find some of the references on the Link page useful. [Danish] Liste over Leica objektivers produktionsår med udgangspunkt i serienummeret (1933 and 2000).

Leica M/R/SM Serialnumbers
Start - End: Production year
156 001-195 000: 1933
195 001-236 000: 1934
236 001-284 600: 1935
284 601-345 000: 1936
345 001-416 500: 1937
416 501-490 000: 1938
490 001-538 500: 1939
538 501-565 000: 1940
565 001-582 294: 1941
582 295-593 000: 1942
593 001-594 880: 1943
594 881-595 000: 1944
595 001-601 000: 1945
601 001-633 000: 1946
633 001-647 000: 1947
647 001-682 000: 1948
682 001-756 000: 1949
756 001-840 000: 1950
840 001-950 000: 1951
950 001-1 051 000: 1952
1 051 000-1 124 000: 1953
1 124 001-1 236 000: 1954
1 236 001-1 333 000: 1955
1 333 001-1 459 000: 1956
1 459 001-1 548 000: 1957
1 548 001-1 645 300: 1958
1 645 301-1 717 000: 1959
1 717 001-1 827 000: 1960
1 827 001-1 913 000: 1961
1 913 001-1 967 100: 1962
1 967 101-2 015 700: 1963
2 015 701-2 077 500: 1964
2 077 501-2 156 300: 1965
2 156 301-2 236 500: 1966
2 236 501-2 254 400: 1967
2 254 401-2 312 750: 1968
2 312 751-2 384 700: 1969
2 384 701-2 468 500: 1970
2 468 501-2 503 100: 1971
2 503 101-2 556 500: 1972
2 556 501-2 663 400: 1973
2 663 401-2 731 900: 1974
2 731 901-2 761 100: 1975
2 761 101-2 809 400: 1976
2 809 401-2 880 600: 1977
2 880 601-2 967 250: 1978
2 967 251-3 013 650: 1979
3 013 651-3 087 000: 1980
3 087 001-3 160 500: 1981
3 160 501-3 249 100: 1982
3 249 101-3 294 900: 1983
3 294 901-3 346 200: 1984
3 346 201-3 383 200: 1985
3 383 201-3 422 890: 1986
3 422 891-3 455 870: 1987
3 455 871-3 478 900: 1988
3 478 901-3 503 150: 1989
3 503 151-3 540 467: 1990
3 540 468-3 583 830: 1991
3 585 831-3 610 680: 1992
3 610 381-3 644 475: 1993
3 644 476-3 677 030: 1994
3 677 031-3 730 290: 1995
3 730 291-3 770 920: 1996
3 770 930-3 818 624: 1997
3 818 625-3 857 849: 1998
3 857 850-3 882 996: 1999
3 882 997 ->: 2000 ->

CANON U.S.A. TO EXHIBIT TWO NEW TELEPHOTO LENSES

LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y., October 15, 2007 – Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in digital imaging, today announced the development of two all-new telephoto lenses for use with its EOS SLR cameras: the EF200mm f/2L IS USM*/** and the EF800mm f/5.6L IS USM*/**. The Company will exhibit prototypes of the new lenses at PhotoPlus Expo (booth #31, taking place at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City, October 18 to 20.

The new Canon EF200mm f/2L IS USM and EF800mm f/5.6L IS USM, both of which are L (luxury)-series lenses incorporating a high-performance Image Stabilizer, feature optical systems utilizing special optical materials such as fluorite to correct chromatic aberrations, making possible high-resolution, high-contrast shooting performance.

The Canon EF200mm f/2L IS USM, targeting users who seek a brighter lens for portraiture and indoor sports photography, realizes a large aperture of f/2. The EF800mm f/5.6L IS USM, expected to deliver telephoto performance surpassing the current top-of-the-line EF600mm f/4L IS USM super telephoto lens, is being developed in response to requests from users working in the fields of sports and news photography who are looking for a high-performance lens that offers a longer focal length.

"These new lenses demonstrate that Canon is continuing to respond actively and flexibly to the wide-ranging needs of professional and advanced amateur users, with the aim of contributing to the expansion of photographic possibilities for SLR cameras," said Yuichi Ishizuka, senior vice president and general manager, Consumer Imaging Group, Canon U.S.A. "Canon's EOS System is the premier brand of Digital SLR cameras, and we take great pride in offering the world's largest selection of interchangeable autofocus lenses." ***

As these new lenses are currently under development, pricing and availability information is not yet available.

About Canon U.S.A., Inc.
Canon U.S.A., Inc. delivers consumer, business-to-business, and industrial imaging solutions. Its parent company, Canon Inc. (NYSE:CAJ), a top patent holder of technology, ranking third overall in the U.S. in 2006†, with global revenues of $34.9 billion, is listed as one of Fortune's Most Admired Companies in America and is on the 2007 BusinessWeek list of "Top 100 Brands." To keep apprised of the latest news from Canon U.S.A., sign up for the Company's RSS news feed by visiting www.usa.canon.com/pressroom.

* This device has not been authorized as required by the rules of the Federal Communications Commission. This device is not, and may not be offered for sale or lease, or sold or leased, until authorization is obtained.

** A Product Report required by 21.C.F.R.§ 1002.10 has not been submitted to the United States Food and Drug Administration for this product. This product is not, and may note be, offered for sale or lease, or sold or leased, until the required report has been submitted.

*** As of October 15, 2007

All referenced product names, and other marks, are trademarks of their respective owners.

Specifications and availability are subject to change without notice.
† IFI Patent Intelligence, January 2007.

Source: http://www.usa.canon.com/html/templa...15_eflens.html