Why are longer 'L' lenses white?
Discussion
Is there some sort of historical reason for this? Near enough every camera lens in the world, including 'L' lenses up to 135mm or so are black, so why do Canon insist on making the 70-200mm upwards white? 
I still really want a 70-200mm F4, but I'd be willing to pay more to have one in normal black rather than attention w
e white. 
I still really want a 70-200mm F4, but I'd be willing to pay more to have one in normal black rather than attention w
e white. 
Gemm said:
I believe it's for reducing heat absorption.
(and it's also because they look great in white!)
Yup. Black is better normally as it doesn't reflect light, where as with the long stuff you don't want the thermals / collimation issues with a long black tube in the sun all day. Conversely, telescopes are all black as there's no sun at night!(and it's also because they look great in white!)
Edited by Gemm on Friday 6th February 10:31
I guess that while heat absorption may be the official reason, marketing is probably of greater importance. When people see great banks of white lenses at sports events it must be great for Canon's image. Given that white lenses now have such an association with Canon, I guess it would be counter-productive for Nikon and other companies to make their lenses in white.
Edited by SamHH on Friday 6th February 11:42
It was originally due to heat absorption, but Canon quickly realised the marketing benefits of Joe public (or eve Joe the Plumber) seeing the professional press pack with lots of white lenses (as they were the only ones who did this). Nikon more recently have tried to strike back by offering their pro range lenses in gray.
Pretty sure I read in one of the CPS magazines Canon send me its to do with heat absorption but as has been stated early its now a "look how we dominate the sports scene" statement.
I must say they certainly do the job well
This shot is from my early days of digital (2002?)when I got the newly released Canon D30
3.3MegaPixel for 2000 quid
I must say they certainly do the job well
This shot is from my early days of digital (2002?)when I got the newly released Canon D30
3.3MegaPixel for 2000 quid
Edited by red355 on Friday 6th February 20:56
It might just be urban-photogear-myth but I thought that as Canon were moving (some years ago) into more exotic materials for making lenses they realised that with some of these the heat absorption could affect the optical properties as elements moved or coatings heated up.
White outer for the lens was the obvious solution to high temperatures, or even medium temperatures but on the bright sunny days when sports and wildlife shooters could see high levels of absorbed heat from direct sunlight.
The look has predominated, but maybe there is a vestige of practical requirement?
Certainly I am willing to believe that it's technology-function driving form.
My preference would be for a lens from a manufacturer that had a design which wasn't going to be affected by outside temperature difference, hence another of the reasons why I have a personal preference for Nokin-Nikkors.
White outer for the lens was the obvious solution to high temperatures, or even medium temperatures but on the bright sunny days when sports and wildlife shooters could see high levels of absorbed heat from direct sunlight.
The look has predominated, but maybe there is a vestige of practical requirement?
Certainly I am willing to believe that it's technology-function driving form.
My preference would be for a lens from a manufacturer that had a design which wasn't going to be affected by outside temperature difference, hence another of the reasons why I have a personal preference for Nokin-Nikkors.
beano500 said:
My preference would be for a lens from a manufacturer that had a design which wasn't going to be affected by outside temperature difference, hence another of the reasons why I have a personal preference for Nokin-Nikkors.
I think you're being disingenous there.Black absorbs heat much better than white, so in the sun a black lens will get warmer.
No lens has a vacuum inside.
Therefore on a sunny day the air inside the lens WILL be warmer than the ambient air.
Finally, you know from looking at the heat-haze rising off e.g. hot tarmac that warmer air tends to diffract more than cool air. Clearly my example is at the extreme end of the scale, but the point still stands.
As a neutral, a bit of googling shows that both of you are right:
http://photonotes.org/articles/beginner-faq/lenses... says:
[i]'Why are some Canon lenses painted white or silver?
Nearly all large telephoto L series lenses have barrels constructed from solid metal and painted off-white, rather than black plastic or black-painted metal. Canon say they do this since white surfaces absorb less heat than black when used out in the sun, and fluorite crystal lens elements are sensitive to heat - they can expand and contract, altering their optical properties. Of course, the fact that a white-painted Canon lens stands out in the crowd is probably part of the reason as well. Look at any major sports event and you’ll see rows of hefty white lenses. Though to confuse matters Nikon have also begun to sell some lenses in optional white paint.'[/i]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canon_L_lens says:
'Larger sized L-lenses, such as the 70-200mm and 100-400mm zooms and longer focal length primes (300mm+), usually have an off-white barrel (sometimes referred to as the color "putty") to reduce heat absorption under the sun that may otherwise affect the performance of the lens, as well as to identify Canon's lenses (for example at sporting events)'
However, exactly how much image quality is reduced by heat absorbtion does not seems to be quantified. One has to think that if it was a factor, then Nikon would do the same.
ETA: The first quote should be italics but I can't get them to work.
http://photonotes.org/articles/beginner-faq/lenses... says:
[i]'Why are some Canon lenses painted white or silver?
Nearly all large telephoto L series lenses have barrels constructed from solid metal and painted off-white, rather than black plastic or black-painted metal. Canon say they do this since white surfaces absorb less heat than black when used out in the sun, and fluorite crystal lens elements are sensitive to heat - they can expand and contract, altering their optical properties. Of course, the fact that a white-painted Canon lens stands out in the crowd is probably part of the reason as well. Look at any major sports event and you’ll see rows of hefty white lenses. Though to confuse matters Nikon have also begun to sell some lenses in optional white paint.'[/i]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canon_L_lens says:
'Larger sized L-lenses, such as the 70-200mm and 100-400mm zooms and longer focal length primes (300mm+), usually have an off-white barrel (sometimes referred to as the color "putty") to reduce heat absorption under the sun that may otherwise affect the performance of the lens, as well as to identify Canon's lenses (for example at sporting events)'
However, exactly how much image quality is reduced by heat absorbtion does not seems to be quantified. One has to think that if it was a factor, then Nikon would do the same.
ETA: The first quote should be italics but I can't get them to work.
Edited by Simpo Two on Saturday 7th February 12:18
I did read something on the net that may have been nikon propoganda. It claimed that the formulation Canon uses for its lenses is more heat sensitive than the one Nikon uses. They claimed this was the main reason, and that furthermore the Nikon material was more expensive which was why their lenses cost more.
No idea if its true lol.
No idea if its true lol.
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