When can I buy my 16-55 1.8???

Think there will ever be such a lens? I would not mind the cost and extra pounds.

Maybe for a non-SLR...

Check out some cinematography lenses - panavision and zeiss. They might have something similar.

Canon doesn't make zoom lenses with apertures wider than f/2.8.

I know

liza wrote in post #2249740
Canon doesn't make zoom lenses with apertures wider than f/2.8.

Until the laws of physics change, this will probably neveer happen.

on the other hand, 10 years ago people though it was impossible to make a 70-200 2.8

If there is ever to be an f/1.8 zoom, I suspect that it will be in the middle zoom range, not the ultra-wide range. A 16 mm lens already presents a challenge as it is a focal length that is shorter than the distance from the back of the lens to the sensor plane. Making such a lens, as a zoom, and in an ultra-fast aperture would be a daunting task.

On the other hand, a 35-105 f/1.8 zoom might be relatively easy by comparison, though probably not cheap.

Doesn't Pentax make an f/2.0 zoom? Or maybe I was dreaming that I read that.

belmondo wrote in post #2249793
Until the laws of physics change, this will probably neveer happen.

What law says that you can't make an f/1.8 zoom?

Olympus makes an f/2 zoom.

DocFrankenstein wrote in post #2250019
What law says that you can't make an f/1.8 zoom?

Olympus makes an f/2 zoom.

That's the one I was thinking about. Does anyone know how it stacks up to a Canon zoom in terms of image quality, though? There's got to be a reason why Canon and the other reputable third party companies aren't making them, and my guess would be the cost of manufacturing them.

belmondo wrote in post #2249793
Until the laws of physics change, this will probably neveer happen.

It's not a physical problem, it's an engineering one.

There was a colloquium at my school the other day talking about lens resolution. We've always thought light can only pick up information down to it's wavelength (blue-ray) but now, we're discovering how light is actually *not* bound by that restriction, picking up far more information than that.

They claim to have an infinite resolution lens in the making. I'm betting it's German. Hah.

Hmm. These are the reasons I think we are cooler than engineers (we talk about crazy bleeding edge discoveries while we let them deal with engineering difficulties hahaha)

all in playful jest, no hard feelings!

liza wrote in post #2250027
That's the one I was thinking about. Does anyone know how it stacks up to a Canon zoom in terms of image quality, though? There's got to be a reason why Canon and the other reputable third party companies aren't making them, and my guess would be the cost of manufacturing them.

Cause nobody REALLY needs them. My sigma 70-200 gives me crazy bokeh as it is at f/2.8... with f/2 I'll have a .0001 mm DOF to deal with?

No thanks. I'd rather have enough light and shoot at f/5.6

There's the zeiss 6-24 t/1.9 and the 17-112 f/1.9

Or the panavision t/2.3 4 to 1 primo zoom. It's effectively an f/2 probably.

Have a couple of beers and think real hard about it before you go to sleep tonight. Before you know it you'll be making the purchase and the gorgeous sales person will be offering to pose for you.

DocFrankenstein wrote in post #2250110
There's the zeiss 6-24 t/1.9 and the 17-112 f/1.9

Or the panavision t/2.3 4 to 1 primo zoom. It's effectively an f/2 probably.

Yeah. And look at what they're covering - nothing close to even an APS-C sensor. Same for Olympus' 4/3 lenses with the 2x crop (on a different aspect ratio sensor, as well).