Canon Patent P2026043301: Exploring 14mm F1.4 & 18mm F1.4 Ultra-Wide Designs
Canon has published a new set of optical patent applications in Japan outlining several large‑aperture wide‑angle and standard prime lens designs for full‑frame imaging systems. The patents, surfaced via Asobinet, provide a detailed look at Canon’s ongoing optical research rather than indicating any confirmed product plans.
The Basics of the Patent
| Patent Details | Information |
|---|---|
| Issue date | 2026-03-12 |
| Title of invention | Optical system and imaging apparatus including the same |
| Application number | P 2026043301 |
| Application date | 2024-08-28 |
| Patent holder | Canon Inc. (ID: 000001007) |
Stated technical objective
The patent explicitly defines its goal as:
Providing an optical system that achieves high optical performance at a large aperture ratio while enabling high‑speed focusing.
This framing places the emphasis squarely on optical efficiency and autofocus compatibility, rather than purely maximizing aperture size.
Optical design examples in the patent
The patent includes multiple concrete design examples, each representing a different focal length and optical balance. These examples illustrate how Canon is exploring fast‑aperture performance across a range of wide‑angle and standard perspectives.
Example 1 — Ultra‑wide fast prime
- Focal length: 14.42mm
- Maximum aperture: F1.46
- Half angle of view: 52.34°
- Image height: 18.68mm
- Total length: 118.50mm
- Back focus: 14.00mm
This design targets extreme wide‑angle coverage with a very large aperture, highlighting the challenge of maintaining image quality while keeping back focus short enough for mirrorless mounts.
Example 2 — Alternative wide‑angle configuration
- Focal length: 18.45mm
- Maximum aperture: F1.46
- Angle of view: 45.46°
- Image height: 18.75mm
- Total length: 121.17mm
- Back focus: 17.78mm
This design appears to explore a different compromise between lens length and back focus, indicating multiple parallel approaches to similar focal lengths.
Example 3 — Wide‑angle fast prime
- Focal length: 20.60mm
- Maximum aperture: F1.46
- Half angle of view: 42.54°
- Image height: 18.90mm
- Total length: 117.50mm
- Back focus: 18.44mm
Compared to the 14mm design, this configuration relaxes angular coverage slightly, allowing more flexibility in aberration correction and mechanical layout.
Example 4 — Moderate wide‑angle design
- Focal length: 24.72mm
- Maximum aperture: F1.46
- Angle of view: 37.40°
- Image height: 18.90mm
- Total length: 117.50mm
- Back focus: 15.00mm
This example suggests a balance between wide‑angle coverage and optical stability, potentially reducing off‑axis aberrations while retaining a fast aperture.
Example 5 — Standard fast prime
- Focal length: 34.00mm
- Maximum aperture: F1.85
- Angle of view: 30.41°
- Image height: 19.96mm
- Total length: 98.50mm
- Back focus: 14.00mm
Unlike the ultra‑wide examples, this configuration shifts focus toward compactness while maintaining a relatively fast aperture, suggesting attention to everyday usability.
Engineering implications
Across all examples, several consistent themes emerge:
- Large aperture ratios paired with controlled lens length
- Short back focus distances, compatible with mirrorless mounts
- Design emphasis on high optical performance without sacrificing autofocus speed
The repeated use of similar total lengths across different focal lengths suggests Canon is exploring modular or scalable optical architectures rather than isolated one‑off designs.
What this patent represents
These patent filings should be viewed as engineering studies, not product roadmaps. They document Canon’s internal exploration of how far large‑aperture performance can be pushed at wide and standard focal lengths while remaining compatible with modern autofocus systems.
For readers interested in optical design rather than release speculation, this patent offers a clear snapshot of Canon’s current research priorities in fast prime lens development.