Canon Patent Points to Compact 100mm and 130mm f2.8 Macro Revival

A newly published Canon patent, number 2026-155997, describes four 1:1 macro lens designs for full-frame RF mount — 90mm f2.8, 100mm f2.8, 130mm f2.8 and 180mm f4 — with a stated goal of high optical performance in a shorter overall length. Reported by Asobinet, the filing is the strongest signal yet that Canon wants to fill out its thin macro lineup. The current RF range offers just four close-up options.

The patent's four examples all cover a full-frame image height of 21.64mm at life-size (1.0x) magnification:

• Example 1: 87.30mm focal length, f2.92, total length 120.00mm, back focus 14.62mm
• Example 2: 103.14mm, f2.92, total length 125.00mm, back focus 14.0mm
• Example 3: 130.87mm, f2.92, total length 135.00mm, back focus 14.00mm
• Example 4: 174.59mm, f4.12, total length 130.00mm, back focus 14.70mm

What does this change for working macro shooters?

Compactness is the actual product here. Canon says it aims for high optical performance with a shorter overall lens, and the numbers back that up against the company's earlier filing. The 135mm-class design shrinks from 160.82mm to 130mm — a 26mm reduction at the same aperture. The 130mm example comes in at 135mm total, and once you subtract the back focus, the working length is 115mm, shorter than the existing 100mm f2.8L.

The 100mm f2.8 is the new addition. It didn't appear in the previous patent, which covered a 90mm f2.8, a 135mm f2.8 and a 180mm f3.5. Canon already sells a 100mm f2.8L, so the new design suggests the company is exploring the whole 90–180mm range as compact options rather than replacing a single lens.

The 90mm design has barely moved — 120mm then, 120mm now — though back focus grew from 10mm to 14.6mm, which gives designers more room to work with. That 90mm is widely linked by rumor reports to a rumored 90mm f2.8 STM macro, raising a practical question: will these carry the L badge, or will only the 90mm sit below the 100mm L as a budget tier?

The 180mm is a different story

The earlier patent's 180mm design reads as a revival of the EF 180mm f3.5L. Canon Rumors noted its five-group layout, in which only the front and middle groups focus, so neither group travels far. Back focus drops to 168mm versus 186mm on the EF lens. For insect, reptile and flower photographers who need working distance, that's the successor worth watching.

The physics argument holds up too. The 0.4-stop difference between the earlier design and this one matters less than it sounds — at 1:1 magnification the effective aperture is already much smaller, and macro shooters stop down for depth of field regardless.

One caveat before anyone budgets for glass: patents are not product roadmaps. Some filings never become lenses. Still, for RF shooters waiting on true 1:1 options beyond the current lineup — the existing 24mm and 85mm aren't real 1:1 macros — this filing suggests Canon sees money in compact macro.