Canon has today announced two new tilt shift lenses. The first one is called Canon TS-E 17mm f/4L and is a ultra wide tilt shift lens. According to Canon this lens is actually the widest tilt shift lens on the marked today.
The lens features sub-wavelength structure coating (SWC) for the minimization of flare and ghosting, high-precision aspherical front elements to keep distortion to a minimum and multiple UD elements to reduce chromatic aberration.
The Canon TS-E 17mm f/4L will be available in May 2009 and cost about $2,499.
Press release:
Canon U.S.A. Expands Its Lens Portfolio With The Introduction Of Two New Wide-Angle Tilt-Shift Lenses
Canon Introduces the New TS-E 24mm f/3.5L II and the TS-E 17mm f/4L Tilt-Shift Lenses
LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y., February 17, 2009 – Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in digital imaging and optics, today introduced two new Tilt-Shift lenses, the TS-E 24mm f/3.5L II and the TS-E 17mm f/4L. These two new L series lenses expand the Company’s extensive lens line-up of TS-E lenses giving photographers creative control over perspective and depth of field in their images. Both the TS-E 24mm f/3.5L II and the TS-E 17mm f/4L are specialty lenses ideal for landscape and architectural photography and are compatible with all Canon EOS system single lens reflex cameras1. The TS-E 24mm f/3.5L II, a replacement for Canon’s TS-E 24mm f/3.5L introduced in 1991, has significantly improved operability with low distortion when photographing buildings, consistent image quality throughout the image and reduced chromatic aberration when shooting at ultra-wide angles. The TS-E 17mm f/4L is the world’s shortest focal length Tilt-Shift lens with full-frame 35mm coverage.
“These two new lenses are Canon’s answer to photographers who have requested wider angle Tilt-Shift lenses, with the new TS-E 24mm for wide angles and the all new TS-E 17mm for ultra-wide angles. We continually seek to expand our optics portfolio to meet the demands of our photographers to ensure that they have the best tools available to capture some of the most stunning images on the planet,” stated Yuichi Ishizuka, senior vice president and general manager, Consumer Imaging Group, Canon U.S.A.
An innovative feature on both the TS-E 24mm f/3.5L II and the TS-E 17mm f/4L lenses is Canon’s new TS Revolving System. This feature allows tilting and shifting lens movements to be adjusted in parallel or at right angles to each other, with detents at 45˚ intervals. Additionally, once the TS Revolving System has been set, the orientation of the entire lens can be rotated freely through a range of ±90˚, with detents at 30˚ intervals. The amount of tilt is ±8.5˚ for the TS-E 24mm f/3.5L II and ±6.5˚ for the TS-E 17mm f/4L. The amount of shift is ±12mm for both lenses. The image circle diameter for both lenses is an impressive 67.2mm. (The diagonal measurement of the full-frame 35mm format is only 43.2mm.)
The high-precision glass molded aspherical and UD glass lens elements and accurate aspherical GMo along with a large diameter in new TS-E lenses deliver outstanding image quality, high resolution and super-low distortion to all edges of the image. Each lens incorporates a new type of anti-reflection coating, Canon’s SubWavelength structure Coating (SWC) that continuously changes the refractive index on the lens surface via wedge-shaped structures more minute than wavelength of visible light. Canon’s SWC helps minimize flare and ghosting caused by bright light from large angles of incidence. The new TS-E lenses are the 2nd and 3rd Canon EF series lenses with SWC, following the EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM that was introduced in 2008.
Pricing and Availability
The TS-E 24mm f/3.5L II is expected to ship in May for an estimated retail price of $2,199.00*. The TS-E 17mm f/4L is expected to ship in May for an estimated retail price of $2,499.00*.
