The Canon EF 1200mm f/5.6L USM sells for a record €500,000 at auction

[jeffa4444]

As I’ve written before Samuelson Film Services bought two of these lenses. Both were converted for cinematography use. Only one survives and is owned by Panavision who bought Samuelson Film Services and it has a PL Mount I believe the only one that does.

 

[CanonGrunt]

Interstellar map…

Is it a local map, county map, country map or global map?
This might give us an idea of how long it will take to get there.

 

[entoman]

Like the Zeiss Apo Sonnar T 1700mm f/4 that was custom-built for a wealthy Qatari individual...

View attachment 200734

Looks very futuristic, presumably the lug/knob on the side is for attachment to a gimbal?

Do you have any idea what subject matter he had in mind when he had it built?

 

[AlanF]

Looks very futuristic, presumably the lug/knob on the side is for attachment to a gimbal?

Do you have any idea what subject matter he had in mind when he had it built?

So he could snap Paris St Germain without leaving Qatar.

 

[padam]

If they can overcome the mediocre sharpness, mediocre contrast, and donut bokeh that are the hallmarks of catadioptric lenses. But, you know...physics.

And the 1200mm f/5.6L isn't the sharpest either, it's soft by modern standards. A modern catadioptric lens designed for a new mount can probably match it in some regards at least (while actually being usable in the field).

 

[[email protected]]

I'm sure there are a bunch of Leica lens collectors steaming, and figuring out how they can engineer a future feeding frenzy on some of the higher-end Leica oldies. There's no good reason one of them can't spend $1.5 million for a some limited edition 28mm.

If auctions were an indication of our economic competencies, we'd all be quite hosed.

 

[takesome1]

Looks very futuristic, presumably the lug/knob on the side is for attachment to a gimbal?

Do you have any idea what subject matter he had in mind when he had it built?

There are sites that say Wildlife Photography. There was one that I read some time ago that said it was mounted on top of a SUV. Both may have been speculation.
It was made for a 6x6 medium format.
Equivalent FOV on a 35mm would be 935mm;

Medium Format Lens vs 35mm lens focal lengths equivalencies

Medium Format Lens vs 35mm lens focal lengths equivalencies Guys doing digital have been dealing with crop factors for years now.

www.anatomyfilms.com

Need to have an adapter so a 7D II can be mounted to it.

 

[slclick]

So, ketchup chips are pretty good? Is that the conlusion of this?

 

[InchMetric]

The 1200mm f/8L might be a mirror lens.

Patent: Is Canon planning to release catadioptric (mirror) super telephoto lenses? - Canon Rumors

Keith over at Northlight uncovered a USPTO patent showing various optical designs for catadioptric lenses, better known as mirror lenses. The advantages to mirror lenses are reduced size, weight, and cost at long focal lengths. Some of the historical disadvantages to mirror lenses tend to be low...

www.canonrumors.com

More likely a 600f4 with a 2xTC, more or less.

 

[domo_p1000]

Dear Diary,
Today I feel content - I read a post on a Canon rumours site in which no one mentioned Sony, although the pertinent mention of a Zeiss Apo Sonnar lens came dangerously close!

 

[maulanawale]

Looks very futuristic, presumably the lug/knob on the side is for attachment to a gimbal?

Do you have any idea what subject matter he had in mind when he had it built?

Probably PJ, you know, to get a safe working distance. . . .
Jokes aside, such a long focal length in a place like Qatar, wouldn't the heat haze be a nightmare?

 

[Del Paso]

I'm sure there are a bunch of Leica lens collectors steaming, and figuring out how they can engineer a future feeding frenzy on some of the higher-end Leica oldies. There's no good reason one of them can't spend $1.5 million for a some limited edition 28mm.

If auctions were an indication of our economic competencies, we'd all be quite hosed.

$500,000 are nothing more than peanuts in the Leica collector's world.
Leica "0" series: number 7 sold for Euro 3.000,000 in 2011...

 

[Del Paso]

Probably PJ, you know, to get a safe working distance. . . .
Jokes aside, such a long focal length in a place like Qatar, wouldn't the heat haze be a nightmare?

The Qatari police too...

 

[Del Paso]

Dear Diary,
Today I feel content - I read a post on a Canon rumours site in which no one mentioned Sony, although the pertinent mention of a Zeiss Apo Sonnar lens came dangerously close!

Sony Sony Sony

 

[PhilA]

Let me be the first to mention the EF1200f5.6L's older brother - the NFD1200f5.6L with built in 1.4 extender! I have used both way back in the day (but I was working for Canon Oz at the time).

 

[entoman]

Probably PJ, you know, to get a safe working distance. . . .
Jokes aside, such a long focal length in a place like Qatar, wouldn't the heat haze be a nightmare?

Yes, I wondered if it could have been for bird photography. Heat haze would be pretty awful in the middle of the day, but bird photography is most often done quite early in the morning, when it would be less of a problem.

However that is contradicted slightly by the highly reflective silver finish, which tends to indicate that the lens would be used primarily in hot sunny circumstances. The shape of the integral lens hood also indicates a need to keep overhead sunlight from striking the front element.

Interesting to speculate!

 

[Stuart]

Its Canon buying it for their museum with all the extra cash they made this year

 

[peters]

Looks very futuristic, presumably the lug/knob on the side is for attachment to a gimbal?

Do you have any idea what subject matter he had in mind when he had it built?

DP Review says its for "long distance wildlife".
But given that it got a weight of 250kg, I can hardly belive this "quatari individual" that he planned on taking it out on safari :-D My guess: peeping at people from his skyscraper xD

 

[mpmark]

So you’re telling me a RF 600 w/ 2x and the loss of one stop is a bar again eh?

 

[Berowne]

Let me be the first to mention the EF1200f5.6L's older brother - the NFD1200f5.6L with built in 1.4 extender! I have used both way back in the day (but I was working for Canon Oz at the time).

Here you can see it: Canon FDn 1200 f/5.6L 1.4x Lens Images