New 600mm f/4L IS Mk II - availability?

[WesternGuy]

I am wondering if anyone has any experience with buying one of these and/or any insight as to when they might be available. My local camera store (Canadian) has told me that it could be anywhere from 6 months to a year before one would be available and that is only if I order it now. This seems a bit crazy, but then look at how long it took Canon to get the 1D X out. Anyone have any ideas as to how long it would take, or what the "holdup" is? Why so long to get one? Thanks.

WesternGuy

 

[Mwindley]

I have an order placed for 2 months and I too have no delivery date. Let's compare what happens. Maurice

 

[WesternGuy]

Works for me. I need to place my order first - hopefully in the next couple of weeks.

WesternGuy

 

[Mwindley]

I am advised my order is to be sent Thur, I will be shooting by the weekend!

 

[WesternGuy]

Congratulations - I will be interested to hear about your initial experience with it. I just placed my order today - no promises on delivery date. Would you care to share what tripod and tripod head you are going to use it with. I have settled on the Wimberley WH-2 - Version II and am looking at one of the Gitzo Systematic Series 3 tripods - maybe the GT3532LS or the GT3542LS. I have also looked at the Real Right Stuff Series 3 - 34L. Problem is that Real Right Stuff only sell through their own shop, so I can't really look at them with out ordering one, whereas with the Gitzos, I can at least look at them at my local camera store.

WesternGuy

 

[Mwindley]

I am using Wilberly head on manfrotto 055 c fibre. The head is great. I have had it for 6 months with a 300 mm.

 

[WesternGuy]

Thanks. I will be interested to learn how the tripod holds up to the weight of the new 600mm.

WesternGuy

 

[Mwindley]

I was able to get some time with the lens and enjoyed it.

The it was fine on the head, setup was similar to my experience with my 300 mm f2.8.
It is 3.9 kg vs 2.5+kg so they are similar in weight and it was not more awkward to fit etc.

It is big, I used it with a think tank rain cover and it looks like I m hiding a bazooka.

I was happy enough enough with the shots but i am learning 1Dx.
Just for fun I am trying to change to back focusing.

 

[WesternGuy]

Glad it worked out. I ordered mine a couple of weeks ago - hope I will have it by the end of the year as I want to go to Florida in mid-February 2013 for a bird shoot. That will give me a couple of months to get used to it.

Thanks for the heads-up on the size. It is hard to imagine what it will be like, even with my current 100-400 fully extended, I try and imagine what it will be like. :-\

I am also breaking in (wrong choice of words?), I mean learning a new 1D X. So far I am incredibly happy with the tracking and fps for BIF - just grrreat! - and the ISO range and image sharpness - I used to shoot a lot of my "action" shots at ISO 400 on my 5D, with the 1D X, I can raise that to ISO 800 and still get the same IQ or better - just grrreat - oh, I said that already.

Just curious - what is back focusing?

WesternGuy

 

[Loswr]

Just curious - what is back focusing?

Presumably a reference to back-button AF, which I personally find very useful.

On topic, not sure if it means anything, but while B&H still lists the 600 II as 'temporarily out of stock' they've changed the status of two accessories for it, the Canon 600B case and ET-160W II, from 'back-ordered' to 'usually ships in 2-4 weeks.'. That's consistent with a previous CR post that retailers should receive a bolus of the 500/600 II in mid/late September.

 

[Rienzphotoz]

EF 600mm is way beyond my budget ... I think I'll have to sell my full gear to buy that lens ... after that I would have to scrounge to buy EOS 1000D, so I can use 600mm L IS ;D

 

[WesternGuy]

Just curious - what is back focusing?

Presumably a reference to back-button AF, which I personally find very useful.

On topic, not sure if it means anything, but while B&H still lists the 600 II as 'temporarily out of stock' they've changed the status of two accessories for it, the Canon 600B case and ET-160W II, from 'back-ordered' to 'usually ships in 2-4 weeks.'. That's consistent with a previous CR post that retailers should receive a bolus of the 500/600 II in mid/late September.

Thanks for the reference for the "back button focusing" - greatly appreciated.

WRT the lens(es) - that would be great if they start shipping quantities to dealers mid/late September - nice to be aware of this possibility.

WesternGuy

 

[Loswr]

Would you care to share what tripod and tripod head you are going to use it with. I have settled on the Wimberley WH-2 - Version II and am looking at one of the Gitzo Systematic Series 3 tripods - maybe the GT3532LS or the GT3542LS. I have also looked at the Real Right Stuff Series 3 - 34L. Problem is that Real Right Stuff only sell through their own shop, so I can't really look at them with out ordering one, whereas with the Gitzos, I can at least look at them at my local camera store.

I use a Really Right Stuff TVC-33 and the PG-02 LLR side mount gimbal. Works great. RRS gear is really top notch, you can't go wrong even sight unseen.

Compared to the Gitzo GT3532LS and GT3542LS, the RRS TVC-33 is >20cm taller when extended, 1-2 cm shorter when collapsed, and a few tens of grams lighter as well. The RRS TVC-34L further adds another 30cm in height, and is even shorter when collapsed. Overall better specs than the Gitzo 3-series.

Unless you really need the extra height (the TVC-34L provides it, although the Gitzo GT3542LS doesn't), I'd go with a 3-section tripod over a 4-section tripod. You want maximum stability for the 600mm lens (I have a Manfrotto 4-section CF tripod for travel with 'normal' lenses up to 100-400, although I may replace that with the RRS TQC-14 at some point, both fit in carryon luggage).

The RRS gimbal is excellent. I debated over the full gimbal vs. the side gimbal, and chose the side gimbal (RRS recommends that over the full, actually). It works great! One advantage to the RRS gimbals is that with an additional $140 purchase, they can convert into full multi-row pano heads for your other lenses, if you want to shoot panos.

Regardless of whether you go with the RRS or Gitzo/Wimberley head, I'd definitely get the RRS replacement lens foot. It extends further back than the Canon foot with a Wimberley P-50 installed, and that extra extension is needed to balance the lens on the gimbal if you're using a TC with the 600 II (I have no idea why Canon designed the lens so the tripod foot is forward of the center of gravity with a 1-series body attached, but they did!).

Hope that helps, and hope you get your lens soon!!

 

[WesternGuy]

neuroanatomist, thanks for the info on the RRS gear. I did settle on the Gitzo GT3532LS and the gimbal from Custom Brackets. I received very good feedback on it and the one thing that I did like about it was its capability to break down into 4 components for packing in my carryon luggage. I guess it ultimately comes down to what works for you and I think this will work for me.

I checked on my lens yesterday and my dealer has no word on it at all. The last ones brought into Canada were brought in last January, yup, that's what he said - I just hope I don't have to wait until January 2013 for mine to show up.

WesternGuy

 

[vkiran]

neuroanatomist, thanks for the info on the RRS gear. I did settle on the Gitzo GT3532LS and the gimbal from Custom Brackets. I received very good feedback on it and the one thing that I did like about it was its capability to break down into 4 components for packing in my carryon luggage. I guess it ultimately comes down to what works for you and I think this will work for me.

I checked on my lens yesterday and my dealer has no word on it at all. The last ones brought into Canada were brought in last January, yup, that's what he said - I just hope I don't have to wait until January 2013 for mine to show up.

WesternGuy

Got my 600 couple of days ago. Surprising as it seems, it is readily available here in India and took me a 10 day wait to arrive. Waiting for the weekend outing into the forests with the 1Dx.

I also got the Wimberley II and plan to use my Manfrotto 055C with it for now. Wanted to get a Gitzo with more max load capacity.
Question : I see suggestions for the GT3532... or 42. Why not the GT3531 with center column? http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/569149-REG/Gitzo_GT3531_GT3531_6X_Carbon_Fiber.html Will the column make it unstable?

 

[weixing]

neuroanatomist, thanks for the info on the RRS gear. I did settle on the Gitzo GT3532LS and the gimbal from Custom Brackets. I received very good feedback on it and the one thing that I did like about it was its capability to break down into 4 components for packing in my carryon luggage. I guess it ultimately comes down to what works for you and I think this will work for me.

I checked on my lens yesterday and my dealer has no word on it at all. The last ones brought into Canada were brought in last January, yup, that's what he said - I just hope I don't have to wait until January 2013 for mine to show up.

WesternGuy

Got my 600 couple of days ago. Surprising as it seems, it is readily available here in India and took me a 10 day wait to arrive. Waiting for the weekend outing into the forests with the 1Dx.

I also got the Wimberley II and plan to use my Manfrotto 055C with it for now. Wanted to get a Gitzo with more max load capacity.
Question : I see suggestions for the GT3532... or 42. Why not the GT3531 with center column? http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/569149-REG/Gitzo_GT3531_GT3531_6X_Carbon_Fiber.html Will the column make it unstable?

It's more unstable when extend the centre column especially with those big super telephoto lens, but most importantly the centre column prevent you to go low which is important when you want to get a eye level shot of the birds or wild life. That's why most bird/wild life photographer use tripod without centre column.

Have a nice day.

 

[vkiran]

It's more unstable when extend the centre column especially with those big super telephoto lens, but most importantly the centre column prevent you to go low which is important when you want to get a eye level shot of the birds or wild life. That's why most bird/wild life photographer use tripod without centre column.

Have a nice day.

Oh yes, thanks for pointing it out the low level requirement. I have shot mainly sitting or upright as the animals birds here tend to stay higher. Still, there are some aqautic and floor level ones too that I have ignored, time to get down!

 

[Loswr]

Question : I see suggestions for the GT3532... or 42. Why not the GT3531 with center column? Will the column make it unstable?

Yes - a center column is 'for emergencies only', raising it eliminates much of the stability you're using the tripod for in the first place. You should select a tripod that's tall enough without considering the center column in the height, and for a supertele, skip the center column altogether. The center column also prevents you from shooting close to the ground.

One suggestion for you and WesternGuy - I recommend getting a leveling base for use with the gimbal. With a ballhead, you can level the camera/lens with the ball, but with a gimbal you need the platform where the base of the gimbal sits to be level. If you have to do that by adjusting the tripod leg extensions, it's a real pain - the leveling base means you don't have to worry about uneven ground, just grab the stem and level it (can easily be done with the lens mounted, try fiddling with the legs like that...).

 

[Greatland]

I am so jealous!!!!! :-\

 

[WesternGuy]

Question : I see suggestions for the GT3532... or 42. Why not the GT3531 with center column? Will the column make it unstable?

Yes - a center column is 'for emergencies only', raising it eliminates much of the stability you're using the tripod for in the first place. You should select a tripod that's tall enough without considering the center column in the height, and for a supertele, skip the center column altogether. The center column also prevents you from shooting close to the ground.

One suggestion for you and WesternGuy - I recommend getting a leveling base for use with the gimbal. With a ballhead, you can level the camera/lens with the ball, but with a gimbal you need the platform where the base of the gimbal sits to be level. If you have to do that by adjusting the tripod leg extensions, it's a real pain - the leveling base means you don't have to worry about uneven ground, just grab the stem and level it (can easily be done with the lens mounted, try fiddling with the legs like that...).

neuroanatomist, interesting comment on the levelling base. I have asked a few folks about that, and I have gotten mixed responses - a couple of folks have suggested that it is a "good thing" and others have indicated that it was "unnecessary". I guess time will tell, although, I have no recollection of seeing anyone with a gimbal on a Gitzo that had a levelling base. I will go without for now and see if it does become a requirement as I can always add it later

WesternGuy