CANON RF 800mm F11 IS STM & RF 600mm F11 IS STM
Super small and light mega-telephoto prime lenses set to revolutionize long-distance shooting on a shoestring
ENTER THE ‘new normal’ when it comes to affordable, lightweight mega telephoto primes for mirrorless cameras, in the long, slender shape of the Canon RF 800mm F11 IS STM prime and RF 600mm F11 IS STM lenses. The RF 800mm F11 weighs only 1260g, while the RF 600mm F11 weighs less at 930g, and with their size and weight Canon told us they feel nicely balanced on the new EOS R6 camera bodies.
These slick, black budget tele lenses both have IS with the RF 800mm producing 4-stops of IS, and the RF 600mm offering 5-stops IS – the IS on the lenses also works along with IBIS on the R5 and R6, but not as well as when the cameras are paired up with faster lenses.
But let’s address the elephant in the room. These prime lenses have a fixed aperture of just f/11. It’s this narrow aperture that’s enabled Canon to make these lenses smaller, lighter and cheaper, however f/11 is 2-stops slower than f/5.6, and 4-stops slower than f/2.8… Canon are keen to point out that using the lenses on R system cameras, while shooting with the EVF (that brightens your view of scenes you’re shooting), makes these primes easy to work with, along with the higher-tech AF on R cameras also assisting.
But shooting at f/11 still means your shutter speeds will be much slower compared to telephoto zooms with faster apertures – as a comparison, say you’re shooting action sports at f/2.8 with a shutter speed of 1/500 sec, but you’re then restricted to f/11, your shutter speed would be much slower and only 1/30 sec. Canon also emphasized the ability to shoot at higher ISOS without fear of noise on mirrorless R cameras, so you can obtain faster shutter speed by upping the ISO.
Although, they did admit that if you’re shooting motor racing on dark winter days in the UK at f/11, it will be tricky to focus or get fast shutter speeds – these lenses will be better suited to shooting on safari on bright sunny days! Sales start on 30 July for both primes, and prices are very competitive at £979 RRP for the RF 800mm and £749 RPP for the RF 600mm.