When Canon Updates or Discontinues a Lens

When Canon announces an update or discontinues a lens, when do they stop manufacturing the old? For instance, the 24L -> 24L II... what is the last production date of the 24L, and how long after did they start producing the 24L II?

I suppose this will give us SOME insight as to when the next update will arise if we know the latest date code for a given lens. FWIW, my 35L is a UX02 date code, so who knows when the 35L II will be announced.

My guess is Canon either tries to fulfill orders placed before/after a Mark II was announced or immediately stops production and let stocks of the Mark I run out. The 14L took about 6-9 months to totally exhaust and was considered "discontinued" after 12 months. I don't expect the Mark I's to go on sale as Mark II's are generally priced 35% higher.

You could tell when the Mark II of a product arrives based on Canon's past behavior. They're doing Mark II's based on FIFO so the next up to be discontinued are the 35L, 135L and 180L. After which the fast super telephotos should be next.

Announcements of new products happens bi-annually either during PMA or the weeks when Photokina happens. Shipping happens either on April/May or December.

Based on available data/rumors we could see a 35L II by December or April/May of next year. The delay to April/May could be attributed to the Winter Olympics and the World Cup where in the fast Super telephotos will be given priority this upgrade cycle. Nikon after all introduced new Super telephotos two years ago and the Beijing Olympics showed equal numbers of black and white lenses where white barrels used to dominate.

The product cycle of the previous fast Super Telephotos was 11 years and the current fast Super Telephotos are on their 10th year.

Having a Mark II ship is a good thing as Mark I's drop in price and you have access to updated gear.