First Hands-on Look at the New RF 600mm & 800mm f/11 Super Tele Lenses

Super telephoto lenses are generally expensive and huge. Lenses like the Canon EF 600mm f/4.0 are both ridiculous in terms of their size andweight and the price. Recently, Canon unveiled two super telephoto lenses, the RF 600mm and 800mm f/11 prime lenses. 

Many of us were interested to see what these two lenses were all about, and Gordon Laing, a popular YouTuber, managed to get his hands on both of them. In a video, he gives a hands-on look at both lenses and gives some of his thoughts on their performance. What's incredible about these two lenses is the fact that they are tiny in comparison to the larger-aperture versions. The price of these two lenses are also extremely reasonable in comparison, and I think many people will be interested in them. 

The biggest concern that many people seemingly had was the autofocus. With such a small widest aperture, people were concerned that cameras would find it difficult to achieve focus. Laing does cover this point, and it seems these new mirrorless cameras from Canon don't have a problem focusing, even at f/11. I also think that when coupled with the EOS R6 and its potential low light performance, these lenses would be great options for many photographers. 

Check out the full video linked above. 

Usman Dawood's picture

Usman Dawood is a professional architectural photographer based in the UK.

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10 Comments

Can't wait to shoot a 1200mm f/22!

F*ck off. Nothing about that's not going to work "alot better than I first assume"

Not for people interesting in the physical aspect - which is kinda relevant for these lenses.

Congrats on being utterly negative.

It is useful if only they showed the result of the photos

Any actual photos to look at?

Where are the photos?

Stated in the video. Lenses shown are pre-production, so he's not allowed to share images.

Canon should employ a few giant photographers with a size 20 feet and hands, so they can show them using these two lenses handheld. Sarcasm.

There should be a warning label: May produce unsightly noise if used improperly. More sarcasm.

I didn't watch the video. I've been using the Canon FL-mount 800mm and 1200mm lenses for several years. You just need to know how to shoot with a big lens. First thing is you need a big tripod. Second thing is you need to find a subject that's far away. After that, it's all basic photography.