July 2020 RF Lenses RF 600mm and 800mm f/11 etc.

Purchased this lens today and the bright afternoon sun temped me out in the back garden to grab these 1st test shots with my EOS R (the original R, not the R5).

It felt quite enjoyable and satisfying to have such a light system, compared to my 5D Mk IV and 100-400 Mk II. The birds were between 5 to 6 metres away with an MFD of 4.5 metres for the 600mm.

I was very pleased with the IQ from my first outing with this lens.

Cheers

Dennis

PS - POTN data says 600mm F4L but these were taken with the RF 600mm F11.

Photo from nardes's gallery.
Image hosted by forum (1060576)

With a 1st Quarter Moon outside, I had to put the EOS R and RF 600mm F11 on a tripod and grab my 1st Moon shot with this lens.

It did not disappoint.

Cheers

Dennis

NOTE: lens data shows 600mm F4 from POTN - this is incorrect. Actual lens is Canon RF 600mm F11

Photo from nardes's gallery.
Image hosted by forum (1060590)

Hard to argue with those results!

CyberDyneSystems wrote in post #19115380
Hard to argue with those results!

Thanks Jake, the lens did not disappoint.

Cheers

Dennis

This was taken in the morning of the next day in our back garden, with the Rainbow Lorikeets between 7 and 8 metres away. The dish is in the shade so the Auto ISO on the EOS R selected ISO6400 for the 1/1000 sec shutter and F11 settings.

I wish the EOS R had the animal eye detect of the R5...

Cheers

Dennis

To register the full EXIF I chose the 600mm F4 in the POTN database pending the inclusion of the RF 600mm F11.

#1 Processed

Outstanding bird images. Like I said, a simple, single purpose lens rather than jack-of-all-trades; a brilliant move by Canon. The 600/4 has three F-stops of light so you aren't going to seriously affect that market, not like an f/5.6 lens would.

DPReview likes the R6; guess Canon isn't doomed after all.

Here is an example of how the Canon RF 600mm F 11 lens performs on a Canon EOS R at almost MFD, in a controlled setting with lots of light.

This Noisy Miner bird was sun bathing on a 4x4 inch off-cut in our back garden and didn't mind me taking its photo.

#1 is the full frame resampled down to 1600 pix.

#2 is a full res 1600x1600 crop of some feather detail.

Ignore 600mm F4 L in metadata, I had to select this to complete the EXIF fields - this is the RF 600mm F11

#1 full frame

Sunbathing? Interesting behavior, don’t think I’ve ever seen that before

It looks dead to me.

Not a Norwegian Blue is it ?

https://www.youtube.co​m/watch?v=vZw35VUBdzo

LoneRider wrote in post #19116043
Sunbathing? Interesting behavior, don’t think I’ve ever seen that before

CyberDyneSystems wrote in post #19116060
It looks dead to me.

The little guy flew off a few minutes later, he looked dead tired when he flopped down on the post.

Around here, I guess they are a little like Starlings, Pigeons and Sparrows in terms of their numbers in the suburbs and living close to humans.

Cheers

Dennis

crofter wrote in post #19116073
Not a Norwegian Blue is it ?

https://www.youtube.co​m/watch?v=vZw35VUBdzo

Ahh, not that famous MP sketch - still as funny now as it was when I was at Uni in Portsmouth back in the 70's.

Cheers

Dennis

russbecker wrote in post #19115587
Outstanding bird images. Like I said, a simple, single purpose lens rather than jack-of-all-trades; a brilliant move by Canon. The 600/4 has three F-stops of light so you aren't going to seriously affect that market, not like an f/5.6 lens would.

DPReview likes the R6; guess Canon isn't doomed after all.

brilliant move? i don't know...i still don't think i'd recommend this lens to anyone starting out in bird photography, unless they just planned to use it as a spotting scope that could take pictures...if people are more into wildlife/birding i'd recommend one of the 150-600mm's over these two lenses...i still don't see who buys it...unless it's people that already have the big whites, and are looking for something to take with them to more places...and i can't imagine there are a ton of them...i certainly wouldn't call it a brilliant move...

CyberDyneSystems wrote in post #19116060
It looks dead to me.

might be stuffed...

DreDaze wrote in post #19116084
brilliant move? i don't know...i still don't think i'd recommend this lens to anyone starting out in bird photography, unless they just planned to use it as a spotting scope that could take pictures...if people are more into wildlife/birding i'd recommend one of the 150-600mm's over these two lenses...i still don't see who buys it...unless it's people that already have the big whites, and are looking for something to take with them to more places...and i can't imagine there are a ton of them...i certainly wouldn't call it a brilliant move...

The weight difference is very big. The RF600/11 is only 2.05 lb or 930 g. The Sigma 150-600 Contemporary is 4.03/1830, and the G2 Tamron is 4.42/2010. That can make a big difference in the comfort of carrying gear around all day, especially if you have the gear lifted for shooting, and more especially if you're pointing it upward. Being able to handle something comfortably for a short while is not the same thing as handling it all day.