There is a 1200mm for auction per this article. Has always been a dream lens for me. If in the future I was ever in a position to buy this lens somehow someway. I 100% would.
https://petapixel.com/2021/06/07/thi...m-f-5-6l-lens/
There is a 1200mm for auction per this article. Has always been a dream lens for me. If in the future I was ever in a position to buy this lens somehow someway. I 100% would.
https://petapixel.com/2021/06/07/thi...m-f-5-6l-lens/
Last edited by Fast Glass; 06-10-2021 at 05:13 AM.
It would be fun to try and to see what the images would be like but you would need two roadies to pack it around for you, not to mention trying to travel with such a beast......certainly not in the affordable category or the practical category but you probably wouldn't lose money on it. I wonder if Canon still supports it in terms of service and repair?
Ok. I did get excited when I saw the serial # "204" pop up. There are not many of those out there.
While there are definite times and places for such a lens, over time I have grown to appreciate all the issues with more reach beyond a certain point. Not only the size/weight, but anything that will bend light (different air densities, etc) and, you know, curvature of the earth.
With no IS it would be extremely hard to get a sharp picture hand held.
I'd like to see somebody -- anybody -- even try to hand hold it!Originally Posted by HDNitehawk
Jonathan Huyer
www.huyerperspectives.com
According to published specs it weighs 36.37 pounds ..... maybe someone with strong arms could fire one or two shots
It is for extremely shy people who still need a head shot portrait. I know b it is a niche market....but could be lucrative
If you see me with a wrench, call 911
1200mm is long, but not that ridiculous. Certainly not nearly as insane as the extreme size and weight would suggest. I don't bird right now much simply because I have not modified the mount and remove the aperture lever of my lens to not make contact with my pins of my body. But when I did 1200mm (600mm, 2X) was very useful and not even that long for wild birds. Even then I still have to stock them for a long time since they are just so skittish. I used it a lot for an insurance shot, I could get it with 1200mm and then try and get it with 600mm. Sometimes I can get close enough sometimes not.
Weight and size? It's not exactly meant for everyone, but I for one do not mind. It serves a purpose, and that is having an extremely wide aperture for the focal length. At least for me.
Not that I'm a world class birder, but one can dream right?!
I agree completely that 1200mm focal length is very useful for bird photography but rather than a 1200mm prime lens I feel there are more practical ways to achieve similar performance.
For example, with the R5 you could use a 600mm f/4 lens with a 1.4 teleconverter to get 840mm f/5.6.....then engage the 1.6 crop mode and you will achieve a field of view equivalent to a 1344mm f/5.6 lens with image stabilization and the image will still have plenty of pixels on the subject for excellent image quality.
If you want to go one step further and are willing to shoot at f/8 ..... the 600mm f/4 + 2X TC + 1.6 crop mode would have a field of view equivalent to 1920mm @ f/8
Using good technique with the Canon 600mm f/4L and the version III teleconverters the image quality is still excellent.
Down the road I suspect we will see the R1 with a sensor in the 80 megapixel range and then crop mode will produce even better IQ.
For me personally, I would not be able to hike or stalk a skittish bird with a rig that weighs over 40 pounds .... maybe 25 years ago but not now
Heck, even the current 600mm f/4 is not that easy to deal with and for most hand holding I prefer the RF 100-500mm which has great IQ (but not quite on par with the 600mm prime)
Weight and portability is why I am hoping they will come out with a RF 600mm f/4 DO lens!
Just out of my own curiosity and in case anyone else might be interested, I took these today as a sort of demo to show what images are like at 1200mm and 1920mm (field of view equivalent) using a 600mm f/4 lens with a 2X converter and the 1.6 Crop mode of the R5.
These images were converted from RAW in DPP4 and with no adjustments sent to photoshop where I added the text. They are uncropped images. The only processing performed was Topaz Denoise AI, although they looked really good without it, to make the background somewhat smoother.
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