Canon L lens

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The 70-200 mm F2.8L lens
The 70-200 mm F2.8L lens

An L lens is a line of SLR photography lenses made by Canon. L lenses are Canon's top-of-the-line lenses and the "L" stands for "AsphericaL" (Canons first production aspherical lens carried an "AL" designation, Canon later went to "Aspherical", then "L"), though the "L" now officially stands for "luxury", a reference to the lenses' high price and build.[1] Canon produces both L-series zoom and prime lenses for their obsolete FD lens mount and for their current EF lens mount used on all Canon EOS cameras (digital and film).

As of 2007, Canon has not produced any L-series EF-S mount lenses, though the EF-S 17-55mm and EF-S 10-22mm both contain the same high quality glass elements used in L-series lenses and have comparable image quality to some L-series lenses. Some regard the decision to not designate these lenses as L-series and build the body to L standards a marketing decision.[2]

The lens on the Canon PowerShot Pro1 was designated L-series, and was the first fixed (non-interchangeable) lens so designated.

Contents

[edit] Characteristics

L-lenses have superior optical performance and are typically built with a solid construction to withstand constant use and harsh conditions. They can be recognized by a red ring around the front part of the lens. Most recent L lenses have sealing to help resist dust and water. L-lenses are typically used by professionals and serious amateurs due to their high price and large mass.

Most L series lenses share a number of common characteristics:

  • Tough build, made to withstand the trials on the fields (some incorporating dust and moisture resistant rubber seals).
  • At least one fluorite or ultra-low dispersion glass element, combined with super-low dispersion glass and ground aspherical elements.
  • Non-rotating front elements, which are optimal for some filters (e.g. circular polarizers).
  • Relatively large apertures compared to other Canon lenses in the same focal lengths.
  • Where included, true ring-type USM (ultrasonic motor) and full-time manual focusing.

Note that there are some lenses which include one or more of these technologies yet which are not designated L-lenses. L-lenses are often equipped with USM and/or IS, but the optical performance is the key criteria.

Larger sized L-lenses, such as the 70-200mm and 100-400mm zooms and longer focal length primes (300mm+), usually have an off-white barrel (sometimes referred to as the color "putty") to reduce heat absorption under the sun that may otherwise affect the performance of the lens, as well as to identify Canon's lenses (for example at sporting events). However, shorter focal length L-lenses can be black (such as the Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L and all L-lens primes under 300mm, with the exception of the discontinued 200mm f/1.8L and newly announced 200mm f/2.0L IS.). Therefore L-lenses can be identified by either a lens barrel's off-white colour or, as on all L-lenses, the distinctive red ring on the lens barrel.

Wide angle L-lenses typically have a gelatin filter holder on the mounting point of the lens, which allows the photographer to cut a small, square piece of gelatin out of a larger filter sheet and place it on the lens. On film cameras, these are typically used to correct the color temperature, but on digital cameras this is largely unnecessary, as the color temperature can be corrected in software. The mount is still commonly used for neutral density gelatin sheets though, especially on certain wide-angle lenses where the protruding front element precludes the use of any screw-in filters. Telephoto L-lenses typically do not have gelatin filter holders, to maintain compatibility with the Canon Extender EFs.

[edit] Lenses

The following is a list of L-lenses including discontinued lenses.

[edit] Zoom

[edit] Ultra-wide-angle

[edit] Standard

[edit] Telephoto

[edit] Prime

[edit] Wide-angle

[edit] Standard & medium telephoto

[edit] Telephoto

[edit] Super telephoto

[edit] Macros

[edit] Tilt-shift

[edit] Canon Lens Aging

At the back of your canon lenses you will find a 6 digit code, these are useful code to know where and when your Lens is manufactured.

Example of a code "UV1212"


The first letter 'U' represents the factory that made the lens Three possible first letters are:

U = Utsunomiya

F = Fukushima

O = Oita


The second letter 'V' represent the year of manufacture,

A = 1986, 1960

B = 1987, 1961

C = 1988, 1962

D = 1989, 1963

E = 1990, 1964

F = 1991, 1965

G = 1992, 1966

H = 1993, 1967

I = 1994, 1968

J = 1995, 1969

K = 1996, 1970

L = 1997, 1971

M = 1998, 1972

N = 1999, 1973

O = 2000, 1974

P = 2001, 1975

Q = 2002, 1976

R = 2003, 1977

S = 2004, 1978

T = 2005, 1979

U = 2006, 1980

V = 2007, 1981

W = 2008, 1982

X = 2009, 1983

Y = 2010, 1984

Z = 2011, 1985


The next two digits represent the month of the lens is manufactured"

The last two digits is canon's internal code


Therefore the example of UV1212 means the lens is made in Utsunomiya, Japan factory, on 2007 December.

[edit] See also


[edit] References

  1. ^ Canon EF Lens Work Book 2, page 15)
  2. ^ Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 USM IS - Test Report / Review. photozone. Retrieved on 2008-02-25.

[edit] External links