Why canon lenses white

This lens, released in , was the first RF lens with Canon's new heat-shield white coating. It may look unremarkable, but Canon's latest white paint is packed full of heat-shielding technology that can keep a telephoto lens significantly cooler than it would be otherwise.

Written by Mark Alexander and Alex Summersby. Discover the design concepts and tech behind some of the latest Canon kit, with insider insights from members of Canon's design teams. Multi-layer Diffractive Optical Element is a technology that combines the characteristics of aspherical and fluorite elements.

Find out more. The developers reveal 5 technical innovations and breakthrough technologies in Canon's latest RF-mount telephoto zoom lens. It's easy to take the technology behind autofocus for granted.

Canon Logo. The story behind Canon's iconic white lenses Canon's super telephoto lenses may be instantly recognisable thanks to their distinctive white paint, but the technology behind the coating is just as remarkable.

From rugby to motor racing, from swimming to tennis — whatever the sport, major sporting events around the world have one thing in common: rows of photographers with white Canon super-telephoto lenses. They're so well established, they almost define the sidelines in many sports.

But have you ever stopped to wonder: just why are Canon lenses white? There is actually a very important quality-related reason for that distinctive Canon white lens paint, and the story behind it is a tale of innovation in pursuit of imaging perfection. So why does Canon make its telephoto lenses white? The reason is simple: heat. When photographers are outdoors, under the blazing sun, even a slight warping of the lens components due to heat can have a negative effect on the resulting photo.

And holding a hot lens for long periods of time is also a burden for photographers. Even in the harshest conditions, Canon wants photographers to get the best possible shot every time. This is the motivation behind Canon's white lens paint. White is the most effective colour for reflecting heat.

However, Canon's lenses aren't actually pure white. Although white lenses are superb at resisting heat, they can also reflect light particularly brightly, interfering with the shots of other photographers nearby.

That's why Canon chose to adopt a slightly off-white shade — a softer white that doesn't reflect light quite as harshly. And in fact, Canon's white lens paint has evolved over the decades. Do you own Canon kit? The development didn't end there, however. Engineers now needed to compare the old and new lens coatings and test whether the new coating guaranteed better-than-ever heat reflection. They placed temperature sensors on the outside and inside of the lenses and took them out to test them under the intense heat of the sun.

Comparing the differences in heat reflection capability was no easy task. Even with a new and old lens placed right next to each other, a minor difference in the position and angle of the attached camera affected how much and where the sunlight fell on the lens. The presence of wind complicates things as well. In order to ensure accurate testing, some engineers made a near-impossible request for testing under intense heat without any wind or breeze at all.

While performing experiment after experiment under the scorching sun, engineers recreated the tests and performed quality checks with lenses left under artificial sunlight, using the same conditions as the lenses tested under natural sunlight. And finally, development of the new "white" lens was complete. In this iconic color lies Canon's heartfelt wish that its customers capture "the very best shot and the very best video.

To protect customers' confidence in our brand, our QA standards go beyond what is required by law. New core businesses for growth Currently, Canon is in the midst of a grand strategic transformation designed to accelerate growth in our four new businesses. Our Business. News Releases IR News. Canon Sustainability Report We introduce Canon's activities through a framework featuring elements of an integrated report.

About Canon. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Dunja Djudjic is a writer and photographer from Novi Sad, Serbia.

You can see her work on Flickr , Behance and her Facebook page. Alex is a commercial photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She mostly shoots people and loves anything to do with the outdoors. You can see her work on her website and follow her Spanish landscape adventures on instagram.

Adam owns a production company that specializes in corporate marketing and brand strategy. His videos have collectively hit over a quarter billion views.

Rowbear's gear list: Rowbear's gear list. SayersWeb wrote: I've noticed in photos of the L lenses that some look white and others look beige. F Forum M My threads. You may also like. Have your say: Best camera of Latest sample galleries. Tamron mm F2. Panasonic S 35mm F1. DJI Mavic 3 Cine sample gallery. Nikon Z9 pre-production sample gallery. See more galleries ». Latest in-depth reviews. Read more reviews ». Latest buying guides. Best video cameras for photographers in Best cameras for Instagram in Best drones in Best cameras for vlogging in Check out more buying guides ».