Updated ship dates for the new Canon lenses

[EricN]

HI @EricN I also like supporting my local retailer as well and normally they always get 1-2 copies the day of the announcement. However, this does not appear to be the case with the 200-800 mm. Maybe they will get a copy tomorrow am?

We can always hope. I don't know if it's the case, but I think Canon informs the retailers when they send orders.

 

[john1970]

We can always hope. I don't know if it's the case, but I think Canon informs the retailers when they send orders.

That would make sense to me so dealers know when they are receiving stock. The situation with the RF 200-800 mm is very odd, because I know they received two copies of the RF 100-300 mm f2.8 when it was announced and that lens is very difficult to find in stock.

 

[john1970]

I am surprised @john1970 's store didn't get even one. I'm still waiting for the RF14 f/1.4L announcement and although I prefer to support local stores, I'm firmly planning on coffee and B&H for that night.

I might start pre-ordering from B&H as well, but I really like to support my local retailer because when I have an issue they take good care of my request.

 

[neuroanatomist]

I might start pre-ordering from B&H as well, but I really like to support my local retailer because when I have an issue they take good care of my request.

Probably I should not start pre-ordering from Hunt’s, because even though that’s also my local photo retailer we seem to have similar tastes in lenses, and thus would be competing for the same limited allocations.

 

[Dragon]

I might start pre-ordering from B&H as well, but I really like to support my local retailer because when I have an issue they take good care of my request.

The person I chatted with at B&H said they got a few of the 200-800, but he didn't put a number on it. He attempted to be hopeful that I would get one soon since I ordered in the first 30 minutes, but he had no substance to back up the hope. The upside is while waiting and thinking about it, I came up with an idea that worked out. I have a set of Vello RF extension tubes (pretty sloppy, but they work), so I stacked both of them (32mm total) behind the 800 f/11 and gained a few feet on the close focus. Seems to be a better compromise for additional magnification than backing up with the 1.4 extender if you can get close to the subject. This is an uncropped example at about 15 ft with the R7. Full image is pushing JPEG pretty hard to get in the file size limit for the site, but you can get the idea. It would be nice to find some extension tubes that were better made than the ones I have, but so far, they all look pretty sleazy. For reference, it was a dark day, so ISO 6400 @ 1/320 (1.4 stops underexposed). Processing is LR enhance, plus a light pass through Topaz denoise. I haven't tried PL7 on it yet, but that may well get rid of the noise on the wing (which is aggravated by the JPEG).
EDIT. I added the DXO PL7 version and, yes, it cleaned up the wing, but I like the overall look better with the Adobe Enhance version. In either case, I find that turning down the NR a bit on the first pass and following up with a light pass of Topaz Denoize usually (but not always) gives a better result than cranking up the slider on either LR Enhance or PL7 Deep Prime XD. In any case, the original was exposed at about an effective ISO 16000 thanks to the dark day. If I had used the 1.4 extender for the same framing, I would have lost about another 2/3 of a stop as this was effectively about f/12, thanks to the extension tube. Getting back to f/9 with the 200-800 will make a real difference in such conditions.

 

[EricN]

The person I chatted with at B&H said they got a few of the 200-800, but he didn't put a number on it. He attempted to be hopeful that I would get one soon since I ordered in the first 30 mind, but he had no substance to back up the hope. The upside is while waiting and thinking about it, I came up with an idea that worked out. I have a set of Vello RF extension tubes (pretty sloppy, but they work), so I stacked both of them (32mm total) behind the 800 f/11 and gained a few feet on the close focus. Seems to be a better compromise for additional magnification than backing up with the 1.4 extender if you can get close to the subject. This is an uncropped example at about 15 ft with the R7. Full image is pushing JPEG pretty hard to get in the file size limit for the site, but you can get the idea. It would be nice to find some extension tubes that were better made than the ones I got, but so far, they all look pretty sleazy. For reference, it was a dark day, so ISO 6400 @ 1/320 (1.4 stops underexposed). Processing is LR enhance, plus a light pass through Topaz denoise. I haven't tried PL7 on it yet, but that may well get rid of the noise on the wing (which is aggravated by the JPEG).

It looks looks good to me. I usually use PL7, but sometimes I use Darktable (which is free), It has more control over noise reduction and other kinds of processing, but it's more also difficult to use. If you have time to learn another program, I recommend it.

 

[Dragon]

It looks looks good to me. I usually use PL7, but sometimes I use Darktable (which is free), It has more control over noise reduction and other kinds of processing, but it's more also difficult to use. If you have time to learn another program, I recommend it.

I have loaded Darktable a couple of times, but didn't find it offered anything significant over LR and it certainly didn't have the file management power of LR. Has Darktable added an AI NR feature recently? As an aside, I find AI noise reduction behaves somewhat similarly to digital error correction in communications, which is to say that there is a limit beyond which it simply does not work. You can (could) watch an analog TV broadcast as the transmission conditions got worse and the picture kept getting noisier, but watchable (at least until the set lost sync). The same program on digital TV will be essentially perfect until the error correction hits the wall and then it is simply gone. The cliff is not quite as abrupt with AI image noise reduction, but the behavior is similar. The upside is that so long as you are in the "correctable window", the pictures will look quite decent after the NR is applied.

 

[bhf3737]

I received the RF 200-800 today from Vistek, here in Canada. It seems that they have received only a handful of this lens. I will try the lens in the weekend.

 

[john1970]

The local shop called today and the 200-800 mm also arrived. Perfect timing.

 

[neuroanatomist]

The local shop called today and the 200-800 mm also arrived. Perfect timing.

Interested to hear your thoughts. FedEx came to my house this morning with a wine club delivery but without the 24-105/2.8. I then remembered that when placing an order, B&H defaults to the last shipping address and that was for several 34” monitors I ordered for work. I noticed that and meant to have them update it, but forgot. So my lens is at work…and I’m not. Sigh.

 

[docsmith]

Ordered from B&H just before 6 am eastern the day of the announcement.

RF 200-800 has been changed to "Backordered".

RF 24-105 is still listed as "New Order" but has not shipped.

Bummer....Now what am I supposed to do with this weekend???

 

[neuroanatomist]

Bummer....Now what am I supposed to do with this weekend???

I seem to recall you have a few other lenses.

 

[Dragon]

Ordered from B&H just before 6 am eastern the day of the announcement.

RF 200-800 has been changed to "Backordered".

RF 24-105 is still listed as "New Order" but has not shipped.

Bummer....Now what am I supposed to do with this weekend???

You are down the line a bit. I ordered at 12:29 am eastern (The listing went up at midnight) and I still didn't make the cut. B&H guy said they had a lot of orders and it sounds like they only got a few lenses (and probably kept a couple for demo). He had no real news on when they would see more.

 

[danfaz]

Ordered from B&H just before 6 am eastern the day of the announcement.

@neuroanatomist and I were pre-ordering at 12:01. That seems to be the ticket.

 

[docsmith]

I seem to recall you have a few other lenses.

1, 2….or 10. Somehow I will survive.

You are down the line a bit. I ordered at 12:29 am eastern (The listing went up at midnight) and I still didn't make the cut. B&H guy said they had a lot of orders and it sounds like they only got a few lenses (and probably kept a couple for demo). He had no real news on when they would see more.

Apparently I enjoy sleep too much.

 

[koenkooi]

Ordered from B&H just before 6 am eastern the day of the announcement.

RF 200-800 has been changed to "Backordered".

RF 24-105 is still listed as "New Order" but has not shipped.

Bummer....Now what am I supposed to do with this weekend???

Borrow some wine from @neuroanatomist

 

[Dragon]

1, 2….or 10. Somehow I will survive.

Apparently I enjoy sleep too much.

I am on the west coast, so no loss of sleep. Still spent too much time reading the description before ordering.

 

[neuroanatomist]

Still spent too much time reading the description before ordering.

Now you know. Preorder, then read. You can always cancel your preorder. Maybe don’t rush through the preorder like I did, though, so your lens is shipped where you want it.

 

[EricN]

Now you know. Preorder, then read. You can always cancel your preorder. Maybe don’t rush through the preorder like I did, though, so your lens is shipped where you want it.

Were you able to open up the 24-105mm f/2.8 package delivered to your office, yet?

 

[AlanF]

Come on guys - get yourself a life, or is that on backorder?