Whilst this story pails in comparison to the severity of many of the other problems Japan is facing right now, those of you waiting for some of the newer Canon lenses are going to have to wait a little longer. The 8-15mm fisheye zoom lens and the 300mm f2.8 MKII and 40mm f2.8 MKII were already delayed earlier on in the year and now face unknown delays due to the tragic disaster that hit the Eastern seaboard of Japan a few weeks ago. The factory that manufacturers many of Canon’s lenses is located in Utsunomiya, if you have a lens with a datecode beginning with a U then it will have come from that factory. The Utsunomiya plant is located just 120 miles from the severely hit city of Sendai that featured in many of the shocking newscasts during the Tsunami. As a result, Canon Japan confirmed today on their website that these new lenses will be delayed. One can only imagine that there are other lenses that in turn will also be delayed, possibly the 200-400 and the 500mm and 600mm whose development was announced a few months ago along with a couple that we are probably not even aware of yet.
Below is the statement issued by Canon:
