Canon 50 Million EF Lenses Press Release

Canon EF Lens Collection

Canon celebrates production of 50 million EF lenses

TOKYO, January 29, 2010—Canon Inc. and Canon Marketing Japan Inc. announced today the achievement of a new EF lens-manufacturing milestone with the production of the company's 50-millionth lens, an EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM.

Production of interchangeable EF lenses for Canon EOS-series AF (autofocus) single-lens reflex cameras began in 1987 at the company's Utsunomiya Plant, and has since expanded to a total of four production facilities including Canon Inc., Taiwan; Canon Opto (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd.; and Oita Canon Inc. in Japan. EF lenses reached the 10-million-unit milestone after approximately eight and a half years in production, followed by the 40-million-unit mark in April of 2008. Owing to the popularity of the EOS Digital series, production then increased 10 million units to reach the current 50-million-unit milestone in December 2009 after a mere one year and eight months.

First introduced in March 1987, along with Canon's EOS SLR camera system, the EF lens has over the years featured a range of innovative proprietary technologies to lead the industry. These include such world's firsts (*1) as the Ultrasonic Motor-powered lens (USM), Image Stabilizer (IS) to compensate for the effects of camera shake, Subwavelength Structure Coating (SWC) anti-reflection technology, and a super telephoto lens that employs a diffractive optical element. Last year, Canon successfully commercialized the Hybrid IS, a technology that effectively compensates for both angle-based camera shake and shift-based camera shake, utilized in the EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM lens.

Canon's current EF lens lineup compromises 65 models (*2) ranging from super-wide-angle lenses to super-telephoto zoom lenses, catering to the varying needs of photographers from first-time users to advanced-amateurs and professionals. The company's diverse selection of lenses offers several features including a number of zoom options ranging from standard to super-telephoto, Image Stabilizer-equipped lenses, large-diameter lenses, macro-lenses and TS-E lenses featuring a special tilt-shift mechanism allowing manipulation of image perspective and distortion. In addition, the EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM, featuring outstanding optical performance and Image Stabilization, is planned for market release in early March 2010.

Canon will continue to proactively introduce innovative technologies, striving to provide superlative image quality and reliability in lens production.

*1 Among interchangeable lenses for SLR cameras
*2 Including two EF lens extenders and models available outside of Japan