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Sigma and Canon’s latest partnership has surprised people, with Canon users sharing their delight in finally getting a third-party lens with autofocus. And now, Canon has finally dropped some subtle hints at the CP+ Show, which can give us an idea about the launch date and future plans for the third-party lenses. At the same time, Sigma has also revealed that they are working on a new lens. What could it be? We will tell you in a minute.
Canon Shares Plans for Third-Party Lenses
During a press conference during the CP+ Show, Canon’s Executive Vice President and Imaging Group Manager, Tsuyoshi Tokura, spoke to the press to address third-party lens manufacturing concerns. He said that the company is “communicating with third-party manufacturers” and that they are “more than halfway” through the communications. However, it now appears that the company is more focused on selling its own full-frame lenses, as it aims to get more profit from that. Here is what Tokura said about the third-party lenses:
Other companies have begun to release several RF lenses, but we have no knowledge of what types of lenses they will release; we only know that these have been released. We cannot disclose the contents of contracts, such as licenses, to the public. Right now, all I can say is that we are deciding the contents of contracts within our business strategy.
After Sigma and Tamron, Samyang also revealed a lens for the APS-C RF mount. However, if Canon is not sharing its plans for full-frame lenses, then it either wants to cancel the details or has no plans to introduce third-party variants. After all, the company’s full-frame lenses do cost a lot, especially the L series lineup. It remains to see what happens when Sigma and other creators do introduce a third-party version.
Sigma To Launch a New 35mm Lens
At the CP+ Show, Sigma’s President Kazuto Yamak stated they will introduce a new version of the existing 35mm f1.4 Art. The original lens was launched in 2019, and per our review, it was heavy, had slow autofocus, and even was priced higher. Sony had its own 35mm f1.8, which not only fits better but also has a lower price tag. Learning from its past mistake, Sigma notes the new lens will be smaller and lighter and will be available for Sony E and Leica L mounts. In addition, it will rectify optical quality, which has always been crystal clear in Sigma’s case. As we had stated earlier, Sigma has been making lenses for other format cameras, and it’s time they focus on that rather than introducing varied versions of existing lenses.
In another interview with Photo Trend, Yamak stated that they feel full-frame lenses are where they need to focus. “Full-frame is a source of opportunity for us. But our plan was to launch these three optics for APS-C to observe the market response. But today, I would like to see how other objectives would be received,” he said. So, there is hope that both Canon and Nikon users will see full-frame variants in the future.
From the looks of it, both Canon and Sigma have their own goals to achieve this year. How many they get to fulfill remains to be seen.
