Are pancake primes extinct ?

liviutza wrote:

Well, the wider a lens gets, the easier is to make it focus. I mean, the physical movements required to focus from the closest point (18cm) for the 14mm lens is smaller compared to the 20mm (20cm closest focus). There is more coming into play (motor type and quality, gearing etc.) but generally speaking the longer a lens gets the more you have to move elements to go from closest focus to infinity; unless close focus is not that close - I have some older 135mm lenses that have a very small focus throw because their closest focus point is about 2m :).

All in all, it's definitely doable but indeed many users would probably not accept the compromises of a pancake, and it would be an average lens in most other respects than size, so a 'long' pancake would probably not be a top seller for any large manufacturer.