Canon 600mm f/4 L IS Lens Reviews

[Forgiss - Sean Nel]

I just read the review don by Arash Hazeghi on he new Canon 600mm f/4 L IS II lens and I am duly impressed!

about 27% lighter than his predecessor, and the IS seems killer!


100% crops from RAW with EF 600mm f/4L IS II left with the EF 1.4X extender III (840mm) and right bare lens (600mm). Handheld with IS set to mode 1, left 1/50sec f/5.6, and right 1/40sec f/4. ISO 1250 EOS 5D Mark III.

http://www.arihazeghiphotography.com...iew/index.html

[GRiT]

hi Sean, unfortunately the price is also a killer!

[Forgiss - Sean Nel]

hi Sean, unfortunately the price is also a killer!

Hahahaha... well... yeah... small problem

I see his only "cons" were Lenscap and Price!

[Deon RacePics]

What is the local price of mark2 lenses;
* 400F2.8
* 500F4
* 600F4

[Thinus155]

Someday................

[jab2]

Holy crap. Think of the nice full prop blurs I can get with that on aircraft. $$$$, oh, well.

[Choppie]

This one will be on my wish list permanently.

[GStrydom]

I was offered one of these (not Mark II) in immaculate condition for R 60 000, is this a fair price????

[Alvin]

i would say its a fair price
50k would be a really goodprice
55k-60k I think is fair (range = condition dependant)
more than 60k is starting to be on the high side

[GStrydom]

Thank You Alvin, I kind of thought it is a pretty good price, the condition of the lens is immaculate, as new.

[BrerFox]

Thank You Alvin, I kind of thought it is a pretty good price, the condition of the lens is immaculate, as new.

I agree with Alvin - fair, but not great.
Check out the rotating collar, though, as it is a notorious weak point on those lenses. Mine went at a very early stage and was expensive to fix -
over R7'000, but Cameratek did a great job. I understand that the replacement collar is much better and should eliminate the bearing problems of
the original.
These "newer, better and lighter" super-tele's from Canon sound great, but I cannot help but wonder if that really means "flimsy" too.
There is absolutely no doubt that the IS range of super-teles wear much quicker than their predecessors.

[Deon RacePics]

I would say it also depends on the age of the lens. Two mates bought similar lenses for under 50K in the last 18months. What was the last retail price of this?

[Roberto]

Check out the rotating collar, though, as it is a notorious weak point on those lenses. Mine went at a very early stage

Mine went on it's first few rotations but I'm too s*** scared to send it in to Cameratek.

[BrerFox]

Mine went on it's first few rotations but I'm too s*** scared to send it in to Cameratek.

The trouble is that the lens is hard to use without the rotating collar. Cameratek executed a superb repair on mine, just as they
have on other exotic glass that I own, so I would have no hesitation there. But the repair is expensive and I object to paying such
a huge amount to fix what amounts to a design fault. Canon, of course, would argue that it is not a design fault, but an "engineering
exercise to reduce weight". Hence my great suspicion of the latest generation of lenses.

[Forgiss - Sean Nel]

... Canon, of course, would argue that it is not a design fault, but an "engineering
exercise to reduce weight". Hence my great suspicion of the latest generation of lenses.

I have read a few comments about the tripod collar having been re-designed on the mkII lenses (the 300 f/2.8 definitely has quite a different foot)

The material from which the new lenses are made is also new, so I do not think we will see the same problems (especially since the lenses are now also quite a bit lighter than the previous lenses)

[BrerFox]

I would say it also depends on the age of the lens. Two mates bought similar lenses for under 50K in the last 18months. What was the last retail price of this?

I would say that your mates bought privately, didn't they? Although JG does not say who wants to sell him the lens, I would guess from the fact that he is in Cape Town, and that Orms has a lens matching this exact description on their web site that he is looking at the Orms lens. Expect to pay a little more when buying from a dealer.

[BrerFox]

I have read a few comments about the tripod collar having been re-designed on the mkII lenses (the 300 f/2.8 definitely has quite a different foot)

The material from which the new lenses are made is also new, so I do not think we will see the same problems (especially since the lenses are now also quite a bit lighter than the previous lenses)

The foot is certainly a totally new design - that was the first thing that I looked at, too. But, we have absolutely no idea how long it will last, and there is no denying the fact that the previous generation of lenses was not made to last nearly as long as the ones before it. Make no mistake, this weak point on the 600 was no simple oversight. I got my old collar back from Cameratek and had it stripped and examined. It is a cheap and nasty design - way inferior to the practically indestructable bearing collar used in the first generation, non-IS 600. But hey, it IS lighter, which is probably the sole objective.

[Deon RacePics]

I would say that your mates bought privately, didn't they?

Indeed