Canon files a patent for a new 24-70mm f/2.8 image stabilized lens

Is Canon about to update its 24-70mm f/2.8 lens with image stabilization? A recently found patent suggests so, and it would fit well into the scheme that we've seen lately. Canon has already introduced image stabilization into some of its bread-and-butter lenses, including the 35mm f/2 and 28mm f/2.8 lenses. Especially with DSLR videography and the Cinema EOS series in mind, introducing more stabilized lenses would only make sense for Canon.

This isn't the first such patent that we've seen from Canon. Also this year, the company filed patents for various image stabilized macro lenses, including a 180mm f/3.5 and a 300mm f/3.5, as well as for stabilized versions of its 85mm f/1.8, 100mm f/2 and 135mm f/2.8 lenses. And last year, we saw a patent for a stabilized version of the "nifty fifty" 50mm f/1.8. Also, in the face of the competition from third-party manufacturers such as Tamron, who already has a stabilized 24-70mm f/2.8 in its lens lineup, it seems about time that Canon catch up with their own offering.

Currently, if you want to buy a comparable lens from Canon, you'll have to go with the slower 24-70mm f/4 version. We assume that back when the 24-70mm f/2.8 was first introduced, Canon didn't think its lenses would ever be used to shoot video – where image stabilization is a must – and so concluded that only the slower versions of its lenses would need to be stabilized.

As it always is with patents, there's no way to tell if and when these lenses will actually be made. But considering the need for stabilized lenses in the video world, and the pressure from third party competitors, it would only be logical that Canon update some of its popular designs with image stabilization.

(via Canon Watch)