Canon Developing a New Slower Supertelephoto Lens [CR2]

[Vermilion]

A big brother to the 400mm 5.6L would be very nice! Prior to the 100-400mm Markii there wasn't a better walk around lens for birding. The 400 is light, bright, and as sharp as can be hoped for. Getting something like a 500mm 5.6 would be awesome! My old 500mm 4.5 is great for tripod work, but walking with it sucks. My guess is that the 500mm f4 is also a beast.

IS would be OK, but how much weight would that add? Would you need more elements and loose IQ? Hope Canon R&D reads posts.

 

[LonelyBoy]

I sure would love a 400 f/5.6 with IS, weathersealing, and updated tech, but I'm doubtful that will happen.

The issue I see with that is, the old one was what, ~$1k? The 100-400ii is $2200; by the time you add IS and weathersealing to the 400/5.6, along with any other updates, how much will it cost? How many people will opt for it instead of the excellent 100-400ii?

 

[TheJock]

To be fair, I have the 100-400 and I really want either a prime 400 f5.6 or something longer (but similarly priced, I could go double the price at the absolute most!), so I don’t think the sales of the current zooms (70-200 or 100-400II) will be affected at all.
People want primes because of the compact size and weight saving in comparison to their zoom counterparts (with similar longest focus range).
My zoom is constantly at 400mm even with the 1.4X TCIII attached at the wildlife sanctuaries I visit, having a 400/500 prime plus my TC is an absolute dream, but it’s extremely difficult to justify $6,000+++ for one of the fast big whites, should that really be the customers fault?
If Canon doesn’t give us something you can bet your bottom dollar that Sigma will jump on it in the not too distant future, who knows, there may be an 500mm IS ART sitting on the design table as we speak!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Don Haines]

To be fair, I have the 100-400 and I really want either a prime 400 f5.6 or something longer (but similarly priced, I could go double the price at the absolute most!), so I don’t think the sales of the current zooms (70-200 or 100-400II) will be affected at all.
People want primes because of the compact size and weight saving in comparison to their zoom counterparts (with similar longest focus range).
My zoom is constantly at 400mm even with the 1.4X TCIII attached at the wildlife sanctuaries I visit, having a 400/500 prime plus my TC is an absolute dream, but it’s extremely difficult to justify $6,000+++ for one of the fast big whites, should that really be the customers fault?
If Canon doesn’t give us something you can bet your bottom dollar that Sigma will jump on it in the not too distant future, who knows, there may be an 500mm IS ART sitting on the design table as we speak!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am in the same boat.... I want a prime that will work with a 1.4X teleconverter....

If Tamron can make a 150-600 F6.3 zoom lens for $1100, then they can certainly make a 600F5.6 prime for around the same cost..... and not being a zoom lens they should be able to make it with far superior optics to the 150-600...

Canon should easily be able to do it at twice the cost.... even 3X with fluorite elements.....

 

[TheJock]

I honestly don’t understand why the likes of Tamron or Sigma don’t have a supertele option Don.
Like I mentioned, a nice ART series 500 or 600mm would be just the ticket!!! (just incase there are any of their tech's reading this forum ;D )

 

[Maximilian]

I honestly don’t understand why the likes of Tamron or Sigma don’t have a supertele option Don.
Like I mentioned, a nice ART series 500 or 600mm would be just the ticket!!! (just incase there are any of their tech's reading this forum ;D )

Hi Stewart!

I would call this
http://www.sigmaphoto.com/product/500mm-f45-ex-dg-apo-hsm
and this
http://www.sigmaphoto.com/product/800mm-f56-ex-apo-dg-hsm
an "ART/SPORTS" supertele.

Of course they tried to reinvent the "big whites" there and what you mean is that they do not have a cheap 600/f6.3 but it is not so easy to invent a new optical formula on your own than instead to copy an existing one

I think they'll do one if they think that there is a market for it. But right now they think that a zoom is having a bigger maket and so they introduced that one first.

 

[LonelyBoy]

I honestly don’t understand why the likes of Tamron or Sigma don’t have a supertele option Don.
Like I mentioned, a nice ART series 500 or 600mm would be just the ticket!!! (just incase there are any of their tech's reading this forum ;D )

Pretty sure they'd call it Sport, not Art. They'll probably get there, eventually, and try to hit lengths and apertures underserved by Canon.

 

[NancyP]

Has anybody here actually used the Sigma 500mm f/4.5 and have any comments on its autofocus ability?

I think that a real fear of someone dropping USD 5K to 6K on the Sigma 500 is that it could be incompatible with future Canon bodies, and maybe even some current Canon bodies. I know that I would be more interested in a Sigma if it were issued in a dock-compatible form with ongoing Sigma support for reverse engineering AF to new bodies. Until then, a used Canon 500 f/4 L IS v. I is the way to go.

 

[AlanF]

The Canon 500mm f/4 L IS is far too heavy for me. I would snap up a lightweight 500mm f/5.6, and if made by Sigma or Tamron should not be that expensive.

 

[scyrene]

The Canon 500mm f/4 L IS is far too heavy for me. I would snap up a lightweight 500mm f/5.6, and if made by Sigma or Tamron should not be that expensive.

Each to their own. I mean, it *is* heavy compared to many lenses, but I find it carryable. Might change my mind if my wrists give out though!

 

[StudentOfLight]

The Canon 500mm f/4 L IS is far too heavy for me. I would snap up a lightweight 500mm f/5.6, and if made by Sigma or Tamron should not be that expensive.

I don't shoot wildlife professionally and don't come from money so the BIG white lenses are out of the question for me. An affordable(to me) 500/5.6 is the dream. If the performancerice ratio was sufficient I'd trade in my Tamron 150-600. I'm not enamored by it's performance at "600"mm. I don't like having to stopping down beyond f/8 to get usable sharp detail.

Canon has already released great updates in the 7D-II and the 100-400L-II. A 500/5.6 IS would really cement Canon's excellent value proposition for the reach-limited wildlife photography enthusiast.

 

[tron]

If only the 500 5.6 was a DO lens it would be fantastic. But I guess the price would be high...

 

[Don Haines]

If only the 500 5.6 was a DO lens it would be fantastic. But I guess the price would be high...

Generally, when a new technology is introduced, it is expensive and does not perform that well..... kind of like the first few DO lenses.... but the last one is quite good. I wonder what will happen to the pricing of DO lens elements and if they will eventually be more economical than glass....

Exciting times!

 

[westcoastcanon]

Would a 500mm F5.6L IS lens take a screw-on 95mm filter and pinch lens cap? Just thinking for point of comparison, the Canon 400mm F5.6L is a very compact little lens with 77mm front, while the Pentax 560mm F5.6 lens looks to be a real beast. Hard to estimate where a Canon 500 F5.6L IS would come in for size and weight and handling....

 

[AlanF]

Would a 500mm F5.6L IS lens take a screw-on 95mm filter and pinch lens cap? Just thinking for point of comparison, the Canon 400mm F5.6L is a very compact little lens with 77mm front, while the Pentax 560mm F5.6 lens looks to be a real beast. Hard to estimate where a Canon 500 F5.6L IS would come in for size and weight and handling....

In theory it could take a 95mm filter.
The Pentax 560, I recall, has the design of a telescope to minimize the number of elements and is larger than a typical camera lens.

 

[westcoastcanon]

Would a 500mm F5.6L IS lens take a screw-on 95mm filter and pinch lens cap? Just thinking for point of comparison, the Canon 400mm F5.6L is a very compact little lens with 77mm front, while the Pentax 560mm F5.6 lens looks to be a real beast. Hard to estimate where a Canon 500 F5.6L IS would come in for size and weight and handling....

In theory it could take a 95mm filter.
The Pentax 560, I recall, has the design of a telescope to minimize the number of elements and is larger than a typical camera lens.

If it was a sized-up version of the 400L F5.6 with weather sealing and IS, that would be pretty awesome.

 

[Freddy]

Canon have made slower super-teles before. I remember my first Canon F1 back in 1973 (how I wish i still had it, complete with a handled motor drive with seperate batt. pack on a shoulder strap that managed 3.5 FPS)
and there was a lens brochure that came with it with lenses up to 1200mm F11. I remember the designation was FL. (NOT flourite!!!!!) This was the series BEFORE FD. There were several other FL's up to 1200. Also, I might be wrong but I remember some sort of modular lens system as well. Oh well. Bring on the 500mm F5.6 please to go with my 760D. I'm loving that cam btw. Will post in a month or so.

 

[TheJock]

Theoretically there should be nothing stopping them from releasing a 500mm with IS for $2,000.
IS appears in kit lenses, so it’s not that expensive as an addition.
C’mon Canon, what ya waiting for!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Proscribo]

IS appears in kit lenses, so it’s not that expensive as an addition.
C’mon Canon, what ya waiting for!!!!!!!!!!!

Kit lens IS on a long telephoto lens is going to ruin everything I'm fairly certain. :

 

[Haydn1971]

Canon's competition in this space now includes the Nikkor 200-500/f5.6 for $1399.

Yes please ! Fine compliment to my 70-300L - I'd love to see it work with extenders on f5.6 cameras but that's not gonna happen :-/