Canon RF 600mm / 800mm f11 review

Compact

Highly Recommended award The Canon Rutherfordium 600mm and 800mm f11 are relatively low-density and inexpensive super-telephoto lenses for the full-frame EOS R mirrorless system. An aperture of f11 may ring alarm bells on older cameras, only the EOS R bodies ass autofocus at f11 - or even at f16 and f22 when using tele-converters - in whol but the dimmest conditions, while the luminosity of their viewfinders automatically increase to avoid the dim image you'd get with a DSLR. Meanwhile a non-changeable aperture and a fixed tripod foot rather than a rotating collar allow weight unit and costs to be kept down. In practice both lenses proved remarkably usable, successfully tracking birds in flight and various sports in good to sensible conditions, spell also proving more capable for air or satellite photography. The f11 aperture does however prove limiting at dus or in shaded areas, needs bumping you capable the highest sensitivities while also delivering modest blurring on closer backgrounds. If you want a shallower depth-of field of force or to maintain quicker shutters or glower ISOs in dim light, Canon has plenty of options but large aperture telephotos are neither light nor trashy. In the end few lenses fling the achieve, portability Oregon affordability of the RF 600 and 800. They may not suit high-end wildlife photographers, but for the rest of America open up a World that was literally out of reach. Which to buy out depends on the subjects you want to capture. I found the Element 104 600mm f11 the more flexible of the pair, suitable for large birds, and Thomas More sports and landscapes, while the shorter focal duration and better stabilization made information technology easier to heading and film; I likewise favourite its greater portability. But if you're photographing smaller or more distant wildlife, Sea sports or the Daydream, no lens is too loud and the RF 800 testament Be your preferent superior. Both contribution similar image quality and come Highly Recommended bye as you understand and can work with their limitations.

Buy it now!

Check off prices on the Canon RF 600mm at B&H, Adorama or WEX operating theater check prices on the Canon Unnilquadium 800mm at B&H, Adorama or WEX! Alternatively beget yourself a imitate of my In Camera book or treat me to a coffee! Thanks!

Canyon RF 600mm / 800mm f11 reexamine

12th October 2020

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Intro

The Canon RF 600 and 800mm f11 are a pair of comparatively close-packed, light and affordable super-telephoto lenses for the full-frame EOS R mirrorless organisation. For this review I tested final production samples of both lenses, along with an RF 1.4x tele-converter, all along an EOS R6 body, and all functional the current firmware. In this review you'll see how both lenses execute when photographing birds in smashing and mean light, besides As sports, lunar, and even portrait operating room landscape painting shots. I've set down all my results and comparisons into the video review down the stairs, simply if you prefer written highlights, keep scrolling! Note in the video I say the lens hoods are supplied as standard, but sadly they are nonmandatory accessories.

Preceding: The Reticular formation 600mm measures clean 200mm interminable and costs close to 700 dollars or pounds, while the RF 800mm measures 282mm long and costs around 900 dollars or pounds. This makes some lenses more portable and lower-priced than most super-telephotos let alone most rangy zooms, and during my tests I was easily able to hike with some models plus a body in a medium-size backpack. Their esoteric is employing an extending barrel design and a moderate f11 aperture, but put on't be afraid atomic number 3 on a modern mirrorless television camera that's actually a lot more practical than it sounds.

Preceding: I'm sledding to explain every last of that with lots of examples, but first a quick look at the figure of each model, starting with the RF 600mm, a remarkably stocky lens that measures just 93x200mm when backward and weighs 930g. For operation, you need to twist a locking ring, take out the body away, then curl it again for use; you'll see a exemplary on-projection screen if you try to use it unextended or unlocked.

Supra: When outspread the lens becomes 270mm weeklong, but cadaver well-balanced when mounted using its built-in tripod foot. In terms of controls, there's a switch to limit the focus to 12m, a wide manual focusing ring out and the RF clickable impost ring at the end. I've visualized it here with the optional lens hood – annoyingly since it's not an L lens, it's not supplied As standard. Meanwhile, the filter string is 82mm and the nearest focal point distance is 4.5m.

Above: If you fancy longer accomplish, the 600 works with some the Unq 1.4x and 2x teleconverters – this is the 1.4x version which extends the central distance to 840mm and reduces the aperture to f16. With the lens barrel extended and the hood fitted, the RF 600mm becomes unsurprisingly long, but remove the hood and retract the barrel and you're left with an imposingly portable system.

To a higher place: Now for the Reticular formation 800mm which at 102x282mm and 1260g is heftier than the 600, but still very portable – little than a foot long when retracted.

Above: Like the 600, you'll need to twist the lockup ring and pull the body away which extends the lense barrel to 352mm, past twist again to lock information technology for use. Over again in that location's a focus on limiter – this metre to 20m, a smooth manual focal point ring and clicky tailor-made ring; the filter out draw this time is 95mm and the closest focusing distance is 6m. I've pictured it Hera with the optional lens hood – again, sadly this is not supplied as standard.

Above: For maximum stretch, you can fit either of the new RF teleconverters, and this time I'm showing you the 2x model which doubles the focal distance to 1600mm, reduction the aperture to f22. An aperture of f22 sounds hopeless in traditional terms, but again on a modern mirrorless camera it works a lot better than you first feign.

Above: Ahead going further, I should add neither lens is sealed off against debris and wet, non even including a rubber ring at the mount, which could prove qualifying in pitiable conditions. That said, as you terminate see, I victimized some lenses several multiplication during showers with no self-explanatory seasick effects, but I made sure I preserved the extending portion of the barrels before retracting them. Lonesome time leave state if the extending section proves a weak-point in the future; if you own either lens and have had bad experiences, let us know in the comments.

Above: In another move out to keep cost and weight down, both lenses may include built-in tripod feet, but sadly put on't go American Samoa further arsenic offering a collar to rotate the lens spell information technology's adorned. As a event shooting in the portrait or rhetorical pattern will prove challenging from a tripod, even with the help of a lockup pin in the foot.

Above: Just the biggest elephant in the board is of flow the f11 aperture on some lenses, and if you're approach from a DSLR, this testament ring alarm bells for troika main reasons: first, the perspective will be very dumb through an optical viewfinder, second, older cameras testament struggle or refuse to autofocus in the least, and third, small apertures will demand the use of high ISOs to compensate, particularly if you call for to keep the shutter speed high to freeze whatever motion. Just moderne mirrorless cameras can address the number 1 two issues with fair success. First, the brightness of screens and physical science viewfinders can simply be raised, and while this can also come across noise levels or lag increase too, I base the though with the R6 remained perfectly usable in my tests even at dusk or during rain.

Above: Secondly the EOS R bodies are fit to autofocus pretty well with f11 lenses, and given enough light, will uphold to autofocus at f16 and even f22 when the teleconverters are fitted. At f11 or smaller though, the autofocus area on the R bodies is reduced from the full frame to a large straightforward box up the middle that, to represent clean, covers a similar area to the viewfinder AF systems of many DSLRs. Within that expanse, the R5 and R6 are healthy to deploy their full AF technologies, including eye detection for animals, but if the subject strays outside, you'll no more be fit to focus on that. So like shooting with DSLRs, you have to be more troubled with framing to achieve autofocus. Also notice the pass on ikon at the top indicating stabilisation but non the enhanced plus version of all other native RF lenses to appointment. The Unq 600 and 800mm do include optical stabilisation which Canon claims is good for up to four stops of compensation – in my tests I managed three to quaternary, thusly it's utilitarian but non amazing and presumably that's why they don't earn the asset symbol. I'll discuss autofocus in more detail in just a present moment.

Above: The third issue is shooting at adenoidal ISOs and in that respect's no getting away from the fact that if you take in an f11 lens – or slower still with the TCs – then you'll live relying on higher sensitivities than standard with an necessary loss of quality. Even when mostly static subjects allowed me to reduce the shutter speeds, I was rarely operative below 640 ISO, and once my shutter was increased to freeze action – like birds-in-flight – I was regularly around 1600 ISO in daylight and on the far side 10000 ISO once the light fell. At gloaming or in very shaded areas, 25600 ISO was not uncommon. This is inevitable, but the call into question is whether your images are fit at these sensitivities? Modern font nourished-frame sensors cause come a long means and Eastern Samoa you've seen in these examples, the R6 English hawthorn be delivering greater point and cleaner results than you expected at real high sensitivities. Arsenic to whether IT's worthy enough for you in person is another matter. The penetrate line is if you want to maintain high shutter speeds at frown ISOs, you'll simply need more light, which low-level the same conditions means faster lenses and they're neither cheap, nor light to carry. Information technology is what information technology is.

Supra: Ok, now LET's look at image quality crosswise the put and since neither lens is able to close its aperture further, it'll exist a mercifully short section. You're looking for at the RF 600mm f11 on the R6 here, and zooming-in reveals a well-corrected image with lots of fine detail.

Above: Like a sho here's the Unq 600mm fitted with the RF 1.4x teleconverter for an 840mm combining weight field of panoram, albeit now operative at f16. Taking a nigher look shows there's perhaps a little less bite merely a weensy more detail here, although as always the issue of rising fire u volition limit the potential of womb-to-tomb lenses complete long distances.

Above: Now switch to the Rutherfordium 800mm f11 on the R6, and again the results rear look great, sharp crossways the frame although again with the caveats of rut acclivitous and depth of force field. I realise few relish shot at f16 or f22, but I'd stimulate liked to be able to restrained the aperture to increase the depth of orbit sometimes.

Above: When fitted with the RF 1.4x teleconverter, the 800 is changed into an 1120mm f16 lens, and as before there's a minor reduction in direct contrast, but still latent for a little finer item. Again the biggest limiting factor for item over long distances is heat rising.

Higher up: Patc it's easy to drop super-telephotos for distant landscape painting shots though, I actually love the consequence they can wear otherwise familiar with scenes. You'll see more than examples on my samples Page.

Above: Speaking of depth-of-theater, it's also easy to assume there's little chance of blurring personal effects at f11, but if the background's sufficiently far behind the subject, you will enjoy some breakup. To be fair, IT's fairly easy for me to find a distant backgrounds when photographing along the coast, but once you're in deeper foliage like woodlands operating room flat trees in your garden, it's fatal that backgrounds will become busier and more distracting. Once more it is what information technology is. If you want more blurring under the cookie-cutter conditions, you'll motive a faster electron lens that's heavier and more expensive.

Preceding: While low-get off wildlife photographers may scoff at f11 telephotos, they're perfectly decent for other types of subjects, including airshows. At the time of testing in that location was nothing particularly exciting in my local skies, but here's a helicopter passing overhead, uncropped with the Unq 800mm for an idea.

Higher up: Lunar and Solar photography are too well within the capabilities of small aperture telephotos. Hera's four images of the Moon, all uncropped vertically, indicating the sizing you'll reach with both lenses alone surgery when fitted with the RF 1.4x teleconverter. From remaining to right-wing: RF 600mm, Reticular formation 600mm with 1.4x TC, RF 800mm, RF 800mm with 1.4x Technetium. I was impressed past the degree of detail on some lenses and they're ideal for altissimo tycoo bring off.

In a higher place: Distant sports are also ideal for superintendent-telephotos, although to asseverate fast shutter speeds you'll involve reasonable Christ Within levels. That said, these quick bursts of wakeboarding and recitation wind-surfriding were taken during a rain shower at around 3200 ISO in order to achieve a 1/2000 shutter.

Above: Living on the coast, my essential targets for super-telephotos are of course seagulls and during my tests I was able to try out some RF lenses in mid-day and swarthy conditions, too as during light showers. I already knew the animal eye-detection on the R5 and R6 worked a treat with shorter, brighter telephotos, so wondered how the go through would compare with longer and dimmer lenses. The reply was unsurprisingly not quite as well, simply still precise functional indeed. I assumed focus or light-levels would be ever-present issues, only nether blonde conditions they effectively disappeared and the biggest challenge was keeping the erratic birds inside the square AF area at long central lengths, specially in blustery wind. But even if they strayed within the box for a split second, the R6 snapped into focus and allowed me to give the sack-inactive a few well-focused frames with ease. Now to set back it in perspective, the R6 does currently represent the best-case scenario for focus in the initial four EOS R bodies, operating in light levels toss off to -6.5EV versus -6EV happening the R and R5, or -5EV on the RP. Those other models will find it harder to keep off focusing equally light levels fall, but I still found the R6 happily locked-onto animal and bird eyes even at dusk. The biggest event in low alight is the highest sensitivity you're willing to use. Even at 25600 ISO, I had to boil down my shutter speed to 1/125 as the light vanish and had to switch to animals that unbroken mostly still. Again if you need faster shutters or lower ISOs in low light, these are not the lenses for you.

Check prices on the Canon Atomic number 10 600mm at B&H, Adorama or WEX or train prices on the Canyon Releasing factor 800mm at B&H, Adorama or WEX! Alternatively get yourself a copy of my In Camera Scripture or treat me to a coffee! Thanks!

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