First Leaked Images of the RF 800mm F5.6L IS USM and the RF 1200mm F8L IS USM

[arbitrage]

Somehow they look shorter than I'd expect. Perhaps the objective lenses are just so darned wide that it gives that impression, and I'm not thinking in the right scale.

I will be very interested to see if the MTF graphs that'll come out on launch compare favorably to the 600mm with a 1.4x teleconverter. To launch this sort of a monster I suppose it must.

Also curious about the 800 + 1.4x TC versus the 1200 f/8. If the 1200 doesn't beat the pants off the 800, then it's just a lot more bulk to carry around.

Big "whomp whomp whooomp" to Sony wildlife shooters for the next bunch of quarters before they can marshall something equivalent. And for the next few years for the Nikonians, who have a better chance of getting something from Sigma or Tamron in terms of big pro lens release timing.

I'd much rather buy Nikon's upcoming 600 f/4 with possible 1.4TC built in than this 800/5.6. I'd never even consider an 800/5.6 lens and especially would never buy this 1200/8...in that case I'd rather buy the 800/5.6 and use a 1.4 to get 1120/8. These are such super specialized lenses and as pointed out up thread do have their use cases but still such a weird move by Canon. Where are lenses like 500/4 and 300/2.8? Or better yet more unique stuff like fast DO lenses or interesting zooms?

Sony will never make lenses in these focal lengths....Nikon will have its 800/6.3PF and 600 with built in TC to satisfy a similar market. I don't know any wildlife shooter that would be so interested in either of these lenses to move systems but I'm sure there is someone out there. Prices are going to be insane for these.

 

[arbitrage]

Canon said a couple of years back that they were open to adding DO elements in the L lenses. But the size savings on this lens look to be on the front side of the lens however, the rear side looks a little longer when compared to the RF600 4.0 and EF800 5.6 pics. That said, I do think there is a shrinkage going on in there. We'll know in a couple of days though.

I really think they just stuck the 2xTC elements into the back of a 400/2.8 and 600/4 and called it a day...oh and of course the silver welded RF-EF adapter

 

[dolina]

As someone with a EF 400/2.8 IS II & EF 800/5.6 IS I'd have wanted to see a RF 400/2.8 IS with built-in 2.0x extender & RF 600/4 IS with built-in 2.0x extender.

This would have helped in economies of scale for ultra specialized lenses.

Expect either lenses to cost north of $13,000 or even $17,000.

The RF 800/5.6 & RF 1200/8.0 will hopefully weigh less than 3kg/6.6lbs. That is a key selling point for an upgrade for those still shooting.

I still cannot wrap my head around the timing of the release though. With so many higher volume EF lenses not yet having an RF equivalent I would think Canon would prioritize that first before these ultra niche optics.

 

[MiJax]

I really think they just stuck the 2xTC elements into the back of a 400/2.8 and 600/4 and called it a day...oh and of course the silver welded RF-EF adapter

LOL, very possible.

 

[InchMetric]

Told you so:

"Feb 14, 2022. I suspect these are the state of the art 400 and 600 lenses with essentially 2x converters permanently attached. With som constraints removed to allow minor optical design improvements. Price: $1000 more then the lenses they are based on."

Canon RF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM and Canon RF 1200mm f/8L IS USM coming soon?

Digicame-Info who aggregates rumors and information and typically has reliable information has mentioned today that the RF 800mm and RF 1200mm have been added to overseas dealers lists recently. This usually means that the lenses are very close to becoming available. These lenses have been...

www.canonrumors.com

 

[Bonich]

Hey Canon

I am in the market for a 2.8 400 with built in 1.4 TC, may be a 4.0 600 with built in TC.
For a straight super tele I am fine with the EF versions adapted.

And I am in the market for a 1.8 135

The first lets me think about Nikon, the latter about Sony ......

 

[Tremotino]

Big "whomp whomp whooomp" to Sony wildlife shooters for the next bunch of quarters before they can marshall something equivalent. And for the next few years for the Nikonians, who have a better chance of getting something from Sigma or Tamron in terms of big pro lens release timing.

Really? Will this be the BS we will read here in the future?

There is no reason to turn this site into a toxic platform either.

 

[bernie_king]

Maybe this is why I've been waiting since October for my RF 600/4. I've finally been given a date of the first part of March, but we'll see. I'm sure these come off the same manufacturing line. Seems like Canon is so busy introducing new products they don't have the capacity to ship current items.

 

[entoman]

What's the point of the 1200 f/8? You could just use the 600 f/4 with a 2X, and have a far more versatile setup. These lenses are silly, hard to believe Canon is wasting resources on these, when the RF mount is still missing a 24mm L, 35mm L, etc.

I think we can take it for granted that a 1200mm F8 native prime will have greater sharpness than a 600mm F4 with a 2x extender tacked on, which by definition doubles the effect of aberrations and lowers the overall image quality. This 1200mm lens is likely to be used mostly for surveillance, where the amount of detail rendered in critical. It's not intended for bird photography, where the 600mm F4 and 2x extender combo is a better choice.

 

[entoman]

There is no reason to turn this site into a toxic platform either.

It would indeed be a great shame if Sony-bashing or Nikon-bashing became prevalent here.

All of the camera manufacturers, including Panasonic, Olympus, Pentax, Leica, Fujifilm and the "big 3" have a great deal to offer, and there's no reason why "pride" in Canon needs to lead to denigrating other brands or celebrating areas where they may lag behind "our" brand.

 

[InchMetric]

These just look like EF lenses with adaptors bolted on. I was very much hoping the 400 and 600 were using a stopgap design and that the newer lenses would ether have some value add, or at least a better looking mount design.

The 400 and 600 are state of the art lens designs that followed years of a monumental development effort. No need to update when just changing the mount or adding an integrated TC. They are probably working on lens designs that actually need to be updated (300mm f 2.8?)

 

[InchMetric]

Expect either lenses to cost north of $13,000 or even $17,000.

I predicted that each will be $1000 more than the lens it "doubles." But they could be $1000 steps from 400, to 1200.

 

[neuroanatomist]

We have the rumored announcement of these 'big guns', and the suggested timing of the announcement matches the timing of the Canon China teaser campaign, “The new friend you’ve been waiting for is finally here; see you here in three days.”

I can't help picturing Al Pacino in Scarface.

 

[ncvarsity3]

I'd much rather buy Nikon's upcoming 600 f/4 with possible 1.4TC built in than this 800/5.6. I'd never even consider an 800/5.6 lens and especially would never buy this 1200/8...in that case I'd rather buy the 800/5.6 and use a 1.4 to get 1120/8. These are such super specialized lenses and as pointed out up thread do have their use cases but still such a weird move by Canon. Where are lenses like 500/4 and 300/2.8? Or better yet more unique stuff like fast DO lenses or interesting zooms?

Sony will never make lenses in these focal lengths....Nikon will have its 800/6.3PF and 600 with built in TC to satisfy a similar market. I don't know any wildlife shooter that would be so interested in either of these lenses to move systems but I'm sure there is someone out there. Prices are going to be insane for these.

The Z9+400mm 2.8 with the built in TC has definitely made me question switching brands in the future. As much as that lens makes me feel like it could be a 1 and done lens, I'm too invested in the Canon system to just jump ship at this point. I'm holding out hope for a <6lbs RF 500mm f4 or a RF 200-500mm f4. lens

 

[Deleted member 381342]

The Z9+400mm 2.8 with the built in TC has definitely made me question switching brands in the future. As much as that lens makes me feel like it could be a 1 and done lens, I'm too invested in the Canon system to just jump ship at this point. I'm holding out hope for a <6lbs RF 500mm f4 or a RF 200-500mm f4. lens

A 200-500 f/4.0 would make me question my switch to Nikon. But the Z9 and 400 f/2.8 TC and 800 f/6.3 PF are really big surprise wins. I was expecting to just wait for the 180-400 f/4.0 Z TC, not to have a 400 f/2.8 with a built in TC that can basically nail every fox scenario when pair with a second body sporting a 70-200 f/2.8 (that takes the 1.4x TC like its a native 98-280mm f/4.0).

 

[EOS 4 Life]

I would think initially there will be a good pent up demand from the kinds of people that really use that kind of thing. I'd think there will be a lot of Government agencies looking to get them, all the big photo agencies will want a few, each Canon CPS nation will want several, lots of private security and surveillance users too.

Then you move on to the actual photographers, for shore based surf photography it is a dream lens, I'd think there will be a few astro photographers interested etc etc.

After the initial 5 years, once the pent up demand has eased, I'd think the sales would slow down to a trickle though.

Will Canon even make more than a few a year?

 

[arbitrage]

Really? Will this be the BS we will read here in the future?

There is no reason to turn this site into a toxic platform either.

My thoughts exactly when I read that post. There is enough fanboy BS on this forum...last thing we need are the admins egging it on.

But I'll give tiggy the benefit of the doubt as his history on this and other forums has been at a higher standard.

 

[RunAndGun]

How many of the 1200mm lenses do you suppose Canon will sell in the next 5 years?

The "original" EF 1200 was built to order(but also a stop faster and almost six-figures at launch[~$90K before tax]).

 

[EOS 4 Life]

or adding an integrated TC.

You had me up to that point.
I can't see why Canon shouldn't offer more expensive versions with built in teleconverters.
There is so much convenience to not have to take the lens off to add and remove teleconverters.

 

[privatebydesign]

Will Canon even make more than a few a year?

My understanding of the super telephotos is that they make them in batches on the same production line. So they make x number of 400's then y number of 800's etc etc. The batch size is obviously determined by the number they think they will sell/need before the production line comes back around to that model.

So yes the first batch will include a decent number of lenses, after that who knows...