Whether you shoot with Canon gear or not, the release of the RF 600mm and 800mm f/11 lenses have generated quite some buzz. This review gives you a great look at the lenses and the image quality they produce. I think you'll be impressed.
When Canon announced it was releasing an 800mm f/11 prime lens a lot of people were somewhat taken aback by the f/11 aperture. It was the same on the 600mm that came out with it. Not exactly what you'd call fast lenses, by any stretch of the imagination. Then Canon also confirmed that there would be a 1.4x and 2x extender that could be used with either lens. I nearly fell out of my chair when I read that the first time. An RF 800mm prime lens made specifically for the RF mount that could be used with the much-hyped Canon EOS R5, and extend to a potential 1,600mm? I had to hold myself back from buying it on the spot. Of course, if you put a 2x extender on the RF 800mm f/11 and take it to 1,600mm, you also take the aperture to f/22. However, for me, that didn't really matter because the specific circumstances I shoot in are during daylight hours with subjects that aren't moving particularly quickly (big wave surfing). This review has allayed any concerns I had.
Presented by FroKnowsPhoto, this review gives you a great field test look at images taken with both lenses at their native lengths and with the extenders attached. Never one to shy away from hyperbole, it seemed from the outset that Jared Polin was determined to find fault with these lenses, particularly the 800mm. Be that as it may, even he admits during the review that he was very impressed with the results he got from a day shooting animals at the zoo. And those results were not just related to image quality, but also to the stabilization system, the autofocus system, and the overall handling of the lenses om the EOS R5 and EOS R6. These lenses will leave you impressed, but particularly if you're a bird photographer, a wildlife photographer, or a surf photographer like me, then I think this review will assuage any doubts you might have. Granted, you're not going to be shooting much in low light with these, but I think you'd know that going in, considering they are f/11 lenses.
Give the video a look and let me know your thoughts. I've already bought the 800mm.
What impress me is the huge size of these fixed f/11 primes. And the raving in the media about them. Canon must have a good marketing team. They are also not so cheap in Europe.
The beast eye detect is the only thing that impressed me in this video.
And people saw what olympus and panasonic are doing since years, and they saw it was good.
(At least for people who want a small tele lens - of course a 600mm f/4 has better IQ).
I have been using a new 800mm for about a week now and I use it on an R, and it’s fantastic. Fast af, good tracking, great image quality. It’s the same length as a sigma 150-600c, but much much lighter.
Good for you Rob And great to hear. Mine arrived a couple of days ago but I haven’t actually got a Camera to attach it yet because that’s in a separate shipment! But I do have the Tamron 150-600, so that’s similar to you, so I am very glad to hear that you’re pleased with your purchase.