Canon RF 600mm f/4L IS USM

FrankKolwicz wrote in post #19395747
While I do have an old EF600/4, what I'm talking about is the RF600/11, which is only about $600 (and a great lens for the price).

I don't know about anybody else, but I've saved my money for 40 years, something that was possible at that time, when working people could actually afford to live decently and put away savings. That hasn't been true for the last couple of decades.

It also helps to be obsessive about photography and birds.

Thanks for the reply. At f/11 on the 600mm f/11 isn’t that pretty dark and if I were to use either a 2x or a 1.4x that’s a pretty small aperture!

Unfortunately where I live there aren’t birds of this selection out or anything really amazing for me to be obsessed about bird photography. Would I do it, definitely.

I don't use the RF600/11 with a teleconverter, it's for larger birds, hand held. I wouldn't expect the teleconverters to cause any problems with any of the R series cameras, at f/16 or f/22, if the image quality holds up.

How dark it is where you want to use it is something I can't address directly, but I live in western Oregon and photograph birds all year round. That means I have to be able to work in overcast and simultaneously shadowed conditions and still expect to get critically sharp images. My main camera/lens is R5/EF600/4/2x and setting 1/250 sec, f/11 or f/8 and ISO 6400 is not unusual under those conditions, the R5 handles them beautifully, far better than I had come to expect.

f/11 or higher isn't nearly as hard to use as it was before the R series cameras. Whatever Canon has done, it has allowed me to use ISOs up to 6400 with just a bit more noise suppression in Lightroom, versus the maximum of 1600 that I used with Canon's DSLRs. I've been setting f/11 as my default aperture for years with the EF600/4/2x combo (f/8 wide open).

It is a great lens, I actually sold mine to fund the RF 800mm f5.6 which pairs better with the RF 400mm.

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/2ngD​Uqx

Hi Clipper- Your photographs are wonderful! I just got the RF 600mm lens 2 days ago and yet to do some serious bird photography. I also have a Canon R5 to go with it. Could you please tell me what tripod/monopod combination you use and if you use any ball heads? I have a pretty sturdy monopod and am looking for a ball head that the lens foot of the 600 mm would be compatible with. Any tips/advice would be really appreciated. ߙϰߏ

P.s.: Iݢve attached the first 2 photos taken from the new lens. This lens is unbelievable!

Hi Clipper! I just joined this forum yesterday. I’m a new owner of a Canon 600 mm lens— just had it for a couple of days now. I posted a message yesterday and meant to send the message to you but I’m still learning the ropes here. Please see my post from yesterday when your time permits and kindly respond with any suggestions/tips. I really love your images. Cheers,

Felistigris_1202

Felistigris_1202 wrote in post #19412653
Hi Clipper! I just joined this forum yesterday. I’m a new owner of a Canon 600 mm lens— just had it for a couple of days now. I posted a message yesterday and meant to send the message to you but I’m still learning the ropes here. Please see my post from yesterday when your time permits and kindly respond with any suggestions/tips. I really love your images. Cheers,

Felistigris_1202

Hi Felistigris Nice shots and congratulations on your new purchase!

Regarding your earlier message re gear . Because the r5 and rf600mm f4 are relatively light for such a long reach I now mainly use hand held these days however if my arm gets tired I use a gitzo monopod with a tilt head/arca swiss connection to 600mm foot. I find the monopod/tilt head combo more convenient ,flexible and faster to use than my gitzo tripod and wimberly gimbal setup . The tripod /gimbal setup was great for the older heavier lens that the older EF600's and EF 400's (Mk1 etc) were but now they are so lightits easier to either mount on a monopod or even better use handheld . Also with R5 great ISO handling as well as 5-6 stops of IS in the new RF's /R5 Ibis combo means that shutter speeds needed for handheld can be easily attained most times during daylight hrs outdoors so no need for a tripod.

Re ball heads . These can be problematic when used on a monopod so I would recommend just sticking to a tilt head if you can and if panning etc is needed whilst using a monopod just pan the monopod directly on its foot or lift the camera/lens and monopod off the ground and move camera lens as if handheld. Also you can tilt a monopod without the need for a tilt head however I find it easier and faster when sitting down on a small stool to use the tilt head for any major adjustment of the lens tilt as trying to physically tilt a monopod by more than a few degrees when sitting can be awkward and slow .

Hope the above info helps and look forward to seeing some more shots with your new rf600mm!

Cheers

Couple from last week . 1. darter with catch 2 double barred finch

Hi Clipper Thank you very much for responding and your very insightful tips. In fact, I had been researching the tilt head/monopod combination, which echo’s your preference. I’ve already ordered it. I think the tilt head appears to provide the stability and the movement that is needed. Look forward to trying it out in a few days. Will keep you posted. Thank you again for your advice. Love your photos. Cheers,

Felistigris_1202

Photos of an Osprey and an Elegant Tern. Taken with a Canon RF 600 mm prime lens and a Canon R5 camera, hand held.

is there any QI or AF speed difference between the Ef and RF version?

Danilo102 wrote in post #19417722
is there any QI or AF speed difference between the Ef and RF version?

No difference at all with the bare lens from my findings, I do like the RF extenders better than the EF personally. Both lenses are great.

Here is one I just processed as I no longer own the lens. This is the 1.4x also.

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/2nFK​JsL

Just found this thread, here is my RF600 on my R7

Why did you spend $13K and shoot at F11?? Great shot BTW!

gossamer88 wrote in post #19422622
Why did you spend $13K and shoot at F11?? Great shot BTW!

ROFL, If I spent $11k my wife would shoot me where it hurts...


This is the RF 600 f/11! I am amazed at the quality you can get out of fixed aperture lense

I just realized I am in the wrong thread!!!!!

Shouldn't post at 6 am on a holiday!