Canon brought out its long glass tonight. The company just unveiled the Canon RF 800mm F5.6 L IS USM, and the RF 1200mm F8 L IS USM, which is the longest focal length RF lens yet.
Designed for Canon’s RF mirrorless cameras including last year’s Canon EOS R3, the Canon RF 800mm F5.6 L IS USM and Canon RF 1200mm F8 L IS USM are slated to go on sale in late May 2022 for $16,999 and $19,999, respectively. No, they aren’t exactly cheap but sports and wildlife photographers, who these long lenses are aimed at, should get a lot of bang for their buck with these monsters.
Both super telephoto lenses are relatively light for their considerable lengths, with the RF 800mm weighing in at 6.9 pounds and the 1200mm tipping the scales at 7.4 pounds. The two lenses share many of the same features including Super Spectra Coating (SSC) and Air Sphere Coating (ASC) to help minimize ghosting and flaring and are compatible with both the RF1.4x and RF2x extenders. They also have a customizable electronic focusing ring with manual focus capability during Servo AF. Here are a few more of their shared features:
- Two focus presets, with the ability to instantly switch between memorized focus distances
- Circular nine-bladed aperture providing photographers with exceptionally beautiful and soft blurred backgrounds and bokeh
- Renowned Canon L-Series durability and construction with dust and water resistance, plus fluorine coating on the front element for easy cleaning
Canon RF800mm F5.6L IS USM
The Canon RF 800mm F5.6 L IS USM weighs in at just 6.9 pounds and features a minimum focusing distance of 8.53 feet (2.6 meters). The lens’ maximum close-up magnification is 0.34x, which should allow wildlife photographers to fill the frame with small subjects, such as birds, at its minimum focusing distance. Optical image stabilization is up to 4.5 stops of shake correction, Canon said, and includes three IS operation modes. When using the RF1.4x or RF2x extenders, photographers will achieve effective focal lengths of 1,120mm and 1,600mm respectively.
Canon RF1200mm F8 L IS USM
The RF 1200mm F8 L IS USM is the longest focal length in Canon’s RF lens line yet weighs in at 7.4 pounds. It features a minimum focusing distance of 14.1 feet (4.3 meters). Optical image stabilization is up to 4 of shake correction and, like the RF800mm F5.6 L IS USM lens, includes three IS operation modes. When using the RF1.4x or RF2x extenders with this lens, photographers can achieve enhanced focal lengths of 1,680mm and 2,400mm, respectively.
Pricing and Availability
The Canon RF 800mm F5.6 L IS USM and Canon RF 1200mm F8 L IS USM are both scheduled to go on sale in late May 2022 for $16,999 and $19,999, respectively.
