Canon APS-C Lens Patent Surfaces from 1 1/2 Years Ago

It could mean a lot; it could mean a little. A year and a half ago, Canon filed for a patent (via the excellent Canon News) for some mirrorless zoom lenses in APS-C size. The focal lengths range from 18-200mm to 18-240mm.

The claims section of the patent indicate the objective for the design was small size and large zoom ratio. It is more likely that these are M-mount lenses than anything that would grace an R series camera, although the designs wouldn’t physically prevent either.

The numerous lens elements, lumped into eight groups suggest a higher quality lens, but the expected aberration graphs show a lens of a more typical cheap-and-cheerful superzoom.