Images have appeared of the RF 600mm and 800mm f/11 prime lenses that Canon is set to announce alongside a raft of other products on July 9. Some specifications have also started to emerge.
The two f/11 super-telephoto lenses are not what people were expecting from Canon, and these two primes seem to have some rather unique properties: when not shooting, they collapse in size. As reported by Nokishita and Canon News, details are also emerging of the two extenders that will be announced, though it seems that they will only function with these new, lower-cost telephoto lenses.
According to the rumors posted by Nokishita, the RF 800mm f/11 will be made up of 11 elements in 8 groups and feature a minimum focusing distance of 19.6 feet (6 meters). The front filter will have a diameter of 95mm with an overall diameter of 4 inches (101.6 mm). The lens will be 11 inches (281 mm) when retracted but in order to shoot, it will extend to 13.8 inches (351.8 mm).
https://twitter.com/nokishita_c/status/1279965914113339392?s=20
https://twitter.com/nokishita_c/status/1279955142003970054?s=20
https://twitter.com/nokishita_c/status/1279954556407799809?s=20
The RF 600mm f/11 will be made up of 10 elements in 7 groups and feature a minimum focusing distance of 14.8 feet (4.5 meters). The front filter will have a diameter of 82 mm, with an overall diameter of 3.66 inches (93 mm). The lens will be 7.85 inches (199.5 mm) when retracted, extending to 10.6 inches (269.5 mm) when shooting.
What other surprises will Canon have in store? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
![Will the RF 500mm f/4L IS Telephoto Be the First "Big White” Lens For Canon Mirrorless? [Rumor]](https://cdn.fstoppers.com/styles/small-16-9/s3/lead/2019/05/443ea87e7bd10a3fade27ca232abe9d7.jpg)
Proofs in the pudding. Would like to see some actual wildlife pics taken with these lenses. I think they are a good value but I think after you'd own it for awhile, the shortcomings would start to be bothersome. Buy nice or buy twice!
Think three times before buying! With f/11 as the only aperture (borderline diffraction issues, to say nothing about quick autofocus unless in bright light), vibration reduction (I certainly hope for at least 4-5 stops worth!), better shoot at 1/1000 sec and count on auto ISO working for you. Oh right, Canon high ISO is famous. Then maybe it is a video lens for use on a tripod.
By the looks of the 2 tele primes they must be really really cheap. They look hideous and a ergonomic nightmare. But curious how they will perform.
If the images out of those lenses are anything like this video of a 700mm @ f11 (via 500 f4 + 1.4x), I don't think they'll be as bad as some make it out to be. Hell, I'm surprised you could get such background blur from an f11.
https://youtu.be/m_Yvi2PeFOs?t=374
*can*... that's giving a lot of latitude. Static birds, bright sun, and the biggest issue here: using a Canon 500mm f/4L IS II USM whose price ranges from $6k+ USD used to almost $9K USD new. I severely doubt a $600 or $800 f/11 lens is going to have the same glass. So this is not even apples to apricots.
Just be careful and evaluate wisely. A Sigma 100-600mm WITH IS will likely be a better long term investment for most for just a hundred or so more.
F11 eh?
try at 800mm and see by yourself... (Check the video on the previous link to see how it works)
I think we need more slow primes... just... not THAT slow!
These lenses are going to be cheap, and they're going to sell a TON of them. They'll be plastic, relatively light weight, basically the modern day mirror lens without the rolled-up-condom bokeh.
You can't see how dark F/11 is in an EVF with auto gain built in, so when people try them out in the store, they won't see just how hard they'll be to work with in anything other than high-noon daylight.
I'll take my extra 3 stops of light and stick to the 300/4 on my OM-D, thank-you-very-much.
The OM-D gives you the equivalent of a 600 f8 ( in field of view and dof) so only one f-stop in dof, the light gained is easily compensated by the better high iso noise performance of the full frame. So in the end the results would be hard to differentiate. So I would also stick with the om-d and save the cost, but if you don’t own an OM-D , I wouldn’t invest about €4250 in another system.
The difference is more than 1 stop dof (dof isn't a problem with this reach). 1 professional VS 1 consumer lens. You're going to notice that every time you shoot.
Of course there’s going to be a difference in quality of the lenses, quality comes at a cost. And Olympus makes superb lenses. I don’t know what the 800/600 f11 Canon is going to cost, a lot less than the Olympus 300 and certainly a whole lot less than the Canon 600 F4l
The difference in actual stops of light is 3, F4 5,6 8 11. So iso 400 on the OMD would give ISO 3200 on the Canon FF.
Just so one doesn't expect the equivalent detail of an actual 600mm @ f/8.
People don't understand that amateurs and non-millionaires are already shooting with 250mm or 300mm and cropping like 1mpx in the center.
These lenses will be a huge improvement for millions of photographers.
by the look of the way the lens is held, makes me believe these are push pull zooms, if that's true, are we back to the 80s?
These are primes, that obviously means w/o zoom mechanism.
well i was pretty spot on, they are indeed push/pull lock type primes.