Canon officially announces the development of the RF 100-500 f/4.5-7.1L IS USM, 1.4x and 2.0x extenders

Danglin52

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Aug 8, 2018
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Okay, I get that f7.1 isn’t a big deal for a mirrorless full frame camera, but for an “L” lens?

Doesn’t say “L” to me.

L also references build & IQ. If it is f5.6 @ 400mm and not much larger/heavier, I will take this over the 100-400 any day if it has the same/better IQ. The advantage is that I don't have to carry a teleconverter to get out to 500mm and am still at f7.1 instead of f8. Yes, I know I give up 60mm, but I will also have 40+mp to crop. Not a bad trade off. Combine that with better ISO performance of the new sensor and should be a net win.
 
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unfocused

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Logically, I know that f7.1 is less than a stop difference from f5.6, but psychologically it feels like a lot more to me. There is also the part of me that says I already have a 600mm f6.3 lens that works very well on my R, so do I want a lens that's a little slower and a little shorter?
 
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Is it just me, or does the RF 100-500 look narrower than the EF 100-400?

I'm betting that it isn't f/5.6 at 400mm; if it were, I would have thought it would be f/6.3 at 500mm, not f/7.1.

The filter size for the 100-400L II is 77mm. So 400/5.6 = 71.4mm. 500/7.1 = 70.4mm, which is comparable to the 400/5.6 ratio. 500/6.3 = 79.4mm. If this 100-500 is the RF version of the EF 100-400L II, then it can be f/5.6 at 400mm depending on how it is designed. However, it can not be f/6.3 at 500mm unless the lens diameter grows significantly.
 
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Dragon

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7.1? What's that with the teleconverter? Ugh..

Not what I was hoping for. I shoot F.8 with my 100-400L II with the 1.4. Looks like that will continue to be the better combo unless I'm missing something.
If the new lens is sharper than the 100-400 and has better IS and better AF, then it will be better. Otherwise, pretty much samo samo except for the extra reach. The 70mm objective is the same, so essentially the same light gathering ability. Don't forget the linked IBIS, which probably won't be there for the 100-400, so I suspect the new lens will offer several stops more stabilization with an R5 or R6. Anything faster would have been unwieldy unless it was totally made of plastic and that is not the case here because this is an L lens. Actually, this lens with an R5 (assuming 45 MP) gets you to an APS-c crop that is equivalent to 1200mm FF with a 1.4 TC. I think that kind of answers the 7D III question.
 
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AlanF

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Or buy the R5 - with 45MP, you won't need a teleconvertor.
From my experience with the 5Ds - cropping gives a better quality output than using a teleconvertor anyway.
Get yourself a better teleconverter. I see a clear increase in resolution with one of my two 1.4xTCIIIs on my 100-400mm II but not the other.
 
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AlanF

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If the new lens is sharper than the 100-400 and has better IS and better AF, then it will be better. Otherwise, pretty much samo samo except for the extra reach. The 70mm objective is the same, so essentially the same light gathering ability. Don't forget the linked IBIS, which probably won't be there for the 100-400, so I suspect the new lens will offer several stops more stabilization with an R5 or R6. Anything faster would have been unwieldy unless it was totally made of plastic and that is not the case here because this is an L lens. Actually, this lens with an R5 (assuming 45 MP) gets you to an APS-c equivalence of 1200mm with a 1.4 TC.
?? A 500mm lens + 1.4xTC on a 45 Mpx FF camera gives an equivalence of reach of a 515mm on a 90D. Basically, a 700mm lens on a 45 Mpx FF gives a very similar field of view and resolution to a 500mm on a 90D or M6 II.
 
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My biggest question is what several others here already seem to be asking: what is the aperture at 400mm? If it is any dimmer than f5.6, that would represent only a “compromise upgrade” from the EF version - which would be out of line with the other options to this point...

However - there are supposedly 5 other unannounced lenses coming. Wasn’t a 70-400 4.5-5.6 rumored on this site a few weeks ago? Hopefully if not this one, another L tele-zoom lens offers f5.6 at 400mm.
 
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Aug 9, 2016
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7.1? What's that with the teleconverter? Ugh..

Not what I was hoping for. I shoot F.8 with my 100-400L II with the 1.4. Looks like that will continue to be the better combo unless I'm missing something.

I will also be keeping my 100-400ii, the 1.4x should be much impoved on the new R5 body based on the focusing no longer through PDAF
 
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Bert63

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Or buy the R5 - with 45MP, you won't need a teleconvertor.
From my experience with the 5Ds - cropping gives a better quality output than using a teleconvertor anyway.


I have an EOS-R and a 5D4 and a 7D2. Would be very hard to justify just for this lens given the images the others can produce. Also given that this lens is a non-starter on my other bodies.
 
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Optics Patent

Former Nikon (Changes to R5 upon delivery)
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The arithmetic is correct but it doesn't mean the lens follows that. If it does, good.

Agreed. Not necessarily 5.6 at 400, but I'll wager that when you have an established and successful multi-generation 100-400mm design that gives 5.6 at 400, all the designer basically (simplistically) needs to do it to make a telescoping tube a little longer and pull the objective lens a little father forward to get to 500mm. Honestly, if we took apart a 100-400 and just held the front element a little father forward, it would presumably image as a 500.

Granted, lens design has subtleties, and there would presumably be issues introduced (possible mechanical getting that telescope distance - I'd cringe at a three-part telescope). But it's hard to imagine that the change would require reducing the aperture at 400mm. That's the last solution the designer would be allowed by the boss to revert to.

As an aside, one hopes that the RF mount enables other benefits in image quality and product configuration. I now assume that the magnificent RF 70-200 that won me over to Canon late last year was essentially the 100-400 adapted to those specs.
 
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navastronia

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My biggest question is what several others here already seem to be asking: what is the aperture at 400mm? If it is any dimmer than f5.6, that would represent only a “compromise upgrade” from the EF version - which would be out of line with the other options to this point...

However - there are supposedly 5 other unannounced lenses coming. Wasn’t a 70-400 4.5-5.6 rumored on this site a few weeks ago? Hopefully if not this one, another L tele-zoom lens offers f5.6 at 400mm.

I bet it's 6.3 at 400 and 7.1 by 420. I'm still into it and can absolutely see myself buying one, especially if it comes in under $1,800.

This is probably an unpopular opinion, but I say, let the ISO or IS/IBIS make up for the lack of light (depending on the situation and how much action is in the frame). Give me a petite, L-grade, do-all telezoom I can pair with the 85/1.2 and (coming) 35/1.2. Add a single 14 to 20mm prime, and I have a 4-lens kit that takes me from the ultra wides all the way to 500mm.
 
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Optics Patent

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Nov 6, 2019
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The focus limiter suggests an MFD of 3.0 m, so apparently not. However the 100-400 has massive focus breathing, so if they've managed to improve on that it might not be quite as bad as the MFD implies.

I believe the 3.0m focus distance indicated is not the MFD. That's the "don't hunt up close" distance for the switch (3.0m-infinity, vs "full")
 
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Optics Patent

Former Nikon (Changes to R5 upon delivery)
Nov 6, 2019
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The truth will be in the sales as to whether or not f7.1 was a poor decision.

Maybe that's why they didn't call the 200-400 f4 with switchable 1.4x TC a "200-560". Because then they'd have to utter the "f5.6" number that psyched some buyers into thinking it was a slow consumer lens.
 
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gruhl28

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Jul 26, 2013
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The filter size for the 100-400L II is 77mm. So 400/5.6 = 71.4mm. 500/7.1 = 70.4mm, which is comparable to the 400/5.6 ratio. 500/6.3 = 79.4mm. If this 100-500 is the RF version of the EF 100-400L II, then it can be f/5.6 at 400mm depending on how it is designed. However, it can not be f/6.3 at 500mm unless the lens diameter grows significantly.
Do we know that the RF 100-500 has the same filter size as the EF 100-400? I was suggesting it looked narrower to me, so not only could it not be f/6.3 at 500mm, but I was speculating that it's a narrower aperture than f/5.6 at 400mm also.
 
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