Why do they have to be white?

[mcneguy]

"L" glass...why do so many of them have to be white? You see, I want to buy the 70-200 or 100-400 zooms and if they were black my wife would never notice that I have a new lens, but they're white, and it will stick out like..well, a white lens on a black body.


What's the reason for that, does anyone know? I'm guessing marketing, you see gobs of pros at sporting events with white lenses and everyone in the know will say "That guy is using a Canon lens".

The bottom line is that the color isn't helping me at all..

[Jim_T]

The two versions I've heard are:

White reflects heat.. In the sun, there is less chance of the lens getting warm and expanding.. thereby causing changes in tolerance.

They're easily spotted.. Every time a TV camera pans the sidelines at a sporting event, Canon gets their lens plugged by the number of sports photographers using them.. :)

The true 'mark' of an L lens is the red ring around the end.. Only the telephoto L's are white....

[nosquare2003]

Your wife would not notice something that big as 70-200 or 100-400 zoom lenses!?

[cloudless]

Perhaps Canon will make a white camera body one day. Make it EOS300DL. :lol:

[Belmondo]

Perhaps Canon will make a white camera body one day. Make it EOS300DL. :lol:

The thought of it boggles the mind. Don’t forget the red stripe.

My answer to getting things past the wife is really fundamentally simple: I lie about nearly everything. :twisted:

For example:
“Dear, the big white lenses are much cheaper to produce than the little black ones. Miniaturization is very expensive, you know, especially in photographic equipment. I'm selling off all my expensive black lenses, replacing them with cheap white ones, and I’m doing it just for you.”

Also, I have a rare ‘window of opportunity’ right now. My wife’s eyesight is very bad while she waits for her cataracts to become operable. For the next couple of months, she' unable to read the credit card statements, so a couple ‘minor’ charges for big-ticket items might just slide by. :twisted: :twisted:

(Just kidding. I fear my wife much too much to ever consider such nefarious activities.) :wink: :wink:

(Or do I? April fool.) :lol:

[KennyG]

"L" glass...why do so many of them have to be white? You see, I want to buy the 70-200 or 100-400 zooms and if they were black my wife would never notice that I have a new lens, but they're white, and it will stick out like..well, a white lens on a black body.

Out of season winter models, painted white camouflage for wildlife photogs and being sold off cheap now spring is here. You could play the rebate scam - 'Yes dear, it was $1,000 but I have a $500 rebate coming so it is really half price". :lol:

If your wife is a photog like mine, no chance. She can smell L glass at 500 yards.

[Hatem Eldoronki]

Could the white color also allow for more light to be inside the lens, thus increasing the lens' speed?!

[Belmondo]

It's a weight issue.
Black lenses are lighter weight in daylight use. As the sun heats the black surface, heated air inside the lens becomes less dense, much like a hot air balloon. Theoretically, if the sun is hot enough, a lens can actually become airborne. Anyone using black lenses on hot days is encouraged to carry a butterfly net to retrieve runaway lenses.

Come to think of it, this is another great excuse for buying white lenses..."Honey, my black lens floated away. This white one won't do that!" :wink:

[Canuck]

Well the zooms from 70-xxx on up are white. I am thinking I could paint the 16-35 F2.8L and 24-70 F2.8L I have white to make up for it.

April Fools!

I couldn't imagine doing that to those lenses, they are bloody expensive each never mind the 2 of them! You know the French have poisson d'Avril (April Fish as it translates) just for something different. Do they have that too in the French bits of Canada?

[rodbunn]

White helps with the heat..... That's the only reason.

[cloudless]

If that's the only reason then there shouldn't be any black lens at all.

[rodbunn]

Black lenses are for NITE TIME shooting . . . :lol:

I'm kidding, I think the LONGER the lense the more "heat"
comes into AFFECT, so the shorter lenses are not a worry.
Black sells better, looks more professional, etc, etc, etc.
Besides, how would you be able to tell who spent the most
for a lense???

Rod

[Tom W]

If that's the only reason then there shouldn't be any black lens at all.

Well, heat is a reason - lenses that are most likely to spend the day outside are the long tele's. Canon makes theirs white partially so that they will stay cooler.

But the other reason is this:

http://www.usa.canon.com/eflenses/pdf/magad_june2003.pdf

When camera-savvy people (and wannabe savvy people like me) see "big white" at the sideline of their favorite soccer or football game, they see a big red CANON staring at them. It is advertizing and it is essentially free.

[Belmondo]

You mean I really don't need this butterfly net?

I feel so used.
:oops: :oops:

Thanks for clearing that up for me. :wink:

[Tom W]

You mean I really don't need this butterfly net?

I feel so used.
:oops: :oops:

Thanks for clearing that up for me. :wink:

Its considered passe to carry a butterfly net. Spiked-collar leather lens leashes are the new "in" thing. With the red-dyed leather, they look particularly fetching on a white lens. :D

[TechKnowBabble]

My answer to getting things past the wife is really fundamentally simple: I lie about nearly everything. :twisted:

For example:
“Dear, the big white lenses are much cheaper to produce than the little black ones. Miniaturization is very expensive, you know, especially in photographic equipment. I'm selling off all my expensive black lenses, replacing them with cheap white ones, and I’m doing it just for you.”

Also, I have a rare ‘window of opportunity’ right now. My wife’s eyesight is very bad while she waits for her cataracts to become operable. For the next couple of months, she' unable to read the credit card statements, so a couple ‘minor’ charges for big-ticket items might just slide by. :twisted: :twisted:

(Just kidding. I fear my wife much too much to ever consider such nefarious activities.) :wink: :wink:

(Or do I? April fool.) :lol:

OUCH...hehehehehhee glad I'm not your wife....or wait...all those beautiful lenses....maybe a a few little 'white lies' *snicker* aren't so bad after all :-)

Nikki