Canon RF 600mm f/11 vs RF 800mm f/11Comparison Review

More review stuff about the “quirky” Canon RF 600 f/11 and RF 800 f/11 lenses for the EOS R mount.

Mirrorless Comparison posted their Canon RF 600 f/11 and RF 800 f/11review. From Mat’s conclusion:

I enjoyed using the RF 600mm F11 and RF 800mm F11 more than I had originally anticipated. I thought the F11 aperture and limited focus area would be too much of a trade-off, but I was wrong.

Surely if the clouds are too dark or you’re in the shade of a woodland in rainy conditions, you will struggle to compensate for that slow aperture. The converters (1.4x and 2x) will raise the challenge further because the aperture becomes f/16 and f/22 respectively.

But there are also many situations where f/11 will be enough, and you’ll be able to walk around a nature reserve or hike in the mountains with a lightweight solution, something you can’t say every day about full frame lenses for wildlife photography.

You’ll be glad to hear that the 600mm and 800mm are very sharp, the optical stabilisation is excellent and the autofocus delivers very good performance, despite the limited area available. For the price you pay, you can get a lot out of these two lenses.

My strongest criticism is the lack of weather sealing. I understand that these are non-L lenses designed for amateurs, but they’re also two lenses that photographers will use outdoors 99% of the time. It would be great to be able to walk around without worrying about light rain or a bit of dust. It is also annoying to have to buy the lens hood separately.

Read the review at Mirrorless Comparison…

Mirrorless Comparison’s review comes with plenty of test shots and talks about all the important things. Definitely worth a read. More comparison reviews are listed here.

Also interesting: an interview with the engineers who developed these lens. Also, Canon already said there will be more such lenses. For more Canon RF 800mm f/11 and RF 600mm f/11 review stuff have a look here.

Canon RF 600mm f/11

America: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA
Europe & UK: Amazon DE, Amazon UK, Amazon IT, Canon IT, WEX Photographic, Canon FR, Canon UK, Canon DE

Canon RF 800mm f/11

America: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA
Europe & UK: Amazon DE, Amazon UK, Amazon IT, Canon IT, WEX Photographic, Canon FR, Canon UK, Canon DE

Canon RF600mm and 800mm F11 IS STM
The Canon RF600mm and RF800mm F11 IS STM lenses are the first fixed focal length super-telephoto RF lenses and are incredibly compact and lightweight. The portability of the new lenses is made even greater due to the ability for the lens barrel to retract and lock in place when the lenses are stowed away and not in use. Diffractive Optics technology helps to reduce the necessary number of lenses and greatly diminish the cost of the lenses, making them affordable for a broader group of photographers. Additional features of the Canon RF600mm and RF800mm F11 IS STM lenses include:

• Lightweight – the RF600mm weighs approximately 2.05lb and the RF800mm weighs approximately 2.78lb, respectively
• Compact size, RF600mm measures approximately 7.85inch and RF800mm with measures approximately 11.09inch when retracted, respectively
• Fixed f/11 aperture
• Optical image stabilization of five stops* for the RF600mm and four stops* for the RF800mm of Shake Correction
• Lead screw-type STM enables smooth auto focusing for still-image and video shooting
• Customizable control ring that allows photographers to adjust exposure compensation, shutter speed, aperture or ISO
• 12-pin Communication System
• Compatible with the new 1.4x and 2x RF lens extenders