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

koenkooi

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[..]
We've already seen them doing things that many would consider 'unlike Canon' when they made the 24-240 mm require a slight crop because it's image circle doesn't cover the whole sensor at the wide end. Since the 24-105mm requires a firmware update as well, we might see them use a similar trick again.[..]
At this point I wonder at the competence and foresight of the firmware and RF design team. Canon made a big deal out of the fact that all RF lenses have the correction and DLO included and transmit it to the body. But all the new lenses have needed a firmware upgrade of the body, the RF70-200 *twice*.
 
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We have two, and worth every penny. We have had so much use from them that I wouldn't care if we had to give them away in a fire sale. Sharp from edge to edge and with AF as good as the 400mm DO II.
The availability of the 100-400 II has to have cut into sales of the primes, especially those with slower apertures. Once again, Canon seems to have found a sweetspot and built a better mousetrap, at least from a sales point of view.
 
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AlanF

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Calm down, there was nothing attacking or personal in Alan's post and questioning his photography makes you look plain silly. Ever visited the bird thread? I would highly recommend it.
Thanks for this support, which is much appreciated. I don't think it was in fact aimed at me. In his temper tantrum, he attached his reply to my post by mistake instead of to an earlier one by someone else it was aimed at. That in no way condones his use of language, and all discourse on this forum should be conducted with mutual respect.
 
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Joules

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all discourse on this forum should be conducted with mutual respect.
It's easy to see how one can get worked up about these subjects, after all we are here because we share a passion for photography and gear, as well as a curiosity for the new technologies coming from Canon and the industry as a whole.

Speculation and arguing about the various details that surround the matter is fun and informative in many cases. It's simply more fun and informative if we all try our best to keep in mind that we are talking to other people here, and there are no special awards for being wrong or right about something, especially predictions and rumors.
 
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Sharlin

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At this point I wonder at the competence and foresight of the firmware and RF design team. Canon made a big deal out of the fact that all RF lenses have the correction and DLO included and transmit it to the body. But all the new lenses have needed a firmware upgrade of the body, the RF70-200 *twice*.

Meh, I think those are just bugfixes and maybe some iterative development of the protocols. Teething issues. It’s a brand new mount after all, and it’s impossible to pre-plan everything before you even have a reasonable number of different types of lenses in the system. Software engineering reality.
 
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Ozarker

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I'm 99% certain it will be f/5.6 at 400mm. The numbers calculate out that way (7.1*400/500 = 5.6)
I'm thinking this is going to be one sweet lens. I'm taking a wait and see approach and hoping for the best. I really liked my EF 400mm f/5.6L, but as good as Canon has been getting with the zooms I can see this lens as a real winner. A great zoom beats a prime of the same aperture in my world.
 
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SecureGSM

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I'm 99% certain it will be f/5.6 at 400mm. The numbers calculate out that way (7.1*400/500 = 5.6)

yes numbers are correct - provided that girth and size of the 200-500 in overall is also proportionally larger than 100-400, however it looks more like 100-400/xx-6.3 (Sigma or Canon) scaled up to 200-500 size. Like I said, I hope I am mistaken however.... Sigma and Tamron 100-400/6.3 are sold at around AUD$600.00 this days. I think that Canon will have no hesitation in offering F6.3 at 400 mm end.. Let's wait and see :)
 
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AlanF

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I'm thinking this is going to be one sweet lens. I'm taking a wait and see approach and hoping for the best. I really liked my EF 400mm f/5.6L, but as good as Canon has been getting with the zooms I can see this lens as a real winner. A great zoom beats a prime of the same aperture in my world.
I prefer my zooms to be small :). Likewise, I am hoping for the best. And, I don't care if it's f/6.3 or f/5.6 at 400mm because if there is one thing I am 99% certain of it's that I'll be shooting at 500mm for 99% of the time and less than 1% at 400mm.
 
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koenkooi

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I prefer my zooms to be small :). Likewise, I am hoping for the best. And, I don't care if it's f/6.3 or f/5.6 at 400mm because if there is one thing I am 99% certain of it's that I'll be shooting at 500mm for 99% of the time and less than 1% at 400mm.

Future innovation from Canon: a 100,500mm zoom lens. It replaces the zoom ring with a switch, you can select 100 or 500mm, nothing in between :)
 
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AlanF

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Future innovation from Canon: a 100,500mm zoom lens. It replaces the zoom ring with a switch, you can select 100 or 500mm, nothing in between :)
Much of my photography is like that, a prime with one change of focal length with adding an extender. And Canon has it already in the 200-400mm - just flick in the built in TC.
 
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koenkooi

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You're right, the next picture makes the 100-500 indeed look narrower: https://www.dpreview.com/articles/3...rf-100-500mm-lens-under-glass-at-wppi?slide=8
I am curious about the weight(given how much Canon shaved off from 70-200) and how well its close focusing abilities are compared to EF 100-400mm as it will pair nicely with the rumoured APS-C RF based camera for both butterflies(larger cannopy fliers) and skinks which tend to be shy and even 180mm lens is useless for these critters.
 
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I currently use the RF 24-105 f4L and have been looking at the RF70-200mm but the price is eye watering. I've never used a teleconverter and wondered if the 2x converter would work with my current lens? Seems a better option than paying nearly £2700 for the 70-200mm. Anyone familiar with using teleconverters? I Know I might lose a stop or two and hopefully the new announced converters will be compatible.
 
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koenkooi

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I currently use the RF 24-105 f4L and have been looking at the RF70-200mm but the price is eye watering. I've never used a teleconverter and wondered if the 2x converter would work with my current lens? Seems a better option than paying nearly £2700 for the 70-200mm. Anyone familiar with using teleconverters? I Know I might lose a stop or two and hopefully the new announced converters will be compatible.

Have a look at https://www.canon.co.uk/lenses/canon-rf-24-105mm-f-4l-is-usm-lens/specifications/ and scroll down to "Extender Compatiblity". It looks there are no RF lenses available from Canon that will support extenders. The RF100-500mm could be the first.
 
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