Canon Surpasses 100 Million EF Lenses Produced

Canon has crossed the 100 million unit mark on EF lens produced since it first launched the Canon EOS-series of SLR cameras in 1987. The milestone was reached with production on April 22, 2014 of the Company’s 100-millionth EF-series interchangeable lens for EOS cameras*-an EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Extender 1.4X.

This comes less than a year after Canon announced production totals of 90 million EF lenses in May 2013. The company has been producing lenses at a pace of a little more than 10 million lenses per year since 2008.

Canon EF Lens Production Timeline

• 1987: EF lens production begins
• 1995: 10 million lenses
• 2001: 20 million lenses
• 2006: 30 million lenses
• 2008: 40 million lenses
• 2009: 50 million lenses
• Jan. 2011: 60 million lenses
• Oct. 2011: 70 million lenses
• Aug. 2012: 80 million lenses
• May 2013: 90 million lenses
• April 2013: 100 million lenses

We heard from Canon in February of this year that it has produced 70 millions EOS cameras in the same time frame. While Canon hasn’t shared the ratio of kit lenses sold, it is pretty clear from looking at these numbers that most of the lenses produced are kit lenses – most likely for entry-level DSLRs. I would love to know the total number of EF-S 18-55mm lenses sold out of those 100 million.

Expect the next 10 million lens milestone early 2015. In the mean time, watch for Nikon to announce a production milestone of 90 million lenses around the August/September time frame based on recent trends after hitting 85 million lenses in January 2014.