32mm f/1.4 - Why it's so darned cool ...

John TF wrote:

Marco:

Do you happen to know whether this Super Spectra Coating is used on other EF-M lenses?

The EF-M 11-22mm f/4-5.6 IS STM lens DOES have Super Spectra Coatings and we all know how well that lens performs!!.  The other M-series lenses have some special coatings on them but not the SSC (to my knowledge at this time).  I don't own all the other lenses (just three at the moment) so I'm not certain what they have.  The SSC coatings are used on mostly L-series lenses and it is the modern version of Canon's older 'Spectra Coating' which was developed way back in the 1960s.   The difference ought to be noticeable in performance.  I'm pondering whether or not I need to buy a quality filter to protect the outer element on the 32mm lens since I may not use a Lens Hood with this lens ...and I know that a firm knock or an abrasive surface will mark i (although it appears to be recessed slightly and will be well protected). 
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Protecting Lens Coatings...
There are several EF-M lenses that I don't bother to use a filter with.  Out of all my lenses (EF included) I don't use a filter on the 22mm and 28mm because they are small optics, easy to clean and have a basic anti-reflective coating.
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* One thing that can damage lens coating (presumably some and not all) is sunscreen... which can be destructive to optical coatings (it contains powdered nanoparticle elements that are abrasive and contains chemicals that can penetrate between the layers of a coating on a lens in some cases - LINK to DISCUSSION ).  The process of delamination seems to affect the EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM more than any other lens I've encountered.  No doubt Canon will have resolved that issue by now.
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The Super Spectra Coating improve image quality in several ways and SSC is featured on a lot of EF-S lenses plus the super expensive top-of-the-line EF White L-series lenses.  It's also on a number of telephoto lenses plus the "nifty fifty". 
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It's featured on most of my L-series lenses from the EF family.  They've even placed SSC BELOW the Air-Sphere Coating (new Canon tech coatings for lens flare) on the EF 100-400mmL II.

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DKCJB wrote:

i was just going to say my FD lenses from the 1970/80’s had this, and were marked FD SSC on the front, so the beginning of this post brought back those memories. Thought maybe that was part of all their lenses since then and they just don’t talk about it anymore but nevertheless that description sounded familiar.

You have an early type SSC on your lens...!!!  They stopped printing the S.S.C. on the lenses when the EF changeover occurred and the method of Vapor Deposit coating, plus the quality and thickness of the coating, has changed over time.  I think only some FD lenses had the coatings, not all of them... the FDn series had S.C. coatings or none at all.

Also the EF-M 22mm f/2 STM  has the Super Spectra coatings.

Marco Nero wrote:

John TF wrote:

Marco:

Do you happen to know whether this Super Spectra Coating is used on other EF-M lenses?

The EF-M 11-22mm f/4-5.6 IS STM lens DOES have Super Spectra Coatings and we all know how well that lens performs!!. The other M-series lenses have some special coatings on them but not the SSC (to my knowledge at this time). I don't own all the other lenses (just three at the moment) so I'm not certain what they have. The SSC coatings are used on mostly L-series lenses and it is the modern version of Canon's older 'Spectra Coating' which was developed way back in the 1960s. The difference ought to be noticeable in performance. I'm pondering whether or not I need to buy a quality filter to protect the outer element on the 32mm lens since I may not use a Lens Hood with this lens ...and I know that a firm knock or an abrasive surface will mark i (although it appears to be recessed slightly and will be well protected).
.
Protecting Lens Coatings...
There are several EF-M lenses that I don't bother to use a filter with. Out of all my lenses (EF included) I don't use a filter on the 22mm and 28mm because they are small optics, easy to clean and have a basic anti-reflective coating.
.
* One thing that can damage lens coating (presumably some and not all) is sunscreen... which can be destructive to optical coatings (it contains powdered nanoparticle elements that are abrasive and contains chemicals that can penetrate between the layers of a coating on a lens in some cases - LINK to DISCUSSION ). The process of delamination seems to affect the EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM more than any other lens I've encountered. No doubt Canon will have resolved that issue by now.
.
The Super Spectra Coating improve image quality in several ways and SSC is featured on a lot of EF-S lenses plus the super expensive top-of-the-line EF White L-series lenses. It's also on a number of telephoto lenses plus the "nifty fifty".
.
It's featured on most of my L-series lenses from the EF family. They've even placed SSC BELOW the Air-Sphere Coating (new Canon tech coatings for lens flare) on the EF 100-400mmL II.

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Thanks, Marco.

Roger Cicala mentions a relatively new coating technology called “nanocoating”. I have read that SSC tech has changed over the decades. Do you know if Canon uses nanocoating and whether it is currently part of the “SSC brand”? Or is that what SWC is? And if so, I wonder why they are using an older tech on this very new lens?

You would think lens coatings would be a small, inexpensive detail, but apparently it can be quite expensive to apply multiple coatings to multiple lens elements. Which, if SWC is more expensive to apply than SSC, would explain the use of SSC on a lens where price matters.

SSC is obviously a good thing because it has been used on so many L lenses...

Marco Nero wrote:

DKCJB wrote:

i was just going to say my FD lenses from the 1970/80’s had this, and were marked FD SSC on the front, so the beginning of this post brought back those memories. Thought maybe that was part of all their lenses since then and they just don’t talk about it anymore but nevertheless that description sounded familiar.

You have an early type SSC on your lens...!!! They stopped printing the S.S.C. on the lenses when the EF changeover occurred and the method of Vapor Deposit coating, plus the quality and thickness of the coating, has changed over time. I think only some FD lenses had the coatings, not all of them... the FDn series had S.C. coatings or none at all.

Had, would be the word, those are long gone, traded in on new auto-focus camera and lens, a big move back in the day.

Marco Nero wrote:

DKCJB wrote:

i was just going to say my FD lenses from the 1970/80’s had this, and were marked FD SSC on the front, so the beginning of this post brought back those memories. Thought maybe that was part of all their lenses since then and they just don’t talk about it anymore but nevertheless that description sounded familiar.

You have an early type SSC on your lens...!!! They stopped printing the S.S.C. on the lenses when the EF changeover occurred and the method of Vapor Deposit coating, plus the quality and thickness of the coating, has changed over time. I think only some FD lenses had the coatings, not all of them... the FDn series had S.C. coatings or none at all.

My Canon FD 17mm, FD 24mm, FD 35mm, FD 50mm f/1.4, FD 50mm Macro, FD 85mm, FD 80-200mm and FD 400mm all have the 1970s higher level coating and are marked with a red S.S.C., the early version of the current L series red ring. Some of these lenses came in slower versions, like . . .

My Canon FD 50mm f/1.8, the original nifty-fifty, which has the lower level coating and is marked with a white S.C.

My Canon FD 28-85mm, the "newest" of my FD lenses, is not marked.

Other FD lenses are "hiding" somewhere (or I gave them away to young photographers and don't remember), so I couldn't check.

This discussion inspired me to call up and spend some time reminiscing with the almost 800 images I have on my website that were photographed with these lenses on (2) Canon F-1 and (1) Canon FTb bodies, which I still have.

Note also that these lenses still provide excellent results on my Canon M5 body and Samsung NX-1 as well, except the 50mm f/1.4. It was soaked in the middle of a tornado that turned on us in August 1973. The four of us just barely survived, but the lens developed internal fungus over the years. The F-1 body it was on still works perfectly to this day.

One of my fav lenses on M5 is my adapted ef 35 f2 is ... this one will need to temp me a lot in order for me to jump... tho with increased depth of field, it might.

A serious benefit of the adapted ef 35 f2 is, is that I can mount it on my 5Dsr, so it's useful regardless of the future M line.  This might sound silly... but if Canon doesn't do a new flagship M in 2018, incorporating all the upgrades of the M50, and with dpaf 4K unhobbled.... I may begin divestment of my M system, rather than continue investment w this new one.

Marco Nero wrote:

DKCJB wrote:

i was just going to say my FD lenses from the 1970/80’s had this, and were marked FD SSC on the front, so the beginning of this post brought back those memories. Thought maybe that was part of all their lenses since then and they just don’t talk about it anymore but nevertheless that description sounded familiar.

You have an early type SSC on your lens...!!! They stopped printing the S.S.C. on the lenses when the EF changeover occurred and the method of Vapor Deposit coating, plus the quality and thickness of the coating, has changed over time. I think only some FD lenses had the coatings, not all of them... the FDn series had S.C. coatings or none at all.

https://www.canon.com.mt/lenses/ef-50mm-f-1-4-usm-lens/

https://www.canon.com.mt/lenses/ef-28mm-f-1-8-usm-lens/

The old 50mm 1.4 and 28mm 1.8 have SSC as well.

However, Canon explains SSC as coating tech for L lenses.

https://global.canon/en/imaging/l-lens/technology/super_spectra_coating.html